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By Eric Connolly
What better place for the next step in a
Montanan’s religious vocation than, as it is
known, the place where Montana began?
Diocesan seminarian David Severson
was ordained to the transitional diaconate on
Sunday, Oct. 10, at the 169-year-old St.
Mary’s Mission in Stevensville. Deacon
Severson, who had been a parishioner at St.
Mary’s Parish since high school, was surrounded
by family as he stood before
Bishop George Leo Thomas and took vows
of threefold ministry: word, charity and the
altar.
After growing up in the Bitterroot Valley
community of Corvallis and graduating
from high school in Stevensville, Deacon
Severson served in the Army in Kuwait during
Operation Desert Storm. “So don’t mess
with him,” Bishop Thomas told the congregation
during his homily. Deacon Severson
also served in the Army National Guard.
He went on to receive undergraduate
degrees in education and art history from
The University of Montana Western in
Dillon. He taught at Loyola Sacred Heart
High School and St. Joseph’s Elementary
School, both in Missoula.
In 1998, Deacon Severson entered
Legionnaires of Christ study, in Connecticut
and New York. He earned a Bachelor of
Philosophy degree. After lengthy discernment
that included his superiors, he moved
toward a life of diocesan priesthood.
“And so with the blessings of his superiors,
I opened the doors of the diocese to
him, and God provided us with this special
blessing,” Bishop Thomas said. Since 2007,
Deacon Severson has been studying for the
Diocese of Helena at Mount Angel
Seminary in Oregon.
Bishop Thomas noted in his homily that
Deacon Severson will use his military background
when he is a priest.
“Our diocese has a special responsibility
to reach out to the returning troops who are
coming home from combat” and to reach
out to their families, the bishop said. “And
so, we’re asking David to provide a special
ministry following his ordination to the
priesthood, to be present to the armed services
as part of his future assignment.”
Speaking after his ordination to the transitional
diaconate, Deacon Severson told
The Montana Catholic that he had received
“an incredible gift from God” and felt
unworthy.
“It’s an incredible grace to be here, number
one for the parish to see it, the community
that has been praying for me for so
many years, my extended family so to
speak, let alone my own family,” he said.
“You cannot out-give God. You just give
yourself and he will guide you and it will all
come back in return, one hundredfold.”
Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 26, No. 10, October 15, 2010.
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