What is your full name?
Fr. Colin Michael Egon Fricke

What is your current Assignment/Parish?
St. Paul on the Lake Parish, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI

What is the greatest gift about being a priest?
A deeper share in the life of the Trinity, especially evidenced by ministering the Sacraments.

What would you say to a young man discerning the priesthood?
When the yearnings of my heart began to match more and more (not perfectly) the desires of Jesus’ heart for His people, I was drawn more and more into Adoration. It was here, before Jesus in the Tabernacle, that I was better able to discern the purpose of God for my life.

How can people at your parish best support you?
Through their commitment to Jesus, His love, and the Truth revealed by Jesus and handed on through the Catholic Church.

How do you see the Holy Spirit working in the Archdiocese of Detroit?
The Archdiocese has made it their mission to be on mission. This requires a reorientation of resources to fulfill the mission of making disciples of all nations.

Describe the first moment you knew God was calling you to the priesthood.
It was more a gradual process for me, but looking back I can see God’s invitation showing up again at different times of my life. By the time I went on my first discernment weekend, I was fairly convinced God was calling me to the priesthood.

What should all young people know about discerning a vocation? 
God’s plan and purpose for your life is way better than your own purpose or plan. Deeply ingrained in each of us is the task of entrusting ourselves to another in a complete gift of self. Ultimately we are all called to entrust ourselves to Jesus (most easily through Mary!), and this entrustment generally takes shape through a religious vocation or marriage. In fact, in the Sacrament of Matrimony, the two become an image of Christ and the Church. But within every vocation, God has a personal mission for each person. This personal mission is something we discover and is tied to who we are as a person, with our desires, talents, personality and all. Discerning a vocation is discovering the Will of God active in our very own heart. Adoration is key!