Interesting. However, I have a minor character in Red Tales who
is a Presbyterian minister also. You’ll have to buy my book in order to figure
out which one. ;)
Order by emailing me directly if you wish and get a signed copy.
Shameless self-promoting,
Kirsten
Red
Tales: In the Beginning available now!
From:
nas-bounces@americakicks.com [mailto:nas-bounces@americakicks.com] On Behalf
Of pakurilecz
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 8:14 AM
To: NAS-list SoccerList'
Subject: [nas] From soccer to seminary
Sent to you by pakurilecz via Google
Reader:
via The
Netminder by Beau Dure on 7/15/08
Chase Hilgenbrinck's
decision to leave MLS for the seminary and eventual priesthood was surprising
but not sudden. The former Revolution defender tells the story ...
Why?
Because I feel called. I’ve actually had my calling. I’ve been discerning this
decision for several years now. I had a chance to go play professional soccer
in Chile. For a long time, I felt called to something greater, and I didn't
know what it was. I thought maybe it was professional soccer. In playing
soccer, I realized that wasn’t it. I continued searching.
(In Chile,) for a time, I was trying to get used to the culture and trying to
get used to life on my own. I did a lot of soul-searching. I went back to my
roots in the Catholic church. I did a lot of praying and strengthened my
personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That is what led me and first got me
onto the idea that this was a possibility for my future, that this could be
what the Lord was calling me to. It was something very personal to me – I
didn’t discuss it with anybody for a long time. I just discerned it through
personal prayer for a long time, trying to come to a conclusion if this was
really what the Lord was calling me to or not.
After all this time, I did realize this is my calling. I decided to discuss
that with the priest, who is Father Brian Brownsey, the vocations director of
the Peoria diocese where I live. I was accepted by the bishop of the Peoria
diocese to be a seminarian. They have accepted me and are sending me to Mount St. Mary’s Seminary
in Emmitsburg, Md.
(Mount St. Mary's also
has undergraduate programs, as some people might remember from March
Madness.)
Photo by Keith Nordstrom,
New England Revolution via AP
Steve Nicol's reaction
Coach Nicol was very understanding. He at first just wanted to discuss the business
side of it. I told him my plans were to leave. He wanted to know in what
capacity – if was I really retiring or what the situation was. I told him that
was the case. He basically told me he would like me to stay with the team as
long as possible, which for me was the best scenario. I really appreciated his
openness to that.
After the initial conversation that we first had, there have been a few times
that I practiced when both of us had private conversations discussing what it
really meant to go to seminary. He, like a lot of my teammates, had a lot of
questions about it. They weren’t exactly sure what it meant to be a priest in
the Catholic church or to study in the seminary, and they were very interested
in the details of my plan.
(Here's what Nicol had to
say: "Soccer is some game. There are so many things that just surprise
you. On this occasion, it's a good surprise. Chase is going to go and do
something that he really, really wants to go and do. There's not many of us can
say we're able to do something we really want to do, so that's great for him.
Obviously disappointing for us -- he was a huge asset to us as part of the
squad. He was a real security blanket for us as far as our squad. ...
Obviously, it's not like you can just walk into seminary any day you fancy. He
gave the last date he would be able to be part of the squad would be Sunday's
game. If there's a possibility that he could stay with us longer, we'd love to
have him longer.")
Why now?
That’s exactly what I said, in prayer with the Lord. Why now? Can I finish?
Maybe I can stretch this soccer career out because I'm not ready to leave yet.
This has been my dream, this has been my passion. I’m not ready to go.
Not even a week later, I was reading one of my books and it clearly stated,
"Delayed obedience is disobedience." That really hit home for me. It
was a kind of a sign that you can’t put this off any longer. I certainly didn’t
want the call to pass me by and regret it later. When the Lord comes knocking,
you have to answer the door. I really had no choice. I can’t say no. I want to
live for the will of God, and that’s doing what he wants of me and not what I
want necessarily. Doing the will of the Lord is wanting what he wants for me.
How long will seminary take?
If you have a college degree as I have (from Clemson),
the minimum you can do is four years. It’s not only getting a theology degree
but also a formation program. For me -- I don’t have any philosophy background,
so I'll have six years.
Soccer's role in his life
Soccer is still my passion. I’m not leaving soccer for just any job. I’m
leaving soccer because I see a higher calling. I'm leaving for something
greater than soccer. I’ve realized that soccer is very temporary. Professional
sport is temporary. This is something I’m called to and it’s going to be my
vocation.
I’ll always be around the game. I love sports in general. At the seminary, they
do have a soccer team, so I'm sure I'll be involved in that. It’s obviously not
as competitive. That’ll be on the back burner. Everything else takes priority
over soccer for me.
Spiritual background
I was brought up in the Catholic faith -- my entire family on both my mom’s and
dad’s sides. I had a great base. I went to Catholic school here in Bloomington,
Ill. In college, I was on my own for the first time. That’s when I got the
first taste of being able to make my faith my own. I really came into it and
accepted it as my own faith. I desired to learn more. I didn’t have my parents
standing over my shoulders telling me this is what you need to do. It was now
something I wanted to do for me. That carried on when I went to Chile. I went
through a time down there of trying to get used to a new culture and new
customs. During that transition period is when I really had to strengthen my
relationship.
Coming back to the USA
I knew that I wouldn’t be eligible (for seminary) because of all the screening
processes and interviews I would have to go through until this fall. That's
when I made the decision, when the Chilean
season ended last year, that I would come back to the MLS and play six months
here. More than anything, I wanted to play in front of my family. For so long,
they've been so supportive of me. They've been down to Chile a couple of times
and seen me play, but I wanted to come back here and have my friends and
extended family be able to see me play soccer. I really came back these six
months for them.
Telling the family
I told my parents together with my brother and his wife -- my immediate family
-- the day I got back from Chile. I called them together the night I got back
and told them I wanted to talk to them about something, that my life was
changing and it was going to take another route. I just laid it on the line.
They were completely surprised, but they've been very supportive. They were
very happy for me. They're very faithful people, they’re open to God’s will. So
if this is the will of God for me, they couldn't be happier.
Going back overseas?
I’ve actually signed up for the diocesan priesthood within the Peoria diocese.
I will report back to the bishop of the Peoria diocese, and he will tell me
where I’m going. But it will be within the diocese here in Illinois.
I’ll have to continue discerning. Hopefully everyone is discerning their life
every day, trying to find out what truly is the will of God for your life. I
will have to continue to do that every day in the seminary, not only to make
sure that this is what God wants for me but also to make sure I'm on the right
track. Maybe I will feel the urge to go overseas and be a missionary or do
something like that. But all that has to be discussed with the people who are
in charge as well.
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe
to The Netminder using Google Reader
- Get started using Google
Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites