In times when we read a lot about the shortage of vocations in the Catholic Church one Milwaukee family is definitely doing their part. Three brothers, Vincent, Luke and Jacob, are all studying to become priests, says Greater Milwaukee Today.
“I very much fell in love with the church. I think the Catholic Church is beautiful,” Luke Strand, 27, said. “In a time when there is a lot of skepticism about the Catholic Church, I feel called to share the joys she brings to the world.”
Growing up, the three brothers considered themselves religious but never seriously considered becoming priests. “Our journeys are all very unique and each of us have our own gifts to offer the church,” Luke Strand said.
Vincent Strand, S.J., 25, was a student at Marquette University studying biological sciences and theology when he began to feel that God was calling him. He said that he began to spend time with people from the Society of Jesus, also called Jesuits.
“I really became convinced that God was calling me to be a Jesuit. I really thought he was asking me to do it personally,” Vincent Strand said. “The call was not vague or abstract, it felt very concrete to me and that Jesus was speaking directly to my heart.”
In December 2004, he began to apply for admittance to start the novitiate process with the Jesuits. He is currently in New York City striving for a master’s degree in philosophy as part of his education process in the Society of Jesus.
“There was just tremendous peace, joy and freedom,” he said about pursuing God’s calling.
Jacob Strand, 22, said he started to think about becoming a priest while a senior at Kettle Moraine High School. After completing two years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, the desire became stronger. “This began to occupy a larger area of my life,” he said.
Jacob Strand thought going to seminary might help him discern better what he wanted to do with his life. “When I began to look into this more closely, there was a strong sense of peace and that I was fulfilling what God wanted for me,” he said.
In fall 2006, Jacob Strand entered seminary through the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, but because Milwaukee doesn’t have a college seminary, he is at St. Joseph College Seminary in Chicago.
Luke Strand, the oldest and first brother to chose the life of a priest, said he never considered becoming a priest while growing up. He said as a college student at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, he wanted a degree in marketing, to have a large Catholic family and to make money.
But those expectations began to change.
“I had some experiences that really led me to moments of conversion,” Luke Strand said.
He said he started to frequent the Newman Center chapel and to help at a homeless shelter, Father Carr’s Place 2B.
“As I continued this journey, priesthood began to seem like something God was calling me to – something that God was putting in the forefront of my mind,” he said.
Luke Strand is currently studying at the St. Francis Seminary, where he will be ordained a deacon this May and a priest in May 2009.
It hasn’t always been easy for the friends and family of the Strand brothers to understand their decisions but the family has been supportive.
Their dad, Jerry Strand, admits it’s been difficult to accept their decisions at times. “As parents, you always raise your kids to be independent and sometimes to take the road less traveled,” he said. “We just didn’t think all three would make this decision.”
Jerry Strand and his wife, Bernadette, have realized how happy their sons’ chosen vocations have made them.
“You get behind them and you give up personal selfishness,” Jerry Strand said. “We’re just happy that our boys are able to make tough decisions.”
The future of the Catholic Church
The Strand brothers see a vibrant future for the Catholic Church despite reports of its demise. “The church is certainly going through the healing process and through this process it will become stronger,” Jacob Strand said. “Now I think there is even a renewed sense of integrity and there’s a renewed sense of hope.”
Vincent Strand said that when he saw the Catholic Church in need, he wanted to help. “I think there is a great wave of young people who are zealous for the Catholic Church,” Vincent Strand said.
Luke Strand agreed. “People are searching for truth, and I think that search for the truth has led a lot of young people to the church, to priesthood and to religious life,” he said.
Luke Strand feels optimistic. “I think there’s something really great happening in the the church and it’s exciting to be a part of it,” he said.
The Strands are definitely doing their part. Thank God for men like these. They may help to save the Church yet.
March 31, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Great story. Gives us all hope.
March 31, 2008 at 7:02 pm
I hope the three Strand brothers will work for the justice that Jesus talked about and push for the ordination of women. The article leaves out the many women who are called to the priesthood and are ready to serve the church; however, they are rejected soley because of their gender. The Vatican Biblical Commission in the 1970’s found that there is not any scriptural evidence to prevent women from being priests. May the Strand brothers consider what it means to join an organization that rejects their sisters because of anatomy and what their moral responsibility is as active particpants in this unjust church structure.
March 31, 2008 at 9:09 pm
What? Are we Protestants? “No scriptural evidence?” We’re Catholics.
March 31, 2008 at 9:14 pm
2nd anonymous,
Ordination is not a right. It is a sacrament of the Church coming out of a Tradition grounded in Christ. You don’t need “scriptural evidence to prevent women from being priests” in order to continue the tradition of the all-male priesthood that predates Christ. You’d have to show me where Christ transformed the priesthood from all-male to both genders if you ever want to convince me that the Church has it wrong. (Even then, I’d probably still trust the Magisterium’s take on it over the evidence that you alone would produce.)
I hope the Strand brothers recognize their call to the priesthood as one of service, not as a leg up in this world that everyone should have a shot at. God bless them and you.
March 31, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Thank you Jesuit John. I was working on a response but I think you said it best.
April 1, 2008 at 12:04 am
In Old Testament times women were definitely second-rank in religion. Since women were not circumcised, they did not personally become members of the Covenant. They could not present their own sacrifices. They were always subject to men, also in religious matters.
Jesus Christ changed all that.
Each woman who is baptized becomes another Christ, just as a man is.
“All who are baptised in Christ, have put on Christ.There is no longer any discrimination between Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female.” Galatians 3,28
Every baptised woman shares fully in Christ’s priesthood, kingship and prophetic mission.
Baptism implies a fundamental openness to all the sacraments, including the ministerial priesthood.
Humans have corrupted the spirit of Jesus’ teachings. Canon Law 1024needs to be changed – not scripture – which says any baptized man is eligible for priesthood to any baptized person is eligible for priesthood. These are laws made by man not God.
April 1, 2008 at 1:08 am
Long Island also had 3 brothers that became priests – the Pilsner brothers.
April 1, 2008 at 1:20 am
I think the translation you give to Galatians 3:28 is the reason you misunderstand it. A more literal translation follows: 26 for you are all sons of God through the faith in Christ Jesus,
27 for as many as were baptized in Christ did put on Christ;
28 there is not here Jew or Greek, there is not here servant nor freeman, there is not here male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus;
29 and if you are of Christ then of Abraham you are seed, and according to promise — heirs.
Paul’s point is certainly not to say there are no differences in ministerial possibilities! He is talking about our unity in Christ and therefore our reception of salvation as promised.
I encourage you to read more on this ( here for starters) and I’ll keep you in my prayers.
August 24, 2008 at 5:53 pm
I went to UWL with Jacob…I remember countless nights of him trying to figure out what he was to do with his life…many great conversations came from those nights. He is an amazing speaker and very smart…I can’t wait for him to be ordained and to go to his church and hear him speak God’s word! 🙂
May 8, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Women priests are a theological impossibility. It will never happen in the Catholic Church. You may as well stop beating your head against the brick wall.