As a step in their priesthood formation, Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila will ordain three seminarians to the diaconate during a Mass set for 10 a.m. March 1 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. Those to be ordained are: Gregory Louis Lesher, Joseph Marc McLagan and Franklin Anastacio Sequeira Treminio. Profiles of the men follow. You can watch the Mass live online here:
Name: Gregory Louis Lesher
Birthdate: Sept. 13, 1984
Born and reared: Born in Chicago and raised in Bolingbrook, Ill. (southwest suburb of Chicago)
Seminary: St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, Denver
Q: Describe your educational and professional background before entering formation.
A: Education: Earned a master’s degree in international development with a concentration in humanitarian assistance from the University of Denver in 2008. I did the 4-plus-1 program at DU which merged undergraduate and graduate school together, so I received both degrees simultaneously in 2008.
Professional background: Resident assistant at DU for two years in a freshmen residence hall.
Q: When did you first feel called to the priesthood?
A: God placed this longing to be a priest in my heart when I was 11 or 12. But throughout high school and as an undergrad I very much ran away from my vocation. As I was finishing undergrad studies and applying to graduate school God spoke to me again about the priesthood. I still stubbornly tried to run away for another two years but God gradually convinced me to apply to seminary in my second year of graduate school.
Q: What is your favorite pastime?
A: Currently my favorite pastime is archery. I have been shooting a little over a year now and this year I began competing. In January I won the first Colorado state archery competition in the adult traditional class (only using a recurve bow with nothing else added like a sight). I am also an avid biker and between my philosophy years I fulfilled my dream of biking coast to coast across the United States.
Q: In today’s world, a call to celibacy is seen as radical, if not impossible. How have you reconciled the priesthood’s call to celibacy with this challenging cultural perspective?
A: Celibacy is a gift. It is not the cost I pay to be a priest. It means saving the most intimate part of my heart for God alone and turning to him primarily for all of my needs. God has shown me numerous times that I can rely on him to give me what I need. God is calling me to holy orders and so I have no concerns about this life being impossible.
Q: How do you feel about this step in your priesthood formation of being ordained to the diaconate?
A: I am very excited to be taking this step and being able to more fully share in the ministry. I can’t wait to preach, to baptize and to bless in the name of God and the Church.
Name: Joseph Marc McLagan
Birthdate: Dec. 26, 1985
Born and reared: Born in Kansas City, Mo.; reared in Grandview, Mo., and Littleton, Colo.
Seminary: St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, Denver
Q: Describe your educational and professional background before entering formation.
A: Graduated from Highlands Ranch High School in 2004; graduated from Arapahoe Community College in 2006 with an associate’s degree in general studies; graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley in 2008 with a bachelor of arts in philosophy and a minor in history.
Q: When did you first feel called to the priesthood?
A: By the time I had moved to Greeley to study philosophy, I was questioning my identity: who was I, what am I about and where am I going? These questions kept recurring. However, through some good direction by friends, I began to get involved with FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) in attending Bible studies and forming friendships there. I also got involved in the university parish, St. Peter’s. With my questions receiving answers and my prayer life growing, I began to trust in the Lord. I went to teach Totus Tuus in the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyo., for two summers, and one summer in the Archdiocese of Denver before entering seminary. All along the way, the Lord and I were deepening our relationship with each other. Through these summers of Totus Tuus the Lord was showing me the call he had for me, and I was truly grateful to have said yes.
Q: What is your favorite pastime?
A: My favorite pastimes in no particular order: prayer, playing sports among friends (golf, basketball, flag football, volleyball) camping and hiking, fishing, brewing a good beer, reading and engaging the intellectual life and the arts.
Q: In today’s world, a call to celibacy is seen as radical, if not impossible. How have you reconciled the priesthood’s call to celibacy with this challenging cultural perspective?
A: Many people I encounter have no clue as to
what celibacy is or its gifts. At times the culture has appeared to lose its understanding of the origins of things. Celibacy is radical gift for one to receive in the truest and first sense possible: it is basic, fundamental, ingrained, or goes to the root or origin (look up “radical” in the dictionary). For us Roman Catholics, it is a discipline and part of the foundation of what the priesthood entails, which we see in the example of Jesus Christ. So I have reconciled this by not standing on the sands of this culture, which will waver and move in the storms that may come, but on a firm foundation rooted from the Lord through the many gifts he has given me in seminary.
Q: How do you feel about this step in your priesthood formation of being ordained to the diaconate?
A: I am excited about this step. I trust that the Lord has me where he wants me.
Full Name: Franklin Anastacio Sequeira Treminio
Birth Date: Aug. 21, 1980
Born and reared: Born in Matagalpa, Nicaragua; reared in Ciudad Dario, Nicaragua
Seminary: Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary
Q: Describe your educational and professional background before entering formation.
A: I graduated in 1998 from a Catholic high school named Ruben Dario Institute run by the Franciscans in Ciudad Dario, Nicaragua, my hometown. Before entering the seminary, I was doing my second year of college in the Universidad de las Americas located in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. I was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration. In the meantime I worked part time as a taxi driver for my grandfather in my home town.
Q: When did you first feel called to the priesthood?
A: I was 15 when I first heard that God was calling me to the priesthood. One of the aspects that influenced my calling to the priesthood is the fact of having been raised in a Catholic family that introduced me at 13 to an itinerary of Christian formation, the Neocatechumenal Way.
Q: What is your favorite past time?
A: Being with my family.
Q: In today’s world, a call to celibacy is seen as radical, if not impossible. How have you reconciled the priesthood’s call to celibacy with this challenging cultural perspective
A: The way I’ve reconciled priestly celibacy is to live my life different from that of a married man so that I can fully give myself to Christ and, consequently, to the service of others. Contradiction from our society will always be there against celibacy, but we Catholics must be ready and have a firm attitude to defend it against the new currents of society that disregard priestly celibacy.
Q: How do you feel about this step in your priesthood formation of being ordained to the diaconate?
A: I feel very excited about it, but I step forward into it with the conviction that it is the Lord who has called me and that he is the one who is going to give me the graces necessary to give my life totally to the Church, God’s people.
