By Father Kyle Schnippel

You learn very quickly as a priest that your life is one of gratitude; after all, your way of life is supported by the generosity of others. However, you also begin to realize that the call to be a priest is not only one that you do not deserve, but is also one that has been freely given by God, so that you, as a priest, may serve Him more completely.

As I look back over my life, the realization hits me very clearly that my formation for the priesthood began not in the seminary, but even before I was born. I see how God has been shaping and molding me to become the priest that He needed me to become. It has been a long and sometimes slow process, but a journey that I am grateful to be on.

Growing up in a small parish in a small town, my family was blessed to get to know our pastor fairly well. He came to dinner every once in a while, and since I have two brothers who were also servers, we were regularly called to help with funerals. These were the moments when Father Jim O'Connor really shone. Everyone in the parish knew that he was present for us, that he had great concern for our well being and wanted us all to grow in holiness. I took it as a great compliment when, after I had entered the seminary, I was asked to serve a funeral Mass; afterwards, a lady in the parish approached my mother to tell her that Father O'Connor and I made such a good team and that she could see him in me. I learned what it means to be a good pastor from him, and I use these skills everyday.

Later, while I was still in the seminary, Father Jim Trick moved to the parish. Although he and Father O'Connor are near-contemporaries, they could not be more different. Father Trick brought with him an energy and enthusiasm that were contagious. Never afraid to make a quick joke or offer some witticism that caught you off guard, he brought forth the human side of the priesthood at a time when I was in the depths of studying philosophy in college. He kept me on task by reminding me that the priest is the human face of Christ to the world.

My formation through the seminary was also marked by the priests who served as faculty and mentors for the students. Each priest that we came into contact with taught us something unique about the priesthood: from a deep love of Scripture or the calm presence of a pastor to the desire to live and preach the truth. As I prepared to begin my life as a priest, I was very much aware that I would be applying much of what I learned from the priests who came before me.

However, there was a surprise waiting for me as I began my first assignment. As many of us young priests start out, we are ready to save the world. After the years in the seminary, it is exciting to start practicing what we have been taught. The surprise is that I still had much to learn, and now it was learning from God's faithful people. During my first two years as a priest, I generally had Mass at 6:30 in the morning before heading off to teach. By no means am I a morning person, yet it was always uplifting as I dragged myself over to the church to be greeted by at least 50 people (and during Lent, it was closer to 100!) gathered to pray before heading off to work for the day. It was a quick realization that if I did not show up, they were not having Mass. The faith and dedication that these parishioners showed on a daily basis lifted my spirits and helped to prepare me for a day of teaching.

Working now as the vocation director for the archdiocese, it is wonderful to see that our potential candidates for the seminary are on a very similar journey of discovery: realizing how God has been active throughout their lives, preparing them to take this next step on their journey. It is awe inspiring to see how the tables have turned: I, who have received so much from the priests who have come before me, am now helping to shape the priests who will come after me. The passing on of the unique gifts from one priest to another continues, passed on in the laying-on of hands, and it is something for which we should all be grateful.