Dear Friend in Christ,

I want to tell what it’s like to move from if to hope.

I wasn’t sure about my vocation when I entered Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology (MTSM) in 2021. My father had passed away in 2019. I was with him when he died. Thanks be to God, he converted on his deathbed after decades of prayer from me and my family.

This powerful and transformational experience led to more than a year of deeper prayer and significant self-reflection. After much time in prayer, I knew I needed to explore the possibility of becoming a priest.

At the age of 33, I entered the Seminary. Not because I knew I was called to the priesthood, but because I needed to know if I was called to the priesthood.

My view of the Church started to expand at MTSM. What the Seminary does exceptionally well is form seminarians to live lives of prayer and cultivate a deep openness to the Holy Spirit.

I discovered a treasure trove of gifts within the Church that I never knew existed. I dove into the Church’s life of prayer, specifically the Liturgy of the Hours. Reading profound writings for class didn’t feel like homework; it felt like deep spiritual enrichment. One day at a time, the Holy Spirit changed me.

When you donate to MTSM, you help give me and my brother seminarians the time we need to discern God’s call for our lives.

A year later, my prayer changed.

I found I stopped asking God if I was being called to the priesthood. I started telling Him, “I hope I am called to the priesthood.” 

The impact of MTSM’s formation does not stay just with us individually, you witness it in our parishes, our Catholic schools and in the larger community.

Will you prayerfully consider joining a community of more than 1,000 people who support MTSM with a financial gift? Your financial support, and particularly your prayers, give us the time and space myself and my dozens of brother seminarians need to grow into men open to God’s calling for our lives.

Every seminarian’s journey is different. God calls us when He calls us. Some started hoping to be a priest at the age of six. It took me until I was 34.

God’s timing is never late, nor is it too short or too long. It’s exactly what we need. And at MTSM, every seminarian here needs your prayers and support, regardless if their prayer is one of if, or one of hope.

Today, you can ensure current and future MTSM seminarians have the space and time they need to grow in prayer and openness to the Holy Spirit. God is doing the work. Will you be part of it?

God Bless,

Charlie Wiedenmann
Seminarian, Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Thank you for supporting the seminarians studying for the priesthood at MTSM!