Matt Niggemeyer
College II
Hi, my name is Matt Niggemeyer and my home parish is St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Omaha, NE. When I was young, the only thing I wanted to do was become a priest. I distinctly remember "practicing" the Mass using a white sheet for my vestment and Ritz crackers and cranberry juice. I would talk to priests quite often, especially Fr. Kerwin. I looked up to him as the greatest priest that I knew. My whole life was truly centered around becoming a priest.
As I grew older, I moved farther and farther away from the idea of the priesthood and essentially became a product of our society. I went to Mass physically, but I was never mentally or spiritually there. My new goal in life was to be a great lawyer. I even had my life planned out down to the last second. I was going to go to college, major in American history, go on to obtain a law degree, make money from lawsuits, and then give sizable sums of money to the Church at certain intervals. After I was done suing people, I wanted to go back and teach World history at Burke High School. Then, sooner or later, I was planning to retire. God, however, had other plans.
While attending a Steubenville conference, I felt called to the priesthood. My first reaction was "Umm…. What about me giving money to the Church and being a successful lawyer?" But God didn't quit. He kept after me all night until I asked him for a sign. The next words I heard from a good friend of mine were "I'm going to be a priest". That sealed the deal. Upon returning home, I prayed about it for a while and finally contacted Fr. Ralph O'Donnell and began my journey to the seminary.
If you think that God is calling you to the priesthood, then before you do anything else, PRAY! Stay close to the Blessed Mother and adore Jesus in the Eucharist as often as you can. God wants to use you in His awesome plan. All you need to do is trust Him to show you how He wants to use you to fulfill the plan that He created for you!
