Vocation Story - Benjamin Sember '06
	Twice Blessed: When Twins Discern God’s Call. As seminarians we meet new people often; we encounter other seminarians, shake hands with priests and bishops, and introduce ourselves to people in the parishes. My curse, and my blessing, is that I always have to introduce myself twice: "Hello, my name is Ben. I am from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and I am in third theology. This is Joel; he is from the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and he is in third theology. Yes, we are twin brothers." Sometimes I have to introduce myself to people who believe they have met me before. People who have met my brother say hello to me and wonder why I look confused. Sometimes friends talk to me about things I never said; often they realize their mistake from the blank look on my face. Occasionally I just play along and repeat the conversation to Joel in case the person talks to him later. For me it is the worst when people call us "Benjoel" and treat us as if we were one person with two manifestations. When people talk about the Trinity this way it is heresy, but unfortunately the teaching of "Benjoel" has never been condemned by the Church. Even though most people marvel that two brothers would be called to priestly vocations, this is not particularly unusual. Jesus called James and his brother John, and Simon and his brother Andrew; the Apostle Thomas had the nickname "twin." Joe Campbell, one of our classmates here at the College, has a twin brother studying in another seminary. The Archdiocese of Omaha, the Diocese of Lansing, and the Diocese of Sioux Falls all have pairs of twins studying for the priesthood. Like James and John, we were both called at the same time, in a personal way, to follow Christ. Joel and I are the oldest of seven children in a good Christian family. During high school we began to think about careers, and priesthood kept surfacing as an option. During our senior year we visited St. John Vianney Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. Because the seminary is located on a university campus, the seminarians attend classes with other students and experience a "normal" college life. At the same time, however, there is daily Mass, community prayer and spiritual formation. I thought it was a good place to discern the will of God, and Joel liked the community atmosphere, so we joined. Our first year at seminary we roomed together, but then we began to grow in different ways. We like to say that God did not call both of us; he called each of us. Here in Rome we continue walking the path towards priesthood. It is a challenge, of course, such as this Christmas when we traveled to Eastern Europe. I would just say that we had a couple of differences of opinion. Although we may be identical twins, we do not always think the same or share the same opinion! Nevertheless it is a great support to have a brother in seminary - like having family away from home. We are both looking forward to serving God wherever he might send us… just as long as we are not assigned to the same parish when we get home! by Benjamin Sember Diocese of Green Bay Class of 2006