Joe Sund
College II
My name is Joseph Sund. My home parish is St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. I am the youngest child out of four of Jerome and Mary Jo Sund. I attended St. James/Seton grade school, Creighton Prep for two years, and graduated from Omaha Northwest in 2005. I attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha three years with a major of Management of Information Systems before entering seminary.
My call to the priesthood began at the end of my freshman year of college at UNO. I attended a TEC retreat after not being very active in my faith for my entire first year of college. Through this retreat I realized that my Catholic faith is everything I need in my life. After this retreat, through the invitation of Fr. Walter Nolte, I was invited to volunteer in the Life Teen program at St. Elizabeth Ann. I have been a Core member in Youth Ministry there ever since. Through this ministry I repeatedly heard the call to discern the priesthood, but often would ignore it, telling God I had other plans. Finally in 2007, two nights before Christmas, following the youth group night I took the teens to the chapel for adoration. In a simple, listening adoration, I once again heard the call and allowed it to overtake me. I then consulted my parish priest and later the Vocation Director and began discerning God's plan for my life.
I am now attending Conception Seminary College in Missouri. I am both excited and honored to be a Seminarian for the Archdiocese of Omaha. The grace of God has become increasingly and beautifully evident throughout these beginnings of my discernment process.
All men should pray about God's plan for them in their life. If you feel the Lord calling you to become a priest, I suggest you contact Fr. Hoesing, our Vocations Director, as soon as you hear the call. Next, pray to our Lord daily for the graces and strength to make this decision. Most importantly, attend daily mass as often as possible, for it is in this sacrifice of the mass, that you will see what the call to priesthood is truly about.
