Watch: "I can't wait to be a priest" by Deacon Tyler Arens

Excited, ready and in need of your prayers. That’s Deacon Tyler Arens who will be ordained to the sacred priesthood for the Diocese of Lansing this Saturday, June 11, at Saint Thomas Aquinas Church in East Lansing. Deo volente.

“It's crazy that our Lord gives this power to the Church, His Church, through her priests, to minister His mercy in the sacraments and to restore relationship with the Father,” says 36-year-old Deacon Tyler who hails from the parish of Saint Mary in Westphalia.

“It’s just beautiful and still surreal to me that Our Lord uses this weak human vessel to continue his work of salvation, in this world, as His priests. I'm ready and excited. I can't wait to be a priest. Yet I know I need a lot of grace, and I need a lot of prayer, and the support of the people of God, and the support of brother priests – that will be essential.”

Please do keep both Deacon Tyler and his fellow ordinand, Deacon Peter Ludwig, in your prayers in the coming days and in the months and years to come. Our Lady, Queen of the Clergy, pray for them!