Whatsapp

CHARLOTTE —The Diocese of Charlotte is blessed with 41 men currently studying for the priesthood in four seminaries.

On May 9, St. Joseph College Seminary in Belmont graduated its largest class: nine men, seven of whom earned undergraduate degrees from Belmont Abbey College May 15.

One of the graduates is Nicholas Kramer, a parishioner of St. Barnabas Church in Arden, who is heading to Rome this fall to continue formation for the priesthood at the Pontifical North American College. He will join three other diocesan seminarians studying at the NAC.

To help the faithful of the diocese come to know him and how his vocation has unfolded throughout his discernment, the Catholic News Herald recently asked Kramer to talk about his faith journey.

CNH: When did you first hear the call to a vocation to the priesthood?

Kramer: I began to be called to the priesthood at a young age, probably about 7 or 8. As a kid I was blessed to have good pastors that radiated the joy of Christ to those around them, and as a kid that was really appealing. And as I continued to grow in my faith and to grow in age, I kept getting drawn to Him.

I began to serve as soon as I was able and go to daily Mass and Adoration when I was able, going out of my way to work in Mass and Adoration into my lunch break in high school. Yet I did not actively start discerning the priesthood until later in high school, even though the signs were there all along. It was not until I started going to Quo Vadis Days that I really started to take it seriously.

CNH: Who did you first talk to about your vocation?

Kramer: I honestly have no idea who I first proposed the idea to, but I do know that the first people I mentioned my desire to enter St. Joseph College Seminary were my parents.

CNH: What type of feedback or advice did you get from them?

Kramer: When I first proposed the idea, they suggested I take a year and pray about it and continue talking with the promoter of vocations, who was Father Jason Barone at the time, which I did and having taken that year to grow in certainty, I entered the following year.

CNH: How did you go about discerning where you felt called to explore your possible vocation?

Kramer: For me, I spent time in prayer, especially in Adoration, and also I prayed the rosary a lot. I looked into a couple of missionary groups, but I never seriously discerned for any of them. My heart has always been here, and my desire has been to serve the people of my local community.

CNH: How and when did you reach out to the diocese’s Vocations Office at the diocese?

Kramer: I reached out to the Office of Vocations two weeks after my visit to St. Joseph’s, and then started the application process not long after that.

CNH: When did you enter seminary for the Diocese of Charlotte?

Kramer: Fall of 2018.

CNH: Tell us about the types of things you have been doing since you discerned you have a vocation to the priesthood with regard to your discernment throughout your time in seminary
Kramer: We keep a very rigorous prayer schedule here at the seminary. We pray the Liturgy of the Hours in common three times a day, as well as daily Mass and half an hour of mental prayer every morning. Many men here at St. Joseph’s, myself included, keep a consistent flow of spiritual reading outside of the scriptures, as well as a daily Holy Hour, all of which is directed toward our primary focus, which is the development of devotions and practices that will serve us well in the priesthood.

CNH: What advice do you have for a man discerning a call to the priesthood?

Kramer: My advice to any man discerning the priesthood is this: develop a love for Our Lord, especially in the Blessed Sacrament, and a devotion to Our Lady. If you do that and actively discern (that is, ask God what He wants you to do in prayer and start looking into what you think He might be calling you to), you will be led in the right direction.
It is important to keep in mind this does not always mean you will have a “gut feeling” this is where you are supposed to be, but rather, that God will make you hungry for more,

He will make you want something that you cannot get from what you are doing, and you will have to take that step and dive into the adventure – seminary or otherwise.

For anyone who is on the fence about your vocation or discernment, my advice is to throw yourself at it, and if God does not want you there He will make it manifest. If ultimately it is not for you, you will not have lost anything. He will have used that time to give you something you need for your mission in life. So, pray, hope and don’t worry, and God will lead you to what He wants you to do.

CNH: Looking back on your discernment period over the years, what do you think has helped you the most to discern God’s will for your vocation to the holy priesthood?

Kramer: Prayer, definitely prayer – especially Adoration. Because after all, my desire is to know God, and to ultimately be with Him in heaven. So if that is my goal, then I must try to emulate that as much as I can here and now. I think people, especially young people, overlook the fact that to properly discern the voice of God you have to spend quality time with Him. If you don’t do that, you have no stability in life.

When we sit back and think, everything is constantly in motion, everything is changing, time is slipping away, like water through the fingers, but what does not change is God.

So you have to anchor yourself in that unchanging Being. It would be analogous to anchoring a ship in a harbor – first, you get your ship out of the storm as much as you can and into a safe harbor (this is the act of going to prayer), then you drop your anchor into the rocky bottom of the harbor (securing yourself to God), and you can weather whatever comes.

— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter

Is God calling you?

If you think God may be calling you to a vocation as a priest or religious, the Diocese of Charlotte has resources to help you! Go online to www.charlottediocese.org/vocations

to learn more and connect with someone who can answer your questions and provide discernment guidance.

Your DSA contributions at work

Seminarian education is funded in part by the annual Diocesan Support Appeal. Learn more about the DSA and how to donate online at www.charlottediocese.org/dsa.