A conversation with Logan Bruce and Chris Wahlen — a CPA and a nurse — days before they leave Fargo for Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, on the invitation each of them heard in adoration and what it cost to answer. Both video and transcript below.
Fr. Luke: Hello and welcome, everyone. I’m here today in my office with Chris Wahlen and Logan Bruce. They’re two young men from our parish that are heading off to the seminary here just in less than a week. So they’re gonna start at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary, studying for the Diocese of Fargo. So men, welcome. Thanks for coming in today.
Chris: Thank you, Father. Thanks for having us.
Fr. Luke: Well, it’s a big step. Both of you have been discerning over the last couple years God’s call in your life, and in the last few months you’ve applied to be a seminarian for the Diocese of Fargo. Father Metzger and Bishop Folda have accepted you. I think both of you are going to Mount Saint Mary’s for the propaedeutic year. We used to call it the spirituality year. The Vatican has these names for things.
Logan: Fancy Latin.
Fr. Luke: But no, it’s a great year. Seminaries have been doing this unofficially for a while, even since I was in the seminary in Denver. They called it the spirituality year — the need for a year to kinda dig deep spiritually. But we’re excited to see this transition, and I know you’ve been a big part of our parishes in different ways over the last few years. I know, Chris, you’ve been part of our parish nurse sorta effort. And Logan, you’ve been involved in serving and lectoring, and I think both of you have been involved in the Fishermen as well, with Deacon Ben.
The First Invitation
Fr. Luke: But yeah, let’s just jump right in. Tell me a little bit about — when did you first notice the Lord kind of tugging at your heart, or knocking on the door of your heart and mind? What were some of those early moments where you’re like, “Yeah, this… I might have to check this out”?
Logan: Yeah, so for me, I was a recent convert. I joined the church back at Easter of 2024. And when I was joining the church, I had never really had the thought of the priesthood. I didn’t grow up wanting to be a pastor in my Protestant denomination. So I was just entering into the Catholic life, and it was actually November of 2024, about seven months thereafter my conversion, that just in a moment of adoration, just kinda having this soft invitation like, “Maybe, maybe you should be a priest. Maybe this is something for you.” And so that started the long journey, but that was the first moment for me.
Fr. Luke: Kinda just in that time just hearing that voice of the Lord. Just the openness and the silence.
Chris: Yeah. And for me — so I grew up Catholic. I fell away and came back into the church around 2023. And then I’d have to say it was a time probably a year and a half after I came back or so. It was kind of like a soft invitation in adoration. But you’re questioning at that moment. Like, you’re like, “Are you sure?” There’s a lot of questions that kinda come through your mind when kind of you hear that at first.
“Really? Like, Me?”
Fr. Luke: That’s true, isn’t it? That’s how God’s call kinda works at first. It’s like you might hear this voice or have this sense, or there might be this kind of — there’s these inklings of a possible call of the Lord. But then sometimes it’s like, “Really? Like, me?” But yeah, what was that like, to kinda wrestle with noticing, like, ooh, maybe God’s calling me to be a priest. I’m not sure. What was that like, where you kinda sensed that, but yet there’s kinda like a whole sort of different kinda set of interior movements and interior drama, wrestling? What’s that like?
Chris: Yeah. For me, working as a nurse as I was, you kind of maybe in your mind, you’re kinda like, “Oh, I’m gonna be doing this for maybe the rest of my life.” I went to college already. And then at that point for me, I really strongly believed my vocation was, you know, like marriage. And that’s something you strongly desire. And then when you’re in prayer — and like for me, it was just like hearing, “You should be a priest. You should be a priest.” Things like that. Wrestling with that.
Chris: At first for me it was like, I didn’t really desire it at first, ’cause there was a lot — it was like a misconception I think I had at the time, and was thinking a lot of things like, I’m not worthy of this, you know?
Fr. Luke: Kinda like Saint Peter in the gospel, right? The Lord comes up to him and he says, “Depart from me, Lord, for I’m a sinful man,” right? There can be this sense of unworthiness.
Chris: That’s exactly, I think, how I felt for sure right away. And then you kinda come to a point, I think, where whoever is called, none of us are worthy — and that kind of brings some peace over you.
Two Good Things
Logan: Yeah, I can share a pretty similar story. The initial call is a little concerning, ’cause especially for me it was nothing I pondered. It really did come out of left field. And so being a recent convert and receiving the call, you’re just like, “What do I even do with this? Like, where do I start?” So you go online and you start looking up things, and obviously like anything else, that can be a pretty nasty rabbit hole. But through spiritual direction and other forms, you start to become more open to it. But yeah, it was definitely a hard conflict.
Logan: And the kinda like turning point was once you started to recognize that the natural call to marriage and just the lay life — that is the ordinary call for a Catholic, and it is very good. And when the Lord calls a man to the priesthood, it’s also very good. And that’s kinda like principle 101 of discernment, is you’re discerning two good things. And so it will be challenging. And for me it certainly was. But I started just to grow a level of acceptance, and like if the Lord’s asking me to do this, I can have faith that in time He’s gonna make this the greatest desire of my heart. And if not, well, you’ve grown in holiness and sanctity and now you’re more enabled to be that lay Catholic leader.
Fr. Luke: It’s a win-win, right?
Logan: Yeah, it’s a great deal of offering up. And like anything else, you’re gonna experience loss. I’ve got a great community, great friends here, and there had to be a point where I just came to accept, like, I have to step away from this and be okay with that, ’cause the Lord may be asking me to do more work for Him, for other people that maybe don’t have that. So it’s an ongoing process still.
What Held Them in Prayer
Fr. Luke: Yeah, what were some of the faith practices that sort of helped you in your prayer? What did you find — you don’t just sort of sit in your armchair and ponder this, right? What were some of the ways that you grew in faith just kind of in the discernment process?
Chris: I mean, the rosary was big for my coming back to the church, and through trying to find God.
Fr. Luke: That’s fitting. It’s the feast of Saint Dominic today, so that’s fitting.
Chris: Just, you know, I was praying 54-day rosary novenas, asking for my intention — you know, what’s God’s will for me in my life. And through that novena, I thought I was feeling more and more called to go the route of the priesthood.
Fr. Luke: Yeah, so the role of Mary.
Chris: Yeah, the role of Mary, the role of the Blessed Mother’s been huge. I know I wouldn’t be here had it not been for her.
Fr. Luke: Oh, fantastic. That’s a great part of the deepening in faith.
In Front of the Blessed Sacrament
Logan: Yeah, for me, the place of the initial call came in a moment of adoration, and to this day I find my most — how would you say — the most connected prayer, where I feel closest to God, is in front of the Blessed Sacrament. So still to this day.
Fr. Luke: How fitting is that? Midst of the Eucharistic revival and Eucharistic adoration.
Logan: Yes. I was able to attend the opening Mass for that Eucharistic procession with Bishop Cozzens.
Fr. Luke: Up in Bemidji?
Logan: Yes, and that was right around the time of this, right before this occurred, so that was very fitting. But certainly it’s been the sacraments just as a whole — especially, though, devotion to the Eucharist for me. The thing that started to form that priestly identity was that, in just the love I felt for Christ through the sacraments and for the church, and recognizing that there’s that invitation to share this to others.
Logan: And so to this day, the greatest form of consolation and kind of courage I’ve received has been through adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, but also Mary. A few years ago with the Fishermen, I did consecrate myself to Jesus through Mary, and very early on in my discernment I started to pray to Mary for her to be an intercessor in this, and I kinda offered up my vocation to her. And so I try to reflect on that daily and pray with her daily, knowing that — I’m sure you can attest to this, but it seems like every priest has got a pretty solid relationship with their mother. So yeah, it’s definitely one that’s been growing.
Fr. Luke: Yeah, we think of John Paul II, Saint John Paul, and his great devotion to Mary. And I know in my own priestly life, deepening devotion to Mary is such a beautiful thing. Big part of our growth and holiness. And we have the providential care of God our Father, but in the order of grace we have Mary as a maternal intercessor and also a friend, right? Someone who’s our mother as well in the order of grace.
Fr. Luke: You know, we have all these friends, right? This grand conspiracy of saints, and all kinds of good, healthy spiritual relationships on many levels. The primacy of God, but then also so many other friendships here in our human pilgrimage on earth and in the church, and glory in heaven, that are still alive in Christ and with us — and not just praying for us, but real kind of friendship, and we speak to them in prayer.
What They Came to Learn About the Priesthood
Fr. Luke: You both mentioned a little bit about early on you’re like, “Oh, a priest? Like, I don’t know if I want that.” But then as you came to know more about what a priest is, about the priesthood, it’s like, “Oh, okay, this is maybe different than I originally thought.” What did you come to know about the priesthood that made discernment easier or more clear? What did you come to know about the priesthood that was sort of eye-opening, or new, or just deeper?
Logan: Yeah. For me it was the relationship they have with the church and with Christ, and how they’re interacting with the people of God. So for me it’s like I’ve always had this deep desire to walk with people. I’ve got this deeply sensing spirit. And so I just wanna be around people and be able to walk with them and share life with them. And for me, it was always through the lens of the ordinary — you know, marriage and family life. But speaking with some priests and hearing from them how they get to engage with their parishioners and really be that witness of Christ to them and to the world, and just the closeness that they have to Christ, devoted time and prayer — the required time of prayer, but also just that personal relationship that they have built.
Logan: And so it goes back to kinda what I was saying — I worked in business. I think about opportunity costs. It’s like, well, you give up the natural world in some ways, but you’re gaining the supernatural, in a way that the married life, it’s hard to attain. And so it’s one of those things, it’s like, going into our propaedeutic year, I’m not sure what the Lord has in store, but if this is what he asks of me, if this is what he wants, I’ve got no doubt that it’s gonna be the greatest desire. And there’s so much to be gained in that closeness to him through the priesthood — acting in persona Christi, hearing confessions, walking with families from birth to death, marriages. It’s incredibly special.
Fr. Luke: In a certain sense, the good desire for marriage and family life is sort of caught up within the call of the priesthood, and orientated in a different way. It’s very much an experience of spiritual fatherhood, of family life in a different way. It’s not less relational, but almost more relational, as you relate with so many people through the spiritual fatherhood of a priestly life. And coming to discover that really aids in discernment. How about for you, Chris?
A Spiritual Father to Thousands
Chris: Yeah. I think at first for me, working as a nurse, caring for patients — and then as I had more talks with priests, and specifically you, with fatherhood, you kinda told me that a priest can be a spiritual father to thousands of people. And it was kinda like, in my mind at first when I was wrestling with it, I was totally giving up, like, maybe having kids. And then with you, you kinda reframed my mind a little bit to see that — kinda opened my eyes to something greater than just myself.
Chris: And then whether that mean the priest passing out the sacrament with the Eucharist, or like going and visiting people in hospitals and giving them last rites — I think, just like the call of service. Whatever vocation you’re in, you’re called to serve, and a priest is kind of a little different way of doing that.
Chris: But I guess it was just me just trying to see exactly what all the serving that the priest does, and just kind of — I just kind of had this, to find out more, I guess. And the desire for me to, like I say, help patients and care for them on a physical level — then it’s just like, oh, maybe the Lord’s calling me to care for them more on a spiritual level now.
Fr. Luke: Yeah. Oh, a great sort of journey of discovery and coming to see new things.
The Fraternity of Priests
Fr. Luke: Well, I’ve enjoyed working with both of you. I know I’ve walked with both of you the last couple years. But part of priestly life is also this fraternity within the presbyterate. I know you’ve experienced that well. We have a lot of great priests in our area, and I know you’ve come to experience sort of not just one priest, but lots of priests as well. How did that kinda help in your discernment — as you sort of encountered the fraternity of priests more broadly, you kinda come to see not just this or that personality, but kind of, maybe, God willing, a bit of Christ shining through each priest in a different way a little bit?
Chris: Yeah. There was a dinner at bishop’s house back in this past October, with a bunch of priests from around the diocese, and that was very interesting for me to experience. And I think the one thing that really struck me was just the joy of them all. It was just very nice to experience. It was really, I guess, like the joy — and they just seemed like all super happy, and that was very attractive to me.
“I’m an Extrovert Through and Through”
Logan: Yeah, I’m a very social person. I’m an extrovert through and through, and so going back to that initial call, it’s like, “Oh, you could be a priest.” I’m like, “Don’t they just stay quiet in their room and just pray and read and celebrate Mass?” Like, I don’t know if that’s for me. But to your point, you get to meet a lot of the presbyterate, and also seminarians, and you don’t find that.
Logan: You find very social, very loving men who are just so on fire for God, but also so at peace. And the one thing over time that really gave me assurance was, as I got to meet the seminarians and priests from all over our diocese, they’re all very vulnerable. They’re open and honest in their struggles, but there’s this like sense of peace too, that they’re walking with the Lord in this, and that there’s nothing that can’t be overcome through Him.
Logan: And just like seeing that, it was like a taste of heaven in a way — it was a witness that kinda hit me in my soul, where I think the Lord was kinda working on to walk with Him. And so truly, I think, if this was a vocation where you’re walking alone, you and Christ — certainly that is possible, but I think the Lord knows, as in other ways in the church, that we need each other on that journey. So being able to meet the priests of the diocese, and just already forming very, very strong and lasting friendships with the seminarians — that’s what’s given a lot of courage, I think, to respond to the call.
Fr. Luke: Well, it covers so much, doesn’t it? I mean, we have a deep vertical relationship with God. Right? That’s a big part of priestly life, is we belong to God, God alone. But we also have a deep horizontal relationship with the people of God, with our parishioners, with our brother priests and seminarians. This priesthood is really at the crossroads between this deep vertical relationship with God and this depth of relationship with the horizontal plane, with the world and with people — and kind of the coming together of all that. Just very beautiful.
Leaving a Career
Fr. Luke: Now, both of you guys were in sort of stable professions. Chris, you were serving as a nurse here at a couple different hospitals in town and were established in your career and doing very well. And Logan, you were a CPA and sort of advancing in your career, and sort of in the midst of what you probably assumed was like a stable and steady life path, it was like this new thing. What was it like to be a professional here in work life, and then hear this sort of invitation from God?
Logan: It was challenging. Early on, it was very distracting. It was hard to kinda know how you should spend your days, and even though you’re working long hours — like I worked in taxes, so I’m going through tax season, and I’m focused on my work, but in the back of your head, it’s like, “Is this what I’m supposed to be doing?”
Logan: And so it was challenging, and there was also the fear, too, like you said. My career was going well, and it was something that I had plans on advancing, and there reached a point where I didn’t wanna leave this, but there was a greater certainty that the Lord was maybe asking me to. So what do you do with that? And there’s a lot of wrestling with that, and offering it up. But there also came a lot of grace, too. I loved my job. I loved my clients I worked with, but there was just times I was sitting at my desk, and I’m like — my heart is a yearning for other souls, and I just wanna learn more about God, love Him more, and share that with others.
Logan: And those were those little signs that really inspired prayer and helped me respond more courageously. But the kinda like nail in the coffin, where I knew that it was the time to make the change, was just receiving this great sense of peace from the Lord in prayer — that me stepping away from my work is not giving up anything. It’s actually gaining, in the life of prayer, in the life of the church. And if the priesthood is not ultimately the vocational call, I know the Lord didn’t call me out of this for nothing. And there’s many opportunities that can be at play, but we get a small amount of time on Earth, and I think it’s good that I was able to step away from my profession, ’cause like anything else, there’s a tendency for that to become an idol in your life. And so yeah, it was a wrestle, but the Lord—
Fr. Luke: Yeah, that’s a healthy journey.
“It Made Me a Better Nurse”
Chris: Yeah. For me, working as a nurse and hearing the call on my heart actually made me enjoy my job more. And honestly, when that time came, stepping away, it made it harder to do that. But it just made me look at — it made me certainly look at my role, you know, wasn’t just as a nurse. It made me care more deeply, like spiritually, for the people that were in my care. And yeah, it really just made me want to — it just made me, I believe, a better nurse than what I had previously been.
Chris: When I first started getting the call, it really kind of opened my eyes and opened my heart to just serving my patients more on like a spiritual level. Whether that be more like praying with them, consulting priests to come and give them communion. So yeah, throughout those things, that made my job a lot more satisfying, and making it harder to step away.
Chris: But giving that to God — at first I think was a little bit of a struggle, but it wasn’t as hard as what maybe I would have imagined it to be. My last day, I just walked out and I was just like, “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” But you know, that’s like what it is — like coming to a point of surrender and moving forward is, I think, something one has to do to move forward. And that’s kinda where I was, and just kind of looking forward to the next chapter now.
Fr. Luke: Excellent. So it was almost like a larger sort of journey of spiritual maturity, to see that my identity is not my work. That I have all these other sources of identity outside of what I do. But who I am, and who I am to others, and who I am to God, is more foundational than my activity and my work. That’s very needed today, isn’t it? Where so many lives are defined by productivity or performance or work, or whatever it might be.
About to Hit the Road
Fr. Luke: Well, excellent. Well, you’re about to, like, hop in your car and drive to a whole new place, whole new community, a seminary. You guys are both going to Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. We utilize three seminaries here in the Diocese of Fargo — St. Gregory the Great for college seminary, and then St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, and Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Maryland, for major seminary options. But what’s swimming around in your heart and minds right now? As you’re ready to kinda hit the road, jump right in — what’s that like?
Chris: I’m honestly really excited to go, and just to get there. The one thing that’s been on my mind is, I have my sister’s wedding that’s coming up on August 22nd, so I’m gonna have to basically get there, meet the guys, fly back. And I’ve just been thinking — and I’m just someone, in general, I try not to get too far ahead of myself. I just like to experience whatever I’m gonna experience as it comes and take it in, and not like, “Oh, if someone says this about it” — I just kinda take that with a grain of salt, so then I can just try to experience, just try to not get a biased opinion on it.
Chris: But yeah, so coming back on the flight, and once I get back there after my sister’s wedding, I’ll just say I’m feeling like, okay, I’m settled in now, or I’m gonna get settled in, and I can just kinda leave some of the distractions that maybe are outside of the seminary, and just focus in on my experience there.
Golf, and a Game of Humility
Fr. Luke: No, that’s true. It’s a process of letting go of a few things, but then beautiful to be able to create new space just to be focused on the Lord and your spiritual growth, in community with the other men at the seminary. I played golf with the vice rector this spring when he was here for the ordinations, Father Joe O’Connor. He’s a great priest. You’re gonna be in great hands at the Mount. We did IPF together years ago, the three-year spiritual direction training program at Mundelein.
Chris: Who’s a better golfer?
Fr. Luke: He was hitting it pretty good. I don’t know if we played any game that—
Logan: They’re pretty good, though. Yeah, there’s a little bit of humility there.
Fr. Luke: Well, see, golf is always a game of humility, though, isn’t it?
Logan: Yeah. It’s like you’re feeling it. It goes in the water.
Fr. Luke: It’s about how you respond to imperfection. That’s what golf’s all about.
Logan: It’s a journey in life.
Fr. Luke: Well, thank you for — that’s a great way to dive in.
“The Prevailing Emotion Is Excitement”
Fr. Luke: But what about for you, Logan?
Logan: Yeah, like Chris, the prevailing emotion is excitement — certainly anticipation. I received my acceptance from the diocese back in January, so I’ve had quite a bit of time here to sit with this transition and start to make some plans. So I’m very excited to enter into formation. It’s been a long time coming.
Logan: There’s also some human feelings, too. Like I mentioned, just really good group of friends here, really good community at this parish. And then obviously you’re moving further away from family, so — not that these are negatives, but there’s real emotion there too, and there’s some sadness. I’m certainly gonna miss coming around this parish every week for daily Mass and to see my friends here. That’s a real loss, but also there’s much to be gained.
Logan: And so there’s just an excitement to get going, and like Chris mentioned, just enter into it with less distractions. And I think we enter into a silent retreat pretty early in, so just seeking after the Lord radically. We’re gonna be giving up our cell phones and most technology to enter into a deeper life of prayer, and this is great. I’m very excited for it. And for me, heading into this year, I think my one big goal is just to grow that priestly identity. And I know that that’s gonna come, and so very excited to get started.
A Pastor’s Blessing
Fr. Luke: Well, fantastic. Well, thanks for coming in today. It’s just great to spend some time about this big transition in your guys’ life. But speaking for myself as your pastor, and speaking for our whole parish and our clergy here at Sts. Anne and Joachim, what I wanna share is: we’re so proud of you. We’re so proud of you for hearing God’s call, for having the courage to discern — and it’s still a time of discernment, you know, over the next couple years until candidacy comes down the road. We’ll be praying for you in this time of growth and discernment, so count on our prayers.
Fr. Luke: We’re gonna miss you. This is kind of a bittersweet moment, right? You’ve been a big part of our parish in many ways, and a great part of service and witness. But our prayers go with you, and our blessing goes with you, and my blessing goes with you as your pastor. I’m so excited to see how the Lord’s gonna work in your life. You’ll be home on breaks. You’re always welcome. Don’t be a stranger. I’m sure we’ll see you at Masses and other times and other parish events when you’re home on different breaks. But know of my prayers, and our prayers as a whole parish for you in this time ahead. We’re so excited to see what the Lord has in store.
Logan: Thank you, Father.
Fr. Luke: Thank you.
A Word to the Parish
Fr. Luke: And to all of our parishioners: please pray for these men. Lift them up in your prayer often. They are venturing forth into a whole new place, a beautiful place. And thanks for tuning in — and pray even more for a lot of our young people entering holy marriages, priestly life, religious life. We have so many ways in which God has been active in so many people’s lives.
Fr. Luke: I’m just full of joy to see how generous God has been, and also how generous you have been, and your yes to discern more deeply in seminary life. All right. Peace be with you, everyone. Blessings on these great summer days.
Logan Bruce and Chris Wahlen entered Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, in August 2026, beginning the propaedeutic year of formation for the Diocese of Fargo. Please keep them, and all who are discerning a vocation, in your prayers.
