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Year for Priests: Reflecting on vocation, ministry

Name: Father Dan Greving
 
Birth date including year: December 3, 1960
 
Hometown: Willey, Iowa
 
Education: Carroll Kuemper Catholic (High School); Franciscan University of Steubenville (College); St. Joseph Seminary, Dunwoodie - Yonkers, NY (Major Seminary)
 
Ordination date: June 7, 1997
 
Current assignment: Our Lady of the Assumption, Merrill; St Joseph, Ellendale; St. Joseph, Neptune; St. Joseph, Struble.
 
Hobbies/interests: I enjoy the outdoors a great deal...particularly nature walks and bass fishing. I do enjoy a little cooking as well.
 
Describe your call to priesthood. Beginning at a young age, many seeds were planted by priests and sisters and especially my parents, that priesthood should always be a consideration when it came to a vocational choice. The desire for priesthood was not strong growing up, but when I became an adult, the desire became much stronger, to a point where I could honestly pray without reservation, ‘Lord, what do you want for my life?’ The answer came in a slow, gentle, yet persistent and clear calling from God – not an audible voice, but in the form of a desire to serve God as a priest.
 
Did anyone or anything provide you with inspiration to follow the call to priesthood? Yes, priests and sisters and family. My parents were particularly inspirational. I’m the youngest of nine children and I continue to be in awe of the sacrifices my parents made in raising us kids in a good Catholic home. I vividly recall shortly before I graduated from high school, my dad saying something to the effect, “If you might have a calling to the priesthood, mom and I will support you." His “unpopular” words fell on deaf ears at the time, but he said them nonetheless, and years later when I entered the seminary, knowing of my parents support was very important to me.
 
Was it a difficult decision to make? It wasn’t difficult to make, but I will say it was difficult to stay the course. I wanted to bail out of the seminary plenty of times.
 
What do you enjoy most about being a priest? Mostly, it is the day to day privileged presence in the lives of ordinary people – being Christ’s presence among them in their joys and sorrows. Offering daily the Holy Mass and administering the other sacraments is at the heart of that presence.
 
Are there any particular devotions or prayers that are dear to your heart? The Divine Office is so rich in meaning. Praying the Office provides the spiritual backbone of my day. I have always had a devotion to the Blessed Mother and continue to pray the rosary daily.
 
Why do you find priesthood to be a worthy vocation? A seminary professor of mine once used the analogy that God’s grace working through the priest is like “clean water coming through a rusty pipe.” None of us is worthy, but in the mysterious way of his mercy, God makes us worthy. Through the power and gift of ordination, I preach the Gospel and administer the sacraments, which are nothing less than encounters with God and have a profound effect on people’s lives. Priesthood is truly a worthy vocation. Look at what God can do with a rusty pipe.
 
What would you say to a young man considering a vocation to the priesthood? Don’t let anyone tell you to become a priest. Ask the Lord about it in prayer. Work hard and trust that God has your best interest in mind. You may also want to talk to your pastor or the diocesan vocation director, Father Brad Pelzel who will guide and direct you.