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Greb credits his grandparents in forming of spiritual life
By Gina Keating
The Catholic Sun
The bond between a small boy and his grandfather nurtured a love for Jesus so intense it will affect the Phoenix Diocese June 3.
That morning, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted will ordain John Greb, 43, into the priesthood at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. He will be assigned to Holy Cross Parish in Mesa.
Weeks earlier, Greb made the journey to a sleepy town in Minnesota and paid a graveside visit to his maternal grandparents, whom he credits for his Catholic upbringing.
“Due to his intercession in heaven, he’s partly to blame for all of this,” Greb said of his grandfather, Roy.
So it’s no wonder that when Greb first heard God calling him to the priesthood, he was happily living in his own home and saving for retirement.
He had long given up his boyhood dream of becoming a priest after he left Our Lady of Mount Carmel School to attend a public high school.
After a 15-year absence from the Church, Greb found himself at the door of St. Timothy’s Church.
When the door opened, Greb embraced the community and began volunteering and leading several ministry groups.
“John has a passion for serving others,” said Fr. Don Kline, diocesan vocations director. “He is a very compassionate man with a sincere love for his neighbor.”
The life Greb had mapped out for himself, which he hoped would include a wife and children, wasn’t exactly what God had in mind.
His initial resistance turned into acceptances, which then led the outdoor enthusiast to Mundelein Seminary in Illinois for eight years of study.
He left his large home and paychecks for a tiny room where he had to share a bathroom.
“It was very difficult, especially in the early years,” Greb said. “Thank God there were people who sat me down and talked to me.”
He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and literature from Mt. Angel Seminary, and a master’s in divinity from Mundelein.
Greb is continuing studies in American Sign Language, which he is going to incorporate during his first Mass at St. Timothy’s June 3.
Greb likes to fish, hike and mountain bike for relaxation away from his studies.
“If I’m not a holy priest, what does any of that matter,” Greb said. “I want to be the kind of person, like my spiritual director, where I internally say, ‘this is a trustworthy man, this is an honest man. This is a holy man.’”
“John will make a great priest,” said his sister, Linda Ruley. “He’s outgoing, the kind of person people want to be friends with.”
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Lankeit to depend on prayers as he gives himself to Church
By Mary Moore
The Catholic Sun
John Lankeit believes a good priest has courage to speak the truth even if it costs him everything.
A priest is “a healthy happy man who is so grateful to Jesus Christ for His love that he can do nothing short of giving everything back,” he said.
That’s just what Lankeit will do after his ordination June 3, beginning his priesthood at St. Anne Parish in Gilbert.
His prayer-filled journey began in 1989 when God first called Lankeit to the priesthood in Washington at the age of 22.
Eight years later, when he heard the call again, his spiritual advisor asked Lankeit to work out some professional and relationship circumstances before entering the seminary.
“Unlike a lot of guys who sense that God may be calling them to priesthood and who run away from the call, I was just the opposite. I was pursuing priesthood — on my terms — and God knew I wasn’t ready in the way he needed me to be ready,” said the 39-year-old native of the Pacific Northwest.
In 2000, following the resolution of those issues, the call returned “like a Mack truck,” he said, just as his spiritual advisor predicted an authentic call would.
The youngest of three children in a devout Catholic family, Lankeit showed a thirst for his faith from an early age.
A very unassuming grandmother who often prayed the rosary with Lankeit and his siblings nurtured his faith. As an altar boy at his home parish in Wenatchee, Wash., his father recalled Lankeit’s excitement whenever he was asked to assist with something special.
As a student at Seattle University, Lankeit assisted the Jesuit priests with handiwork or transportation.
“He has always had a love of prayer,” said his father, Tom. “It didn’t surprise me that he would choose to go into the priesthood. He is without a doubt a leader and he will make a fantastic priest.”
Thrilled about his ordination and future assignment, Lankeit knows he will continue to depend on prayer as his source of strength, as he believes every priest must.
From his own experience and his training at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana, Lankeit has learned there are many characteristics of a good priest, including obedience, submissiveness to the Holy Spirit and “a desire for Christ to increase and for his human weakness and frailty to decrease” he said.
Lankeit’s sister, Margaret King, said her brother is gifted with the ability to listen to people of all ages.
The mother of two relates how she and her teenage sons often call Lankeit for spiritual advice, relying time and again on his keen ability to listen. As associate pastor of one of the fastest growing parishes in the United States, she believes he will thrive.
“Everything he does, he does well. His prayer life amazes me,” the proud sister said. “If I have friends who need extra prayers I call John and it’s done. He just does it.”
Having benefited from a faith-filled upbringing and intense spiritual formation, Lankeit is also aware and grateful for the support he has received as a seminarian.
“There is nothing more encouraging than hitting a rough spot in your seminary formation and then receiving a card or letter in the mail from someone you’ve never met who just wanted to express their support and prayers for you as a future priest,” he said.
As the number of men in Phoenix discerning the priesthood continues to increase, Fr. Don Kline, diocesan vocations director, hopes men like Lankeit will serve as an inspiration to those who want to heed John Paul II’s pontifical mantra, “Be not afraid.”
Lankeit “possesses a deep love for Jesus Christ. His passion and willingness to lay down his life for the sake of the Gospel should be inspirational,” Fr. Kline said.
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