The Register invited the men who were ordained transitional deacons last year to write columns for the Register, to introduce themselves to the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln.
Deacon Bradley Moss is from St. Joseph Parish in Lincoln. He was ordained a deacon in May 2025. He is now in Theology 4 at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Ambler, Pa.
A holy hour to pray for the men to be ordained will be held Friday, May 22, at 7 p.m. at the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center in Lincoln.
Ordinations will be Saturday, May 23, at 11 a.m. in the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln.
“How can I repay the Lord for all the great good done for me? I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” (Ps 116:12-13)
During my time in the seminary, these verses always struck me as I prayed the Liturgy of the Hours. In particular, during my 8-Day Retreat, the Lord used these words in a powerful way to confirm my vocation to the priesthood. I feel this sums up my excitement to offer my Mass of Thanksgiving. The Lord has been so very good and merciful to me during my life, and I cannot wait to offer my thanksgiving to God.
One of the particular ways that I have experienced God’s goodness to me is through other people in my life. I was born the oldest of two to my parents, Paul and Mary. I had the grace to be raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools. I went to St. John the Apostle School in Lincoln from kindergarten through the eighth grade. I am also a graduate of the class of 2016 from Pius X High School. I went to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) for a year and a half before entering seminary in 2018. I was sent out to finish my seminary studies at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Ambler, Pa., in 2022. A constant at all these places has been the ways that God has shown His goodness, particularly through other people.
Some of my earliest memories from childhood of what I wanted to be when I grew up were the typical answers of astronaut, scientist, or soldier. But, I also wanted to be a priest. I remember playing Mass as a young kid and desiring to be a priest when I grew up. As I matured, this call always seemed to be with me. The first time I concretely felt like this was not just a passing desire of mine but a true call from God, was at my Confirmation. I remember my fifth grade teacher telling my class just before the Confirmation Mass that God sometimes will reveal to people their vocation during Confirmation. I remember distinctly during the Lamb of God, as I watched Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, thinking to myself that I really wanted to be a priest. I instantly felt great peace and joy. My next thought was, “I think the thing my teacher talked about just happened.”
In the following years of middle school and high school, the desire to be a priest would come and go, but I could never fully shake this desire. In my senior year of high school, I began going to spiritual direction and went on a Teens Encounter Christ retreat. These helped me to deepen my prayer life and relationship with God.
After high school, I went to UNL, where I became very involved with the Newman Center. During my time at UNL, my prayer life continued to deepen. My desire for my major – computer engineering – quickly disappeared. By the end of the fall semester of my sophomore year, I decided to take a semester off to figure out my next steps academically. It was during this time that I ran into one of my grade school teachers, Sister Serena. I explained to her my situation, and she, very boldly, suggested that I go to the seminary. I was at first very reluctant and even upset at this suggestion. During the following weeks, my heart was softened, and I decided to reach out to Father Robert Matya to join the seminary.
That was the spring of 2018. I cannot believe it has been eight years since I joined the seminary. Time truly has flown by! I have been fulfilled in the last few years in a way I never thought possible.
As the old saying goes, “Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life.” I have followed the work of Him whom I love; and regardless of the work that I must do, I find this work easy, sweet, and light because I walk beside Christ (Mt 11:28-30). This statement is also true of the last eight years of seminary. It has been a time of much labor and work, but it has been fulfilling and life-giving. I am sure that it will be true of the rest of my life serving God and the Diocese of Lincoln. I know that amidst my labors in the vineyard, the Lord will continue to fulfill me so that I may share the goodness of the Lord with all of you, His beloved children.
I have found my calling, and my calling is, as Saint Terese of Lisieux said, “Love.” My calling is to love Him who is Love, to serve Him, and His people. He has anointed my head with the oil of His goodness, and my cup overflows with His graces (see Ps 23:5). How can I ever give sufficient thanks to God for all this goodness? I will take the chalice of salvation on May 23 and call on the name of the Lord day after day, all the days of my life (Ps 116:13).
