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Year for Priests: Reflecting on vocation, ministry

Name: Fr. Merlin J. Schrad

Birth date: June 28, 1951

Hometown: Templeton, Iowa

Education: Sacred Heart, Templeton 1965; Kuemper HS 1969; Loras College: BA in History with Secondary Education Degree – 1973; St Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore Maryland – Master of Divinity Degree 1977; Creighton University 1981; Masters in Secondary Administration

Ordination: Sacred Heart in Templeton on May 6, 1977

Current assignment: Pastor, Blessed Sacrament, Sioux City, Iowa

Hobbies/Interest: Watching high school sporting events, sitting along the river or lake listening to the sounds of nature, greeting the students each morning as they come to school.

Describe your call to the priesthood. I don’t think it was very unusual. While I was growing up I loved to go to mass and just watch the priest offer mass. I often had the feeling that I would like to do that someday. It always gave me a sense of peace being in the church.

Inspiration: While I was growing up in Templeton, we were blessed with assistant priests teaching at Kuemper, so there was always a priest figure present, either the pastor or the assistant at the parish or at Kuemper. I was also blessed by having the Franciscan Sisters teaching in the grade and high school. Both groups were great examples to me. Also both sides of my family, the Heithoff side and the Schrad side, were committed to the Catholic faith. Many of our family activities included prayer, Mass or things that made us realize our blessings. Both of my parents were strong in their belief of the Catholic faith and set a positive example to me.

Difficulty: The decision to be a priest was not difficult for me. I thought about it since I was in the 4th grade. I went to visit the Divine Word Missionary for a weekend during my junior high days and kept in contact with people that supported my decision. My classmates both at Kuemper and at Loras supported my decision and never made fun of me or discouraged me. The same can be said of the Templeton Community. There was always support from them.

I enjoy most: Offering the Mass is the thing I like most about the priesthood. My parish is my family and as we gather for Mass it gives me a chance to catch up on what is going on in their lives or hurts they are enduring.

Special devotions: I love to say the rosary while I am driving and I enjoy the peace of just sitting in the church, alone and in the dark, sensing the presence of the Lord

I find it worthy: There are so many things a person can do to help someone else. In both joyous and sad occasions people often need people and I have been blessed to be there for others. Miracles are happening around us all the time and as a priest I have been fortunate to see them. We can often get so busy in our day to day business that we fail to see the hand of God working in our midst.

Tell someone thinking of priesthood: Be open to the spirit. If you have a question, ask a priest. Don’t be afraid to think about the possibility of being a priest. We are all different and we all have different talents – so there is a place for you.