/*! elementor - v3.12.2 - 23-04-2023 */ .elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper,.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper-container{position:static}.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper-container .swiper-slide figure,.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper .swiper-slide figure{line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper-slide{text-align:center}.elementor-image-carousel-wrapper:not(.swiper-container-initialized) .swiper-slide,.elementor-image-carousel-wrapper:not(.swiper-initialized) .swiper-slide{max-width:calc(100% / var(--e-image-carousel-slides-to-show, 3))}

Previous
Next

In 2025, Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will ordain his 50th diocesan priest. But things have changed a lot in vocations and the priesthood since 2008 when Bishop Taylor became bishop. Three diocesan priests shared the data with Arkansas Catholic, as well as their perspectives on how things have changed.

 

Making vocations visible

Father Jeff Hebert, director of the Vocations Office and prefect at the House of Formation, was one of the priests ordained by Bishop Taylor. Since his ordination in 2018, he has worked closely with seminarians, preparing them for the priesthood.

Father Hebert said before 2008, there was growing concern in the diocese about the low number of ordinations to the priesthood. 

“It was pretty doom and gloom,” Father Hebert said. “They were looking at really consolidating parishes and were trying to plan because things looked pretty grim.”

But something incredible happened, Father Hebert explained, as Msgr. Scott Friend took over vocations from 2005 to 2021.

“The spirit has really been moving quite a bit.”

Soon, in the 2000s, 11 priests were ordained. Then 35 in the 2010s. So far, there have been 12 priests ordained in the 2020s. 

“As the vocation director now, people ask me, ‘What are y’all doing?’” Father Hebert said. “And sometimes I have to tell them, it’s not really anything we’re doing — God is the one who calls these young men. It’s the Holy Spirit that’s moving in their hearts. It’s not like I give a clever speech, and then all of a sudden, someone wants to be a priest. 

“It’s way more about creating a culture of vocations, which is to say that men are being called by the Lord. When the Lord is moving in their lives, we’ve created a culture that is actually very receptive to those young men. … The thing that’s changed the most is that our diocese and our people, they just love vocations. … it’s a little less scary when you’re a young man, and you’re feeling the call … to make that public and tell someone about it.”

One of the most pivotal ways Father Hebert has been working to create a culture of vocations is by attending youth events and bringing seminarians with him. 

“They’re there, and the young people can talk to them,” Father Hebert said. “They see they’re young people who kind of look like they could be in high school.”

Father Hebert also encourages seminarians to go to parishes and visit Catholic schools as well. 

“It’s just the idea that it’s visible and that it’s the young people … telling them they might want to consider this for their lives,” Father Hebert said. “It’s someone who’s actually already taken a step in that direction and they’re joyful and they’re happy. … 

“The thing that really opens up the young people’s hearts, in my opinion, is when (seminarians) share their own story … when they start describing what that experience was, the experience in prayer of how they feel called and how they want to serve — they want to give themselves in this way. And they’re honest about both the fears involved with that, but also the excitement and joy that comes along with it.”

As young seminarians mingle with other young Catholics their age and share their stories, other young men begin to realize that God may be calling them, too. 

The number of seminarians peaked at 46 in 2014 but has hovered between 20-30 for the last eight years. This fall, the diocese will have 24 seminarians. 

With Father Mauricio Carrasco joining the House of Formation staff, Father Hebert will now have the time to plan more retreats and travel around the state to boost the presence of seminarians and recruitment. He plans to visit youth groups, parishes and Catholic schools as well to “put the image of the priest out there and see whose hearts respond.”

“To me, it doesn’t seem like things have slowed down,” Father Hebert said. “…Maybe that’s just because I’m in the midst of it. … Even if you have a lot of seminarians, the thing that really gives you a sense of the health of vocations is how many guys are making it all the way to ordination.”

Fortunately, Father Hebert said, when the diocese is as supportive of vocations as the Diocese of Little Rock is, seminarians are more likely to become ordained because Catholics give them encouragement and support.  

 

Bearing fruit

Father Joseph de Orbegozo, rector of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock and faculty member at the House of Formation, like Father Hebert, was ordained in 2018. He has noticed a growing interest among younger men in a vocation and a shifting culture that allows for such discernment. 

“What I find fascinating is that more and more young people are asking questions more deeply and at an earlier stage … thanks to God, the working of the Holy Spirit and the interaction of lay people and priests in their life,” Father de Orbegozo said. “They are responding earlier. I think in some ways that may have to do with the fact that I think people, especially who are in that youngest generation, are asking questions about meaning and purpose earlier in their lives in a world where they feel like their purpose is their meaning.”

Father de Orbegozo praised seminarian signing days at Catholic High School and in parishes for having a tangible impact. 

“This is something that Father Jeff (Hebert) has raised a flag on. … When you’ve got so many seniors at Catholic High having a signing day for so many young people, it makes it easier for other young people to consider themselves pursuing a vocation. It becomes more tangible when the folks who are seminarians look like you, act like you and went to your school.”

Father de Orbegozo said the “Come and See” vocation discernment retreats across the state are also bearing fruit, as more young people see the increased importance and visibility surrounding vocations. Father de Orbegozo said as seminarians get younger and younger, he is trying to find new ways to make content relevant to them. 

“I can relate to (the seminarians) in many ways, but I can’t relate to them as peers,” Father de Orbegozo said. “When I started teaching, there were still a lot of guys who were guys I’ve been in seminary with. There’s a sense of connection to them. Whereas now, the guys that I’m teaching are truly a generation different from me. And so I am noticing the ways in which they interact differently. The values that they have are different.”

But Father de Orbegozo said this is a good thing, as it creates an opportunity to build good rapport in the continuity of priests, seminarians and vocations. 

 

Look at the numbers

Father John Connell, vicar general, moderator of the curia and pastor of St. Joseph Church in Conway, keeps up with seven decades of data on priests in the Diocese of Little Rock. He provided Arkansas Catholic with a glimpse at the changes in vocations and diocesan priests over time. 

Since the 1960s, the Diocese of Little Rock has seen 91 priests ordained. Of those, seven were ordained in the 1960s, six were ordained in the 1970s, 13 were ordained in the 1980s, seven were ordained in the 1990s, 11 were ordained in the 2000s, 35 were ordained in the 2010s, and 12 have been ordained so far in the 2020s. 

With the ordination boom since 2008, the average age of diocesan priests has dropped. Right now, most priests are in their 30s, 40s and 60s. 

Of all the priests in the diocese, two are in their 90s, seven are in their 80s, 11 are in their 70s, 17 are in their 60s, nine are in their 50s, 18 are in their 40s, 23 are in their 30s and four are in their 20s. 

The average age of all diocesan priests is 54, while the average age of the 71 active diocesan priests is 50. Of these priests, 45 were born from 1975 to 1997. 

Father Connell said having priestly role models has helped inspire young men in high school and college to pursue vocations. 

“There are young men that are coming into the priesthood … right out of high school and somewhere in college,” Father Connell said. “You have people like Father Patrick Friend over at Catholic High, and this huge amount of young guys inspires other young guys to think about the priesthood. 

“So it hasn’t really changed where we’re drawing them from, but … when a young person thinks about the priesthood, and he sees a lot of young priests, for example, Bishop Taylor having a signing day (at Catholic High School in Little Rock), you think, ‘Maybe it’s not so bad after all,” Father Connell said with a laugh. 

He said the Diocese of Little Rock has created a sense of brotherhood among priests. 

“We are a fraternity of priests. We all are here in the Diocese of Little Rock, serving the Church here in our diocese, and we’re all priests, so we’re all part of fraternity,” Father Connell said. “We do a good job in encouraging the young guys to do things together, spend time together, which they do, and they’ve got their groups going on. They’re taking care of one another.”

Father Connell said it can also be hard when seminarians are ordained to say goodbye to close friends they’ve made and move to the other side of the state for an assignment. 

“If it’s all about fraternity, that can be detrimental … so I always say, yeah, it’s good to be a fraternity, but you also have to nurture that vocation of what you’re really there to do, and that is serve the people. And I think we do a good job with that as well, so that the priests don’t get burned out or depressed when they’re far away from everybody else.”

One of the primary concerns of vocations is ensuring there are always enough young priests who can continue to sustain diocesan operations as priests age and begin to retire. Fortunately, vocation numbers are healthy.

Father Connell acknowledged the number of seminarians has dropped over the past eight years.

“That’s just the normal ebb and flow of data and statistics,” Father Connell said. “… The fruit of the work of our vocation directors, both Msgr. Friend and Father Hebert, is that we are having at least one (priest) ordained every year and sometimes two, sometimes three, on an outlier year you have five or six or you have eight. 

“For the most part, this year is a small year. Next year’s a small year. Then for 2026, right now we’re scheduled to have five. If they all get ordained, that’s another big year, but then it’s followed by one. … I can’t tell you why it happens that way but just be grateful when it does.”

Father Connell has noticed a difference in priest ages and generations. While he is used to working with priests who are millennials, he is now seeing more priests who are Generation Z. Now, he said, as did Father de Orbegozo, the challenge is crafting the message in a way that is relevant to priests from a new generation, given that their experiences are different. 

Regardless of generational differences, one thing remains the same — praying and listening to hear God’s call. 

“Sometimes vocations are just maybe a passing thought or a possibility, and a little bit of time, a little bit of reflection will discern it as just that — or maybe, it’s something more,” Father Connell said. “Listen intently to the Lord. Listen carefully to him.”

CONWAY  — When God created Adam in the garden of Eden, he had a job for him — “The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it” (Genesis 2:15). 

From the start, humanity, made in the image of the creator of the universe, was made for work. When work is done correctly, it is intertwined with our core purpose in life — to glorify God as his beloved sons and daughters. 

However, the concept of work has changed drastically since Adam cared for paradise on Earth. Today, there are several pitfalls in how society and individuals view work. Sometimes, it becomes a person’s identity, consuming their life. Or, someone might ignore the idea that every task, whether collecting trash, entering data, sitting in a daylong meeting or saving a life, has dignity because of the person doing it. 

“We are coworkers in God’s creation,” said Father Taryn Whittington, an associate pastor at St. Joseph Church in Conway, St. Boniface Church in Bigelow (New Dixie) and St. Oscar Romero Church in Greenbrier and an instructor at the House of Formation in Little Rock. “There was a carpentry theme from the beginning — God crafted the world, so it’s not at all surprising the Son of God was in the home of a carpenter, a creator in that way. Whether we are making things with our hands, doctors, writers, the creative efforts we put out there imitate God the way we interpret our Father. … What we do can be to sanctify the part of the world we’re working in and, in turn, sanctify us. The work we do can lead us to God.” 

In celebrating the feast of St. Joseph the Worker May 1, lay Catholics can reflect on the divine purpose for work and the dangers of idolizing work.

 

What is purpose of work? 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church has several references to work and its purpose, including: 

• “Work honors the creator’s gifts and the talents received from him.” (partial, catechism, 2427) 
• “In work, the person exercises and fulfills in part the potential inscribed in his nature.” (partial, catechism, 2428)
• “Everyone should make legitimate use of his talents to contribute to the abundance that will benefit all and to harvest the just fruits of his labor.” (partial, catechism, 2429)

Spiritual gifts can build up God’s kingdom, even in a secular job. Father Whittington said, for example, if a customer service worker treats others with respect, it can easily brighten someone’s day. Sharing God’s love in that way impacts the world.

“I knew a surgeon who was at Christ the King (Church in Little Rock). When he was performing surgeries he said he’d always ask the patient before the surgery, ‘Can I pray with you?’ No one ever said no. Who knows where they were at in their faith life,” Father Whittington said. 

But it doesn’t always have to be that overt. “Sometimes, it could be with you and your coworkers — you’re a person everyone knows they can count on; you’re good to them. They might think, ‘What is it about this person that makes them different?’ … Maybe you pray before you eat or wear religious items. (Faith can) influence how you do a job.” 

It can be easy for people to find meaning in a job they love. However, if a person works at a job they hate to support their family, that too is sacred, prioritizing their vocation to family. Father Whittington added there is also no shame in choosing a job with a higher paycheck.

“There’s nothing wrong with being well-compensated with a hard job. It’s a matter of, 'What do I do with that?’ ‘Am I a good steward of the money I’m making?’ ‘Using it for the good of the family and the world around me?'” Father Whittington said. “When you have a chance to make a good living and have the skills and passion for it, it’s not just OK to do it, but it’s probably God’s calling you to that, and you should do it.” 

Father Mike Schmitz, a well-known speaker, author and podcaster, explained the concept in a 2017 Ascension Press video, “Straightforward Career and Job Advice,” detailing how God made humans for labor, leisure and love. Work has dignity because of the person who does it. 

“One of the purposes of work is to get you paid, so you can go on living because the goal of life is not work; the goal of life is living,” Father Schmitz said. “The goal of life is not just to do the job and give me identity; that's the other trap, remember. The goal of life is to be able to say, ‘How do I live with my labor, but also in leisure and also live in love with others and with the Lord?’ And if your job pays you so that you can live, that's the meaning. That could be, very, very simply, the meaning of your work.” 

Jeff Hines, diocesan director of the Office of Faith Formation, said it is a “mistake to see our work life separate from our life with God.” Even though it can be human nature to separate our experiences — work, faith, family, friends — into boxes, God wants to be intimately involved in every facet of our lives. 

“The Church likes to use the words ‘integral human development’ to describe the fact that our life with God is integrated into our work life and vice versa. Jesus wants to be an electrician. He wants to be a nurse. He wants to be a journalist. He wants to be whatever you choose to be,” Hines said. 

 

Spiritual dangers of work 

Societal pressures can push someone to make their job an idol. In the catechism, it states, “Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God” (catechism, 2113). 

“If you say to yourself, ‘My life is going to be meaningless if I don’t have this job,’ that’s a good example of making work an idol. One day, you’re going to retire. Some people retire and don’t know what to do with themselves because that was everything,” Father Whittington said. “Or, they’re laid off if their industry goes under, and if you’ve made that everything, it’s the thing in and of itself that gives you meaning, it can lead to desolation. It’s not serving God, family and neighbor.” 

Father Whittington said the parable of the prodigal son is an example of self-worth. Both sons “viewed their value to their father in transactional terms,” with one son staying loyal to work on the farm and the other treating him more as an “ATM,” he explained. 

“The father did want them working on the farm but valued them primarily as his children. … We are received that way, as God’s children,” Father Whittington said. “And once we understand our value doesn't lie in our successful careers, that cannot be taken away from us.” 

God also calls us to do a good job, pursue excellence and be ethical in our work, according to a 2021 Ascension Press article. The catechism states that “work poorly done” is considered “morally illicit,” just as is “paying unjust wages” (catechism, 2409). 

Above all, Father Whittington said having a fruitful career can be a blessing if viewed with the proper perspective. 

“Having a good and fulfilling career is a wonderful thing for both men and women. As great as it can be, we have to realize our worth is never dependent on that. It’s going into a job you love and realizing that one day you won't have that, that my sense of worth would survive losing this job,” he said. 

/*! elementor - v3.12.2 - 23-04-2023 */ .elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper,.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper-container{position:static}.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper-container .swiper-slide figure,.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper .swiper-slide figure{line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper-slide{text-align:center}.elementor-image-carousel-wrapper:not(.swiper-container-initialized) .swiper-slide,.elementor-image-carousel-wrapper:not(.swiper-initialized) .swiper-slide{max-width:calc(100% / var(--e-image-carousel-slides-to-show, 3))}

Previous
Next

A pivotal training for all seminarians before ordination is completing a hospital ministry program.

In the Diocese of Little Rock, during the summer before they begin Theology III, they spend 11 weeks at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock working as hospital chaplains.

This training, known as Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), is required for all seminarians. By the time they reach this point in formation, seminarians are two years away from being ordained. They are able to put what they’ve learned about philosophy and theology to practical use.

<p

>Father Jeff Hebert, diocesan vocations director, oversees the program.

“As a part of the seminary process, it's actually part of the masters of divinity degree,” Father Hebert said. “In order to get the degree from the seminary, this is one of the credits that they need. But there are only certain hospitals that have an accredited CPE training program. In Little Rock, St. Vincent, our Catholic hospital, doesn't have one. UAMS has a chaplaincy and CPE program and so does Baptist.

“Seminarians have to minister at a hospital for CPE only in a hospital that has one of these accredited institutions that officially trains chaplains. We were sending guys to UAMS, and UAMS is not a religious institution, even though it does have chaplaincies. At some point, my predecessor, Msgr. Scott Friend, made a shift to Baptist just because it was a more explicitly religious hospital.”

Dr. Michael Rogers, Baptist Health’s system director of pastoral care and a certified Association for Clinical Pastoral Education educator, has been in pastoral ministry for 25 years. He helps guide the seminarians throughout the summer.

“I'm a journeyperson with them,” Rogers said. “I'm also teaching the best practices on how to meet families where they are, but the goal is to try to train them to be better pastors and better caregivers because they're going to have parishioners who are going through suffering. A lot of times, you have students that understand theology from a cognitive place, but it's transformational when they’re able to understand real experience and walk with people in their suffering and pain.”

Duwan Booker, a seminarian for the Diocese of Little Rock and member of St. Joseph Church in Conway, is one of two diocesan seminarians currently in CPE training. Joel Brackett of Rogers is also taking his CPE.

“When I began, I was very excited at the prospect of doing hospital ministry,” Booker said. “I’ve gained a lot of insight into hospital ministry just through the sheer need the patients have and the amount of patients that have needs and just how much of a difference a five, 10-, 15-minute visit can have on someone's whole outlook as far as their recovery process is concerned. So it's been very enlightening and life-giving.”

Baptist Health Medical Center doesn’t only host Arkansas seminarians. This summer, Baptist Health is offering CPE to six seminarians who have come from as far away as San Bernardino, Calif., and Green Bay, Wis.
With a limited number of CPE locations throughout the country, hospitals occasionally fill up in the towns the seminarians are from. More often, though, Diocese of Little Rock seminarians meet seminarians from other parts of the country and talk about the CPE program at Baptist Health, leading the out-of-state seminarians to do their CPE training in Little Rock with their friends. They live at the diocese’s House of Formation in Little Rock.

One such seminarian is Luis De La Cruz from the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Despite all the hardships he has witnessed, De La Cruz said he has also seen beauty in the work of a chaplain.

“Being able to accompany someone during these times and just being with people in such remote, vulnerable moments is powerful,” De La Cruz said. “Just being present with them. It’s something that I didn't really take in before I started that I’m starting to realize more and more.”

Father Hebert has witnessed the power CPE has to touch the hearts of the seminarians.

“It’s a pivotal year,” he said. “A lot of us go through life, and we all have our ups and downs. Everyone has challenges, but when you are seeing human suffering day in and day out, it really gets you connected with the cross. And so it has a really deep impact on the guys.

“They're certainly more mature when it comes to embracing compassionate accompaniment with people. There's always a change in their maturity. When you see the difficulties that people go through, it makes you more compassionate, more sensitive and really more patient with everybody.”

Booker said he has experienced these effects of hospital ministry during his time this summer.

“I was expecting to invigorate or give life to the patients or to minister to the patients here at the hospital,” Booker said. “But I've found that instead of me ministering to them, in many ways, they've ministered to me, and they've built up my faith and encouraged me to continue to trust the Lord. Just the sheer strength of their faith is very inspiring to me.”

CPE also touched De La Cruz’s life in a personal way.

“I’ve learned the importance of balance in my own life, of making sure that I take care of myself so that I can take the care of the needs of others,” De La Cruz said. “And then I also learned about complete surrender to God in any situation because I have no control. At the end of the day, if I surrender to him, God brings it all to the good.”

Seminary formation across the world is expanding with the introduction of a preparatory year at the beginning of their studies.

Vocations director Father Jeff Hebert said he is excited to officially offer a "propaedeutic year" (pronounced pro-pah-DUE-tic) this fall to eight new seminarians. The stage was called for by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy in 2016 to focus on discernment and foster healthier seminarians who will become priests.

“You are focused on all the foundation you need to enter seminary formation but also into your discernment,” Hebert said. “The hope is that adding this extra year of focused discernment on human and spiritual formation, there will be fewer guys leaving the seminary. Most of the discernment will be on the front end. Not that they can’t discern out, but it would sooner rather than later.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Program of Priestly Formation, Sixth Edition, was promulgated last year and included the requirement for a preparatory stage.

In the past, training for seminarians with a college degree was six years, but beginning this fall, it will be seven years. Seminarians entering after high school or with no college degree will study for nine years, instead of eight, before being ordained.

Father Hebert said seminarian formation focuses heavily on intellectual formation, but there are three other components to training a priest that can be sidelined when class loads are heavy. The undergraduate program now will be five years, allowing seminarians to take fewer classes each semester and have more time for spiritual, human and pastoral formation.

“The intellectual side of things in the seminary is totally disproportionate, in my opinion,” he said. “You are taking a lot of classes; you are studying most of the time. There are three other dimensions to seminary formation that you have to squeeze into the remaining hours of the day.”

Seminarian Steven Wilson, a member of Holy Rosary Church in Stuttgart, is the first Arkansas seminarian to take the program through St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana. When he entered the seminary last fall, he started with the "propaedeutic" program, which means "to teach beforehand," with six seminarians from other dioceses.

Wilson, a former high school English teacher, said his formation over the past year included attending Masses with Black, Hispanic and Filipino communities, days of recollection and retreats. A major project was reading about diocesan history and writing a paper on the state of the diocese now by interviewing diocesan directors.

“That was my favorite part of the program,” Wilson said. “There was so much interesting history that I didn’t expect for Arkansas. So much interesting history to uncover.”

Wilson admitted he wasn’t enthusiastic about adding a year to his formation, but he is glad he completed the preparatory year.

“As the year has gone on, from what I can tell, anyone who had reservations about it has been really surprised by how beneficial it has been,” he said. “I didn’t really want to do it, but I could tell how beneficial it would be down the line. Now I am actually sad that it is ending.”

In the fall, three Arkansas seminarians will enter that same program at St. Meinrad. The other five new seminarians will live at the House of Formation in Little Rock. They will take 12 hours of college credit: nine hours at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock and one three-hour class through Newman University in Wichita, Kan., online. Three times a week they will attend “conferences” with Father Hebert, who will teach all propaedeutic courses for at least the first year.

The final year of seminary formation will also change with the addition of a “vocational synthesis stage,” Hebert said. This phase will be introduced in the diocese in 2024.

“‘They are requiring guys once they are ordained a deacon to spend at least six months in a parish. The bishops of the United States have decided that can happen after three and a half years of theological studies. So that December of their fourth year, they would be ordained at that point. And then they’d go straight to the parish after the diaconate ordination, and they are done with seminary. They would live in the parish for six months and at the end of that period, they get ordained a priest.”

The Diocese of Little Rock analyzes its seminarian recruitment to forecast how many diocesan seminarians it will have over the next decade or two. Father Hebert said with 30 seminarians, it is expected about 37 percent will discern other vocations. If the diocese ordains two seminarians a year, it will maintain its current priest count. If the diocese ordains three or more seminarians a year, the presbyterate will increase in the state. 

“Not only are we replacing the guys who are retiring, but we’re adding,” he said.

/*! elementor - v3.12.2 - 23-04-2023 */ .elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper,.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper-container{position:static}.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper-container .swiper-slide figure,.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper .swiper-slide figure{line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper-slide{text-align:center}.elementor-image-carousel-wrapper:not(.swiper-container-initialized) .swiper-slide,.elementor-image-carousel-wrapper:not(.swiper-initialized) .swiper-slide{max-width:calc(100% / var(--e-image-carousel-slides-to-show, 3))}

Previous
Next

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor celebrated the commemoration of all the faithful departed at the annual All Souls Day Mass Nov. 2 at Calvary Cemetery in Little Rock. During his homily, Bishop Taylor talked about the fickle nature of death and shared his grief of losing his brother, Michael, who died March 15 due to a fungal infection in his lungs after a two-and-a-half-year struggle with leukemia.

“Some of our losses are loved ones who lived a long time, losses that came at a time when everyone could see clearly that the time had come — the person’s mind and body all used up,” he said. “Others of our losses come suddenly and when we least expect it, the kind of death that we are warned always to be prepared for, yet never really are. The Lord uses our times of loss to draw us closer to himself as a source of strength and comfort and wisdom as we prepare to face the future without the departed loved one.”

He said he leans on and recommends Psalm 23 when dealing with grief.

“It is obvious that this psalmist felt closer to God in the dark valley than in the green pastures,” he said. “And it is always that way. For our loved ones, ‘the strife is o’er and the battle done,’ and we pray that they may now be in those green pastures on the other side of death. And now it is us who remain who still experience that dark valley of grief and loss. But as our Psalm insists, the shepherd has not forgotten his sheep. He’s here with us every step of the way.”

Bishop Taylor concelebrated the Mass with Father Joseph L. de Orbegozo, administrator of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock; and Father Stephen Elser, pastor of St. Paul Church in Pocahontas as well as Engelberg and Corning. Deacon Tim Costello of Immaculate Heart of Mary in North Little Rock (Marche) assisted.

Liz Tingquist, diocesan director of youth and campus ministry, served as lector, and seminarians Jackson Nichols, Pedro Alvarez and James Freeman were altar servers. Pianist Beau Baldwin and cantor Alisa Dixon provided music for the event.

Because of continued COVID-19 restrictions, the Mass was held near the cemetery office building to allow for social distancing. After the Mass, Bishop Taylor led a rosary procession through the cemetery to bless the graves.

In advance of All Souls’ Day, 27 parishioners from the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock and St. Patrick Church in North Little Rock came together for a day of service to clean the headstones of the Sisters of Mercy and others in the area at the cemetery Oct. 16. Father de Orbegozo and St. Patrick pastor Father Jack Vu also cleaned the diocesan cemetery.

The House of Formation in Little Rock was broken into twice, on both Christmas Eve and Christmas, with about $3,000 worth of electronics stolen and property damaged. Around 10:40 p.m. Dec. 24, a man threw a rock through a back patio door window and slipped in. The alarm was not enabled and the overnight security guard was not stationed at that location, said diocesan vocations director Msgr. Scott Friend. Msgr. Friend returned to the house around midnight after celebrating Masses but was staying in the building adjacent to the main living quarters. Bishop Anthony B. Taylor and seminarians were with their families for Christmas. 

The man was in the house until 2 a.m. and stole several items, including the living room television, a seminarian’s TV, pillows and a Nintendo Switch video game system. Father Patrick Friend, chaplain and teacher at Catholic High School who lives at the house, was the only one in the building and slept through the burglary. On Dec. 25, Msgr. Friend entered the house shortly after 11 a.m. and noticed the other window was broken. Another man had broken the second door window and entered. He fled after hearing Msgr. Friend opening the front door. The man stole $300 cash and was trying to steal another video game system. 

“I missed him really by seconds,” Msgr. Friend said. 

Security cameras did get images of the men, and police collected fingerprints from the scene. Msgr. Friend said someone has already volunteered to donate a new television. A parishioner at Our Lady of Good Counsel, on the same property as the House of Formation, boarded up the broken windows. 

“It broke my heart,” Msgr. Friend said of the robbery. “… If someone needs help, all they have to do is ask.” 

“What happened to their life that they feel that’s what they have to do to survive?” he added. 

While studying and playing football together at Hendrix College in Conway, Duwan Booker and Joel Brackett had an understanding: they would both be Catholic or Protestant. 

From initially living a party lifestyle to faith on autopilot, the two grew in faith as friends, and followed the call to the priesthood at the House of Formation in Little Rock.

“It just really points to nothing but the presence of the Holy Spirit in both of our lives and our willingness to say yes to God’s calling for us,” Booker, 23, said. “If you asked me five years ago, if someone honestly were to tell me with a straight face that I’d be here doing this right now, I’d call them a liar, and I’d say there’s no way and you obviously do not know me. And I’m sure Joel might say the same.” 

Booker entered the House of Formation in 2019 and began studying in the theology program at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio in August. Brackett, 22, is finishing his final year of philosophy at the House of Formation. They are scheduled to be ordained priests in 2025. 

Before coming to Conway, the two had strong faith foundations. While growing up in Dallas, Booker was primarily Baptist. 

“So definitely had that instilled in me, definitely was aware and had a relationship with the Lord,” he said, however, “I just kind of saw college as a great time of liberation, of freedom so to speak.”

Brackett grew up Catholic in Rogers, receiving a Catholic education and regularly attending St. Vincent de Paul Church. 

“I really lacked a lot of conviction in my faith … I never had anything that developed a truly Catholic worldview,” Brackett said.

While he still attended Mass, “there was no depth there.” 

The two played for the Hendrix Warriors from 2016 to 2018, with Booker known as the “QB Killer,” on the defensive line and Brackett as a linebacker and safety. The team camaraderie created a brotherhood. It was similar to the brotherhood they’d find in faith.

Leading into Brackett’s sophomore year and Booker’s junior year in 2017, the two attended a nine-week Protestant discipleship camp in Destin, Fla., with teammates and other students. They’d go out to beaches to evangelize. 

“I started to fall in love with my Catholic faith and realize the truth of it, that I had a greater desire to talk. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut from other guys who were in the camp with me,” Brackett said. 

Booker, who was Pentecostal at the time, noticed the camp had an intention to prevent Brackett from attending Mass, along with overhearing anti-Catholic comments. 

“He just had a great persistence about him and really a duty” to attend Mass, Booker said. “… That’s something that went into me having an interest. ‘OK, so what is this thing that this guy is receiving, you know at Mass, that he feels like he can’t get anywhere else?’”

The friends then decided to dive into Catholic teaching and Church history. 

Brackett said, “We just were amazed by the truth in the beauty of the Catholic faith.” 

While Booker realized the truth of Catholicism, it was tough to reconcile his own plans to go into Protestant ministry. He remembers nervously praying to the saints. 

“I just remember being like, ‘OK Paul, thank you for what you did.’ And I thought I couldn’t leave this guy out, and I was like ‘Moses, thank you too.’” 

“But it’s growing in that and just trusting that, ‘OK, God, you were with me before and I trust you’re with me now and you’re obviously leading me to this thing. So I’m choosing to trust you.” 

While traveling back from Texas on a bus with his teammates in fall 2017, most of whom were asleep, Brackett watched videos about the priesthood.

“I started bawling my eyes out on the bus and that was the first time, it just came out of nowhere I felt called to explore this a little more deeply,” he said.

He texted Booker to pray for him.

Booker converted to Catholicism in 2018 at St. Joseph Church in Conway, with Brackett as his sponsor. He had apprehension about God’s call for him, but while writing an essay for his philosophy major, “I’m just really pondering things in the Lord and having him just penetrate my heart in this moment, and I just decided at that time I was going to say yes.” 

“It was just such a joy to be able to just to tell (Joel) … it was really exciting that God allowed our paths to continue from there,” Booker said. 

Since then, the two have been roommates at the House of Formation. 

“I think that God has ordained this relationship, just like he ordains our calling, just like he ordains pretty much all things in our lives. So definitely thankful for the blessing Joel is in my life,” Booker said, with Brackett adding, “We’re definitely blessed to be in the seminary and have such a close friend in the seminary and know we can share deep things and just walk down this path together.” 

/*! elementor - v3.12.2 - 23-04-2023 */ .elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper,.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper-container{position:static}.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper-container .swiper-slide figure,.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper .swiper-slide figure{line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-image-carousel .swiper-slide{text-align:center}.elementor-image-carousel-wrapper:not(.swiper-container-initialized) .swiper-slide,.elementor-image-carousel-wrapper:not(.swiper-initialized) .swiper-slide{max-width:calc(100% / var(--e-image-carousel-slides-to-show, 3))}

Previous
Next

Diocesan seminarians at the House of Formation in Little Rock are bonding as brothers in Christ do — going to Mass, praying, watching movies and playing board and video games. But under normal circumstances, they’d break away to go to school and minister in parishes.

In light of the COVID-19 threat, 15 seminarians, three priests and Bishop Anthony B. Taylor are all isolating together, keeping the faith.

Those studying at seminaries out of state have returned to the state. Three seminarians are at St. Mary Church in North Little Rock, one is at Christ the King Church in Fort Smith and eight are with their families. 

“Well, the biggest thing is nobody goes out. So we’re kind of at this point isolating ourselves so that means there’s no ministry,” said diocesan vocations director Msgr. Scott Friend.

Despite the situation, “They’re making it work … It stretches everybody a little bit and that’s always good to let us learn to love a little more deeply.” 

While practicing “social distancing” from the public, the men do enjoy walking, cooking and playing games to pass the time in between spiritual fulfillment. Donations from friends with local restaurants and grocery stores have also been a light in the darkness. 

“We’re catching up on movies; and my nephews and me are watching all the ‘Star Wars’ in sequence,” Msgr. Friend said of Father Patrick Friend and Deacon Joseph Friend. 

However, there are some challenges beyond getting on each other’s nerves from time to time. 

On Holy Thursday, the diocese takes up a collection for the seminarian education fund, which pays for the immediate education and housing of the seminarians. With no public Masses, donations will have to be collected online at dolr.org/support-seminarian-education or mailed to their parish or directly to the Diocese of Little Rock Vocations Office, P.O. Box 7239, Little Rock AR 72217-7239.

“Just like everyone else we have to be able to pay our bills. So for right now I think we’re OK but that is of some concern to me because we have to afford to be able to operate,” he said of the collection, which usually raises about $250,000.

However, he understands it’s a tough financial time for many families.

“We just have to understand that and trust that the Lord will provide for us what we need. I would say I’m not worrying about it; I know that the Lord will take care of us, our people will take care of us.” 

The priestly ordinations of Deacons Daniel Velasco Perez and Joseph Friend, originally scheduled for May, have been postponed until August, along with the diaconate ordinations (see sidebar). 

“The bishop and I discussed it. The bishop could ordain the guys, and there wouldn’t be anybody present except for the seminarians. But by August we’re hoping things are a little bit better,” Msgr. Friend said. “… It’d be a way to celebrate together as a diocese.”

Deacon Friend, 26, left St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana March 20, two days after they shut down the campus. 

“I think the one word I’d describe it with would be heartbroken. There’s a lot of good friends I had to say goodbye to way too soon,” including his fellow seminarians and professors.

He was ministering at St. Francis of Assisi Church, covering a network of parishes in the cities of Dale, Santa Claus and Mariah Hill, Ind., but did not get a chance to say goodbye. 

Delaying ordination was a unique kind of pain. 

“This is something I’ve felt in my heart for my entire life. I’ve always, since I’ve been in the seminary I’ve felt confident in my vocation. What can be cooler … than consecrating the Eucharist at Mass?” he said. “… While we could do an ordination on livestream and very few people there, imagine what it could do for the faith of the people when we finally come back together and celebrate an ordination.” 

Seminarian Colton Ketter, 21, from Charleston who joined the House of Formation in August, is studying second-year philosophy through the University of Arkansas in Little Rock online. 

“Just having to adapt to a new way of studying and attending class. That’s something we’re all kind of getting used to,” he said, adding being away from ministering to the confirmation class at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church has been tough. 

“One of the things I really draw a lot of joy from, especially this year, is being able to minister to other people,” Ketter said. “… We had to find new ways to be able to minister to people and I think a real test in this time is how do I minister to people in my daily life and how do I show Christ to guys I’m living with every day?”

Board-game competitions have increased and Ketter has tried a couple of new hobbies.

“I found an old trumpet lying around here and started playing that,” something he used to do in high school. “I’ve tried baking. So far I made a Boston crème pie and some chocolate cookies.” 

On March 18, Brian Cundall, 25, headed back to Little Rock to live with his parents. While it was hard to leave St. Meinrad, he has maintained group texts with several friends. He watches the livestream Mass at the House of Formation and keeps his schedule of morning and evening prayers. 

“If you don’t keep a schedule, it will just be like very early summer vacation. I’m doing my classwork in the morning, working out and kind of having the afternoon free,” Cundall said. “I’m reading one of the longest fantasy series ever written, 15 books … I just started the fifth one. ‘The Wheel of Time’ series … It does kind of feel like we’re in a fantasy world or something made up.” 

Taking advice from Bishop Robert Barron, he’s taken up a devotion, praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet in the afternoon with his mother. 

“I think picking up some sort of extra devotion now that we’re home would be very good,” he said. “It’s a blessing and a curse because when you have so much free time and are at home, it can be very easy to fall out of prayer … This is also a time where we should be praying more, we have more time and opportunity to pray. We should be able to dive deeper into our spiritual life.” 

With larger ordination classes in 2018 and 2019, the number of seminarians for the Diocese of Little Rock has dropped, but seven new seminarians were welcomed this year to keep the number of seminarians at 26.

At its peak in 2014 the diocese had 46 seminarians.

The new seminarians are:

• Duwan Booker, 22, a member of St. Joseph Church in Conway. He is the son of LaDarius and NaKeisha Chambers.

• Joel Brackett, 21, of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Rogers. He is the son of Burke and Kristi Brackett.

• Christopher Elser, 19, of Christ the King Church in Little Rock. He is the son of Dr. Joe Elser and Angie Elser and brother of Father Stephen Elser of Pocahontas.

• Colton Ketter, 20, of Sacred Heart Church in Charleston. He is the son of Joseph and Sabrina Ketter.

• Hong Dai Nguyen, 24, of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock. He is the son of Vinh Nguyen and Mai Thi Do.

• Pablo Quintana, 21, of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Magnolia. He is the son of Juan and Clara Quintana.

• Samuel Stengel, 18, of St. Joseph Church in Paris. He is the son of Carl and Jana Stengel.

Elser is attending Assumption Seminary in San Antonio while the other new seminarians are living at the House of Formation in Little Rock and taking classes through Newman University in Wichita, Kan., and UA Little Rock.

Returning seminarians are:

• Deacon Joseph Friend, Nathan Ashburn, John Paul Hartnedy, Emmanuel Torres, Daniel Wendel, Ben Riley, Brian Cundall, Joseph Jones, all of Little Rock

• Cody Eveld of Charleston

• Omar Galván of Fort Smith

• Jonathan Semmler of Hot Springs Village

• Alex Smith of Jacksonville

• Mark Johns and Quinn Thomas of Jonesboro

• Tuan Do, Thomas de Prez and Minh Phong Nguyen of North Little Rock

• Deacon Daniel Velasco of Searcy

• Jaime Nieto of Springdale

Friend and Velasco are scheduled to be ordained priests at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock May 23. Diaconate ordinations will be held in May for Smith, Torres, Riley, Cundall and Galván. 

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor announced the following appointment:

• Effective Dec. 18

Rev. Jack Vu appointed to the formation staff of the House of Formation in Little Rock. This is in addition to his current responsibilities as rector of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock and pastor of St. Patrick Church in North Little Rock.