Dear friends at Our Lady of Mercy,
What a gift it has been assigned to Our Lady of Mercy. In only six months this parish has helped me instrumentally in my formation to the priesthood. I am so grateful for all your love, support, and generosity. I am going to spend a little time now discussing my life in the seminary, so you all have another opportunity to learn more about me.
Firstly, the Lord is never outdone in generosity. I give him absolute praise and thanksgiving every day for everything he does in my life. Accepting the call to enter into the seminary and becoming his priest has been one of the greatest graces God has given me. It has been an incredible adventure thus far, and it will only get better throughout the rest of my life. So please, open your heart to doing the Lord’s will. Open your hearts to a vocation to the priesthood or religious life. He will never let you down. He is so good to us. I am the happiest I have ever been in my life.
The seminary has given me an incredible education over the past several years. I have studied under well respected scholars who publish much of their own work. They make sure their priests are well versed in the teachings of the Church, and how to communicate those teachings to parishioners. Our class material is rich with incredible insight and knowledge with Jesus Christ at the center of it all. One of the greatest things I have ever learned in my classes that I desire to share with you all is that Christianity is the only religion where God is seeking you. Our faith is not about man’s search for God; rather, it’s about his search for us. This means all we have to do is open our hearts and let Jesus find us.
Another important aspect of my life in the seminary is my fraternity with my brothers. In the seminary, we call each other brothers because when we are ordained, we will be entering into a brotherhood in Christ. It was not until I entered the seminary, I experienced authentic brotherly love. These are incredibly deep friendships that find their root in Jesus Christ. We hold one another accountable to live a life of virtue. We learn how to communicate the things going on in our hearts to one another. We assure each other that we are never alone, and that we will always be there for each other. However, the greatest thing we do is pray together. My closest brothers in the seminary and I wake up every morning and pray the Liturgy of the Hours and then a Holy Hour before Our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist. It is only through Christ and our prayer with him that our brotherhood will truly be strengthened.
Lastly, the greatest aspect of seminary is the ability to grow in such a deep relationship with Jesus. Over the past several years, I have gone through several silent retreats, including a thirty-day silent retreat where I had encountered Jesus deeply. It has been through these opportunities of solitude and silence I have gotten to know the one who loves us most in a deeper way. He has shown me who I really am, and who he has made me to be. He has blessed me with incredible healing and freedom from many wounds from the past, and he has filled these areas with his love and mercy. It is remarkable how much he loves us. This is my motivation to be a priest, to share the love of Jesus. So many people go throughout their lives without ever discovering their profound love and goodness. I have had a taste of it, and part of my longing for more of it, is to bring others into the love as well. There is no greater thing than the love of Jesus. He thirsts for us, and after we drink a little from his fountain, we will thirst for him too.
Peace,
Luke Lato
Seminarian (Configuration 1 — Mundelein Seminary)
Archdiocese of Chicago
ChicagoPriest.com