Nicholas Mishek

College III
St. John Vianney Seminary College

My name is Nicholas Mishek and I am a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Omaha. I was born and raised in Omaha and I graduated from St. James/Seton Catholic School, Creighton Prep High School, and I went to the University of Nebraska at Omaha for one year. My home parish is St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Omaha. My parish has been a wonderful part of my faith formation. They have been blessed by wonderful priests and people who encourage vocations and their youth group is an incredible program that brings teens closer to Christ.

God's call to me was, like most, a quiet call. He called me slowly through others’ examples and moving my heart closer and closer to His will. I was not into my faith when I was younger other than in religion class, God was just an acquaintance. It was not until a good friend, who is now a priest, gave me the push I needed to get involved with my parish youth group and frankly get involved with God. That was just the first step though, I had to continually grow in my relationship with God and there were times when I did not know where I was going or what to do. Even though I was growing in my faith during my high school years I was still holding something from God, my trust. I did not know how to trust God with my life, what was He going to do? What would I have to change? I was scared but I did not want to admit it, so I put it into the back of my mind. I tried to discern God’s call by myself but something was missing, God. It was only after spending time with Fr. Hoesing and FOCUS that I knew God wanted me to follow him fully and that path right now is heading towards seminary.

I visited St. John Vianney and I liked several things about the seminary. I really liked that they have Mass everyday and that the seminary has its own chapel. I really like the fact that it still has that college atmosphere. The seminarians take classes with other St. Thomas students and are not separated from the campus. I personally think that it is a wonderful tool for evangelization to the students and interaction for the seminarians. I loved the brotherhood that I experienced at St. John Vianney, all the guys are there for the same reason, to discern God’s call and to live it out as best as they can.

For those who might be thinking about priesthood or God’s call in general, take it one day at a time. God will lead you to your vocation all you need to do is to grow closer to him through prayer and living your faith. Trust is key and building that trust takes hard work, it won’t just come to you. Listen to the God’s movement in your heart and then act on it. God loves you and wants the best for you, keep moving forward and take it one day at a time.

God Bless,

Nick