Meet the Priests

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off?
I like to take long walks with my dog Stanley. I like to read, spend time with friends, and watch movies on occasion in theaters…. With popcorn… and Milk Duds…. Please don’t tell my dentist that…

What’s your favorite part of being a priest? 
No two days are alike. I like that. I love celebrating the sacraments, obviously. In recent years, I feel like God has called me to assist people in crisis. Generally, I can stay calm, love people, but also give them room to feel what they feel without being unnerved whatsoever.

List two pet peeves.
I do not like when people shame people. It doesn’t help anything. Also, horn honkers get on my nerves. I mean, if you can’t be patient, get an Uber!

Favorite book?
He Leadeth Me by Fr. Walter Ciszek. I love that, no matter the circumstance, he was absolutely convinced that he was doing what he was supposed to do to save souls. That included sitting in a prison cell in Siberia.

Favorite meal?
I love food. Since I don’t cook, I have no right to be picky. I do do dishes, though. I love going to restaurants and checking out new places. My favorite right now is The Eagle downtown. It’s a fried chicken/comfort food place. I don’t go often because I need to fit in my clothes! 

Favorite hymn?
I love “Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All.” I also love “O God Beyond All Praising.” Finally, “These Alone are Enough,” which includes text by St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Favorite prayer?
I’m trying to memorize a prayer called The Proficiscere. There is a beautiful picture that goes along with it. I pray it every day for the parishioner who is closest to death. Also, I love the “O Lord, support us all the day long of this troublous life” prayer by St. John Henry Newman.

What’s one thing that you wish people knew about you?
That I am a sinner that keeps trying. I am always in need of your prayers, and I pray for you, as well! Also, I want them to know that I love Jesus.

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off?
With family and friends

What’s your favorite part of being a priest? 
Seeing the hand of God in the daily lives of our parishioners

List two pet peeves.
People wasting food and being late

Favorite book?
The Holy Longing by Ron Rolheiser

Favorite meal?
Thanksgiving, especially with family

Favorite hymn?
"There is a Wideness in God's Mercy," and "In Every Age, Oh God, You Have Been Our Refuge"

Favorite prayer?
The Act of Contrition. I pray it at every Mass and each night before I go to sleep.

What’s one thing that you wish people knew about you?
That I love what I do, 99% of the time.

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off?
The days when I was in India, I used to go home, Mom would make a lot of snacks, and I would taste them all. During the day I would spend quite a lot of time sleeping. At night there would be a whole family gathering and following dinner, my dad would lead us all in prayer. For my day off here, I spend my time making, writing scripts, and searching for video content; reading books; practicing homilies; working on my accent; hiking; and running. 

What’s your favorite part of being a priest?
Preaching. The final and most important commandment of Jesus to his disciples before the Ascension was to go unto the world proclaiming the Gospel. St. Paul would say that I am not ashamed of Gospel. “Woe to me If I don’t preach the Gospel.” In the modern world, I am exploring many ways and means of proclaiming the Gospel using media, social media, and new media platforms.

List two pet peeves.
Hundreds of unread emails in the inbox from anonymous websites.
Whenever I miss the punch line of a joke.
Snooze button on the alarm clock.

Favorite book?
Matthew Kelly’s Rediscover Catholicism exposed the incredible beauty of Catholicism. I gained a wider, deeper, stronger understanding of Catholicism, and it challenged me to become the best version of myself for Christ and his Flock. Fr. Larry Richard’s Be a Man is also a favorite. He gave a retreat for our diocesan priests in 2019 at Tipton.  

Favorite meal?
Goat meat with rice and chicken deep-fried is my favorite food. This is our “Sunday Special Menu” Mom makes at home in India. The goat meat was very expensive so we ate it once every 15 or 30 days only on Sundays and occasions like Village Festival and Christmas. Here in our country, I like ribs, steak, crab, hamburgers, and pizza also very much.

Favorite hymn?
“Like a Sunflower.” I learned this hymn for the first time in seminary. When I joined the seminary in 1999, I had very little English background. This hymn was very easy to understand, appealing to my vocation, and strengthened my call.  

Favorite prayer?
My favorite prayer is Peace Prayer by St. Francis of Assisi. I learned it from the brother who came to my village for Easter Ministry. He said that it was his favorite prayer because it was St. Mother Teresa’s favorite. Since then it became my favorite prayer, too. I also like the “Breastplate Prayer” by St. Patrick. And also I pray every day to Our Lady of Perpetual Help with a specific family, personal, friend’s or parishioner’s intention, and especially for the souls in Purgatory.

What’s one thing that you wish people knew about you?
While I was mastering in visual communication studies in 2017, I created a YouTube channel in order to provide digital Catholic video content for the Catholic believers in Tamil Nadu, India, who were so much deprived of Catholic digital content. Currently, the channel has reached 74,200+ subscribers with almost 800 videos. Find the channel here.

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off?
A leisurely day off with my parents and siblings.

What’s your favorite part of being a priest? 
Probably Mass and confession. Those are deeply moving moments where God is very present and the meditation of the priesthood is quite palpable.

List two pet peeves.
1. When someone does not order French fries and then wants to take mine!
2. Leaving dirty dishes around.

Favorite book?
Let's say for this question that it is a non-spiritual/non-Biblical book. It would have to be The Island of the World by Michael O'Brien.

Favorite meal?
A good cheeseburger with sweet potato fries.

Favorite hymn?
It would probably be between an old Polish hymn called the Bogurodzica and a Latin hymn entitled Adoremus in Aeternum by Allegri.

Favorite prayer?
Hmmm this is a tough one. Assuming I can't choose something like the Rosary since it is a combination of prayers, I'll go with the Te Deum.

What’s one thing that you wish people knew about you?
My middle name is Dominik.