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The Church of Madison rejoiced on June 25th as she welcomed two newly ordinaed priests into her presbyterate for service in the Diocese. Rev. David Carrano and Rev. Gregory Ihm attended major seminary at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, and completed their studies in June. Rev. Carrano has been appointed parochial vicar at St. Maria Goretti Parish in Madison, and Fr. Ihm will be serving as chaplain to Camp Gray, the diocesan youth camp, until late summer when he will return to Rome for an additional year of studies related to the Liturgy.
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Reflections on Ordination
Deacon David Carrano
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in His great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”. (1 Pt 1:3)
These words from the First Letter of Peter accompanied me during my final retreat in preparation for ordination to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. During Easter week, I made my retreat in Ars, France, where St. John Vianney was the parish priest, giving everything in his power to bring people to Christ. To be there during this Year for Priests was a great blessing and afforded me an opportunity to give thanks for all that the Lord has done for me over my life thus far and especially over these last six years in preparation for the priesthood. I have come to know those things that Peter mentions: mercy, new life, hope and most importantly Jesus Christ whom God has sent.
My home in Stoughton was a grace-filled place, where the Lord prepared my brothers and me in many hidden ways for His work through the unfailing Christian witness of my parents, Jim and Virginia. St. Ann Parish and School, which I attended, have always shown me in practice what the love of Christ entails, and I am especially grateful for the witness of my long-time pastor, Msgr. Gerard Healy.
A significant time in my faith life was during my time at UW-Madison, where St. Paul’s University Catholic Center was essential in helping me develop a deeper prayer life and discern my vocation. Upon graduating, I immediately entered seminary, studying philosophy at St. John Vianney Seminary (St. Thomas University) in St. Paul, Minn., and then theology in Rome at the Pontifical North American College (Gregorian University).
These were grace-filled years, and I am very excited to begin learning in a new was as a parish priest. My studies, pastoral and spiritual formation are all meant to form a basis for the principle objective of the priesthood: to reconcile men to God particularly through the Sacraments that Jesus Christ established and through the preaching of the Word.
Please pray for Greg and me, that we may give ourselves fully to the vocation that has been prepared for us. We desire to be holy, trustworthy, and faithful servants of the mysteries of our redemption brought in Christ Jesus.
I will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving on Saturday, June 26, at ST. Ann Church in Stoughton in honor of Our Lady. Please join me in any way you can in giving thanks to God, through Mary, for the gift of new life in Christ and the priestly participation in His work of salvation.
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Reflections on Ordination
Deacon Gregory Ihm
I was raised in a Catholic family and attended St. Clement Catholic grade school until sixth grade. After graduating from St. Clement’s, I continued my studies in the Lancaster public school until I graduated high school in 2002. The Diocese of Madison sent me to Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minn., for my first four years of priestly formation. While in this formation program, I attended the University of St. Mary, receiving a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 2006.
The diocese then gave me the opportunity to continue my studies and formation in Rome, Italy. The North American College in the home of over 200 seminarians from the US and Australia being formed for the Catholic priesthood. While living at the North American College, I also attend classes at the Gregorian University, Angelicum University and presently at the University of Santa Croce.
An important part of formation is uniting academic and spiritual life with pastoral charity. I have received formal training at Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary and the North American College in pastoral ministry of the sick and suffering along with many other areas where Christ desires to be made present. I have had the opportunity to receive training and minister at nursing homes, at a medical prison and at a few hospitals. Ministering is an opportunity to be trained in the way Christ works in and with the suffering. A few of these places are St. Anne’s nursing home, medical prison in Rocheser, Minn., and a few hospitals in Madison.
I have also ministered in other ways such as a Bible study at Winona State Newman Center and serving the poor with the Missionaries of Charity in Rome. The summers have been spent learning about parish and priestly ministry at St. Maria Goretti Parish, Madison, and Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish, Sun Prairie. They were opportunities to be mentored by good and holy priests, to meet some great staff and to serve the people in these parishes by making weekly hospital and home visits.
This past year I was received into the Order of Deacon and offered assistance with different liturgies in the seminary and for other religious communities in Rome. My primary service was to the students at the University of Loyola study abroad program in Rome. I helped organize and give catechetical teachings on prayer, vocations, holiness of sexuality and the Eucharist.
As ordination to the priesthood of Jesus Christ approaches, the Lord is calling me to remain with Him and stay focused on His Sacred Heart ablaze with love for me and those I will encounter. It is very humbling to see what kind of love the Lord is calling me to be a minister of in the face of my own human weaknesses. My hope and courage is this love that died on the cross so that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
I will have a Mass of Thanksgiving for the great gift of the priesthood and God’s goodness in preparing me for this calling on Sunday, June 27, at the parish of St. Clement in Lancaster. There will be a reception shortly after the Mass and RSVP’s are needed to attend the reception.
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LAST WEB SITE UPDATE: 05/12/2010
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Founded by Jerry Usher, Vocation Boom is a team of passionate advocates dedicated to supporting the priesthood as a life’s vocation and mission. We seek to develop a global support community where youth and young men interested in the priesthood can find comprehensive resources, encouragement, mentors and friends to aid in the discernment process.
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The Quo Vadis program is a discernment group for men of all ages. Come together with others who feel called to serve our Lord and discern your vocation in a prayerful, informative and relaxed environment. Click for dates and locations.
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Do you have a child graduating from high school this year? Know someone who does? Keep them connected to their Catholic roots while they are away, and give them the best graduation gift possible - the gift of faith!! Learn more by visiting our College Connection Program pages.
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God bless you, and thank you for visiting our web site.
Please continue to pray for our seminarians, our priests and religious,
for more vocations in our diocese, and throughout the Church.
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Recently, the Midwest Theological Forum finished production on an excellent video, entitled "The Catholic Priest Today: A Man of Faith, A Man of Tradition, A Man of God. The video is designed to speak to anyone who may have an interest in the priesthood.
The video features one of our own priests, Fr. Eric Nielsen, pictured at left, who is pastor at St. Paul University Catholic Center in Madison. In his remarks, Fr. Nielsen reminds viewers that  when discerning a vocation, there are more things to discern than the vocation itself. Saying yes to the priesthood reveals God's grace in many new ways, but it is also important to discern what sacrifices must be made in order to pursue a priestly vocation. In priesthood, sacrifice becomes blessing, and this theme is beautifully illustrated in this film.
Also included in the film is are commentaries by His Eminance, Francis Cardinal George, Cardinal-Archbishop of Chicago, Ill., and Dr. Scott Hahn, a well-noted scripture scholar and author.
There is a web site dedicated to the video, located at http://www.thecatholicpriesttoday.com You may also order a DVD from the web site as well. Click on the link below to view the video.
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 "To preside at the Lord’s Supper is, therefore, an urgent invitation to offer oneself in gift, so that the attitude of the Suffering Servant and Lord may continue and grow in the Church. Dear young men, nurture your attraction to those values and radical choices which will transform your lives into service of others, in the footsteps of Jesus, the Lamb of God. …Do not be afraid to accept this call. You will surely encounter difficulties and sacrifices, but you will be happy to serve, you will be witnesses of that joy that the world cannot give. You will be living flames of an infinite and eternal love. You will know the spiritual riches of the priesthood, divine gift and mystery."
These are the words of our previous Holy Father, John Paull II, and they so eloquently express the joy and gift of serving God's holy people in priesthood. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's Vocations and Priestly Formation committee embarked on an effort to try and address the need of discerning a vocation amidst the world we live in today. What resulted was an award-winning video entitled "Fishers of Men".
We have made this video available to you here on our web site. To view the video, click on the appropriate link below. Running time is approximately 20 minutes. Dial-up users may wish to save the video to their computers first by right-clicking on the link and choosing "Save As...". Viewing via streaming video is recommended only for our broadband visitors.
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Ever thought about how you can be a part of the New Evangelization, begun by our previous Holy Father, John Paul II, and continuing with Benedict XVI? Some of our seminarians for the Diocese of Madison reflected on this very question. What did their prayer and reflection yield? A new and exciting program sponsored by the Office of Vocations!
Being a good evangelizer means bringing the true faith of Christ to those who have questions, or who might be wondering about different aspects of the Catholic faith. That's just what some of our seminarians did this past summer! They set out for the streets of downtown Madison to solicit questions from people about the Catholic Church. From seminary studies and prayer to celibacy and the ordination of women, it's all covered!
These questions were brought to the air of Relevant Radio, and are discussed from a variety of perspectives. How will an issue affect the lives of Catholic Christians? What are the pastoral implications? What are some fundamental reasons for why the Church teaches what she does? Feel free to listen to some of the radio broadcasts on topics that were discussed by clicking on the link at the right.
Every time we help someone to grow in their faith, we not only bring them closer to Christ and His Church, but we ourselves grow in faith as we more deeply understand what it means to be an authentic disciple of the Lord Jesus.
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On Charity
On Eucharistic Adoration
On Seminary Studies
On Married Clergy
On Transubstantiation
On Papal Infallibility
On Salvation Outside of
the Roman Catholic Church
On the fundamental differences
between Catholics and Lutherans
On the Ordination of
Females to the Priesthood
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The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is faith.
The fruit of faith is love.
The fruit of love is service.
Lord, open our eyes,
that we may see you in our brothers and sisters.
Lord, open our ears, that we may hear the cries
of the hungry, the cold, the frightened, the oppressed.
Lord, open our hearts, that we may
love each other as you love us.
Renew in us your Spirit. Lord, free us and make us one.
Prayer of Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
Founder of the Missionaries of Charity
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Prayer for Vocations
Lord, we believe that You are present in the Holy Eucharist. Please watch over your Mystical Body, the Church, and send it shepherds to guide it. Grant our Diocese of Madison an increase in vocations to preisthood, deaconate, religious life, and sacramental married life. Help us to be instruments of your will in guiding young people through our teaching of the Catholic faith and the example of our lives. Instill in parents a desire to offer a child to priesthood or religious life, and sanctify priests, brothers, and sisters to be models of virtue and love. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.
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