"Make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise."- Ordination Weekend Wrapup

This weekend I had a wonderful opportunity to attend the Ordination Masses for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and celebrate with five of the most influential and holiest men that I know, who were ordained to the priesthood. Fathers Christopher Klusman, Kevin Barnekow, Kevin McManaman, Javier Guativa and Hugo Londono I offer my congratulations to you and pray that your priestly ministry is one filled with joy, excitement, and ever increasing love and zeal for God and his continued mission for you all.

Even after ordination, it seemed that the celebration was just beginning. Only a few hours after being ordained, Father Kevin McManaman celebrated his Mass of Thanksgiving; his first Mass as a priest. It was such a joy to see him in his beautiful vestments, standing along with his fellow brother priests and celebrating his first Mass in his home parish, Nativity of The Lord Church. Father Kevin frequently helped with the Summer Camps and the Remnant Basketball Camp that my brothers and I attended. He was always so welcoming, so easy to talk to and always seemed ready to serve. It was such an honor to be able to journey with him through each year of the seminary leading up to now and I am so grateful for his friendship. May God continue to bless you as you are now His holy priest, and may he help you to love and serve His people with the same readiness to serve and enthusiasm that you so often showed during our times together.

Sunday was also a special day as Father Christopher Leonard Klusman celebrated his Mass of Thanksgiving at our home parish St. Matthias. Before the Mass at 11 o'clock in the morning, Father Christopher held a breakfast at a banquet hall filled with over 350 guests and my family was invited. It was a great honor and privilege to be able to eat with him, pray with him and celebrate with him, this beautiful day in his life. Father Christopher's Mass of Thanksgiving had to be one of the most beautiful Masses I have ever attended. Everything from the music, to the prayers and liturgy, the meeting new people and seeing old friends was absolutely fantastic and I felt blessed beyond words to be a part of it.

Although Father Christopher has many special qualities, one of them that really stands out is hard of hearing. Father Christopher has been deaf from birth but it certainly has not hindered his being able and willing to serve and love others. He always seems to have a big bright smile on his face and that has become his trademark. Father Christopher is one of only five priests who are deaf in the nation. We have a deaf community in our Archdiocese of Milwaukee, a large part of it at my parish St. Matthias. Father Christopher will be working with the Archdiocesan Deaf Community along with St. Romans Catholic Parish in Milwaukee. Please pray for Father Christopher and all those recently ordained that they may serve God to the very best of their abilities as his Holy priests and be filled with the joy and happiness of Christ as they become like Him for the rest of the world. Know of my prayers for all of you!

Be Sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit

Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit! These words are still ringing in my ears, engraved in my heart; a trace of the chrism is still on my forehead, in my hair and hands. What a wonderful spring break it was, to be able to celebrate the Triduum in a special way by cantoring to thank and praise God, and then be confirmed the next week!

This past Saturday was my Confirmation. My sponsor, Father Matthew Widder, and I were both fired up and excited. This was the day we had both eagerly awaited for 8 months. All candidates and their sponsors began the celebration of Confirmation in the back of church so that we could process in. Auxilary Bishop Richard J. Sklba, the presiding bishop at our Confirmation, tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to Father Matthew, "Is this your sponsor? You couldn't find anyone better?" he joked as he put his arm around me and shook Father's hand saying, "Good to see you Matthew." Father Matthew had just been ordained one year ago.

For me the coolest experience I ever had was being anointed with the sacred chrism. It smelled so wonderful! I chose to keep the name John Paul, my baptismal name, for my confirmation name. I wanted to keep my real name because my birthday was on the same date that Pope John Paul II was elected to the papacy, October 16th. It is for this reason that I was named after him. What made it even more special was that Pope John Paul II's beatification was on the following day. Father Matthew presented me proudly, "Bishop Sklba, I present John Paul!" Bishop Sklba then turned to me with sacred chrism in his hands and lifting them up to my forehead said, "John Paul, be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit!" Then he proceeded by taking more chrism and rubbed it in my hair, on my hands, and on Father Matthew's hands. It was such a beautiful sight. He then took my hands into his and said, "Peace be with you." After I responded with, "And also with you," Bishop Sklba looked into my eyes and said quietly, "And best wishes for continued discernment." At this my eyes began to fill up with tears of joy. I thanked the Bishop and then walked back to my pew with Father Matthew and we were both beaming and grinning. It was the happiest time in my life.

After the Mass, my family, Father Matthew, and I all went down into the church basement for a reception and a chance for a picture with Bishop Sklba. When it was my turn for a picture with Bishop, my sponsor and mom and dad joined me. Bishop Sklba put his arm around me again as we smiled for the camera and said, "John Paul, I really enjoyed your letter that you wrote." ( In the Confirmation sessions, one of the assignments we had was to write letters to the presiding bishop). "The priesthood is a wonderful life," he continued. "It is life-giving, fulfilling, and energizing. It is never dull or boring. It is a beautiful life. I'll be pulling for you during your discernment. Know of my prayers." When we were done taking pictures I shook his hand and thanked him for everything he had said. That was definitely a memory that I will never forget. What an honor it is to be told personally by the bishop that he would be praying for me!

The next day my family held a party for me at my house and had invited over 50 guests. I had not seen some of the guests in years, so the fact that my being confirmed had brought family members back was awesome and definitely moving. One of the highlights of that day was the fact that we had invited six priests to my Confirmation and all of them came either to the Mass or to the house for the party. It was cool to be able to sit down and eat lunch and talk with each priest. Each of them have impacted my faith and my views on priesthood and are very special to me.

The whole weekend was the most amazing experience I have ever had and I will never forget it as long as I live. I would like to thank everyone who was holding me close to their heart in prayer as I made my way up to my Confirmation and was sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. It really means a lot to me how much everyone cares for me and is keeping me in their daily prayers. I really appreciate that. Thank you for all that you do and have a Blessed Easter Season!

Also on the top of the page is my Confirmation picture with my parents, my Sponsor Father Matthew, and Bishop Sklba. It is kind of blurry but I still love it!:) -John

Easter Sunday Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Easter! The weather is warming up, my confirmation is coming up in a few short days and our Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! I don't know how it can get any better that this. The triduum is always so beautiful, filled with such wonderful music, prayers, homilies and inspiring gospel stories of our Lord's Last Supper with His disciples, The Crucifixion of Jesus and finally his rising from death back to life again. Each one has a different and special meaning for me each year.

This year's triduum brought forth a new experience for me, as I was given the honor of singing the intercessions at both Holy Thursday Mass and the Easter Vigil. It was very exciting for me, standing in front of the congregation at the ambo. Some of you reading this might be wondering, "Why is this such a big deal? After all he does cantor and lector regularly at Mass." The extreme honor that I felt when I was singing, was having the privilege to sing the prayers of the entire community. Some of the prayers included the prayers for those who had been baptized and brought into full communion with the church at the Easter Vigil, the prayers for those who feel abandoned in their afflictions and the faithful departed whose life-long vigil had ended. I felt truly blessed to sing the prayers of the people of our parish up to God. It was the experience of a lifetime.

On Easter Sunday my family was invite for breakfast at the house of the rector of St. Francis De Sales Seminary, Father Don Hying. His beautiful loft overlooked the huge seminary forest and the paths below. It was so peaceful and extremely quiet. I felt blessed to be able to spend time with Father and talk with him. While we were there, Father Don presented to me his rosary that was blessed by Pope Benedict XVI on his latest trip to the Vatican. It was his early Confirmation present for me as I am set to be confirmed this Saturday! I am so blessed to have a friend like him.

A Weekend at the Seminary

Its hard to believe that two weeks have come and gone already. Time sure flies when you're having fun! A couple of weeks ago my brothers, Justin, Joe and I went to the Remnant Basketball camp at the Cousin's Center in St. Francis, WI. The Cousin's Center is a former minor seminary that was once filled with high school students working their way up to St. Francis De Sales Major Seminary next door. A lot of time has passed since then and the Cousin's Center now stands nearly vacant with the exception of a few Archdiocesan offices; so it was great that our camp was held there, bringing some life to the building.

The Remnant Basketball camp was created and led by several seminarians with whom I have become good friends. The weekend involved: staying overnight Friday and Saturday, going on morning runs, lots of opportunities for pick-up games of basketball, working on skills, listening to spirituality talks by guest speakers and also included time for Adoration and Benediction. For me, the highlights of the weekend had to be the talks on spirituality by seminarians Ryan Pruess, Kurt Krause and Archbishop Listecki. They have so much wisdom and knowledge that I really took to heart.

In one of the talks, Kurt Krause talked about how,"people always tell us that we are the future of the church. We are called to be active members in the church. What we fail to realize, though, is that we are no longer the church of tomorrow, but the church of NOW! We are called to be active in the church NOW! The church doesn't needs wishy-washy Catholics, but instead strong active members, fighting for the faith." This talk really struck me, and invited me to continue being an active participant in my church and in the various groups that stand up for the faith.

Archbishop Listecki's talk also inspired me both as a ballplayer and as one who is discerning a vocation to be a priest when he said, "The same skills that you use in basketball, the team building and motivating your teammates; use those skills in your day to day life." In the different aspects of life, we need these skills in all that we do, whether it be as a student in the classroom, an accountant in a business office or a priest in a parish. This talk with the Archbishop was a great way for me to look at life and how we all should live it.

After camp my family and I attended the St. Francis De Sales Seminary Open House. It was beautiful to see so many youth in attendance! The seminary itself was bursting with excitement. That weekend was truly an awesome experience. I loved every minute of it. I would like to offer an word of thanks to everyone at St. Francis De Sales Seminary for inspiring me and other teens, inviting us to deepen our relationship in God. I would like to thank seminarians Ryan Pruess, Kurt Krause and the Vocations Office at St. Francis for creating a wonderful camp that not only helped my basketball skills, but also taught me that these same skills can be used to help others and build the kingdom of heaven. Thank you for all the wonderful things that you do!

Lenten Struggles

Hi everybody! I haven't posted anything in a while. I have been under a lot of stress lately. I try not to let others know how I am feeling, but it seems like everything overwhelms me. School has been rough for me trying to keep grades up and improve the ones that are not so great. I have become very lazy and often I pass on doing my homework right away, in order to do the things that I consider more important. I know that school is very important and that in order to get into colleges I need to put forth all the effort that I have into my school work. Everything seems to bother me and overwhelm me.

My Lenten promises that I made, small sacrifices meant to strengthen my relationship with God and give me a small taste of what it feels like to give up something you love and exchange it for a deeper bond with Christ are hard to give up. It is hard for me to stick with them. I feel like my relationship with God is sort of faltering. I feel so far away from his presence and his love. Perhaps I might be feeling this way because of the church season? Lent after all, is often viewed as a sad reflective church season.

Although I feel far away from and unworthy of God's love, I realize that even though this season of Lent is a sad and reflective season because we reflect upon the death of our Lord Jesus, but it can also be seen as a season of joy! We can see this as an opportunity to deepen our relationship with Christ by looking on what we are struggling with and then going to God with our arms wide open and trusting in him to take complete care of us. This season may seem to be sad, but it does not have to be our mindset. We can have a happy and joyful Lent, one that can deepen our relationship with our God who loves us despite our struggles and problems.

A Blessed Lent Everyone!

The Catholic Priest: The Image of Christ

Hi everyone! Just recently received an email from the author of a world-renowned book, Mr. Steen Heidemann, entitled The Catholic Priest; The Image of Christ asking me if I would be so kind as to write a small book review to promote his book on the website that I currently work on A Place to Explore Your Calling to be a Catholic Priest. I told him that I would. So here is my final review, on the wonderful masterpiece that surely will influence vocations to the Catholic priesthood for years to come. This review can also be found on our website under the news page. God Bless!



As a means of honoring the priesthood, Pope Benedict XVI declared last year to be the “Year of the Priest” but these heroic men need more than just one year of honor, and Steen Heidemann who worked tirelessly for eight years, has produced a timeless source of honor for priests with his masterpiece, The Catholic Priest; Image of Christ which reflects the true beauty of the Catholic Priesthood. Mr. Heidemann took an interest in presenting the faith and the priesthood in current art with alternatives to what is termed ‘contemporary or financial art’. According to Mr. Heidemann, “Works, to quote the Holy Father, do not copy previous centuries, but are made in a continuation with the past. The ordination picture here by American artist Neilson Carlin is an example.”

This 319 page book printed in six different languages (English, French, Italian, German, Portuguese and Spanish) is filled to the brim with the most stunning and inspirational pictures of the Catholic Priest in the different aspects of his life. Each of the works of our period shown by Christian artists in this book, reveal a continuation with the past rather than-a- simple echo of it. For those who are contemplating a vocation to the priestly life, this book truly will inspire you in your discernment.



As I read through the book, I was amazed by the many breathtaking images which portray how wonderful and beautiful it is to be able to work in the name of Christ, bringing others closer and closer to Him. While reading and admiring the beautiful artwork, it really struck me that in each painting, it is evident that Christ is depicted in each priestly image.

As a priest, men are called by God to be just like Christ, to be Christ himself. The term for this is to become an “alter Christus”. We men are called to love people, to care for them, counsel them, pray with them and for them, just as Christ did. This is the image that this book successfully portrays through the use of many beautiful portraits of the priesthood.

According to the author, the book is arranged with “the first and principle part of a sermon by the Holy Father given in Poland and texts by Cardinal Medina and the Institute of Christ the King, the main collaborators on this book. This describes not only what the priest does, but moreover who he is. This is then followed by several chapters on the holiness and charity of the priest, and after two inspiring texts on the Mass, and one on the priest as a monk, several examples are given such as St Bernard, St Jean-Marie Vianney, along with outstanding priests like St Maximillian Kolbe and Bl. Ivan Ziatyk, one who died at the hands of Nazism and the other during the insane years of Stalin in Ukraine. Finally, the question of what is a vocation is answered just before the conclusion written by Cardinals Canizares and Burke.”

Every picture depicts the Catholic priest giving his entire being to Christ during the different stages in his life, as well as in the lives of the people he serves. Each picture is so masterfully depicted that is hard for me to pick a favorite. I will hold all of these paintings, produced by artists from all over the world, close to my heart, as they inspire me to discern my own vocation, and draw me into a deeper respect and love for the priesthood.


Receiving this book was so wonderful and I will always treasure it, and turn to it again and again. I encourage any one who is discerning a vocation to the priesthood to purchase this book. I promise you will enjoy it as much as I did. This book would make a wonderful ordination or anniversary gift for a special priest in your life. It may also be useful instrument in teaching the Catechism to children and young adults. Owning The Catholic Priest; The Image of Christ and perusing the many fine works of art depicted within would make one feel that every year should be the year of the priest.

The Catholic Priest; The Image of Christ is printed in Italy by Grafiche Flaminia, a company run by priests, and is available for purchase online through the following points below-

English: US+ Canada: Ignatius Press with Liamar: www.ignatius.com

Rest of the English speaking world: Gracewing: www.gracewing.co.uk

French: L’Oeuvre: www.oeuvre-editions.fr

Italian: Cantagalli: www.edizionicantagalli.com

Soon to be released in Spanish, Portuguese and German.



This review is (c) John Bender 2011 and may not be reproduced or duplicated without prior permission

True Compassion

I recently got a new job at Heritage Assisted Living, a nursing home near my house. I work as a dietary aide, so my responsibilities include helping prepare food and then delivering it to the many different dining rooms around the home. After the meals are done being served, then I make my rounds again and take the dirty dishes back to the kitchen in order to wash and return them. It is not a very challenging job, and it can also be very fun and very rewarding.

One of the things that I love about my job is being able to work with people. Many of the people at the home are very sad. They feel helpless, no longer independent. They are no longer able to do the things that they like to do. They feel depressed and lonely, hardly getting to see their family except for a couple of times a year. When I bring food to them, I can't help but feel sorry for them. Here are people that worked hard all of their lives and now are being deprived of their independence.

When I prepare the food for the next days meals, I pray for each and every resident that lives their. I pray that they may remain healthy and do not become sick. I pray that they have a little joy and happiness in their lives, that they are not overcome with loneliness and boredom. I pray that they might see God in their lives each and everyday and know that he is right beside them always.

After preparing the food, it is now time to deliver it. When I do this, I make sure to put on a big smile and be friendly to the residents when I make my entrance in the dining room. As I make my way to each table, presenting them with their food I make a point of asking everyone how they are, how their day has been going or maybe throwing in a couple comments or questions about the latest Green Bay Packers score.
At work my job is to prepare food, but I think that it should also consist of spreading a little joy and laughter into the residents hearts. Perhaps some of them have not had or experienced any in a long time.

I like to look at my job as a great ministry opportunity. A priest makes hospital visits and house calls, visiting with people and showing them the love and peace of Christ. If this is what God truly has planned for me, then I think I am on the right track with what I am doing at Heritage. This job can be used as great practice for my future vocation. We all need a little happiness and love in our lives, and I am happy to give it to all.