Dear Parishioners,
I just celebrated my first Mass today (Wednesday, June 9th) and Father Stiles asked me to write you an introduction. I want to say first that I look forward to getting to know you all and sharing life together here in these beautiful parish
settings!
I grew up in Northfield Minnesota, across the street from the now torn down hospital, and just down the street from St. Olaf College. I grew up in the Lutheran Church at St. Peters Lutheran church across town attending Sunday school and confirmation. Though I fought my parents tooth and nail not wanting to go most if not all the time. I think though my lack of purpose, some intense teasing, my sin brought me to quite a low point in my life. I remembering being so low that I called out to God for once in my life and that is when things started to slowly change. I started to seek a better crowd of friends and even sought a girl by joining the bible study she was attending. Obviously it didn’t work out… I played a lot of sports growing up, baseball up to tenth grade, football 5th- senior year, wrestling one year and track my senior year. I spent much of my free time in the weight room preparing for football and when I graduated I went to college and went back to playing Baseball.
I went to Dana College in Blair Nebraska, prompted by my parents to get me out the house. I went to play baseball, but in high school I liked art and also being a Boy Scout I loved camping/hiking so I took environmental science thinking I would maybe be a park ranger or something. Long story short, my roommate got me involved in Campus Crusade for Christ a non-denominational Christian organization on campus. I would say between the friends I made there and a conference I went to, I met Jesus, and He changed my life. I had such a profound conversion that I changed my studies such that I could study my new found faith. My roommate, however, was also a strong Catholic, and he started challenging me with Catholic things and I really took in the Catholic apologetics (meaning the Catholic defense of the faith). I started to go to Mass and adoration, not knowing much about what was going on or what to do, but taking it all in. I ended up writing a 15 page paper (prompted by my roommate) on the Eucharist, and I was fast on my way to the Catholic Church. All this happened my freshman and sophomore years of college.
Once I converted, received confirmation, and first Eucharist, on the Easter vigil, my roommate told me I should stop dating and think of the priesthood. I wasn’t having it, so I kind of backed off of my zeal and went through a hiatus of sorts, maybe attending Sunday Mass, but not really having a prayer life. Long story short, I had another key conversion through FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students), the Lord spoke to me profoundly in the Scriptures: 1 Cor 2:5 “I did not come to you with great words of wisdom but with Spirit and Power.” I thought the Lord was telling me that I think I know so much through studying my way to the Church, but that’s nothing compared to the need for His guidance, His Power! “Where is your Spirit, your power? It comes from Me, not worldly wisdom!” I went to confession and started to pray more intensely, and when I graduated, God showed me how to lay down my life upon the altar at Mass and adoration. This began a process that opened me up to the priesthood as I was open to seeing it in its true light as a path of manly laying down one’s life for the people in imitation of Christ. I heard the call in the night at the factory I worked at in Canon Falls Minnesota and I entered St. Paul Seminary the year after college in 2008.
I have been a priest for 7 years now at 3 other parishes. The first 3 years at St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park/Osseo, the second 2 years at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings, and I come from 2 years at St. John the Baptist in Savage. I look forward to getting to know you all and I hope we can grow together in our journey to our heavenly homeland!
In Christ,
Fr. Michael Barsness
P.S. I go by either Fr. Michael or Fr. Barsness and I am open to learning new skills and hobbies as time permits.