Dickinson native and diocesan seminarian Isaiah Jilek has spent his first year of study at St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C. He is among the 21 Bismarck Diocese men studying at seminaries in St. Paul, Denver, St. Louis and Rome.
“Being in D.C. has been a little bit of a culture shock,” Isaiah said. “I had been there before, but to be there again with the intent to make it home made it a struggle. The air was thick and heavy, the skyscrapers hid the horizon, and the city lights stole away the stars in the sky.”
Remarkably, Isaiah said it was a gift from God that made the adjustment to his new home a bit easier.
“He gave me a ‘gift’ one day. He had me walk past a dad who was blowing bubbles for his daughters on the campus lawn. And, God said to me, ‘See, there is joy here too.’ Since then, I began to enjoy it here.”
Other factors contributed to a smoother transition, he said. The presence of religious orders in D.C. was powerful and beautiful. To see monks and sisters pray with such a glow upon their face was inspiring. The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception down the block from the seminary, provided a great gift of being able to pray there whenever Our Lady calls. There are many opportunities and experiences in D.C. making him thankful, such as hiking mountains, visiting parishes and going to a Washington Nationals game.
“The North Dakotan accent and culture has been a fun topic of discussion among my fellow seminarians and me,” he added. “Saying ‘bag’ and ‘flag’ has been the source of many laughs. Since many on the East Coast have never been to the best diocese in the world, I have had the great gift of being able to tell stories about our great home,” quipped Isaiah.
Early influence
The young seminarian attended Trinity Catholic Schools which he says was essential to who he is today. He noted that it was, “my formation before seminary formation. It made me into the man ‘who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.’ (Luke 6:48).
“I would not be in the seminary today had it not been for my Catholic education. To see amazing teacher/student relationships taught me how to treat others and how to act as a role model. I was taught how to act with discipline, and to think about the consequences of my actions. And, the access to the chapel during my early schooling was life changing. If it had not been for that chapel I would not have gone to pray each day, and thus, would have been deaf to God’s call.”
Isaiah grew up as a member of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, first with Monsignor Jim Braaten and then Monsignor Patrick Schumacher as his pastors.
“Throughout my life, I have had excellent examples of priests,” Isaiah said. “Through them, I saw the beauty of the priesthood. I saw a humble power, a deep grace, like a stream in the woods, that runs silently, yet gives life to everything around it. A homily that Monsignor Braaten gave before I was in elementary school has stuck with me to this day, for it made me realize the awesome divinity of Jesus Christ. Then in 2015, Monsignor Schumacher renovated our church, and it is in that church that he taught me how to serve Mass well. And, from that, I fell in love with the liturgy. Seeing these two priests planted one of the first seeds of desire for priesthood in my soul.”
Hearing the call
It was during his junior year of high school when Isaiah first felt the call to the priesthood.
“Trinity had received Fr. Jordan Dosch as a chaplain, and he was my religion teacher,” Isaiah explained. “He taught us very well on why we believe what we believe. Thus, my faith was enkindled, and I felt a desire to spread the Truth that I had just learned. He also gave us the book,
Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves, to read as a class. I felt a great desire and attraction to the life of St. John Paul II.
“Then, one day, Fr. Dosch was gone and he had us watch the movie,
Karol: A Man Who Became Pope. It came to a scene that showed people having Mass in an attic during communist reign in Poland. Seeing the priest care for the people, I suddenly said with a desire that was not my own, ‘God, if you want me to be a priest, I will be a priest.’ Immediately, I felt a great peace wash over me.
“It was all through the grace of God. I wanted to turn away and run many times along the way. Satan tried to pull me away and say I would be happier elsewhere, and sometimes I listened. However, just as I was stubborn with God, He was stubborn with me, carrying me every step of the way saying, ‘NO! This is what I want you to do.’ Only when I stopped covering my ears did I hear him, and only then did I feel peace.”
In addition to the witness of a joy-filled priest in his school chaplain, Fr. Dosch, Isaiah said his parents were absolutely essential in fostering his vocation to the priesthood.
“They, too, helped place down a strong foundation for me to build upon. I confided in them early on the possibility of God’s desire for me to be a seminarian. Upon hearing it, they said they were happy for me and would help me figure out if God was calling me. This was exactly the support I needed, and they helped me to discover God’s plan. Without my parents, I would have run off to who knows what in fear, but they gave me courage to hear God’s voice.”
First year down
Three words come to mind when he summarized the experience in seminary thus far: Mass, adoration and fraternity.
“We have daily Mass and adoration at the seminary, and it has now become a part of my life that I cannot live without,” he said. “To gaze upon Jesus’ Eucharistic face for an hour every day, and then also consume it. There is no greater joy!
“And the fraternity, the strong bond of brotherhood among 50 men, all sharing the one goal of getting closer to Christ is amazing. Everything from Mass to foosball, we share a deep love for one another. Each and every man here would give up his life for another without hesitation. We laugh together, eat together and pray together. Each man here has changed my life for the better in some way, and I would not rather be anywhere else in the world. We are all training to be ‘guardians of the sanctuary,’ and, should God will that we all be ordained, no one would be able to break our defenses.”
The 21 diocesan seminarians studying at different seminaries will soon be on summer break and most are scheduled to return to the diocese to serve and learn at local parishes.
Isaiah expressed his gratitude for the people of the diocese and thanks the faithful, many he’s never met, who have sent him letters telling him of their prayers and support. His hope remains firm that one day, God will allow him to serve the people of the diocese—that same great diocese that he boasts about to his fellow seminarians from across the country.