Medical What?

When you go to the seminary, a lot of people naturally are inclined to ask, So, what did you do before going to the seminary? I usually respond, Medical physics, to which they usually respond, Medical what?

Medical physics is the study of how physics can be applied to medicine. The jurisdiction of medical physics can be quite broad, but classic examples of medical physics include medical imaging (for example, MRI, CAT scan, and ultrasound), as well as radiation therapy (for example, external beam radiation therapy).

Over the past five years, I have been immersed in research as a member of the PhD in Medical Physics program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As of September 2013, I was able to complete my degree officially by defending my dissertation dealing with dose reduction in computed tomography (commonly known as CAT scan).

It may be surprising to know that I first felt the call to the priesthood during my third year in graduate school. As I started that year in September 2010, I was not a practicing Catholic. However, as the year went on, I began to become aware of a strong desire to know and to reflect upon the faith that I had been given as a child.

Who is Jesus Christ? Who do people say he is? More importantly, who do I say he is? As I began to sift through these questions, I began to become aware that the Lord was drawing me closer to his Most Sacred Heart.

I have no doubt that Divine Providence has brought me to Sacred Heart Major Seminary to discern a call to the priesthood. As I reflect on my first year, I am most surprised by the intellectual formation I receive here.

Pope Paul VI once said, Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses. The beauty of Sacred Heart is that our instructors are both teachers and witnesses. This combination truly gives intellectual formation wings.