Meet Father James Valenzuela

Interviewed by Jessica Pohlman

What inspired you to become a priest? The seeds of my faith were sowed by my parents and family. I was taught early that Church was an important part of life. I came to understand how important my faith is as I continued to mature as a person. From there, the interaction with my close friends, priest mentors, and the faithful guided me in the process of discernment to become a priest.

What was your hometown, collage/university attended? I consider my hometown the Tallahassee area, where memory begins. There I attended Leon High School and received my degree of Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and Economics from the Florida State University.

At what age did you know that you were destined to be a priest? I only seriously considered a vocation to the priesthood during my last year of college, when I was 20 years old. Then sometime during the process of formation I had the conviction that God was calling me to be a priest. I joke that because I had never been an altar server nor attended Catholic school that it is all catching up to me.

What is the most rewarding feeling about being a priest? Important to my vocation to the priesthood is the continuous call to excellence. It is the people that I encounter daily that encourage me to grow in holiness. Being a priest makes me a better man.

What is the most interesting experience you have had while being a priest? I can name a number of incredible moments as a priest: hearing my first confession, presiding at the marriage of my younger brother, baptizing my nieces and nephews. As you might imagine, my high school ten year reunion was interesting. The great challenge and blessing in my life now is in the administration of Holy Spirit Parish in Perdido.

Meet Father Matthew Worthen

What inspired you to become a priest?
You might say that my vocation was, in many ways, inspired by my community in college: the priests (Msgr. Crawford, Fr. Mike Flynn, Msgr. Tugwell, Msgr. Bill Kerr), the Brothers of Hope who ran the campus ministry, and my many friends from the Catholic Student Union at Florida State University. In a very concrete way, Christ called me to the priesthood through the very real people and situations in which He placed me. If I had not had this experience, or had not been aware that Christ was coming to me through these people and circumstances, then I am certain I never would have been a priest.

What was your hometown, collage/university attended?
I wouldn’t really say that I have a “hometown.” I was born in Jackson, TN, and most of my family is from Memphis, TN. That being said, I’ve never actually lived in the same place for more than four consecutive years. Growing up we moved around quite a bit until my father retired from the Navy. My last three years of high school I lived in Jacksonville, FL, and after graduating I attended the Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL. Since college, I’ve always considered Tallahassee to be my home, but now that I’m in Pensacola, I still feel at home.

At what age did you know that you were destined to be a priest?
I knew I was destined to be a priest at the age of 26, two years before I was ordained a priest. I’ve heard stories of priests knowing that they were called to be priests when they were like 5 years old. That certainly was not me! I didn’t even seriously consider it until I was in college. In fact, I didn’t even practice my faith really until I was in college. For most of my life the Catholic church was something I only experienced on Christmas and Easter, if my grandparents happened to be in town and my parents made me go. So, naturally the priesthood was something that I never thought of.

What is the most rewarding feeling about being a priest?
This is a tough question to answer, because there are so many rewarding aspects to being a priest, even if they don’t always “feel” that way. First are foremost I would have to say celebrating the Sacraments: Mass (every day), Confessions, Anointing of the Sick, witnessing Marriages. These are all powerful opportunities as a priest to encounter Christ is a very real way, but also to encounter my people in some of the most beautiful and some of the most difficult moments in their lives. Also, to live the reality of the Sacrament of Holy Orders is very rewarding: to be, in my person, a mediator between God and people is an overwhelming and humbling reality. As one priest I know likes to say (and my experience confirms this): “EVERYTHING is better when you’re a priest…except sin.”

The Altar of St. Leo the Great

What is the most interesting experience you have had while being a priest?
There are so many: seeing people truly healed of the burden of sin when they take the Sacrament of Reconciliation seriously, seeing people miraculously and inexplicably healed after receiving the Sacrament of Anointing when the doctors said they were certainly going to die, being with parents when they must face the death of their own child, celebrating Mass with Pope Benedict XVI, being saluted by the Swiss Guard, celebrating Mass at the tomb of St. Leo the Great (in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome) and at the crypt altar in front of the bones of St Ambrose (Basilica of St. Ambrose in Milan, Italy). I was also recently asked to offer the Opening Prayer for the rally hosted by Gov. Mitt Romney.  One of the greatest things about being a priest is that you never quite know what type of situation you will find yourself in.  Every day brings a new adventure, and I love that surprise.  My work is never boring.

Meet Father Michael Nixon

Interviewed by Jessica Pohlman

What inspired you to become a priest?
I first thought about being a priest when I was in 5th grade. I read a book about the great priest St. John Bosco and was inspired.  As I got older, I was always encouraged by the example of the good priests that I knew and a desire to live for something more than myself.

What age did you know that you were destined to be a priest?
My junior year at Florida State University (FSU) is when I began to seriously discern a call to the priesthood. I had been growing in my relationship with Christ, making daily Mass, regular adoration, and Bible study a normal part of my college life. I had lots of great friends in the Catholic Student Union at FSU who were also pursuing holiness, in addition to a wonderful girlfriend, who I had been dating for a year. Because I had the sense that God was calling me to take a deeper look at a celibate vocation, we broke up so I could discern full time. After that year, I kept feeling that God was inviting me further and was able to respond by saying yes. I always liken the experience of following my vocation to that of falling in love: you have the attraction, you pursue and spend time with that person, and then, as you get to know each other, you find “my life makes sense when I am with this person. I am more myself–happier, freer, holier.” That’s how it was as I began my discernment of God’s call to the priesthood.

What is the most rewarding feeling about being a priest?
I love celebrating the Sacraments! Baptizing babies-my first baptism was my niece Angelina; hearing Confessions; celebrating the Holy Eucharist; witnessing Marriage–my first marriage was that of my younger brother, Titus, and his wife, Colleen, two weeks after I was ordained a priest; and bringing God’s healing in the Anointing of the Sick. These are all the amazing moments that I get to experience on a regular basis. What most people experience in a lifetime, a priest can experience in a day.

What is the most interesting experience you have had while being a priest?
Definitely traveling and serving in missions. I have been blessed to visit Kenya and China as a priest.  Celebrating the Sacraments in those very far away lands helps me to realize the universality of our faith. I was also blessed to spend time in orphanages in both Kenya and China.  The one in Kenya was for girls who were HIV-positive and was run by a group of religious Sisters. It was such a special place, filled with so much love in the midst of a lot of suffering, and I was so blessed to be able to celebrate Mass for the girls in their chapel. God’s love is so incredible, and I am blessed to be able to share that love with His Church.

What college/university did you attend?
I grew up in Hawaii and moved to Tallahassee right before high school. I attended Leon High School in Tallahassee and FSU, where I received a B. A. in History. Florida State is where I began to seriously discern a call to the priesthood.

Meet Father Paul Lambert

Interviewed by Jessica Pohlman

What inspired you to become a priest?
There are two priests that stand out as figures who helped me discern my call to the priesthood.
Msgr. C. Slade Crawford taught me that the priesthood was nothing short of sacrifice upon the cross. He inspired myself and others to accept the priesthood as a way to live radically the Gospel call. The other, Fr. Michael Flynn, taught me that priests are truly human beings that struggle with our lives. He gave me the confidence to seek a vocation regardless of how unworthy I felt.

What age did you know that you were destined to be a priest?
I was at the age of 20 when I really took seriously the fact I was being called to be a priest.

 What is the most rewarding feeling about being a priest?
I am invited on a constant basis into the very personal lives of people. I am invited into the great joys and the great sorrows. As I witness Christ’s presence among them, I see Christ working in their lives. I experience this at Mass, in the confessional, on sick calls, and in parish hall receptions.

What is the most interesting experience you have had while being a priest?
I remember the first time hearing the confession of a fellow priest during my first year as a priest. What a humbling experience to have someone that really is my senior show such humility.
He inspired me to hold onto humility as a way to keep myself united with Christ who did not shy
away from humiliation.

What was your hometown and college/university attended?
I was born in Port Jefferson, New York, which is located on Long Island. I attended school through 5^th grade in New York and then attended middle and high school in the Tampa Bay area when we moved there. I attended Florida State University.