c at h o l i c pa r i s h
Getting to
Know our Shepherd
Fr. Jerry Volz
F
or over a year, our parish family has been abundantly blessed by the presence of Fr. Jerry Volz. His devotion to Our Lord in the Eucharist is deeply inspiring, and his wise, generous heart touches us all. Since he was ordained on June 20, 1992, Fr. Jerry has given his time and talent as a priest in amazing ways, such as by serving in Lawrence at the St. Lawrence Catholic Center at the University of Kansas; as chaplain of St. Thomas Aquinas High School and Associate Pastor at Prince of Peace in Olathe; as Director of the Didde Catholic Campus Center at Emporia State; and, finally, as Pastor of St. Matthew in Topeka and Pastor of Prince of Peace in Olathe. We feel honored to have him as our Pastor, and are grateful for the spiritual graces he has brought into our parish community. Out of a desire to get to know him better, we recently interviewed him, asking him the following questions:
so that we could attend Catholic schools, thus we lived very simply — we vacationed little and enjoyed leftovers and hand-me-downs.
What would you like to share about where you grew up, and what your family was like? I grew up in Topeka as the youngest of five children. Our Catholic faith was very important in our home, but we prayed and were frequently involved in our parish community and the Catholic schools we attended as well. Our parents sacrificed much
Where did you go to seminary, and what did you enjoy studying there? I began seminary my junior year of college at Conception Seminary College in Missouri and then studied for four years at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Ill. I always enjoyed studying psychology and the social sciences, as well as the liturgy.
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Please tell us a little bit about your call to the priesthood. How did you first sense the call, and how did you move forward with your discernment? Since Catholicism surrounded me, I always knew about the Church, but I came to know Jesus more in the midst of my struggles with self-knowledge as well as when I witnessed my father’s health decline. When I turned to Jesus for strength and understanding, as well as to the Church community, I began to desire to return all of the blessings I had received from others back to the Church. When my father died when I was only 18, I acknowledged that worldly success could not compare with doing something for God and His Church.
You have made adoration a priority at the parish. Why do you believe it is so important to be committed to adoration at this time in the world and in the Church? I have not really made it a priority. I would like to see more opportunities for adoration and will encourage more people to make adoration a priority in their week. We all can benefit by spending more time in private prayer before our Lord in the Eucharist. We all need more quiet time to listen to Jesus, who is always trying to speak to us through the Spirit. He delivers a peace in our hearts and loves us as we spend time with Him. continued on page 5
