Beginnings and Family Roots
The Van Wie Family
Some of my most cherished childhood memories are of time spent with my grandparents, especially during holidays and family trips to the Wisconsin Dells. It was through them that the seeds of faith were planted. My grandfather was a man defined by his faith, love, and service, and I looked to him as a role model for how to treat others and what true love for thy neighbor meant. He lived his faith through action every day, which was encapsulated by his favorite Bible verse, James 2:17: "faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead". His passing in January 2020 was a profound loss, but it led me to question how the love he showed, which was God's love, could ever truly die.
Where it Started
Canons Regular of St. John Cantius
In October 2022, I discovered the Traditional Latin Mass through a YouTube video produced by the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius in Chicago. The video captivated me by its silence in the Low Mass. I had always known God to speak to me in tiny whispers and signs. The Low Mass is us speaking to Him in the same way, tiny whispers and signs. I discovered the mission of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius, focusing on the “Restoration of the Sacred.” By winter break, I attended a one-week discernment retreat with them. The retreat showcased the beauty of solemn liturgies, sacred art, and Church traditions, leaving a profound impression on me. The Vocations Director asked me a question that stayed with me: “Where is God calling you to restore the sacred?”
I will go in to the altar of God
Introibo ad altare Dei
Throughout my time at the University of North Dakota, I became increasingly involved as an altar server at the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center, the Cathedral of St. Mary (hosted by the Shanley High School Chapel), and many places at home in Wisconsin, and throughout the Fargo Diocese. Altar serving, especially in the Traditional Latin Mass, and the step-by-step nature of complex tasks has been a source of clarity and stability in my spiritual life. It is this same sense of profound order in the life of the Church that first drew me closer, and it is the foundation upon which my vocation stands.