Father Jeremy Trull The Sacrament of Holy Orders was conferred on Jeremy Trull by Most Rev. Robert Coerver, Bishop of Lubbock on Saturday, June 13th, 2020 at Christ the King Cathedral. Holy Spirit was privileged the be the assigned parish for Father Trull’s pastoral year. He was actively involved with our youth group and could be found in the Sanctuary on Wednesday mornings leading PDO classes in prayer and song. He taught adult faith formation classes and assisted in all functions of our parish. Holy Spirit has been truly blessed by Seminarian Jeremy Trull, Deacon Jeremy Trull, and we look forward to supporting Father Jeremy Trull in his ministry. Congratulations Jeremy and thank you for answering God’s call to the priesthood.
Believe what your read. Teach what you believe. Practice what you teach.
Bishop Robert M. Coerver, S.T.L.,M.S. June 1, 2019
With praise and thanksgiving to almighty God, the Diocese of Lubbock joyfully announces and invites you to attend the ordination of Wesley Evan Beal and Jeremy Lee Trull to the Sacred Order of Deacon through the imposition of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit by The Most Reverend Robert M. Coerver, Bishop of Lubbock on Saturday, June 1, 2019 at 10:00 AM at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. Reception follows in McGivney Hall.
Who is a Deacon?
A deacon is an ordained minister of the Catholic Church. There are three
groups,or “orders,” of ordained ministers in the Church: bishops,
presbyters and deacons. Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to the
Church and to the world of Christ,who came “to serve and not to be served.”
The entire Church is called by Christ to serve, and the deacon, in virtue
of his sacramental ordination and through his various ministries,
is to be a servant in a servant-Church.
Ordination of Deacon Questions
Genuine Jeremy – Teacher & Friend
What a joy it has been getting to know Jeremy this year. I worked with him primarily as a member of his Parish Advisory Team (PAT). However, like many other parishioners experienced, Jeremy quickly became a friend. His dedication to preparing for the priesthood was obvious from the beginning. Jeremy jumped right in to our parish, welcomed our feedback, and willingly joined in experiences we thought would be valuable for him.
All year, Jeremy radiated an inspiring, contagious love of the Catholic faith. His knowledge was tremendous but even more outstanding was his desire and ability to share it with others. I was able to experience this first-hand by attending the adult faith formation class he taught (Catholic Mosaic). His immense knowledge of theology, philosophy, church history, the liturgy, saints, and scripture (combined with his one-of-a-kind sense of humor) made every class an incredible learning opportunity. Jeremy did much more than simply teach a class – he created an environment where everyone felt comfortable asking questions, complex topics became accessible, and everyone walked away feeling empowered and motivated to continue learning outside of class. He truly has a gift for sharing the truths of the faith with others in ways all can understand. This was also evident in his wonderful reflections during Mass, where he shared some messages I will never forget. His teaching abilities know no bounds, as he taught Baptism and RCIA classes, youth group sessions and retreats, parish missions, and was even a hit with some of our youngest parishioners, the Parent’s Day Out group!
Experiencing Jeremy comfortably share his knowledge and faith inspired others to pursue it for themselves. I have witnessed this effect on myself, within our parish, and beyond, as his talents have a ripple effect that will continue bringing others deeper into the Catholic faith.
Getting to know Jeremy, learning with him, and witnessing his growth has been an incredible blessing. I am so thankful he answered God’s call and was humbled to be part of his journey. The lasting impact Jeremy had on our parish is obvious by how much we already miss him! Jeremy – Thank you for everything. You became a member of our parish family, and you have our continued prayers and support as you pursue the next steps in your vocation! Katherine Albus
Jeremy’s PAT Impact
I had the pleasure of getting to know Jeremy this year through participating on his Parish Advisory Team (PAT). When we started, it was obvious that we had a seminarian who was passionate about his calling to the priesthood. He was a little “green” when we started, but that all changed during the course of the year.
As a PAT, we knew he needed to experience several different aspects of Parish life so that he could gain valuable experience and better know his strengths and weaknesses. In fact, he was charged with coordinating the Parish Cleanups for which he did not have a lot of experience. Jeremy happily took on the task and was not afraid to ask for help along the way. By the end of the cleanups, I saw that he truly understood what needed to be done and why it needed to be done. Jeremy also excelled in many other areas during his time with Holy Spirit, but I’ll keep it at that as I could write several pages worth.
I thank God that He brought Jeremy to Holy Spirit for his Pastoral Year. Even though we as a PAT aided him and taught him things about Parish life, I also learned very much through my experiences with him and grew further as a child of God as a result. Not only did we gain a “rooting interest” as Jeremy continues his priestly formation, but I also gained a friend. Thank you Jeremy for being you. May God bless you on your journey to the priesthood. Ryan Artho
With the end of May comes the end of Jeremy Trull’s Pastoral Year with our parish. Since he arrived last June, his feet have not stopped moving! In a parish this size, there are many organizations and committees, ALL of which Jeremy has taken an active role in and acted as a facilitator to assist in their outreach! He has taken the time to learn the inner workings of what makes a “parish” and has succeeded in helping our parish flourish with the gifts that he has brought to us. He has a very “uncommon” way of reaching out to the common people. When someone has a passion for living a life of faith like Jeremy does, it spreads to all those around him…and we will be forever grateful for his “fire” in us!
Dear Holy Spirit Parishioners,It’s hard to believe, but my Pastoral Year has now come to an end. I will be spending most of this summer in Mexico City learning Spanish, followed by a brief assignment at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Muleshoe. Then, in August I will return to St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston to continue my theological studies.
I was told by many of my upper classmates that Pastoral Year would be one of, if not the, best years of formation. They told me that it would be the closest thing to priestly ministry that I would experience before ordination. They told me that I would finally be able to put into practice everything I had been learning at the seminary and that I would learn even more as I served in my parish assignment. More than anything else, they told me that Pastoral Year would be a profound time of discernment, a time when I would fall more in love with the Church to whom I had been called to serve. Now, standing on the other side of Pastoral Year, I can say that they were absolutely right about everything.
This year has been the greatest year of my formation and I knew it would be. I had a summer assignment at Holy Spirit a few years ago and, though it only lasted for about two months, it was absolutely phenomenal. So, I was very excited to learn that I would be back with you for an entire year. I have loved every opportunity to serve and have loved getting to know so many of you. From the very start you welcomed me with open arms into your community and into your lives, and for that I am beyond grateful. Thank you, Holy Spirit Catholic Church, for your kindness, for your generosity, for your encouragement, for your prayers, and for your friendship.
I would like to extend a special note of thanks to those with whom I worked day in and day out. To my Parish Advisory Team, I would like to say thank you for helping to mentor and encourage me throughout the year. To the Office Staff and Ministry Leaders, I would like to say thank you for all of your help and for being an example to me of what it means to work hard in service of the Church. Most especially, I want to thank our Pastor, Father Rudi, for accepting me as a seminarian intern for this year. Father, you have been, and will continue to be, a mentor and a guide and a friend. You have consistently demonstrated what it means to have a priestly heart and I look forward to the day when, God willing, I will be able to serve the Church of Lubbock with you as a brother priest.
I am saddened that I have to leave, but I am grateful beyond words for my time here at Holy Spirit. I still have two more years of seminary formation left. My prospective ordination dates are Summer 2019 for Diaconate and then Summer 2020 for Priesthood. I ask for your continued prayers as I undergo these last few stages of formation and please know that Holy Spirit, and all of the Diocese of Lubbock, will be in my prayers every day. Thank you for everything, and may the love and mercy and grace of God be with you, now and always!!
Grace and peace,
Jeremy Trull
March 2018
Life is never stagnant. It is always changing, always growing, always developing. We see this in our physical bodies, but it is just as true for our spiritual life, if not more. We are truly blessed in our community here at Holy Spirit to have countless means of growing consistently in holiness. We have a beautiful church which points to the glory of Heaven at each and every Mass. We have a vibrant and diverse devotional life which includes the communal recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary, First Friday devotions, and Eucharistic Adoration; and we have opportunities for every age to form their minds and hearts in the truths of the faith, from the young children who attend sacramental preparation to the adults who take time every week to attend an adult faith formation class.
The Holy Spirit is life itself, and Holy Spirit Parish is certainly alive and growing. But just as we experience growth spurts when we are young, times when our development suddenly leaps forward, our beloved community offers special times in which we can take a spiritual leap forward. Last month, we hosted the Footsteps in Faith Conference, in which St. Paul’s letter to the Romans was explored through the lens of the church and the outstanding scholarship of Dr. Scott Hahn, Dr. Michael Barber, Dr. John Bergsma, and our shepherd, Bishop Robert Coerver. We are profoundly grateful for those who participated, those who worked diligently to make the conference run smoothly, and to Ed and Kathryn Loskill for their dedication in bringing Footsteps in Faith to Lubbock. It was announced at the end of the conference that a new endeavor will take the place of Footsteps In Faith beginning in 2020; a diocesan wide conference on Marriage and Family Life. This represents for us yet another chance to grow, specifically in the area of family life which reflects the inner life and love of the most Holy Trinity.
This month, we will have the Life in The Spirit seminar March 9th through the 11th. We will be honored to have the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, a Franciscan community from the diocese of Amarillo, spend three days sharing how the union of contemplation and charismatic prayer strengthens our relationship with God. If Footsteps in Faith represents our growth in the knowledge of the Lord, then Life in The Spirit will provide for our growth in intimacy with the Lord. We urge you to join us, that your life in the Holy Spirit may take a leap forward.
We also find ourselves in the midst of the season of Lent. Although we began on Ash Wednesday with a solemn reminder of our own mortality, Lent is nevertheless a season of life. Yes, Lent urges us to die to ourselves through acts of prayer, fasting, and alms giving, but as our Lord says in the Scriptures, we must lose our lives in order to save them. It is only by denying ourselves and taking up our crosses that we will find the way to eternal life. Take seriously the call to penance and preparation. Find ways to deny yourself, that you may become freer to say yes to the Spirit’s calling. And as for taking up your cross, we prayerfully follow our Lord on the path to Calvary every Friday in the Stations of the Cross. Come and join your heart with His, seeing for yourself that it is in laying down lives for love that we will find true life in God.
Finally, we look forward. Lent is a season of penance, but it is also a season of preparation. The summit of our liturgical life, the very cornerstone of our faith will be celebrated on April 1st. In a few short weeks, it will be Easter Sunday and we will gather together to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. Nothing else in all of Christianity represents life and spiritual growth more than our Lord’s victory over sin and death. It is because of His rising from the dead that St. Paul was able to say to the greatest enemy of life, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” This will be a time of great rejoicing, but it is not here yet. The road to Easter Sunday had to pass through Good Friday first, and so we must continue our celebration of Lent. Stay strong in your resolutions of penance, but more importantly allow Lent to prepare your hearts for the light and life which the Rising of the Son will bring in the season of Easter.
Your Brother in Christ,
Jeremy Trull, Seminarian
Seminarian Profile: Jeremy Trull
If you began your seminary training here in Lubbock, what are three interesting characteristics of the Diocese that helped you decide to begin or continue your seminary training in Lubbock? For starters, the Diocese of Lubbock is a mission diocese that is in great need of priests. Second, I have always found Lubbock and the West Texas region to be full of genuine, kind-hearted people. Finally, Lubbock is home to most of my family and friends, and I want to be able to minister to them as a priest.
To help us understand the seminary training, what is your current level of seminary formation? What is your next milestone in seminary training, ordination, or the diaconate? Would you like to share how your original family fosters your choice of vocation? I have completed four years of formation already. First, I was sent to Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, TX, where I completed my philosophy studies at the University of Dallas. Then, I transferred to St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston, TX for my theology studies. I have completed two years in Houston already. This past summer, I worked at Covenant Medical Center as a chaplain and now doing my Pastoral Year. This is a year long internship which will be done here at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. After this year, I will return to Houston for two more years to complete my theology studies. My prospective date for ordination is Summer 2019 (Diaconate) and Summer 2020 (Priesthood.) Throughout all of this, my family has supported me 100%. They have always told me to follow wherever I sense God is leading me. They have told me numerous times how proud they are of me and that they pray for me every day, which is one of the greatest encouragements I could ever receive.
How did you begin your journey to pursue your vocation to the priesthood? Are there specific situations, circumstances that inspired you to consider the priesthood? Was it someone or something during your early childhood, teens, adulthood, and/or an educational, sacramental retreat, parish, or community event? My discernment began when I was still going through RCIA at St. John Neumann and several people approached me and told me that they thought I would make a good priest. I dismissed the idea for a time, until some friends made the suggestion again and I finally realized that I need to take discernment seriously. I spent the next six months praying and doing research on priesthood, trying to determine if this was the calling which God has placed on my life. It was in the chapel of Mundelein Seminary in Chicago during a discernment retreat that I finally realized that God was indeed calling me to go to the seminary. That decision has been affirmed over and over again over the last four years, and so I can now honestly say that one day becoming a priest is the greatest desire I have.
Is there a specific ministry you feel that your gifts, talents, experiences, and desires to serve could best be utilized to help serve in a parish, mission, ministry, and the Catholic Church? I have always been academically inclined, so teaching is something which I am very passionate about. Also, being a convert, I think I would have a lot to offer for RCIA programs, since I have a shared experience with many who go through RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. I have assisted with two different RCIA programs over the years and it is a profound joy to see people discover the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith for the first time. Campus ministry is also something which speaks to my heart. College is a major turning point in many Catholics’ lives. It is a time when their faith can either be strengthened or severely weakened, and it is also a time when many discern their vocation, either to marriage or to priesthood and religious life.
What are classes like in the seminary? Are they integrated with secular institutions? Is there a selection of degree plans available to you? Where have your travels taken you on your journey through the priesthood? The classes for Holy Trinity Seminarians are taken at the University of Dallas Campus, which were very rigorous yet also very formative and enjoyable. At St. Mary’s Seminary, however, the classes took place on campus, though the professors and curriculum is supplied by the University of St. Thomas. The biggest difference between classes at these two seminaries is that the University of Dallas classes were almost entirely theoretical (philosophy and theology), but the course at St. Mary’s included a lot of practical formation (e.g. Canon Law, seminars on how to celebrate the Mass and the sacraments, how to do marriage counseling, how to provide pastoral care to the sick, etc.) All seminarians receive a bachelor’s degree in philosophy (unless they already have a college degree) and a Master’s of Divinity; however, there are options for additional degrees, depending on the seminary you attend. My time in seminary has allowed for a lot of travel, much more than I had experienced before. Prior to seminary, I had lived in Lubbock for almost my entire life, but I can now say that I have also lived in Dallas and Houston. I have been able to visit Benedictine Monasteries in Arkansas and Missouri, and spent an entire summer in Omaha for a summer program. I was also able to visit the State Capital Building in Austin with my seminary for the Texas March for the Life and Advocacy Day.
Do you have time to enjoy any technical or recreational activities during your seminary training? Are there any hobbies or activities you enjoy during your down time from the seminary studies? We are strongly encouraged to enjoy other pursuits besides just academics in order to keep a balanced life; however, seminary life is very busy, so we have to actively work to make time for it. For me, I enjoy watching movies, going out to eat with my seminarian brothers, playing ping pong, chess, and pool. I also enjoy weightlifting and have begun to enjoy playing soccer as well.
Tell us about your Pastoral Year assignment? How can we as parishioners help you during your internship with us and throughout the remainder of your formation? The Pastoral Year is an integral part of the formation program at St. Mary’s Seminary. After the second year of theology, a seminarian’s entire class are sent to parishes in their respective diocese to work and gain hands-on experience in parish life and ministry. We live at the rectory and take part in numerous programs offered by the parish, all under the guidance of the pastor, who serves as mentor to the seminarian. It is in invaluable time for formation and discernment, and I am truly grateful to be here at Holy Spirit for my Pastoral Year. The greatest thing that Holy Spirit parishioners can do for us seminarians is to continue to pray for us, but another important thing would be to keep in contact with us, especially through mail. While at seminary, a tough day can easily be made much brighter by seeing that you have a card or letter in your mail slot from someone back home!
Would you like to share your contact information with us? How can we stay in touch with you and you with us? Of course! I will be at Holy Spirit for the next year, but will return to Houston next fall to finish my classes. My address while I am at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston is 9845 Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77024.
Is there anything we as parishioners can do to help foster vocations within our parish? The greatest thing to do is talk often about vocations and discernment with the children and teens of the parish. Help them to see the goodness and beauty of these callings, and encourage them to bravely ask God what His will for them is. If you notice something in another person that makes you think they would make a good priest or religious, don’t be afraid to let them know. Above all else, continue praying for those who are searching and for those who have already answered the call.