This weekend sees the roll out of the 2025 Diocesan Services Appeal in parishes across the Diocese of Lansing. The theme of this year’s campaign is “You are my chosen witnesses” (Isaiah 43:10)
The Diocesan Services Appeal or DSA is an annual appeal which is used to sustain the ongoing, day-to-day work of the Church across our 10-county diocese. Contributions are put to work, right away, in a multitude of ministries and activities that offer direct assistance to individuals and families and to our parishes, schools, and affiliated Catholic organizations.
That includes seminary education. The Diocese of Lansing presently has 29 seminarians. Deo gratias. That includes Deacon Brett Ivey, pictured, who is among seven men due to be ordained to the sacred priesthood this year. Deacon Brett has been talking to Mary Gates about the difference your generosity to the DSA makes to him and his brother seminarians. On their behalf, thank you. God bless you.
Mary writes:
Ordained as a transitional deacon in May and anticipating priestly ordination as he completes his last months of formation at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Deacon Brett Ivey, pictured above, says the road to get to this point has been paved by God’s grace and the support of others.
“It’s been a great blessing to know the support of so many through these years. It’s through the generosity of thousands of people that I and my brother seminarians have been able to fully put ourselves at the disposal of God’s call.”
Allowing men to prepare well for priestly ministry is so valued by the Church that canon law tasks dioceses with covering all expenses of formation at the level of major seminary.
As such, Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA) dollars are the primary source of support for seminarian education for major seminarians in the Diocese of Lansing.
Deacon Brett says being relieved of financial burdens allows men to focus on hearing God’s call and responding to their vocation. “It’s a burden that would be too much for any one of us to carry alone, but as a Church we draw together to support one another and give one another the opportunity to lay our lives at the service of the rest.”
Supporting seminarians through DSA dollars not only allows each man in major seminary to prepare well, but also be formed well. While formation at Sacred Heart is not limited to education, the intellectual dimension often receives the most emphasis. “We’re completing several degrees,” Deacon Brett notes, “which give us the opportunity to understand history, theology, and philosophy. These elements show that our faith has a firmly grounded place in history and is key to our life today.
It’s out of the engagement of these ideas that we can operate, serving God’s people.” Because serving God’s people well ultimately stems from one’s own relationship with God, the spiritual formation of seminarians is “the first in terms of primacy,” says Deacon Brett.
“We have many opportunities to help us grow in this area. One in particular is a 30-day silent retreat in which the retreatant has the opportunity to, in the silence, let all of the weight and the false senses of identity that they’ve built up over a lifetime be broken through by the presence of God, who speaks most clearly in the silence.” For seminarians, Deacon Brett reflects, it is “one of a number of significant opportunities to surrender his whole life and heart to the Lord.”
Building on both the intellectual and spiritual, Deacon Brett explains that the pastoral dimension of seminary helps men put into practice the other components.
“We’re doing ministry and learning to take the growth that we’ve made in our spiritual life along with the facts and concepts of the intellectual in order to love and serve.”
“Ultimately,” he says, “the capstone is the human dimension which looks at how these pieces come together in an integral way in the man.”
Opportunities for human formation include time spent at the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, Nebraska.
“The institute,” Deacon Brett says, “focuses on drawing all the dimensions together to help the man become a better disciple of Jesus, putting himself at the disposal of the Church as a minister.”
With that ultimate aim of putting themselves fully at the disposal of the Church, Diocese of Lansing seminarians, 19 of whom are in major seminary, rely on the generosity of the people they will eventually serve.
“It’s the double-sided blessing of having so many men who have presented themselves. It’s a great burden that needs many to support it.”
As he looks forward to priestly ordination, Deacon Brett asks the people of the diocese to continue supporting men who are answering God’s call.
“Don’t underestimate the need. There’s a lot that goes into our formation because of how all-encompassing it is and how many aspects of formation and ministry there are to ensure that the priests are equipped to serve the needs of God’s people.”
And, he notes, “don’t underestimate the power of prayer. We primarily need prayer in order to become the ministers that the Church of today so desperately needs.”
* To donate to this year’s Diocesan Services Appeal, click here: https://www.dioceseoflansing.org/appeal
