Eastern Oklahoma Catholic June 2012 : Page 10
memory, taught me how to serve Mass as a boy. Father Tim Davison was my pastor in high school. The most formative years in my faith occurred while I was involved at the Newman Center at TU. I can say all of the chaplains there had an influence: Msgr. Dan Muggenborg, Father Jack Gleason, Father Joe Townsend and Father Stuart Crevcoure. But I have to say the one who has had the greatest single influence has been Father Teddy Yew. I got to know him before he went to seminary, at my home parish of St. Francis Xavier, and remained in touch with him through his first years as a priest. In what ways has your seminary for-mation prepared you for the priest-hood? How have you grown through this process? To be honest, I first went to seminary with some trepidation. I had committed myself to one year and planned to reconsider at that point. I started at St. Meinrad in January 2005, and that first year was very difficult. I had studied electrical engineering before and it was hard to go from problem-solving to reading Aristotle and Aquinas. After that first year, I planned to return the next spring to attend a silent retreat with my class so I could pray about what to do next. On that retreat, I experienced another level of conversion and was given the grace to embrace my vocation fully. Since then, the seminary has taught me how to fulfill my particular call to holiness by embracing the discipline of the priesthood. In the last seven and a half years, I have grown most in my humanity, displacing the malfor-mation of our culture with the virtues of soli-tude, detachment and, above all, charity. What personal characteristics and traits do you believe are necessary for the priesthood? The evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience! That’s easy to say, but it takes a lifetime to perfect their practice. These are the necessary traits for the priesthood because they are the characteristics of Christ Himself. He was obedient: “Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered.” (Heb. 5:8) He was poor: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Mt. 8:20) And He practiced chastity: “…there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.” (Mt. 19:12) Like-Deacon John Grant John, 33, is the oldest of four children of Pat and Sherry Grant and is a life-long parishioner of St. Francis Xavier Church in Tulsa. He attended Ss. Peter and Paul School and received a full scholarship to Cascia Hall Preparatory School, where he graduated in 1997. He then attended Tulsa Community College and later, Tulsa University, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering. During that time, he was very active in the Newman Center. John started his priestly studies at St. Meinrad Seminary in St. Meinrad, Ind., and later transferred to St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver. What aspects of your Catholic faith led you to consider the priesthood? I never considered being a priest when I was young. Throughout my years in Catho-lic schools, I would periodically be asked by the priest if I had ever considered the priesthood. I perfected my response so I could get out of there as quickly as possible. It wasn’t until late in college that I even con-sidered it a possibility. Who was most influential in directing you toward this vocation? I think the witness of our priests has been most responsible in opening my heart to this calling. Father Bob Schlit, of happy 10 Eastern Oklahoma Catholic / June 2012 / www. dioceseoftulsa .org
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