Diocesan Seminarian Series

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third installment of a summer series on diocesan seminarians.]

HAWTHORNE  “Where did they go?” Charles Lana had finished playing basketball with friends, when he noticed that the gold chain, crucifix and charm for the three theological virtues disappeared from around his neck. The 19-year-old never found the chain or the charm but was surprised to find that the crucifix fell into the left pocket of his shorts. This fortunate discovery encouraged Lana to reflect, not only on the jewelry that he lost, but also on the new insights to his budding vocation that he gained.

“The crucifix in my pocket reminded me that Jesus is always with me. The loss of the charm for the theological virtues [represented by a cross, anchor and heart] showed me that I needed to grow deeper in those virtues of faith, hope, and love,” said Lana, a 31-year-old lifelong parishioner of St. Anthony’s, Hawthorne, and a second theology student at Immaculate Conception Seminary on the campus of Seton Hall University, South Orange.

Lana considers the incident of losing the chain and charm the first of many signs and experiences that helped him recognize that God was calling him to priesthood. These included being filled with the desire to return to Mass after taking religion courses as a Seton Hall undergraduate; deepening his prayer life, while attending Seton Hall law school and later during his law career; receiving encouragement from priests he just met; and expanding his involvement in his faith as a catechist and youth ministry volunteer at St. Anthony’s, he said.

Although Lana would not realize it yet, his long vocations journey started with a strong faith foundation in childhood. His parents, Charles, who works in logistics, and Diane, a homemaker, brought his two younger siblings — sister Stefanie, now 29, and brother Andrew, now 25 — and him to weekly Mass and religious education instruction at St. Anthony’s. The seminarian has fond memories of praying the “Our Father” and “Hail Mary” with his father before bed.

“Praying stuck with me,” Lana said. “From a young age, Mass was important to me. It was a regular part of life. I loved the sense of community — being all together. I admired the priests because I realized that they are doing something special,” he said.

In 2003, Lana was graduated from Hawthorne High School, where was named to the National Honor Society and the Spanish Honor Society. He headed to Seton Hall, where he would earn a bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in history with an eye toward three possible career paths: as a government worker, attorney or teacher.

As he began his undergraduate studies, Lana sporadically attended Mass. His attendance had dropped off at the end of high school because of his heavy course load and busy schedule playing sports — baseball, basketball and soccer — on high-school teams. But he took a Contemporary Moral Values course with Father John Ballwe, which inspired him to return to Mass at St. Anthony’s with his mother. Then, he took other religious courses.

“I was growing in my faith,” Lana said.

With his bachelor’s degree in hand, Lana interned for five months at the Office of the Chief Counsel of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Newark. He got a taste for law by observing its attorneys making the government’s arguments in immigration, asylum and deportation cases.

Lana clerked for Kaps & Barto, Esq., a small law firm in Hackensack that handles civil cases, where he filed materials, compiled exhibits and read legal briefs. Before applying to law school, he had a brief thought about the priesthood, but quickly ignored it.

So in 2008, Lana entered Seton Hall School of Law, where he took on a demanding course load that involved long days and nights of classes and studying. In what little spare time he had, he deepened his faith, praying more everyday, including the rosary; reading and reflecting on Scripture; and watching EWTN Catholic television network.

“My thoughts of priesthood grew stronger. I was fighting it, because it was not fitting into my life plans at the moment,” said Lana, who in law school and after, got more involved at St. Anthony’s as a fifth-grade catechist and youth ministry volunteer.

Meanwhile, Lana worked as a judicial intern for the Hon. James Guida of N.J. Superior Court in Hackensack. Before earning his law degree in 2011, Lana also served as a legal intern for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. After law school, Lana clerked for Judge Guida. He observed juvenile and family court cases. He performed research and wrote legal briefs, complied jury instructions and reviewed pre-trial sentencing reports. Lana also told the judge — a deacon at St. Mary Parish, Rutherford — about his possible call and received encouragement.

Lana also worked as an attorney for Strasser & Associates, a civil law firm in Paramus. It was during this period after law school that two priests he did not know before gave him encouragement in his vocation. One day, at St. Elizabeth Parish, Wyckoff, a priest heard his confession and then offered this observation: “You will do great things in life as a lawyer or maybe even as a priest.” Then, a priest from Sacred Heart Parish, Lyndhurst, asked him to consider the priesthood, after watching him read Scripture at his grandfather’s funeral.

By May 2013, Lana felt the call to a priestly vocation grow much stronger. So he spoke to Father Hubert Jurjewicz, diocesan vocations director; Father Kevin Corcoran, diocesan vice chancellor; and Msgr. Raymond Kupke, St. Anthony’s pastor. He also told his parents, who “found the news difficult, but warmed up to it because they are supportive and want what’s best for me,” Lana said.

In the fall of 2013, a 28-year-old Lana entered Immaculate Conception Seminary. In addition to coursework and spiritual activities, he has undertaken several pastoral assignments, including assisting immigration attorneys at Catholic Charities in Newark, and talking and praying with residents at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly, Totowa. He also visited parishioners’ homes, a nursing home and religious education classes during a yearlong assignment at St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes, with fellow seminarian and St. Anthony’s parishioner Dailon Lisabet.

“Father Jared [Brogan, St. Catherine’s administrator] connects with people well and is an engaging personality. People want to be around him,” Lana said.

Last summer, Lana worked at St. Anthony’s, lectoring at daily Mass, making Communion calls, conducting wake and burial services and teaching Vacation Bible School. This summer, he attended the nine-week Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha with fellow seminarians Lisabet and Andrew Dutko.

“Charles has been involved in the life of St. Anthony’s in youth group, CCD and Vacation Bible School. He is smart but humble. He has a strong sense of responsibility and deep faith and takes his prayer life seriously,” said Father Roberto Amador, St. Anthony’s parochial vicar. “We are proud to have Charles come from our parish and enter the seminary.”