News

New priest said friendship started vocation

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

Fr. Ben Sember does not remember "the exact moment when I started to think about the priesthood."

Instead he says that it was his family's involvement with the Catholic church that drew him to the seminary and his ordination to the priesthood on June 30. He and his twin brother, Joel, were ordained at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, along with Fr. Andrew Kysely.

	Related articles in this issue: • Bridging the Gap by Bishop Zubik -- For them, we are grateful • Three join order of priesthood at Cathedral (includes photo) • New priest considered vocation at young age (Fr. Kysely) • Why I want to be a priest (Fr. Ben Sember) • New priest ready to let God work (Fr. Joel Sember)
	Previous articles: from June 22, 2007 issue: • Bishop to ordain three from August 25, 2006 issue: • Three take next step on path (includes photo) August 11, 2006 issue: • Three seminarians will be ordained as deacons (includes photos of the three men) April 29, 2005 issue: • 'Like a herd of sheep, all hungry for pasture' (by Ben Sember) • Smoke became the main topic in Rome (by Joel Sember) April 15, 2005 issue: • Seminarians among faithful to mourn pope June 25, 2004 issue: • Celibacy is a great treasure for the church and for others (by Ben Sember) January 9, 2004 issue: • How one person made a difference for a seminarian August 9, 2002 issue: • 'Seeing the pope was best part of whole trip' (by Joel Sember) January 11, 2002 issue: • How Scripture guides our seminarians April 13, 2001 issue: • 'I had to check priesthood' (Ben Sember) December 8, 2000 issue: • Sacraments attract seminarian (Joel Sember)

The twins had been raised Protestant, though their father was Catholic. When Ben and Joel were 12, the family joined the Catholic Church. Before long, their father was sacristan at the parish and his sons were altar servers. The pastor was a frequent family visitor.

"I think that was the start of it," Fr. Ben said of his vocation, "the friendship of the priest."

As he got to witness priesthood in action, especially as an altar server, Ben grew to appreciate being part of the celebration of the Mass. He also noticed a difference between the Catholic approach to faith and the Protestant approach.

"It's not just that Catholics talked about Mary more often," he said, with a chuckle. "The whole approach was different."

And that approach - that importance of a deep-seated belief in all aspects of faith and not just a personal relationship with Jesus - was most apparent to the young Sember at Communion.

"In the Lutheran church, we received Communion, but it wasn't as significant," he said. "In the Catholic church, you took it more personally and it transformed you personally."

Today, as he reflects on his faith, the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation touch him most personally:

• "Eucharist gives that sense of sharing in the life of Christ more deeply than just hearing the Word, but also sharing in the Body of Christ.
  
  
• "In Confession, you have the sense that it touches you personally, transforms you personally."

That sense of sharing the faith also helps him when things get tough. This is especially apparent to him in:

• The friendships with other seminarians and priests that "help you keep your perspective;" and
  
  
• In prayer - especially the Scripture and time in front of the tabernacle. He said prayer "is absolutely essential to stay connected to Christ;"

Fr. Ben said that having his brother, Joel, with him through the years of seminary "has been very good." But he sometimes wishes people would take the time to get to know each of them as separate individuals instead of just "the twins."

This fall, Fr. Ben will return to Rome - where he has been studying at the Pontifical North American College for the past three years - to complete his training in canon law.

Fr. Ben said he appreciates the sense of history in Rome, where many churches are built over the graves of early saints and trace back to the very foundations of the church. He said the history he finds in Rome gives him a sense that "the church actually touches the lives of the apostles," especially Peter and Paul.

While northeast Wisconsin - where he did his seminarian pastoral work at Holy Family Parish in Brillion and Sacred Heart Parish in Oshkosh - lacks the same historical roots, Fr. Ben recognizes that faith here runs very deep as well. "Faith in Wisconsin," he said, "is part of the soil, part of the lives of the people."

(For the summer, Fr. Ben will serve at St. Rose Parish in Clintonville, St. Mary Parish in Bear Creek and St. Joseph Parish in Wautoma. He will also serve in the diocesan marriage Tribunal.)