February 12, 2025

We recently invited a guest speaker to talk to the Junior High boys. (The girls had a guest speaker of their own, but I sat in on the boy’s talk.) Mr. Jake Wieneke spoke to the 7^th and 8^th grade boys. At one point well into the talk he encouraged the boys to take a few notes at talks they found inspiring. I could tell they were inspired, but not many took out a notebook.  So here are the notes I took!

Jake outlined his early years of growing up in a Catholic family, witnessing to the importance of regular attendance at Mass.  He had a few challenges in adolescence which led him down some dark roads.  

His first Sunday in college, he met a FOCUS missionary who invited him to lunch. During the lunch conversation, the missionary asked him, “How’s your prayer life?”

Jake responded, “Fine, I go to Mass on Sunday, pray before meals and at bedtime.”

The missionary responded, “Have you ever listened for God’s voice?” Jake asked what that looked like, and it was a game changer for him. He also said, “Serious prayer and serious sin cannot coexist for long. Prayer will eradicate sin.  He will set you free.”

Jake became a wide receiver for the SDSU Jackrabbits, after which he was drafted and signed on to the Minnesota Vikings. After a year with them, he went to the Canadian Football League for roughly four years. He had the goal of being the best wide receiver of all time. When that dream began to fade, he had to decide who he was and what was his identity outside football.  About then he attended SEEK (a FOCUS conference) and the possibility of becoming a missionary became more real.

He told the story of Billy the Builder. Billy built upscale houses. He was exceptional at what he did, using only the best materials and doing much of the work himself so it would be done to high standards. After building many houses, he decided he was ready to retire. His boss asked him to build just one last house. After saying no, his boss came back and pleaded, so Billy came back for one more. His heart was not really in that last house. He skimped a bit on materials and it wasn’t his best workmanship, but he got it done and turned over the keys to his boss. His boss thanked him, and gave him the keys back, it was his house. Billy deeply regretted the corners he had cut.

Every day we get better or worse. Do your best and become better each day! Later we learned he majored in PE education at one point. I asked him if he could sub for us. He said he’d need to check with his team director and the conversation went on. Later I returned to that statement, “Jake, you played professional football for five years, and you said you’d have to ask permission.”

He said, “Yes, and he’s younger than I am, too.” Obedience and permissions are not always easy.

After many questions about professional athletics one student asked about the hardest time in Jake's life. He said the first year he was playing football, he felt the call to the priesthood. He broke up with his girlfriend (who is now his wife) to discern. It was really hard...I could hear the loneliness in his voice. He discerned with some quiet and good spiritual direction, then got back together with Brenda.

Another student asked if he had any regrets. Jake described two scenes. One regret he tries to avoid: "If someone comes to me looking for Christ, and they get only me.”

He also spoke of one of the strongest Christian men he knows…. when asked to go to a party to try to win others over and change the culture, he responded, “No, I can’t, I’m too weak.”  Wow, knowing your limitations and avoiding the near occasion of sin...It was a great talk...they closed with a quick game of one-on-one basketball and Jake dunking the ball, hanging properly from the rim.

Praying the seeds planted take root!

Sister Mary Michael, C.K.