What is your full name?
Fr. David John Cybulski

What is your current Assignment/Parish?
I am the Pastor of St. Isaac Jogues, St. Clair Shores, MI

What is the greatest gift about being a priest?
Jesus said there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). The greatest gift is being there when I see this firsthand. It can be someone returning to the Faith. It can be someone who in tears has been profoundly touched by God’s mercy. It can be someone who has a deeper conversion. To share in these stories simply because God has asked me to listen or be present somewhere brings tears of joy.

What would you say to a young man discerning the priesthood?
To someone discerning I suggest taking the plunge. Talk to the vocation director. Get an application to the seminary and apply. Enter. I see it all the time. We negotiate with God. We try to put this out of our minds. I did it too. Finally, I gave God two years of seminary because I was certain that this was a passing thing, or He had the wrong guy. I was going to prove Him wrong. That was eighteen years ago. It took a long time for me to see things the way God sees things. Now it makes sense. Certainly, we can say no to God. He will continue to bless us because He loves us that much; however, we will never know the path of happiness that He set before us if we do not listen.

How can people at your parish best support you?
Trust your pastor. Every priest has surrendered everything to God and cares deeply for the people in his parish who rightfully call him Father. No, a decision may not be the decision we want, but this was probably a decision that started in prayer and was for the benefit of the parish as a whole. Sure we make mistakes. Every priest is a sinner in need of God’s mercy. Pray for us. We need the prayers!

How do you see the Holy Spirit working in the Archdiocese of Detroit?
I have a note from my 30-day silent retreat as a seminarian in 2006. I felt God inviting me to something new that would be happening in Detroit. Since the time that the Archbishop had asked us to pray for a new Pentecost, I have been attentive to the signs and wonders the Archbishop told us to look for in Unleash the Gospel. You cannot pinpoint one thing, especially as the pandemic has reshaped things and disrupted other things. At the same time, there are miracles and graces that daily remind us that God is in charge. It is a challenging time, but there are constant reminders from the Archbishop and others that God has called us to minister in this time. That confidence in God gives us all that we need.

Describe the first moment you knew God was calling you to the priesthood.
I think this is something I have known for a long time. When I made my First Communion, I told my parents I wanted to be a priest. I liked being an altar boy. I went to De La Salle Collegiate High School, and as I noticed the Christian Brothers, there was something that drew me to think about what would religious life be like. With all those things, I got too wrapped up in worldly ways. I thought that I could give God Sunday, be good, and then do whatever I wanted. It was eventually a retreat that I made that reshaped my thinking. I realized everything belonged to God. We are His stewards. I began to realize that God had a plan. I moved away from telling God what I wanted and asking for His blessing to asking God where He would like me to be.

What should all young people know about discerning a vocation?
God the Father is a loving father and wants the best for us. We pray frequently: Jesus, I trust in you. Complete trust in God is difficult; it’s unbelievable how difficult it is at times. Learn to trust in God in everything and learning to say no to ourselves is important. This can be in fasting or in our daily sacrifices. When we can learn truly to mean “thy will be done” when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are in store for an abundance of graces that God has for us.