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IN THE DIOCESE
February 20, 2018 | The Valley Catholic
Priest Interviews: Father Steve Kim
February
By Justin Chung ’19
20 Tues, 2 p.m., Clergy Personnel Board Meeting, Diocesan Offices, San Jose
22 Thurs, 1 p.m., Bishop’s Cabinet Meeting, Diocesan Offices, San Jose
23 Fri, 8 a.m., Mass, Amoris Laetitia Conference, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara
Fri, Amoris Laetitia Conference, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara
This is the third in a series of priest
interviews conducted by Justin Chung.
Justin is a junior at Bellarmine College
Preparatory and an active parishioner at
Holy Korean Martyrs Parish.
Father Steve was born in Korea and
raised in the Bay Area. His life as a
priest consists of being the Parochial
Vicar for Spanish ministry at Saint
Lucy Parish in Campbell, working
as a religious studies teacher at Saint
Francis High School in Mountain View,
studying to attain his Masters and
Ph.D. degrees in education at USC, and
working to build a new Catholic high
school in the southern part of Santa
Clara County.
Before he had this array of oppor-
tunities, Father Steve was a student
attending Palo Alto High School. “[In
high school] there were two sides for me:
for the first two and a half years I wasn’t
the best person. I was very selfish and
egotistical. But, I had a transformation
during Confirmation so I was much
better afterwards.”
Father Steve’s experience during
Confirmation enabled him to discern
his identity as a person and the need for
change. Towards the end of his junior
year, people asked the major he wanted
to pursue. Father Steve felt unsure. “One
thing I realized was that I was kind of
a selfish person and that I wasn’t the
person I wanted to be, so I felt that God
was calling me to be selfless.” Distin-
guishing his need for change was the
first step for him to find his vocation.
Although his parents wanted him to
become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer,
Father Steve felt open and curious about
priesthood. “I thought about what the
priesthood and was like, ‘Well, this is
something very different and radical’...
the concept of serving God sounded very
interesting and at the tender age of 17 I
was like, ‘Let me figure this out.’” Im-
mediately after high school he became a
seminarian. “It wasn’t like I sign myself
away, it’s more of, ‘I feel like God is call-
ing me towards this let me try it out.’”
The Valley Catholic
Publisher
Bishop Patrick J. McGrath
Executive Editor and Communications Director
Liz Sullivan
[email protected]
Production Manager
Yesenia Cabrera Hall
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Business Manager
Karen Levesque
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1150 N. First Street, Suite 100, San Jose, CA 95112-4966
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[email protected] | tvc.dsj.org
APPOINTMENTS OF BISHOP PATRICK J. MCGRATH
March
3
4
Sat, 4 p.m., Confirmation Conference Mass, Saint Francis High School, Mountain View
Sun, 11 a.m., Mass and Luncheon, Young Ladies Institute, Saint Joseph of Cupertino Church,
Cupertino
Father Steve Kim
It worked. After finishing college and
committing to priesthood, Father Steve
became the youngest priest ever to be
ordained in the Diocese of San Jose.
Over time, Father Steve’s priesthood
has been filled with ups and downs and
twists and turns. As to what fulfills and
sustains him as a priest, Father Steve
says that “my relationship with God
certainly does. Just like in any other vo-
cation there are good and bad moments
but the one thing that is steady is my
relationship with God. Once a month I
have a spiritual director who guides me
in my path and points me towards the
right direction.”
A key aspect that I am able to take
away from my conversation with Father
Steve is that I must make the choice to
be vulnerable in order for God to do
His best work in my life. For example,
Father Steve’s experience throughout
his Confirmation allowed him to un-
derstand his values and identity as a
person. Hence, he was able to realize his
shortcomings as an individual growing
more open towards change, allowing
God to work in his life. Similarly, this
openness and small amount of faith is
what I need in order for God’s grace to
guide my life and ultimately lead me
towards my vocation as a Catholic.
He replied, “Because you have so
little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have
faith as small as a mustard seed, you can
say to this mountain, ‘Move from here
to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will
be impossible for you.” - Matthew 17:20
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Diocese of San Jose Vocations
@DSJVocations
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