Get to Know the Archdiocese's THREE NEW Priests!
- Denver Catholic Staff
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
On Saturday, May 10, Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila ordained three men to the priesthood at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
We asked our newest priests about their vocation journeys and what they're most looking forward to. Read their responses and get to know them better!
Father Blaise Buches
Hometown: Lakewood, CO
Home Parish: Holy Ghost, Denver
What are you most looking forward to about being a priest?
More than anything else, I want to celebrate the Holy Mass and hear Confessions. I have often imagined what it will be like the first time I say the words of consecration and elevate the host and the chalice. Words cannot describe the wonder and joy at the mere thought of being a priest to, as the Dominican Lacordaire says, “go from men to God and offer him their prayers [and] to return from God to men to bring pardon and hope.” This then also extends to the confessional, a privileged place for the priest where he is able to enter into the concrete circumstances and difficulties of daily life and serve as an instrument of pardon, peace and hope, reconciling men and women with God in total humility. And then in all of this, to wonder at the goodness of the Lord who has chosen me.
Tell us about one person - clergy or lay - who inspired you to follow the Lord more closely.
It is difficult to choose between so many persons who have had such an incredible impact on my life, but if I had to choose one, it would be Father Samuel Morehead. I have been blessed with his friendship for so many years, and his rectory has always been very much like another home for me throughout my time in the seminary. He has been the friend with whom I am able to talk about the abundant blessings of the Lord, the trials and burdens of life and everything in between. He has embodied for me the verse from Sirach which reads, “Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter; whoever finds one finds a treasure. Faithful friends are beyond price, no amount can balance their worth” (Sirach 6:14-15). To him I am most grateful for setting an example of priestly life and ministry and for always encouraging me to a trustful surrender to our Lord and the Church.
What would you say to someone beginning to follow the Lord and his plan for his/her life?
Be patient, be committed and persevere. So often, we expect conversion to happen overnight, and yet we know from experience that the greatest relationships take time. Is this not even more the case with our dear Lord? When we try to “put away the old self of [our] former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of [our] minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth” (Ephesians 4:22-24), the temptation can be to expect this to happen quickly so we can move on to our next project (as if holiness was a one-time event or pursuit). But in this world, which is steadily losing the beauty of authentic friendship, the joy of friendship with Christ is that he is the one — the only one — who satisfies all of our longings. This is why the Song of Songs says of the Beloved (who is Christ): “He is altogether desirable” (Song of Songs 5:16). And this happens through conversation, just as in all of our friendships: I know Christ when I spend time with him, speak with him, learn about and from him in the Scriptures and through the Church, when I listen to him and when I love what he loves and despise what he despises.
When we are patient in our following of Christ, committed to prayer and the sacraments, and persevere in every difficulty with him, we come to know Christ, befriend our Lord, think like our God and surrender everything to him. By this we can claim as our own the words of St. Paul to the Galatians: “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).
How has the Lord called you into greater hope as you have followed him towards your vocation?
To adequately answer this question, I would like to focus on the language of the Carmelites when they speak of the spiritual life and the goal of total union with God. The hope found in the person of Christ and my own pursuit of him and his promises can be summed up in this goal: the attainment of total union with God (which is possible in Christ).
I have become quite impressed with and edified by the writings of Bl. Columba Marmion (a Benedictine Abbot), especially when he writes on the life of Christ in the baptized soul and the graces made available to us throughout the entire liturgical year, graces proper to each season and each specific liturgical celebration in which we remember the mysteries of the life of Christ. Each of these graces is a source of great hope and confidence in Christ and the possibility of my conformance to his life in every way, especially through the reception of Holy Orders, the proclamation of the Gospel and the celebration of the sacraments.
Father Craig Kinneburg
Hometown: Spokane, WA
Home Parish: Holy Name Parish, Sheridan
What are you most looking forward to about being a priest?
At the deepest level, I would say I am most "looking forward" to the intimacy with the Lord that comes through being configured to him as a priest. Connected to this, but on perhaps a little more of a concrete level, I am most looking forward to the celebration of the Mass. Ever since I first began discerning the priesthood and experienced this specific call, it was the celebration of the Mass that most attracted me and which I sought to be the center of my life and future ministry as a priest.
Tell us about one person - clergy or lay - who inspired you to follow the Lord more closely.
My brother, Kyle Kinneberg, comes to mind when I think of someone who inspired me to follow the Lord more closely. When we were both in high school (he a senior and I a sophomore), faith became a centerpiece in his life. Through his witness, I began to deepen in the faith and participate more in the life of the Church. We started attending Mass a couple of times during the week before school, which encouraged me, even after he left for college, to make daily Mass an important part of my life. I always looked up to him when it came to living the Christian life and following Jesus more closely.
What would you say to someone beginning to follow the Lord and his plan for his/her life?
I would encourage this person to remain as close to the Lord as possible, through a frequent and rich sacramental life and a personal prayer life. Only in and through this intimacy with the Lord will someone be able to discern well his vocation and remain faithful to this call. I would also encourage this person to live with great trust in God and to internalize the fact that he is the protagonist, not us. Discovering one's vocation and living this vocation faithfully, although requiring our complete cooperation, is more about God's action in us; our own efforts alone will not suffice. Finally, I would greatly encourage this person to have a spiritual director who can accompany him in this process.
How has the Lord called you into greater hope as you have followed him towards your vocation?
I perceive my vocational journey as precisely that: a journey (part of a pilgrimage, you might say). Throughout this journey, there have been ups and downs, victories and defeats, and moments of incredible joy as well as moments of suffering. Especially in the moments of greater suffering and confusion, I have sensed how the Lord has sustained me at the deepest level and always drawn me closer to him, calling me to a greater hope. He has formed me in these moments, showing me that the only true path is depositing my full hope and trust in him. Everything else passes. He has taught me to keep my gaze fixed on him and the promise of eternal life.
Father José Delgado
Hometown: Greeley, CO
What are you most looking forward to about being a priest?
I am looking forward to serving God by serving his people through the sacraments, especially that of Confession. I want to receive others into God’s mercy through this sacrament, and to bring Christ to them in a concrete way through the Sacrifice of the Mass as well. I also look forward to encountering people and to help them in their walk towards the Lord.
When did you discover that the Lord was calling you to be a priest?
I began to discover my call to the Priesthood when I was in high school, as I went through Confirmation. My family had a sort of reversion to the faith while I was in middle school, so I began to foster my relationship with the Lord during this time. As I studied more about Jesus and the Church, I felt drawn to the priesthood, especially through learning about St. John Bosco. I attended a youth group and began to attend high school discernment retreats with a friend from youth group. As I did, I continued to feel this desire to serve the Lord grow. While I was in college at Colorado State, I continued to be involved in campus ministry, attending discernment retreats and speaking to my home pastor and other priests about the vocation. I continued to feel drawn to the seminary to discern my vocation more closely. I like to describe my calling as God placing this desire in me and continually growing it in my heart as I grew as a person. As I began to serve more through campus ministry and in my prayer, I felt a call to serve the Lord by serving his people through the sacraments.
Who are some saints/mentors/important figures that have helped you along in your vocation?
Some saints that have helped me along the way are Our Blessed Mother, especially under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. St. Joseph has also been instrumental in my vocation. St. John Bosco was also a huge inspiration for me, not just as a priest, but as a man who desired to encounter the troubled youth of his time. St. John Vianney was also very inspirational to me. My dad has also been a great mentor to me, teaching me how to be a man and a Christian, along with my mom, seeing his sacrifice and love for our family. My pastor growing up, Fr. Stephen Siebert, was also a great mentor as he inspired me in how he lived for his flock and helped me in the discernment process early on.
