TWO TAKE NEXT STEP TOWARD PRIESTHOOD

Minneota graduates Joshua Bot and Tanner Thooft were among three seminarians of the Diocese of New Ulm who were ordained to the transitional diaconate on June 5 in New Ulm.
Nathan Hansen of Darwin was the third young man ordained by Bishop Emeritus John M. LeVoir at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. All three are students currently attending the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity on the campus of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
Bot and Thooft's home parish is the Church of St. Edward's in Minneota. Bot is the son of Deacon Bruce and Juanita Bot. Thooft is the son of Scott and Deb Thooft of Lynd.
Hansen's home parish is the Church of St. John in Darwin. He is the son of Deacon John and Ruthann Hansen.
In attendance to witness this monumental achievement were friends, family, the faithful of the Diocese of New Ulm, members of the young men's teaching parish during the school year, and all the priests and deacons of the Diocese of New Ulm.
Bot and Thooft both graduated from Minneota High School in 2014.
"We've known each other since preschool," said Bot. "We've been in the same exact class since first grade at St. Edward’s."
Bot and Thooft both began thinking about joining the priesthood when they were in second grade.
"I first had the thought about priesthood around second grade after Mass one evening," Thooft recalled. "It wasn't until high school when I really got to know Father Jeremy Kucera that I decided to enter the seminary. The decision to become a priest became solidified this past January when I was on retreat for eight days of silence and prayer."
"Similar to Tanner, I first thought about priesthood the summer around second grade," Bot said. "But I didn't really know that it was God asking me to do it until the end of my third year of seminary at age 21."
Approximately one third of those who enter the seminary become priests.
The ordination process is an extensive rite. The ordination rite begins after the readings, the responsorial Psalm and the Gospel.
"After the Gospel is read, Bishop LeVoir asks the Vocations Director of the Diocese whether or not you're worthy," Bot explained. "If he says yes, then they call your name, and you walk to the front of the church."
After the three young men were called forward, Bishop LeVoir preached about their roles as deacons and how they were top live that out.They are then asked a series of questions that they must give a positive "I do" response to.
"For the final question, you go up to the Bishop and kneel before him and place your folded hands in his hands," Bot explained. "He asks 'Do you promise respect and obedience to me and my successors?'
After the promises, the young men prostrate themselves by lying on their bellies next to the altar as a sign of laying down their life.
"Meanwhile, everyone else is praying to God asking him and all of the angels and saints to assist you in your ministry," Bot said.
The three then kneeled before Bishop LeVoir as he placed his hands on each of their head and prayed over them.
Each then received the vestments of a deacon of their choosing, as well as a dalmatic (a beautifully embroidered robe with the lines on it that is worn over the white "alb" the three young men are wearing for their ordination.
"I chose my dad to do this for me," Bot said. "That was really cool to have my dad share that moment with me. He is one of my best friends and I was so happy he was the deacon who got to welcome me into the diaconate."
Bot, Thooft and Hansen then kneeled before Bishop LeVoir and were presented with a book of the Gospels and were told "Receive the book of the Gospels whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you preach."
Thooft and Bot admittedly were apprehensive at first when making such a powerful decision in their life.
"My greatest fear was that I was going to lose all of what I thought made me who I am," Thooft said. "I was going to have to let go of my love of farming and forget helping my dad on the farm. I thought that I was going to lose the simplicity that made me so common and ordinary.”
"Most importantly I thought that I was going to lose my roots with the people who had been so formative in my life. However, about three-fourths of the way through the retreat, God showed me that I was not going to lose who I am, but that he led all the people who had made this impact on my life. It was God how gave me a love of the farm, and he desired not that I lose this love, but that this love would drive me to minister to his cherished people."
Bot echoed those thoughts.
"Just because I've been thinking about the seminary for years doesn't mean that I don't have a desire to be a husband and father also," he admitted. "That was also a big desire on my heart, and so I asked God if I could really be fulfilled in doing this.”
"As I prayed, I closed my eyes and saw myself as a husband and father in a perfect family, with an awesome job. However, even though everything was perfect I didn't feel fulfilled. Then I saw what I imagined to be the worst situation I could ever be in as a priest, but even in that situation I was at peace and fulfilled. It was as if God was saying even if all you had left was me, I would still be enough for you. It was at that point that I really made my decision."