Josh Stengel has learned to be patient while God answers his prayers.
Stengel will be ordained a priest for the Diocese of Little Rock at 10 a.m., Saturday, July 17 at Subiaco Abbey, but he has been praying for the day for many years.
The 31-year-old was born and raised in Ratcliff and watched his father, Kenny, laboring at his cabinet-making business and raising cattle. He was most inspired by his uncle, Father Mark Stengel, a monk who served at Subiaco Abbey 14 miles away, and his pastor, the late Father Harold Heiman, also from Subiaco Abbey.
“He was the only pastor I remember my whole life growing up,” he said of the monk who was pastor of St. Anthony Church in Ratcliff for 24 years. “When I was young, he was such a kind priest.”
By age 7 Stengel admits he started thinking about the priesthood. He attended Subiaco Academy and graduated in 1996. All along he continued to think about the priesthood as a possibility.
“Being at Subiaco, it kept me thinking about it some, but I really didn’t seriously think about it,” he said. “I knew it was still something I should think about.”
When he was 17 years old, he entered the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville to study chemical engineering. He later changed his major to biology. He pondered several careers, including being a doctor or a park ranger.
After his first summer in college, he decided to join the Army Reserves.
“It was mainly from my grandfather, my mom’s dad, who was career Army,” he said. “And also an uncle who was career Army.”
During his last year of college, he began to discuss the possibility of joining Subiaco Abbey, but “I had my commitment in the Reserves part time,” he said.
“I was wanting to join as a candidate and see how it went,” he said.
In 2001 he graduated from college and began to look more seriously at becoming a Benedictine monk. Because he was unable to join until he finished his military service, he began taking classes at Conception Seminary College in Missouri.
However, his plans changed when his unit, the 489th Engineer Battalion, was activated and sent to fight in the Iraq War. In April 2003 he went to Kuwait for three months while their mission was being determined. By June 2003 his unit was stationed in Iraq, detecting roadside bombs. He was deployed for one year and returned in 2004.
“It was very stressful and intense,” he said. “It was a dramatic situation, but it never became traumatic for me because I was never in any actual battles. The missions we had were to keep people safe. … When I came home it took a couple of months to get back to normal.”
Getting back to normal also included getting his faith life back on track. While growing up, he went to Mass every Sunday and was an altar server and active in the church’s small youth group. He was even studying theology classes before he went overseas. But while serving on active duty, Stengel admits it was the lowest point in his relationship with God.
“It was through my own negligence,” he said. “It became a time when I was furthest away from my faith. … It was pretty dramatic for me being in the seminary to getting to where I was rarely going to Mass.”
Ironically, it was his distance from God and his faith that spurred him to take his discernment more seriously when he returned home to Ratcliff.
“It was a lot more important for me to make sure it was the right decision. It was good time of conversion for me. It took it to a new level. I wasn’t just going to go right back into the seminary… so it took a long time of prayer and discernment.”
He determined he was being called to the priesthood, but not the monastic life. He knows his family was “surprised” that he didn’t join Subiaco Abbey.
After looking at other religious orders, he decided he wanted to become a seminarian for the Diocese of Little Rock.
But he admitted, “I didn’t really know any diocesan priests.”
He met with the vocations director, Father John Antony, and entered Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas, in the fall of 2005.
“I knew it was right,” he said. “Being in the seminary before, I was able the second time going back in to really know beforehand and to be absolutely sure.”
After completing one year of pre-theology classes, he was chosen to attend the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
Being in Rome also allowed him to meet Pope Benedict XVI. In preparation for his ordination as a transitional deacon Oct. 8, 2009, the deacons and their families were given special seating for the general audience Oct. 7, 2009. Because Stengel was his class committee chairman, he was allowed to be on the front row.
“It was a brief three seconds, but it was a great opportunity,” he said.
Stengel will return to Rome in October to continue his studies in biblical theology. He will earn his licentiate in February 2012 and return to Arkansas for full-time ministry.
That year will also be important to his family as his father prepares to be ordained a permanent deacon.
“I am very proud of him,” he said. “It is amazing. In a way I can share how he feels about me studying for the priesthood. It is a joy and a blessing for the family.”
While Stengel is disappointed he couldn’t be ordained in May with the other four new priests, he is happy the diocese allowed him to have his ordination at Subiaco Abbey so all of his family and fellow parishioners could attend.
“I feel joy and gratitude,” he said. “Right now I am so excited and looking forward to the day and the whole weekend. Looking back on the years, I am thankful to God for calling me to this vocation and for his mercy, love and fidelity.”
