Trey's Journey

Today is All Souls Day, and two weeks ago we buried my grandmother, Maw Maw Juno Fay Caraway. May she rest in peace as my family continues to mourn her death & remember her life.

After returning to the seminary, I came back to a very full and busy lifestyle! They have already gotten me very involved over here, some things I’ve volunteered for and others just happened. But either way, I’m already extremely involved.

Last month alone, I was in charge of Oktoberfest and Oh Snap!, a trip to the Abita Brewery, as well as movie nights on Wednesdays, rigging up wires and video equipment, helping plan the Halloween party and making a community Halloween video and making lots of other videos – which has been an absolute blast. Whew! Staying busy keeps me happy! Thanks for yall’s prayers!

I recently found out that my father’s surgery went well and he is clear of cancer! Which is such wonderful news for the entire family.

Meanwhile at the Abbey, things are going great with seminary studies. There’s still a lot going on, but I’m making much progress and meeting some great people. There are many different characters and personalities, but the other men studying here are overall top-notch, great guys.  It makes me very hopeful for the future of the priesthood.

When I first heard the call, it felt like I had somewhat started a relationship with The Church.  At first, I came into discernment looking for a big sign that might say, “Hey, Trey! You are called to be a priest!”, and possibly even expecting that if that sign never came, it would be an easy “out”.  But that has changed.

I know the best thing for me to do is to go on with my formation, until God reveals to me that He does not want me to continue. So instead of looking for a big sign to tell me YES, I will to keep going until something isn’t right… and trust me, I know that feeling.

The Church has guided me and I’ve grown into an even deeper relationship with her. One that is a little more serious.  I continue to receive daily affirmations that I could love being a priest.  The Lord is revealing to me in many ways that He could be calling me to priesthood, but that I am certainly where I am supposed to be right now.

I seemed to have entered seminary at the perfect time in my life. In order for me to thrive here, I had to go through many other experiences and trials. I have not yet once seriously doubted that I belong here at this point in my journey.  I really don’t think I could have been here any sooner.

I didn’t realize how easy I had it being a college student: go to class, study, do what you want.  I also didn’t realize how easy I had it being a working man: go to work, do what you want.

But this road of studying the priesthood of saving souls is not an easy one, and not one traveled very often. It’s a very unique way of living. The students here at St. Joseph’s seminary are being formed on 4 levels: Human Formation, Spiritual Formation, Academic Formation, and Pastoral Formation.

In other words, there are LOTS of things going on. We are constantly busy. My week is filled with prayer, class, reading, Mass, studying, meetings, community meals, spiritual direction, laundry, exercising, more studying, community service, and cleaning the seminary when needed. Sleep is very valuable and precious.

I realized within the first few weeks here that being out of school can slow down your reading speed, so I’ve been spending more time reading than others (or so it seems). My grandmother is not doing well at all, she is slowly deteriorating and losing hope. I also found out that my father has cancer. I miss being home now more than ever.

As a result, I broke down last night – which usually happens once or twice a year when I’ve become very overwhelmed. So I got that out of my system, but realized that this is not going to be easy. It won’t be all fun times. This is serious. I’m here for a reason, and from my experiences in the past, the most fun ones aren’t always the most beneficial. When we are striving and struggling it makes us stronger. We can rely on God for perseverance and strength, which brings us closer to Him. Christ didn’t have it easy – that’s the wide and popular road. I know I have to pick up my cross and completely trust Him with things back at home that I cannot help, and concentrate on the things that I can.

It’s time to work like it all depends on me, and pray like it all depends on God.

It’s my first official full day as a seminarian here at St. Joseph’s Seminary in St. Benedict, Louisiana.

And it’s my 28th birthday! What better way to celebrate than my first day at seminary with my seminarian brothers. Everyone has been very helpful and welcoming already, since I moved in yesterday. It’s a very peaceful and holy place. I will really enjoy my next two years here, discerning my vocation.

From what I already know about the diocesan priesthood, I already love it and sometimes believe that it was made just for me! Or was I made for the diocesan priesthood? Anyhow, I keep getting daily affirmations that I’m headed on the right path!

So, thank you to everyone for all of the prayers! God has gotten me this far and blessed me abundantly along the entire journey! Now to start the next chapter of my upper-20s! Seminary, here I come! Make me your instrument, Lord!

This is an article about my life that I wrote for the Lake Charles Serra Club:

Respectively for the Serra Newsletter: I’m Trey Ange of Lake Charles, Louisiana studying at St. Joseph Seminary College in St. Benedict, Louisiana and I was asked to share a bit about my life and how I got here.

I was baptized at Our Lady of Good Counsel in 1983 and as a child, I looked up to my Paw Paw, Deacon Garrett Caraway, at St. John Bosco in Westlake. Growing up as the oldest of eight, I helped my parents raise a lot of kids in a family of ten. We are very close with our extended family, a large Catholic populace in the Lake Charles area. I have always loved the culture, food, music, dancing, people and spirit of the South Louisiana area, which is unique and unmatched to many places around the world.

My parents homeschooled me and my siblings, until my eighth grade year when I attended St. Margaret’s Catholic School and then St. Louis Catholic High in south Lake Charles. I loved every minute of my Catholic education and clearly identified myself as a Catholic.  In college, I grew to love my faith even more and became closer to Christ through the Newman Club near McNeese State University, back at Our Lady of Good Counsel parish. It was a time of growth for me, with guidance from Father Alan, Deacon Viau and Sister Shirley.  It was there I realized that I could never leave the faith, or I would be completely lost.

This was helpful knowledge, when I graduated from McNeese State in 2006 and moved to Austin, TX.  I was there to pursue film business, but I soon found out that my selfish ambitions were just driving me hard against the grain and down the wrong path.  I was all alone in the big city and I had no one to cling to but God – and He did not let me down.  I gave my life to The Lord and asked Him to take it and do what He wanted with it.  At the time, I did not know what else to do with my life, so I thought that I would enter the seminary.  I tried to look at entering for the Diocese of Austin, but I was not at peace with it. I thought God was telling me “No” but He was actually saying, “Not yet.”  So, I continued to date women and form friendships in the fast-paced city.

Eventually, I accepted a job in March 2007 as Project Coordinator at the Diocese of Austin and worked there for four years. I also volunteered my time for Christ Renews His Parish retreats and mostly, the Catholic 20-somethings Ministry. Alongside many great friends who were my age, we supported and challenged each other, which was crucial to my journey. My life was put on the fast track in Austin, but I buckled up for a momentous ride that would take me even further into my faith and venture into a deeper love for the Catholic Church.

In the summer of 2010, I visited Lake Charles for the Fourth of July weekend. I showed up to Saturday afternoon confession and Mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel, remembering my times there at the Catholic Student Center.  I felt a connection to my roots, a place of belonging. I knew where I came from, where I belonged and that God was calling me. During that mass, the gentle tug that I felt on my heart changed how I looked at my life. It helped me to see that I was being called to return home to Lake Charles and apply for the seminary.

My parents and entire family were overjoyed after I returned home in April 2011.  I visited Rome and the beautiful, holy Vatican City during the summer with my cousin Fr. Bubba May, and a large Ange crew. Mama Mia and Papa Sam Ange wanted us to see Sicily and Italy, to discover and understand more about our Sicilian roots and heritage.

The community has welcomed me and given me much support and prayers. Thank you, Serrans for all you do to help our journey.  I am blessed to be with you and the entire faithful of the Diocese of Lake Charles, including St. Paul’s Community in Elton, where my first summer assignment encouraged my call.

Now I’m studying The Church and the priesthood at St. Joseph Seminary, and I have developed a great respect and admiration for those who travel to another Diocese away from their original home, doing so with a missionary spirit.  God has called us to serve Him in many different ways, but His Church is everywhere.  Whether you are in Texas or Louisiana, at Rome or at home – Mother Church is here with open arms.

Imagine yourself in a community where every other week, someone you know dies. Your friends and lifelong companions are dying all the time, and somehow you know that any day it could be you. Would you live your life differently? Would you take it for granted, or take it to God?
Living like this is a true scenario and for many – a reality, especially elderly communities in small country towns. This was a place that I lived this summer in Elton, LA. I stayed at St. Paul Catholic Church for a summer internship, where there is such a vibrant love for the faith and the parishioners joyfully treat every day like a gift from God. It might be because they know and live their own reality. Or it might be because they know and live OUR reality.
Life can be taken from us at any moment. Those of us who live and think otherwise are fools.