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Year for Priests: Reflecting on vocation, ministry

Name: Father Brent Lingle

Birth date: Nov. 2, 1980

Hometown: North Sioux City, SD; Sacred Heart, Sioux City

Education: Dakota Valley High School, 1999; Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary/Saint Mary’s University (1999-2003) with a BA in Philosophy with a minor in Spanish; Language Studies at El Seminario Hispano de Santa Maria de Guadalupe in Mexico City, Mexico; Saint Meinrad Seminary (2003-2007) with an M.Div.

Ordination: June 16, 2007

Current assignment: Cathedral of the Epiphany

Hobbies/interests: I love working with, studying and reading about the Sacred Liturgy. I enjoy the outdoors – doing things such as fishing, camping, working outside, completely renovating a house my brother and I own together and spending time with my family.

Describe your call to priesthood. I first felt called to the priesthood when I was really young, around second grade and felt the call very strongly when I was in high school. I wasn’t sure if it was real or if I was just crazy but I attended a Project Andrew dinner at the Cathedral and decided that this call was normal and that gave me the opportunity to discern my vocation in a real way.

Did anyone or anything provide you with inspiration to follow the call to priesthood? My biggest inspirations to the priesthood were the priests that have served Sacred Heart, especially Father Jim Bruch, Father Bruce Lawler and Father Brian Hughes. I also have a third cousin who is a priest in the Diocese of Sioux Falls, Father Joseph Holzhauser. Having a priest in the family helped show me that it was “normal.”

Was it a difficult decision to make? Not at all. Once I decided that I should explore the possibility in a real way rather than just wonder about it, God took it from there.

What do you enjoy most about being a priest? I love celebrating the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and anything that has to do with the Sacred Liturgy.

What do you enjoy most about being a priest? The Liturgy of the Hours & Eucharistic Adoration.

Why do you find the priesthood to be a worthy vocation? It’s a worthy vocation because it’s from God and not from me. I find it amazing to be able to witness God’s grace alive and active in people’s lives and realize that I am just a small part of that.

What would you say to a young man considering a vocation to the priesthood? If you feel a call or an attraction to the priesthood, find a priest that you trust to talk to about it. They’ve all been there at one time or another and can offer some wonderful direction and guidance. Go to the seminary, try it out and most of all, trust in God.