A
time to celebrate!
Deacon Paul D. Timmerman
prepares for ordination to priesthood
Rev. Mr. Paul D. Timmerman, a
seminarian for the Diocese of New Ulm, will be ordained to the Holy Order of
Priesthood on
He is the son of Dennis and
Shirley Timmermann of
“Discerning God’s will for
our lives is not an easy task,” commented Fr. Todd Petersen, diocesan Director
of Vocations. “It takes intense prayer and immense support from not only
family, but also friends, parishioners, priests and religious.”
Following, in his own words,
Deacon Timmerman reflects on the journey of his priestly discernment and how he
found a “sense of peace”. . . . . his vocation story.
“My parents have always had a strong influence on
me, especially spiritually. They pray together every morning, and often when I
was getting up Dad would already be at the breakfast table reading the Bible.
Mom and Dad always stressed the importance of prayer by asking my siblings and
me if we had said our personal prayers before we got going in the morning. To
this day, Dad still reminds me to pray.
I went on a TEC retreat
(Teens Encountering Christ) as soon as I could after turning the required age
of 16. Everyone in my family had gone to it and had seemed to enjoy it. Before
I went to TEC, my attitude was that I should be able to have my fun now, and
after college I would become Christian and live for God. After TEC, I changed
my mind and realized that personal prayer was something that I should be doing
daily.
It was also about this time
that I started Confirmation class taught by my pastor, Fr. Paul van de Crommert. We had weekly essays and tests on the Catechism,
and we even had to take notes on Sunday homilies! In one of these essays we had
to write what we thought our vocation was and why. We could not simply write
that we thought we were called to marriage because we found the opposite sex
attractive – we needed a better reason than that. This was the first time that
I really thought about the priesthood, even though I believed I was called to
be married, have children, a dog, an office job – the
whole typical American thing.
At the end of the essay I
wrote that I would be open to God if He called me to the priesthood, but
really, what would be the chance that He would do so?
During my junior year of high
school, I received a personal note from my pastor. In it he said he noticed
certain talents and qualities in me that would make a good priest, and he asked
me to think about the possibility. This blew me away! My pastor also explained
what a vocation was and how he heard and experienced his own calling.
That summer I had to begin to
consider where I was going to college and what I was going to do in life. Now I
was also confronted
with this whole "priest thing" and what God
wanted for me.
Before Mass one Sunday
morning, I asked God – if he wanted me to become a priest – to give me a sign
at that Mass! It didn’t have to be a big sign, but something that I would know
was for me.
The very first song at Mass
was "Here I Am" – a song that almost chokes me up because it is about
totally following God’s will and being his servant. This was my sign!
But wait. What if it was only
coincidence? A French philosopher once said that ‘a coincidence is an event in
which God chooses to remain anonymous.’
What followed seemed like a
series of coincidences: The next Sunday, another sign. This time it was
"The Servant Song" – same theme and same reaction. I was touched.
Then came the ultimate coincidence
– the third Sunday a parishioner hinted that I should think about becoming a
priest. I knew that these events were not coincidences but signs from God!
At first I thought what most
seniors in high school might think – "I am doomed to be a priest!" As
if this vocation was not good enough for me! Now I am much more humbled about
the thought of being a priest. I decided to visit St. John Vianney
college seminary in
Even though I believed God
was calling me to the priesthood, I was struggling with some of the truths of
the faith. During my second semester at St. John Vianney
I had two theology classes, one with Father Baer and the other with Bishop
Campbell, both of whom were pastors at the time. These two courses had a
profound effect on me, setting me firm in my faith and making me proud to be
Catholic. I wondered how others could not be Catholic! I felt the need to tell
everyone what the Catholic Church really believes, and I wanted to help them
get rid of all their misconceptions. Another major factor in my life was coming
to believe in and experience the real presence of Jesus Christ in the
Eucharist. On Thursdays, the seminary had Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
all day, and each seminarian was asked to spend a half hour in prayer. At first
during Exposition I prayed just as the father of the sick boy in the Gospel of
St. Mark did, "Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief." After much
prayer and a homily given by one of the priests, I realized that Jesus really
meant it when he said, "This is my body … this is my blood."
I went through college
seminary loving every moment of it. That sense of peace I found, in realizing
that indeed God was calling me to be a priest, continues as I prepare for
priesthood at the Josephinum. I was ordained a deacon
last year and had a wonderful experience of serving in the New Ulm diocese and,
with God’s grace, I look forward to being ordained a priest for the Roman
Catholic Church on May 26, 2007.