'Fall in love with Jesus,' seminarians tell young men thinking about the priesthood

More than 200 young men join Archbishop Vigneron, seminarians for evening of prayer, fellowship, discernment at Sacred Heart

DETROIT — Hundreds of young men thinking about the priesthood spent a prayerful evening Feb. 20 at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, listening to testimonials and getting a chance to chat with priests, seminarians and Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron about their own vocation stories.

The evening of discernment was attended by 210 young men from across the Archdiocese of Detroit — the biggest turnout in years — and began with evening prayer in Sacred Heart’s chapel led by Archbishop Vigneron.

The chapel was nearly full as the young discerners sang hymns, chanted from the Psalms, heard readings from Scripture and offered intercessions for the Church and world. The prayers concluded with the Canticle of Mary and the singing of the Ave Regina Caelorum.

Afterward, the group enjoyed dinner in the seminary’s gymnasium, where Fr. Craig Giera, director of priestly vocations for the Archdiocese of Detroit, welcomed the young men and introduced three seminarians who spoke about their vocation stories.

“It’s very encouraging to see this event continue to grow,” Fr. Giera told Detroit Catholic. “After a year of prayer for priestly vocations, we’re seeing some of the fruits of that. We had more than 200 guys here, and it was great for them to see how others have come to the call to the priesthood.”

After a video featuring interviews with three priests ordained last year, the young men heard from current Sacred Heart seminarians Jim Musgrave, Charles Bemiss and Karl Finkbeiner, who shared what drew them to the seminary.

Musgrave, a seminarian in his second year of theology, related how he grew up without any faith, but discovered Jesus in high school after his parents sent him to Detroit Catholic Central, then in Redford.

By the time he left for college, Musgrave said he began “really craving a more permanent place for God in my life and trying to figure out what that looked like.”

While pursuing his dream of medical school in Tennessee, Musgrave said he began "shopping around" to different denominations, but continually felt himself pulled back to the Mass he experienced at Catholic Central. While living in Tennessee, he entered RCIA, and became baptized in 2012.

Before his conversion, Musgrave said he had begun to experience an "identity crisis" that left him feeling unfulfilled with the path he'd chosen.

"I was thriving academically and socially, but interiorly I was miserable. I hated it," Musgrave said. "It wasn't my vocation — in fact, 'vocation' wasn't in my vocabulary. I didn't know it at the time, but that was the Holy Spirit telling me again and again, 'This isn't your vocation.'"

After dropping out of medical school and moving back to Michigan, Musgrave became involved in a young adult group at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, but it wasn’t until his pastor at the time, Fr. John Riccardo, encouraged him to start praying more intentionally that his true vocation began to come into focus.

“He issued me a challenge. He said, ‘Spend 30 minutes a week in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and just ask God what His will is for your life,’” Musgrave said. “So I tried it. And 30 minutes a week turned into 30 minutes a day, and then an hour a day. And what happened for me was I began to learn not to seek the answer, but to seek the Answerer. I began to seek Jesus.”

As his prayer life deepened, Musgrave said he began to fall “madly, madly in love with Jesus during that time, more so than I ever had before.”

After a few more years of God working on his heart, Musgrave said God led him to the seminary, which he described as “the most adventurous thing I’ve ever done.”

“If you want to know what you can do right now in your discernment — this isn’t the most satisfying answer, but it’s the most true answer — it’s fall in love with Jesus,” Musgrave said. “Spend as much time as you can with him. Pour out your heart to him. Seek the Answerer and not the answer, and he’ll give you the answers eventually.”

Several priests attending the discernment evening brought young men with them from their parishes, including Fr. Jim Lowe, CC, who was accompanied by two young discerners from St. Scholastica and Corpus Christi parishes on Detroit's northwest side.

Fr. Lowe said it's critical for priests to extend an invitation to young men who might be good candidates for the priesthood, talking with them and offering opportunities like the discernment event at Sacred Heart.

“A lot of these men probably wouldn’t think about (the priesthood) unless somebody brings it up to them,” Fr. Lowe told Detroit Catholic. “It’s possible the Holy Spirit might get through to them, but when you get an invitation from someone else, especially from a priest, that can be pretty powerful. It’s so important to plant the seed and get them to start thinking about their vocation, about God’s will for their lives and how He wants to lead them to a true fulfillment of His plan and purpose for them.”

Fr. Jaime Hinojos brought 10 young men with him from St. Juan Diego Parish on Detroit's west side, including several teens involved in the parish. Fr. Hinojos said it’s never too early to start thinking about one’s vocation.

“Some of them are in our confirmation class, and most of them are altar servers every Sunday,” Fr. Hinojos said. “I think it’s a good age to start putting the seed of the vocation in their minds and hearts.”

Aidan Davila, a junior in high school who attends St. Juan Diego Parish, said he was moved by the presentations and was inspired to continue seeking God’s will.

“I liked hearing the testimonies of the seminarians here tonight, and I also enjoyed interacting with other people my age,” Davila said. “It’s moving me closer to maybe discerning the priesthood in the future.”

At the close of the evening, Archbishop Vigneron thanked the seminarians who gave witness to their vocations, and encouraged those gathered to continue praying for one another.

“What we’ve done together tonight is not simply each as isolated individuals, but this is an evening we’ve all shared together,” the archbishop said. “So perhaps for the next week, pray a decade of the rosary for everybody who was here with you tonight, so that each of us know God’s will and in doing it to have the kind of joy these brothers witnessed.”