JOEL KOLB ACCEPTED INTO THE SEMINARY

Dear Friends:
Recently we received the good news that one of our own West Bend parish members has been accepted into formal studies for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.  Joel Kolb, son of Greg and Jan Kolb, will begin his studies very soon. He is now the second young man from our community in the seminary which is a great blessing.  
I asked Joel to say a few words by way of introduction and about what is next for him. Please keep him in your prayers.
 
“If man seeks God and wants to find him, if he desires a life of the most intimate union with him, silence is the most direct path and surest means of attaining it”
- Cardinal Robert Sarah.
 
Happy Sunday, Cabrini Family!  To most members of the parish, the past five years might have looked like my “silent years”, years in which I have been only visiting the parish occasionally due to living in the South and serving in the Navy. Or it’s possible the entirety of my life has been unbeknownst to you. In either case, I’d like to share a few words. In May, I will have completed my active duty service obligation in the Navy and will be returning home after a journey which has included exotic stops ranging from Montenegro and Dubai, to the ever exciting Pascagoula, Mississippi. The real adventure worth sharing, however, is my spiritual one.
 
Wii Sports, sheepshead, fantasy football - all of these were fun things I used to hold too dear to me (ask my family). In reality, they’re just different forms of noise. Shortly after graduating from Notre Dame and moving to Jacksonville, Florida, I moved from seeking noise to seeking silence. God has spoken to me profoundly in the moments of silence I have given him. Take ownership of  your faith. Share your faith. Forgo your healthy relationship. This is good, but I have more. Trust in the Spirit. Be at peace. Follow me. These laconic imperatives were revealed to me by the Spirit and grounded in silence, often in adoration. Why do we fall silent in adoration of the Eucharist? Because no words are adequate to describe the totality of Jesus presented under the veil of a simple host. Silence ensues, and we conform our will to his.
 
I have recently been accepted to Saint Francis de Sales Seminary, and I will begin a new stage of my discernment to the priesthood, one that began with a hesitant recognition of the calling in Fall of 2017. My life has been marked by greater silence and therefore greater vulnerability to Jesus animating my life. I’m a fellow pilgrim, and I have a long way to go. I ask for your prayers and I thank you all, especially my family, for laying the foundation for my humble, “yes.” I can’t wait to see where the Truth leads me. Saint Athanasius, pray for us!
 
-Joel Kolb