Santissimo Sacramento

Our blog has moved!

2010-05-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

Today our blog has moved to ConsiderPriesthood.com! This is the new vocations website for the Diocese of Sacramento and the new place from which our blog will operate.

Please update your links and bookmarks to reflect this new web address.

AMDG

Complaining

2010-05-17T22:36:00.000-07:00

This just happens to be a very common symptom in the seminary. We get everything we could possibly need, food, housing, entertainment, prayer, brotherhood, financial support, and we somehow still find the time to complain. I am probably the number one offender here. :)

But it is a bad sign for our humility and a challenge for us to move beyond ourselves. As my spiritual director always says, we have to stop feeding that ego of ours that wants what we want it, when we want it, how we want it, and on and on. If you want to grow in your discernment, try putting the kabosh on your complaining. It sure is not the easiest for me.

AMDG

From the Week

2010-05-16T05:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is a bit late. I ran out of town on Friday and forgot to post this.

--1--

It's been a slow week. My friend is still in the hospital so it's becoming part of the daily routine. Please keep him in your prayers.

--2--

We pulled out another victory beating Sedes Sapientia 3-0 and are on to the semi-finals. That game will happen in a couple weeks.

--3--

We have all heard about the sex abuse scandals that have stretched into Europe. That said, I was glad to finally hear these clear spoken words from the Archbishop of Dublin.

"There are those who think that in today’s culture what we need is a sort of efficient ‘Catholic Church in Ireland Incorporated’, with its own CEO and with management structures administered efficiently from the top right down to the lowest level. The Church can benefit from appropriate management structures, but renewal will always be the work of prophets rather than management consultants. The message of Jesus Christ is lived in localized faith communities not in national bureaucracies...

...The Catholic Church in Ireland, as I said, will have to find its place in a very different, much more secularized culture, at times even in a hostile culture. It will have to find that place by being authentic and faithful to the person and the message of Jesus Christ. The agenda for change in the Church must be one that comes from its message and not from pressure from outside and from people who do not have the true good of the Church at heart. We all have reasons to be discouraged and to be angry. There is a sense, however, in which true reform of the Church will spring only from those who love the Church, with a love like that of Jesus which is prepared also to suffer for the Church and to give oneself for the Church."

I have started to get a sense of the disillusion myself with my hospital visits. People are confused, weary, no longer interested. What is needed, deep down, are saints. Holy priests, holy sisters, holy lay faithful, holy everyone. Perhaps it is most challenging to be a priest right now because of the scandal and the many struggles we continue to face. But as I told a couple ladies from the south, that is stateside, it is also an amazingly exciting time to be a priest. There is much to be done and much grace there to do it with.

--4--

All my diocesan brothers are out of school back home. If I used the word jealous, I would be understating my current state. Enjoy fellas!

There's no such thing as a coincidence

2010-05-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

Today, May 13, has much significance in the recent history of the Church. On this day in 1981, Mehmet Ali Agca attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II. The Holy Father attributed his survival to the protection of Our Lady of Fatima because on this same day in 1917, three shepherd children in the Portuguese village of Fatima reported the first of several apparitions of the Blessed Virgin. On the same date - May 13, 1917 - Fr. Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII, was consecrated a bishop. Pius XII was one of our great Marian popes, and formally exercised his ex cathedra authority to promulgate the dogmatic definition of our Mother's Assumption into Heaven. May 13 is also the birthday of Blessed Pope Pius IX who also explicitly invoked his infallible ex cathedra teaching authority to promulgate the dogmatic definition of Our Lady's Immaculate Conception. Today is also the forty-third anniversary of Monsignor James Kidder's (my pastor's) ordination to the priesthood. Happy anniversary Monsignor!

Scripture tells us the hairs on our heads are all numbered, and not a single sparrow falls from the sky without God knowing of it. For that reason, I don't believe there's really such a thing as a coincidence in our Blessed Lord's divine providence. Looking back on my own life, it's still amazing to me that I, someone who wasn't even born a Catholic, am now studying to be a priest. At the same time though I have to believe that if it is indeed God's will that I be a priest, He would have known that from all eternity before I was even conceived. God arranged things to happen in my life to 1) bring me into His Church and admit me to His sacraments, and 2) inspire me to apply to our diocese and the seminary.

Our Holy Father is currently engaged in a pilgrimage to Fatima for the anniversary of Our Lady's appearances to the children there ninety-three years ago. He just delivered an awesome sermon which touches on Our Lady's message of prayer, repentance, and conversion. Pray the Rosary for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and for peace in the world.

Are we there yet?

2010-05-10T22:42:00.000-07:00

This is another seminarian symptom I think. We want to be already there, ordained priests, but we are not even close. What I have come to realize recently is that seminary is not something to be endured. I know I should already know that. But it has finally become something interior to me, that it is good to be here, and this time in itself is blessed

Pope Benedict reflecting on life in the seminary said "The seminary is not so much a place but a significant time in the life of the follower of Jesus (Cologne, Aug. 19, 2005)." That is how we too need to see it.

And Mother Adela, superior of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary said "The seminary is a time of formation, of communion, of intimate dialogue with Christ, of preparation for the mission. It seems to me that we could call the seminary the time of Nazareth."

The challenge is to love where we are. The challenge I think is to abandon ourselves to Divine Providence and rejoice in whatever the Lord has for us and asks of us each day. Jesus did that despite perhaps an eagerness to start his own saving mission for all humanity. He waited until the time was right. We've got to put in our time too.

AMDG

Is priestly celibacy healthy?

2010-05-09T06:27:00.000-07:00

Fr. James Martin takes apart some common misconceptions about celibacy in the article below. It's worth a read.

In light of the recent explosive news of sexual abuse by priests in Europe, many in the media are wondering again if celibacy leads to abuse. Can you be healthy and celibate?

The irony is that some of history’s most loving and generous persons — those that even nonbelievers admire — were chaste. Think of St. Francis of Assisi or Mother Teresa. Would anyone say that they were not loving? Or somehow sick?

Better yet, think of Jesus of Nazareth who, most serious Scripture scholars agree, never married. Does anyone doubt that Jesus was not a loving person? Was he sick?

Click here for more.

AMDG

Non nobis Domine, sed nomini tuo da gloriam

2010-05-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

I just turned in my last paper. Pre-Theology is over, and I will begin First Theology in the fall. I still have a long way to go but I feel like I'm making a huge step. It's time to leave the parlor and enter seminary proper now.

From the Week

2010-05-07T05:33:00.000-07:00

From the Week

--1--

photo by julie70

A good seminarian brother of mine has been in the hospital for the past few weeks with some health issues. What started as an overnight stay turned into day after day of questions and few answers. Hopefully he is getting better, especially after surgery a few days ago, but please keep him in your prayers.

--2--

God always seems to bless situations even like the one mentioned above. It has been an opportunity for me to see how the priests of this house exercise their spiritual fatherhood. One of them has visited him every single day and when he went into surgery a couple days ago, he spent the whole day there. Another has dropped in quite often, always encouraging him and giving him a blessing. This may not sound so significant but for priests here at the NAC who are constantly asked to do so many things, taking time out to visit their own brother who is suffering is a sign of true fatherhood, an earnest desire to share the love of Christ. It's been an inspiration and a great witness for me.

--3--

photo by rene_ehrhardt

We had our final BBQ of the year last Sunday and we were joined by the Legionaries of Christ who brought over some of their men from Regina Apostolorum to play a few sports against us. After having a clean sweep last year in all 3 sports, we fell to the Legionaries by losing 2 out of the 3. We got beat badly in basketball and frisbee. They have some amazing athletes. Luckily, we beat them in the American classic...well not baseball...rather softball. 14-3. So at least we can glory in one blowout victory.

--4--

I headed up our hall dinner this week. We have a real nice student kitchen on our 5th floor that we can check out every once in a while to make a nice meal, either for a small group or something a bit bigger like a hall dinner. We put together a very American meal - 3 types of meatloaf (NY, Minnesota, and California), twice-baked potatoes, buttered garlic stringbeans, spicy chicken taters, salmon and cream cheese on crackers, and, for desert, brownies and chocolate cake. It was a good time but I think we all need to run off the cholesterol. :)

--5--

This week our NAC soccer team takes on Sedes Sapientia in the first round of the Clericus Cup playoffs. Let's hope for a win!

AMDG

This week at St. Patrick's

2010-05-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

We're in the middle of finals week here in the States. This morning our academic dean, Fr. Bud Stevens, gave an excellent homily as he usually does. When he started out as academic dean at St. Mary's in Baltimore, the then rector asked him if he could teach a course called "theology of God." You're surely thinking that that comes from the redundant department of redundancy. The study of God of God? But consider that back then traditional courses on the Trinity had been crowded out by the likes of dream interpretation, theology of politics, and the theology of culture. Now those are important (well, probably not dream interpretation) but they're losing sight of what it's all about: God.

This semester I took a course on the philosophy of Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman. In one of his sermons, he said that worldliness means accepting the values of the world which tell us that this life is the only one there is. I wonder how many of us Catholics are worldly without even knowing it? We worry endlessly about which school we'll go to, what career we want, finding a spouse, etc. If we don't listen to the right music, or watch the right movies, or have a house of our own by a certain age, then we think of ourselves as misfits or failures. But where does God enter into our thinking? Should we not always be trying to please Him more than the world?

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking about seminary as just another secular university. We study hard and get good grades so the bishop will send us to Rome after we're ordained, so we can become canon lawyers, so we can eventually become bishops ourselves some day. That is NOT how one should approach the seminary. We study hard in order to understand what the Church teaches. We want to understand what the Church teaches because some day, God willing, we will be teaching God's people what the Church teaches (and nothing but.) We teach them what the Church teaches all for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

If you're discerning whether God calls you to the priesthood, that is what you should always have as your primary motivation: the love of God and neighbor, and a great zeal for souls. Being the fallen creatures that we are, we all come to the seminary with other motivations thrown into the mix, but always ask God to grant you greater love of Him and His commandments. Study hard, do well on your tests and your papers, but never forget why you're doing so.

France's Recruitment Efforts

2010-05-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

Associated Press just put out an article on the Catholic Church in France and their priesthood recruitment efforts. It brings up some tough questions facing the French Catholic Church today.

Among the questions the author Katie King proposes are the challenges of celibacy, the permanency of priesthood, and the low income.

I have talked quite a few times about celibacy myself on this blog so I will put it aside for now. The permanency of priesthood is an interesting question. I have come upon the idea of a temporary priesthood both in articles online and with people in the hospital here in Italy. It makes sense if the priesthood is what many characterize it as, another career. Except for the fact that it is not a career choice. It is a life choice.

I wonder whether if people took the promises of baptism seriously, they would not see the lifelong priesthood as something so far outside their desires or capabilities. Ultimately when we are baptized, we take on the promise to live forever in relationship with God and in service of His people. It's permanent, just like the priesthood. I think what we really have a problem with today is the ability to make a commitment, to sign a contract with permanent ink. We prefer the pencil. But the Christian life, as the call to priesthood, religious life, or marriage, require and demand life long commitment.

Perhaps the only way out of this sense of temporary priesthood is a deep formation in the Christian faith, an understanding that we are called to live our lives completely for Christ. The priesthood is one unique way to live out that calling. Should it be temporary? No, because like any vocation, it requires its permanency to allow for a complete gift of self. Would you tell a spouse before a marriage, "Well, this does not need to last forever right?" You destroy the very reason for marriage. Love, that is absolute, uncompromising, till death do us part love, and the priesthood, flows from this same idea. We marry our spouse as well, the Church, and we do it in a complete and absolute sort of way. Temporary priesthood takes that all away.

This other idea of income is, well, kind of funny. It is funny, in part, because I have never met a priest who was lacking, at least stateside. The Church and most especially the faithful take great care of their priests and even their seminarians. And two, because history, man's search for happiness, has proven that material goods never satisfy the deepest yearnings of man for fulfillment, authenticity, purpose, and ultimately, the one thing goods can never do, love! There are few greater ways to encounter and give love than the calling to priesthood, religious life, or marriage in a quite permanent way. With permanence, love comes to full fruition. You can trust the other because you know they are in all the way just like you are. There is no escape route. You enter in for the long term, all the speed bumps included. You can offer everything and know that it will be completely returned in love. Who needs money? :)

King finally concludes:

"Pourquoi Pas Moi?" or "Why Not Me?" is the slogan for the recruitment campaign — which today may prove a tough question for the Church to answer.

I could not agree more. That is, it is a difficult question. But it is not for the Church to answer. She presents the challenge to the young men of this generation and it is up to them to answer that call. It is up to them to ask, "Why Not Me?" God needs good and holy men to give their lives for the sake of the Gospel. The words of Jesus, "Come, follow me" never grow old but in each age beckon forth another generation of priests ready to offer everything to bring one more soul to God.

AMDG

Priestly Vestments

2010-05-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

This is from Pope Benedict's Chrism Mass Homily from 2007 and explains the rich symbolism underlying the vesting of oneself in the amice (although today this is not necessarily used) and the alb. It was passed on to be by a fellow seminarian as we prepared for acolyte installation.

"I would therefore like to explain to you, dear Confreres, on this Holy Thursday, the essence of the priestly ministry, interpreting the liturgical vestments themselves, which are precisely intended to illustrate what "putting on Christ", what speaking and acting in persona Christi, mean. Putting on priestly vestments was once accompanied by prayers that helped us understand better each single element of the priestly ministry.

Let us start with the amice. In the past - and in monastic orders still today - it was first placed on the head as a sort of hood, thus becoming a symbol of the discipline of the senses and of thought necessary for a proper celebration of Holy Mass. My thoughts must not wander here and there due to the anxieties and expectations of my daily life; my senses must not be attracted by what there, inside the church, might accidentally captivate the eyes and ears. My heart must open itself docilely to the Word of God and be recollected in the prayer of the Church, so that my thoughts may receive their orientation from the words of the proclamation and of prayer. And the gaze of my heart must be turned toward the Lord who is in our midst: this is what the ars celebrandi means: the proper way of celebrating. If I am with the Lord, then, with my listening, speaking and acting, I will also draw people into communion with him.

The texts of the prayer expressed by the alb and the stole both move in the same direction. They call to mind the festive robes which the father gave to the prodigal son who had come home dirty, in rags. When we approach the liturgy to act in the person of Christ, we all realize how distant we are from him; how much dirt there is in our lives. He alone can give us festive robes, can make us worthy to preside at his table, to be at his service. Thus, the prayers also recall the words of Revelation, which say that it was not due to their own merit that the robes of the 144,000 elect were worthy of God. The Book of Revelation says that they had washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb and thus made them white and shining like light (cf. Rv 7: 14). When I was little, I used to ask myself about this: when one washes something in blood, it certainly does not become white! The answer is: the "Blood of the Lamb" is the love of the Crucified Christ.

It is this love that makes our dirty clothes white, that makes our clouded spirit true and bright; that transforms us, despite all our shadows, into "light in the Lord". By putting on the alb we must remind ourselves: he suffered for me, too. And it is only because his love is greater than all my sins that I can represent him and witness to his light. But with the garment of light which the Lord gave us in Baptism and in a new way in priestly Ordination, we can also think of the wedding apparel which he tells us about in the parable of God's banquet.

In the homilies of Gregory the Great, I found in this regard a noteworthy reflection. Gregory distinguishes between Luke's version of the parable and Matthew's. He is convinced that the Lucan parable speaks of the eschatological marriage feast, whereas - in his opinion - the version handed down by Matthew anticipates this nuptial banquet in the liturgy and life of the Church. In Matthew, in fact, and only in Matthew, the king comes into the crowded room to see his guests. And here in this multitude he also finds a guest who was not wearing wedding clothes, who is then thrown outside into the darkness.

Then Gregory asks himself: "But what kind of clothes ought he to have been wearing? All those who are gathered in the Church have received the new garment of baptism and the faith; otherwise, they would not be in the Church. So what was it that was still lacking? What wedding clothes must there be in addition?" The Pope responds: "the clothes of love".

And unfortunately, among his guests to whom he had given new clothes, the white clothes of rebirth, the king found some who were not wearing the purple clothes of twofold love, for God and for neighbor. "In what condition do we want to come to the feast in Heaven, if we are not wearing wedding clothes - that is, love, which alone can make us beautiful?", the Pope asks. A person without love is dark within.

External shadows, of which the Gospel speaks, are only the reflection of the internal blindness of the heart (cf. Hom. 38, 8-13). Now that we are preparing for the celebration of Holy Mass, we must ask ourselves whether we are wearing these clothes of love. Let us ask the Lord to keep all hostility away from our hearts, to remove from us every feeling of self-sufficiency and truly to clothe ourselves with the vestment of love, so that we may be luminous persons and not belong to darkness."

AMDG

From the Week

2010-04-30T01:39:00.000-07:00

--1--

If you want a easy way to increase morale in the seminary, try this. 3 weekends in a row with a BBQ and softball game. My morale is very high. :)

This past weekend we had a BBQ and a softball tournament with teams divided by the university attended. Santa Croce lost big time to the Gregorian but once again, the Angelicum held off the Gregorian in the final game 10-9 to continue their dominance.

--2--

We won. We won. We won. We're in the playoffs! We beat the French College 1-0. If you don't know what I am talking about, then look here. The Clericus Cup tournament starts in another week so we have this weekend off to rest up and prepare for another championship run.

--3--

I always like to say one of the advantages of NAC is the cultural experience. We get a sense of the universal Church (then again I already get this in California) but also the local Church, that being the United States. One most recent example was a conversation I had with a number of non-west coast seminarians. They mentioned this little critter called a chigger. I have never encountered one but supposedly they dig into your skin and if they are females, they plant eggs in you!

Admittedly, they are not as big as the picture below suggests.

--4--

A big congratulations to Fr. Avram Brown, a priest from the holy Diocese of Sacramento, who just completed his thesis for his license in Biblical Studies. Now if he can just get through the comprehensives, he will be back in the diocese in no time. I believe June 18th is the big day so consider saying a prayer for him.

--5--

Tonight is the big Cal-Neva social and dinner that gathers California and Nevada cardinals, priests, sisters, seminarians, and brothers from all across Rome. It should be a good time.

--6--

And lastly, for those who might care, there are ONLY 4 weeks left in the semester. That said, I believe my brothers at St. Pat's and Mount Angel are weeks away from finishing out their semester. Good luck and God speed as finals approach.

AMDG

Do Not Despair

2010-04-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

Do Not Despair

This address was delivered at the National Federation of Priests’ Councils, Houston, Texas, April 13, 2010 by Most Rev. John R. Quinn, archbishop emeritus of San Francisco.

I am here to pay tribute to you, the priests of the United States. You stand on the front line. You meet the angry or confused or troubled people at the Sunday Masses in your parishes and missions. You have to try to answer their questions about the worldwide crisis caused by priests and bishops around the world. You are the ones out there in the parishes whose...

To view the rest of the article, click here.

AMDG

Good Shepherd Sunday

2010-04-26T08:10:00.000-07:00

Good Shepherd Sunday is kind of like the day of priestly vocations and it just passed us yesterday. Here are some words from the Pope:

"On this day of special prayer for vocations, I particularly encourage ordained ministers, stimulated by the Year for Priests, to feel a commitment 'to interior renewal for the sake of a stronger and more incisive witness to the Gospel in today's world'; to remember that the priest 'continues the work of redemption on earth'; to pause 'frequently before the tabernacle'; to remain 'completely faithful to their vocation and mission through the practice of an austere asceticism': to make themselves available for listening and forgiveness; to undertake the Christian formation of the people entrusted to their care; and to cultivate 'priestly fraternity'".

AMDG

Sleeping at Mass

2010-04-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well the way I see it, if the pope can doze at Mass once in a blue moon, it can't be that bad if I end up doing it every once in a while at 6:15am in the chapel. :) I'm kidding of course. But poor holy father, they really put him through the wringer with all these trips.

AMDG

This week at St. Patrick's

2010-04-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

Colin's entry below reminded me that Sacramento is blessed with many young vocations. Things are different now, but it wasn't that long ago that I would have been considered a "late vocation." In today's Church I'm still a child - I turn 30 this December.

This year marks a major transition for me: the faculty has judged me ready to leave philosophy and enter First Theology in the fall. I can finally put down Heidegger's Being and Time! No offense Father Rojas ;) The diocesan priest is necessarily a social creature, and I'm getting a small taste of that now. The student council end-of-the-year dinner was on Thursday; yesterday I went to lunch with my support group to Amato's in Mountain View (best cheese steaks in the West), and after that the Pre-Theology end-of-semester dinner with pizza and beer. Some faculty members like to unofficially "adopt" a class every year. Fr. John Kselman, one of our resident scripture scholars, took us out to Applewood Pizza in Menlo Park last semester. This time we treated him. I was the Pre-Theology class representative on the student council this year, and I'm already urging the Pre-Theo I guys to consider running in the fall. That way I can extend my reach and influence throughout the future ranks of the priesthood! Just kidding :)

Last Saturday was the Sacramento Diocese's 57th annual Youth Convention. This year it was held at Divine Savior parish in Orangevale. The keynote speaker this year was Mike Patin. This was the first time I had ever heard him talk, and I thought he did a great job! He has that rare talent for speaking to teenagers without talking down to them, and at the same time delivering solid orthodoxy in his talks. The Sacramento seminarians took turns minding the vocations cafe. Right next to us were the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. Our diocese is very blessed to have them. I love any religious order that still wears the habit.

Only two weeks of the semester left - one week of classes, and then finals. If you enter the seminary, depending on your educational background you're looking at anywhere from five to nine years. That sounds like a long time when you're just starting out, but trust me, it goes by fast. I've been at it for two years now and I still feel like the new guy.

From the Week

2010-04-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

--1--

We lost our big game against Redemptoris Mater in the Clericus Cup and now fall to 4-2 for the season. The playoffs are still in sight but we are going to have to push hard to get there.

--2--

This weekend is our annual softball tournament between the Gregorian, Angelicum, and Santa Croce students. Us Angelicum students have won the past few years and there year looks no different.

--3--

I returned to the hospital this week and met my friend from last week. She was so happy to see us. We spoke a bit about her friend who was still holding on after another difficult week. We spoke about John Paul II and how he suffered just like her and I told her how it was John Paul II, most especially after his death, that inspired my vocation to the priesthood. She spoke about his way of drawing people to God and we spoke about the love of God. It was a really good talk. She reminded us that we must be totally dedicated in this vocation or we should leave it. And I said of course but we need her prayers too. She looked at my funny and said are you kidding me and I said of course we need them. It was indeed a graced time. And at the end of the conversation, she gave us her number so we can have a true Italian dinner sometime soon.

--4--

The guy next door, a good man of God from San Francisco, just received his call to orders the other day. This is the letter every seminarian waits for. It is the letter that declares that being found ready and prepared to be ordained, the bishop calls you to be present at a certain day and time to be ordained to the priesthood. These are exciting times. :)

--5--

And old man Brian Soliven, soon to be ordained deacon in the fall, just turned 30 over the past weekend, that's almost as old as the Holy Father who turned 83 over the weekend. Ad multos annos.

AMDG.

Class of 2010

2010-04-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

These are some of the statistics for the class of 2010, possibly numbering about 440, from the USCCB website.

• The average age of ordinands for the Class of 2010 is 37. More than half (56 percent) are between the ages of 25 and 34.

• Almost one-third (31 percent) of ordinands were born outside the United States, with the largest numbers coming from Mexico, Columbia, the Philippines, Poland, and Vietnam. On average, responding ordinands who were born in another country have lived in the United States for 11 years. Between 20 and 30 percent of ordinands to diocesan priesthood for each of the last ten years were born outside of the United States.

• Before entering the seminary, three in five ordinands completed college (60 percent), and one in five received a graduate degree (20 percent). Among those who completed college before entering the seminary, seven in ten entered the seminary at the pre-theology level and 19 percent entered at the theology level. One in three (34 percent) report entering the seminary while in college.

• Ordinands of the Class of 2010 have been active in parish ministries, with about half to three-quarters indicating they served as an altar server, lector, and/or Eucharistic minister in their parish. One-fifth (19 percent) participated in a World Youth Day before entering the seminary.

• More than nine in ten ordinands (92 percent) report some type of full-time work experience prior to entering the seminary, most often in education. Less than one in ten has served in the U.S. Armed Forces. One in six (16 percent) report that either one or both parents were career military.

• Two-thirds of ordinands report regularly praying the Rosary (67 percent) and participating in Eucharistic Adoration (65 percent) before entering the seminary.

Vocational Discernment

• On average, responding ordinands report that they were about 18 when they first considered a vocation to the priesthood. About eight in ten (78 percent) were encouraged to consider the priesthood by a priest. Between 40 and 50 percent report that friends, parishioners, or parents encouraged them to consider priesthood.

• Half of responding ordinands report that someone discouraged them from considering the priesthood. Respondents are more likely to cite a friend or classmate, or a parent or family member as discouraging them.

• Relatively few ordinands say that TV, radio, billboards, or other vocational advertising were instrumental in their discernment. Two in five (42 percent) participated in a “Come and See” weekend before entering the seminary. Eight in ten (85 percent) report that they have seen the “Fishers of Men” DVD published by the USCCB.

To the Class of 2010, may God bless you as you prepare for ordination to the priesthood.

Ad Multos Annos!

From the Week

2010-04-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

--1--

Thursday was our big Rector's Dinner where we are given a chance to thank those who have generously contributed to our experience here in Rome. It is also a good community event for us and a beneficial fundraiser. Here's us setting up below. The nice thing about having 220 guys in house is that a ton of work is made easy with so many hands.

--2--

Fr. Robert Barron, of the famous Word on Fire website, gave us another talk this week on Newman and and his biography, Apologia pro Vita Sua.

--3--

My vocation director, Fr. Chuck Kelly, has been in town for the week and I have been asking a lot of questions. I'm truly excited for the summer. It seems like we'll be running all over the diocese. Among other things, we will be doing Wilderness Outreach, which is a weeklong work camp out in the wilderness cutting trail. Its emphasis is on developing an authentic masculine spirituality. I'll be going out with Fr. Chuck, a few other seminarians, and then some guys who are discerning. If you are interested and discerning, you might try to reach our vocations office and see if there are any openings. The dates are July 23rd-30th. We'll also be visiting parishes, promoting vocations, and whatever else presents itself. I cannot wait to get back home. :) Here's Fr. Chuck, Aaron and myself up on the roof.

Fr. Chuck was speaking to us a bit and said something that struck me. He said you are never going to be comfortable with what you are doing. And to be a priest, you have to get comfortable with always being uncomfortable. It's not an easy life and new dilemmas always cross your path, you have to be ready for the unexpected. There should be a certain fear. That can be healthy because it keeps your head screwed on straight and you do not just go charging into battle. A former police officer was explaining how there is always a bit of fear going in a house knowing you are in for a battle. So also with the life of a priest.

He also spoke about confession. There is a real deep sense that you do not know what is really taking place in confession as the confessor. God works in deeper ways than you can imagine so you may experience little if any consolation in the confessional but God can be saving souls right in front of your desolation. This is a powerful reality to enter into but honestly so very difficult as well.

--4--

I was just at the hospital on Monday and I met a woman who was visiting her dying friend in the hospital. She was unconscious and on oxygen. I mentioned I would be praying for her friend but she responded, God does not answer us. God is not love. He allows her friend to suffer for some 40 years and even now will not let her go. He is not love. I was just starting to get my bearings when she continued that Jesus died for nothing because we still suffer and God sits idly by.

You know, I did not have the answer. I knew I did not have the answer. Who has the answer to suffering? But I responded that God must be love and though it was hard to see, God was with them in this suffering. We can say that we do not understand why we must suffer and why good people must suffer but we cannot deny that God is love.

Well I am not sure if it was the right move but I could not let a statement like that stand, ultimate for her own well-being. There is just no way to let it stand. I think in some sense she knew it had to be countered. What kind of world would this be if God were not love? Impossible!

But she responded that I have never seen suffering. She has. She has accompanied many of her friends to their deaths and she lived during world war 2. She knows suffering. And when I know suffering, I will know that God is not love.

Yikes! I had to admit my lack of experience but I insisted that God truly is love, completely and always. Yes I might be young and suffering is a great mystery but God answers it in the best way possible, with His Son sharing in our suffering.

Please pray for her and her friend who is on her death bed that the Lord may receive her into his arms.

--5--

We play Redemptoris Mater this weekend's Clericus Cup game. Say a prayer for us. They beat us last year in the finals. :/

--6--

This just in. Our numbers for our new man class of 2014 has just crept up to 60. I think they are trying to break the record my class set 2 years ago. :)

AMDG

Penance

2010-04-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

Our Holy Father made some excellent off-the-cuff remarks the other day. From Vatican Radio:

Speaking without a prepared text, the Holy Father said that in modern times we have seen theorized an idea of man according to which human being would be, “free, autonomous, and nothing else.”

This supposed freedom from everything, including freedom from the duty of obedience to God, “Is a lie,” said Pope Benedict, a falsehood regarding the basic structure of human being – about the way women and men are made to be, “because,” he continued, “human being does not exist on its own, nor does it exist for itself.”

I think it was Chesterton who said that all arguments are ultimately theological arguments. If everything comes from God and returns to God (exitus et reditus), a worldview that denies God is going to make errors in its anthropology. How many young people do you know who think life is nothing but a never ending search for more stuff? Who think all their problems will disappear if they can only marry the right person? Or who think maleness and femaleness are irrelevant social constructs?

The Pope said it is a political and practical falsehood, as well, because cooperation and sharing of freedoms is a necessary part of social life – and if God does not exist – if He is not a point of reference really accessible to human being, then only prevailing opinion remains and it becomes the final arbiter of all things.

Chesterton also said that the Catholic Church is the only thing that can save a man from the degrading slavery of being a child of his time. I fell in love with the Church because it is always simultaneously behind and ahead of the times because it is timeless. In contrast, if the Church were to wed itself to the spirit of the times, it would always be five minutes behind, huffing and puffing to catch up. What the people want is Christ. If we tell them that religion is a jolly fine thing and no spoilsport, and everyone is perfectly fine just the way they are with no need for repentance or conversion... well, they can get all of that outside the Church and get it better.

The Holy Father also stressed that for Christians, true obedience to God depends on our truly knowing Him, and he warned against the danger of using “obedience to God” as a pretext for following our own desires.

This touches on Colin's entry below about the nature of obedience. If you only follow the directives of your superior because you agree with them or because you like your superior personally, then you are not practicing true obedience. Once again, Jesus is the model here: He asked the Father to take that cup from him, but also said, "Thy will be done." Can you still hear the voice of God in your superior when he asks you to do something you'd rather not do?

“We have,” he said, “a certain fear of speaking about eternal life.”

“We talk of things that are useful to the world,” continued Pope Benedict, “we show that Christianity can help make the world a better place, but we do not dare say that the end of the world and the goal of Christianity is eternal life – and that the criteria of life in this world come from the goal – this we dare not say.”

I think people mean well when they talk about all of the material good Christianity has done throughout history. It's perfectly true that we essentially created hospitals and the modern university system. It's true that the Catholic Church does more charitable work than any other institution today. It's true that all Catholics have a moral obligation to work for social justice in ways suitable to their state in life, whether it's going on the Walk for Life or donating time and money to the relief of earthquake victims in Haiti or China. But if we concentrate on those things alone to the exclusion of our final goal, we're missing the point. The Church was founded for the salvation of souls. In the end, you and I will be in either Heaven or Hell, forever. How often do we meditate on the Four Last Things anymore? How often do we hear about the need to repent, confess, and do penance anymore? In my prayer life, I always ask God to grant me a burning charity for Him and for my neighbor, and an ardent zeal for souls. If it's not about eternal life - if Jesus Christ is not risen from the dead - then our faith is in vain and priests are overworked bureaucrats who can't get married.

I recently finished The Cure D'Ars Today, which I highly recommend. Everyone is familiar with what St. John Vianney said to a child on his way to the parish in which he would spend most of his life, and I think it is a good encapsulation of what the priest is and he is supposed to do: "You have shown me the way to Ars, and now I will show you the way to Heaven."

Obedience

2010-04-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

Obedience can be defined as attentive listening.

I have to be honest. My obedience has not been tested. Then again, I have yet to take a promise of obedience. But I still have not been tested so my knowledge of obedience is scant to say the least. Coming to Rome under obedience is probably not a good example. :)

But I have met men here who even in terms of their formation have allowed the spirit of obedience to rule their hearts. I know a priest recently ordained whose bishop asked him to come back and study to be an ambassador for the Vatican. From what I get, it was not exactly his choice but under his own discernment and understanding of obedience he said yes. I doubt he could have dreamt that his priesthood (in Christ of course) meant serving overseas for much of the rest of his life, rarely staying and serving in a local parish.

Likewise I met another recently ordained priest who was sent here to study for a licentiate in dogma or something only to be told after a year to starting studying for a doctorate in philosophy because that was the need of the diocese. And he obediently and faithfully agreed to his bishop's request, knowing that it would add another 3 or 4 years on to his time here in Rome.

A Benedictine recently came and spoke to us about obedience.

He said obedience is not destroying your own will, creativity, initiative, and energy but harmonizing it with that of the authority in charge. That does not mean that you creatively decide how to obey without really obeying. But it means finding in obedience a life-giving strength that only helps you to give glory to God.

There are three ways to help build obedience. One is to develop respect for your superiors. Another is to look at the broader perspective and not just your individual situation, your parish, but the whole diocese and even the good of the universal Church. Finally he said, you need to be cheerful with your obedience. Don't complain and drag your feet but be faithful in your duty.

Obedience. Tough word. But if you want to be a priest, religious, or really any kind of Christian whatsoever, it requires obedience. Obedience to your bishop yes, the pope, your pastor, your fellow brother and sisters in the pews, oh yeah, and God too.

AMDG

Some Humor

2010-04-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

I think I can relate to this.

AMDG.

Christus resurrexit. Resurrexit vere.

2010-04-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

This past Easter Vigil marked my fifth anniversary as a Catholic. My entrance into the Church coincided with the death of Venerable Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI to the Chair of Peter. In God's divine Providence, of course, there's no such thing as a coincidence. As Colin said in a previous entry, please pray for our Holy Father. Pope Benedict is, I think, being unfairly attacked in various quarters even though he's done much to combat and correct these scandals. Please pray that through these latest trials, he may be conformed ever more to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Eternal Priest. Please pray for him through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of all Priests.

A parishioner in my home parish told me yesterday that one of his sons is firmly resolved to become a priest. He's still very young but I encouraged him to pray much on his vocation, and in particular, pray that Mary may nurture it and strengthen it. And of course I told him to go with the diocese of Sacramento :) But the conversation reminded me of something that came up in my own vocational discernment and was brought up on the military discernment weekend several weeks ago: How does one decide between diocesan or religious priesthood?

These are just a few suggestions to bring to your prayer life and to a priest friend or spiritual director. Is there one religious order in particular that strongly appeals to you? Do you feel as if each order's charism has aspects that you find attractive but you can't settle on only one? The latter was how I felt. What helped me make my decision was that I found my vocational discernment kept returning me to parish life. In the war for souls, the parish is the front line. In the old days, diocesan priests used to be called the secular clergy. Now that doesn't mean the diocesan priest should be worldly. But as a diocesan priest you are called to be in the world but not of it, as our Lord said. What that means is you must learn enough about the world to speak to your flock where they are. The favorite example of my academic adviser was a bright, young, newly ordained priest who was assigned to a parish in the inner city where you had to literally step over drunks and crack addicts on your way to church. He said in one of his homilies, "As John Locke tells us..." Now do you think the average parishioner in a parish like that is overly familiar with the finer points of Locke's philosophy? That priest didn't know his audience. This does not mean that we ought to water down the Faith in our preaching; Lord knows there's been quite enough of that already over the past few decades. Nor does it necessarily mean we should always appeal to the lowest common denominator. It's a difficult balance to be sure, but it's one we have to strike nonetheless.

This raises another question: if each religious order has its own spirituality, what is the spirituality of the diocesan priest? I always tell everyone that since the priest is entrusted with the Word of God, he must know the Word of God. That means regularly reading and praying with Sacred Scripture. The priest alone has the power to confect the Eucharist; adoration of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament is a must. And as Jesus entrusted His mother to the beloved disciple, so must all priests take Mary into their hearts just as he took her into his home. It's easy to neglect all of that in the seminary what with all of the assigned reading, papers, and exams. I get up very early in order to do a Holy Hour with the Blessed Sacrament, to read Scripture, and say my rosary. I know myself well enough to know that if I don't do it early, I'll never do it. I'm firmly convinced that doing all of those things will help the priest accomplish far, far more in his apostolate than he could ever hope to do without them. Remember - it's Christ working through us. We just have to show up.

Martyrdom in the True Sense of the Word

2010-04-05T06:04:00.000-07:00

We've been learning about Martyrdom in the Prudence, Fortitude and Temperance class at the Angelicum taught by the ever so wisened Fr. Williams. Martyrdom requires among other things a willingness to suffer injury and ultimately death for the sake of witnessing to the faith. "What makes the martyr" according to Augustine "is not the suffering but the cause." We can sometimes speak of martyrdoms of purity or obedience but the true martyrdom, which the Church honors to the highest degree, are those who give their lives in the service of the Gospel. As John 15:13 says, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" and truly for the sake of the Gospel. The photo below is a fresco from San Stefano Rotondo that has images of many martyrs on each of the walls of the church. This is just one.

photo by sacred_destinations

After class I was speaking to one of the sisters from Pakistan and we were talking about final vows and ordination dates and she said, "Oh you must visit when you are a priest." I responded, "I will wait until it is safer perhaps." This brought on a much more serious tone to our conversation and a stark reality. The majority of the houses of her congregation are in Lahore, Pakistan which is currently under attack by Muslim extremists. You can look here or here for more info on it. She recently told me that one of these bombs destroyed the front of one of the Catholic churches in Lahore and damaged a convent so that the sisters there had to move in with another community.

map by thewazir

She explained that "When we go out, we do not know if we will return." How real is that? How real martyrdom is for some of the very people I am currently studying with.

Fr. Williams recommended a great book on martyrdom which is Robert Royal's book on the Martyrs of the 20th century.

Who knows what this new century will bring. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.

Holy Martyrs, Pray for us.

AMDG

Happy Easter to All

2010-04-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

The Lord is risen, alleluia.

“We give glory to you, Lord, who raised up your cross to span the jaws of death like a bridge by which souls might pass from the region of the dead to the land of the living.. . Your murderers sowed your living body in the earth as farmers sow grain, but it sprang up and yielded an abundant harvest of men raised from the dead.”

Saint Ephrem, deacon

AMDG

NAC on ABC

2010-04-03T03:22:00.000-07:00

Well perhaps because of the difficult coverage of the recent discovery of sex abuse scandals in Europe, ABC news decided to drop in on the NAC.

They called their special "Seminary Sex Ed" though I do not think the insinuation is quite correct. Obviously we authentically discern our calls to the priesthood and celibate life, grow and develop in our understanding of our celibate identity, and prepare ourselves for a regular living out of this life. But it is not some crude sex ed course. Anyways, take a look and see what you think.

AMDG

From the Week

2010-04-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

I am going to start a new weekly update of house events just so you get some sense of what goes on each week rather than my scattered coverage of random events.

--1--

We are spending all of Holy Week in house this year. It is a tradition that every other year we celebrate Holy Week in house so we can see how the liturgies are done within the American Church. So we started Palm Sunday outside in the courtyard with the traditional palm branches and also a large number of olive branches. That's new for me.

Here's our rector Msgr. Checchio

And the procession line

--2--

Fr. Robert Barron, of the famous Word on Fire website, is our scholar in residence for the next couple months while writing a book. He gave us a talk in preparation for Holy Week. As you can see, he really loves to use the hands.

He spoke of the passion narrative in Luke which has heavy messianic overtones. He went through three promises of the Messiah, the promise to unite the tribes of Israel, purify the Temple, and defeat all of Israel's enemies.

The promise to unite the tribes of Israel was fulfilled in a more extreme way than the Jews could imagine. It was not about uniting just the physical tribes of Israel but all people in communion with each other and with God. This union was effected by the destruction of sin through Jesus' death and resurrection because it is sin that truly divides.

And the devil is the one who loves to divide us (demon literally means to divide). The devil also loves to make us accuse each other (satan literally means to accuse someone). Barron points to satan entering into Judas and then Judas accusing Jesus. And he challenged us to get in the way of the satanic and the demonic, to stop the divisions and the accusations, which is so common, especially here. Barron said we sit around the table and maybe we start with talking about the weather but eventually we love to point out the foibles or mistakes of others. Indeed how true.

But he also pointed out that when we pick a fight with the demonic and the satanic, when we smoke the enemy out, we get everything coming out to meet us. And the way we win out, is not by battling the enemy on his own terms, but like Jesus, we overcome them through forgiving love, which swallows the darkness up.

--3--

We tried out a game of touch rugby yesterday. I consider it cultural immersion. We did not look quite this tough.

photo by jessflickr

--4--

I just found out we have 56 guys signed up to come in next year as part of the class of 2014. After classes of 61 and 58 the past 2 years, I don't know where we are going to put all of them. But that's never a bad thing. :)

AMDG

Station Church: Santa Prassede

2010-03-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

Holy Week has arrived. Today we made our way to Santa Prassede which lies down near the Basilica of Mary Major in the center of town.

photo by jimforest

She is traditionally said to be the sister of St. Pudenziana and joined her sister in the collection of the bodies of martyrs. It is believed she suffered martyrdom along with her sister. There was a church named after her as late as the end of the fifth century and was first based in an apartment block nearby. It was only in the early ninth century that the church was replaced with the current church. Following St. Prassede's devotion to the martyrs, Pope St. Paschal I brought the relics of 2300 martyrs from the catacombs to rest here.

One of the famous relics in this church is a column that was brought here in 1223 from Constantinople that was said to be the same column on which the flagellation of Christ took place.

photo by wm_archiv

St. Charles Borromeo was a cardinal titular here in the late 16th century and did a lot for the physical structure of the church as well as ministering to the people of the area, going so far as to invite the poor to eat at his table. This table is now part of the church in the chapel of St. Veronica.

This church has a beautiful mosaic in the apse drawing from the book of Revelation. The lower section depicts the 24 elders while above is the Lamb surrounded by 7 candlesticks and the four living creatures. Christ is in the middle with Saints Peter and Paul beside him as well as Saints Prassede and Pudenziana, Pope St. Paschal I with another blue halo, and St. Zeno.

photo by Allie_Caulfield

One of the most brilliants works from the medieval period is also found here in the side chapel of St. Zeno which was built for the tomb of Pope St. Paschal's mother Theodora. Check it out below.

photo by sjmcdonough

In today's readings Jesus is anointed by Mary as a symbolic preparation for his death and burial. And she does this in love. We too this Lent have given of ourselves through penance and prayer in order to move farther away from sin and move more closely to our Lord in love. Today let us push on in our journey to the cross and the empty tomb, knowing that our loving efforts through God's grace, most especially the gift of his Son upon the cross, will bring us to a joyful reunion one day with our Lord in paradise.

For more info about this church check out pnac or wiki.

For more info on the Station Church series click here.

AMDG

Prayer Request

2010-03-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

Please pray for the Holy Father if you have a couple minutes. He's under attack and if you have been reading, not necessarily because of the greatest of reasons.

AMDG.

Consecration to Mary

2010-03-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

We recently finished a weekend of Recollection with Fr. Cihak. And by recently, I mean about a month ago.

Perhaps the most prominent thing I took away from the time of conference and prayer was the importance of Mary in the life of a priest. We need to take her into our homes, into our hearts, and let her teach us how to live a life of chastity, of celibacy in a fruitful life-giving way. We cannot be cold and bitter men of God but ones who are alive because we have given our sexuality, consecrated it to God and so we now live it out as Mary did, loving everyone but in a chaste way.

I recently finished the 33 day preparation for Consecration to Mary on the Annunciation. I had never done it before. It's a first. And I had been waiting. I never really felt quite ready or quite called until a little over a month ago, at the end of my class on Mariology. I realized it was so necessary for me to have Mary in my life in this unique and beautiful way.

Any man (or woman), especially any man discerning the priesthood or currently a seminarian, needs Mary in his life. He needs her to intercede for him, to show him how to live this life, and to guide him into a fruitful ministry as a priest.

St. Louis De Montfort, the great promoter of Marian devotion and Marian consecration wrote: "...this devotion consists in surrendering oneself in the manner of a slave to Mary, and to Jesus through her, and then performing all our actions with Mary, in Mary, through Mary, and for Mary".

There are so many temptations that come, especially for those who answer the call to the priesthood. The devil hates priests because they are so often working directly against his cause. He fights tooth and nail. Mary protects us. Fr. Cihak told the story of sitting in on a exorcism here in Rome and watching as the priest spoke prayers over the possessed man who was doctor. He was writhing, cursing, and going on. At one point he turned to Fr. Cihak and a number of other priests who were there to learn and in an octave lower than his normal voice said, "She's protecting you." Mary, the one person in all the world, who has never been a friend to the devil. We have all been his friends in some way through our sinfulness but she has never never surrendered over. So she acts as a great and perfect intercessor for us. The devil hates her because he knows he cannot win against her.

So anyways, hopefully that encourages your own relationship to our Blessed Mother. It's been a great joy for me to realize this relationship in my life.

AMDG

Station Church: San Crisogono

2010-03-22T04:15:00.000-07:00

We are almost there. It's the last week of Lent! Today we visited the church of San Crisogono which may perhaps be the site of the oldest purpose-built church in Rome.

photo by ndalls

It is named after a 4th century military officer who was martyred in 304. His cult became popular and his name would eventually be included in one of the Eucharistic prayers (the Roman Canon). As soon as the persecutions were over, a large hall was constructed on this site. This would have even been before the Edict of Milan which granted religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire.

photo by jrm_tomburg

The remains you see above are from the first church building. The current church building is from around the 12th century. In the mid 19th century, the church was placed in the care of the Trinitarian Order which still serves here today. Their original purpose was to free Christian slaves. Inside the church, at the end of one of the aisles, is a chapel dedicated to Jesus the Nazarene. This chapel has a lot of significance for the Trinitarians. When negotiations to free slaves were successful, a statue of Jesus the Nazarene was used as a sign of the freedom of the slaves.

photo by jdtreat

Today's readings remind us that Christ is the light of the world and though we walk in darkness, though we struggle under our slavery to our own sinfulness, and perhaps struggle to accept the knowledge of how weak we are, He is at our side to walk with us. We are never alone in our battle to live free from sin. As the psalm today says, "Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side."

For more info about this church check out pnac or wiki.

For more info on the Station Church series click here.

AMDG

Models for Priesthood

2010-03-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

This comes from the Anchoress. She has a great post on some of the most heroic priests of our age. Check out the link.

One of my favorites is Fr. Tim Vakoc. It was 2004 when he was traveling in Iraq as an army chaplain and was hit by a roadside bomb. He had severe injuries to his brain and lost an eye. Though he struggled to recuperate over the years, his injuries proved to be too much and he passed away in 2009.

He said this to his sister shortly after joining the military:

“The safest place for me to be is in the center of God’s will, and if that is in the line of fire, that is where I will be.”

Truly, he is a model for us all.

AMDG

Station Church: Santi Quattro Coronati

2010-03-15T23:48:00.000-07:00

Today we visited the church of Santi Quattro Coronati. I am unsure what the correct English translation would be here, perhaps the four holy crowned ones. It refers to two groups of martyrs from the time of the Roman persecutions. The first set were four soldiers, Severus, Victorinus, Carpophorus, and Severinus who refused to worship a pagan deity and were killed. The idea of crowning may perhaps have come from a military decoration of a small crown that they received during their service.

The second set was a group of five stonemasons, Claudius, Nicostratus, Sempronianus, Castor, and Simplicius who were martyred because they refused to carve a statue of Asclepius.

photo by xti_8143b

The oldest parts of this church date back to a hall built here in the 4th century. Some time before 595 this became one of the titular churches in Rome. It was in 630 that Honorius I built the first purpose-built church on the site and in the 9th century when Leo IV placed the relics of the nine martyrs underneath the altar. In 1084 it was almost completely destroyed by a Norman attack and was rebuilt in 1116.

In 1560 Augustinian nuns moved in and have remained until this day. There are also some new occupants. The Little Sisters of the Lamb have taken up residence here as well. These sisters are very new, founded within the last 20 some years, and have even taken up a post in Kansas City, Kansas. They have found their way back to a very simple religious life, begging for their meals, and sharing the Gospel will all those they meet. They are amazing revolutionaries of our day and age - changing the world through their love.

An interesting note for any West Coast readers, this is actually the titular church of Cardinal Mahony. The elections of the pope from early on in the Church were usually done by the local clergy of Rome. This practice was eventually standardized in the 11th century with the institution of cardinals who were senior clergy in Rome, each serving in a particular parish. Cardinals today are much more international yet they receive a titular church here in Rome to signify their honorary status as members of the clergy of Rome and therefore their duty to elect a new pontiff.

photo by Michael Tinkler

Today's readings remind us once again to trust in the Lord. We cannot expect signs and wonders but we can expect that God will answer us according to His will and desire and ultimately for our salvation.

For more info about this church check out pnac or wiki.

For more info on the Station Church series click here.

AMDG

Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Benedicto

2010-03-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the annual discernment retreat for the Archdiocese of the Military Services, hosted by St. Patrick's Seminary. Young men from all over the country - some current seminarians, some currently on active duty - stayed with us from last Thursday afternoon through yesterday morning. I was in charge of the liturgy for these men which meant finding volunteers to preside at Morning and Evening Prayer, and lectors, acolytes, and sacristans for Mass. A special thanks to Mr. Richard Kidd, our music chairman; Jason Simas, the logistics chairman; Leonard Marrujo, the social activities chairman; Deacon Matt Oakland, the seminarian liason with the military chaplains; and all of the seminarians who volunteered their time to talk with these young men and make them feel welcome!

I was also on the seminarian panel where three other men and I told our vocation stories and answered questions about seminary life. Afterward, one man came up to me and said, "Your vocation story really hit home with me because right now I'm in the same boat you were in." What he meant by that was he is currently in a relationship with a girl and isn't sure where God is calling him. It is tough to be in that position, but if anyone is really serious about discerning God's call, then ultimately you do have to make that decision to break up. I know firsthand how hard it is. But I'm happy where I am now and my last girlfriend is currently engaged.

One of my classmates, who is studying for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, said that when he was talking to his vocations director way back when he said, "Well Father, I was thinking I should go back to school first, get my teaching degree, and maybe take some other classes..." The way he described the VD's response was, "Why are you being a chump? Why wait? Answer God's call right now." I'm fairly certain those were not Fr. Daly's exact words, but however he put it, it's a good point. Back when I was visiting different religious orders in my own vocational discernment, one vocation director warned me against becoming a "serial discerner." To be sure it takes time to figure out what God wants of us. But there comes a point where you need to ask yourself is you're really discerning or only stalling. If the priesthood has ever crossed your mind and it just won't go away, why wait? Fr. Chuck would be happy to speak with you :)

Speaking of Fr. Chuck, he's here at St. Patrick's today since the faculty will be talking about us. Keep us in your prayer! The last time he was here, I mentioned in passing that we would have to go out for tacos some time. So guess where we're going for dinner tonight? If anyone reading this blog should make it to St. Patrick's within the next five years, you must develop a taste for tacos. Trust me.

From Father Z comes this lovely video. Let us pray for our Holy Father Benedict XVI.

Humility

2010-03-13T10:32:00.000-08:00

I've been preparing for the Consecration to Mary which I'll talk about on another post. But one of the major points of emphasis is her humility. She is always in the background in the Gospel stories. She keeps a low profile. She is truly a humble handmaiden of the Lord. She shows that it is by humility that we truly conquer.

Our rector recently mentioned a study that will be coming out soon that supposedly found that seminarians have a 17% higher ratio of narcissism than the regular population. And it is not too hard to see why. We are loved by our parishes. Catholics treat us with so much praise and respect. It's hard not to let it all get to you, to be built up with self-love and with pride. Yet it reminded me of the challenge, really the battle, to be humble.

My spiritual director often gives me the following Litany of Humility for a penance. Humility is truly a battleground for me and I can only assume it is a battle for many of us. Consider adding it to your spiritual battlegear.

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…

AMDG

Incoming Seminarians

2010-03-13T08:48:00.000-08:00

Just got word that we have 5 men who are in the process of applying to the diocese of Sacramento as prospective seminarians. Please offer a prayer for these 5 guys.

AMDG

WYD Cross

2010-03-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

The World Youth Day Cross happened to arrive at the Angelicum the other day. We sang some songs and prayed some prayers. And then we took this picture. You can see the diversity a bit. The student population comes from 90+ countries.

Just another day at the Ang.

AMDG

Why not priest?

2010-03-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Alex Quiros of the Diocese of Oakland for the website. Did you know that one of Sacramento's own, Carlo Perez, published a book with Alex called Prayer in the Bible? It's a published collection of their reflections on passages from Scripture. Check thou it out!

Station Church: San Marco

2010-03-08T10:52:00.000-08:00

Today we followed the normal route to the Angelicum stopping next to Piazza Venezia to celebrate Mass at the church of San Marco. It stands in the shadows of what we call the wedding cake, the typewriter, or what more reverent people call the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument.

There are many layers of ruins underneath the current church, including signs that it may have been a site of Christian worship before Pope St. Mark established the church of St. Mark on this spot in the mid 330s. There would be a new basilica built on this spot in the 6th century. But the church we see today is in fact one that was built in the 9th century. They were all built with the same dimensions though each was built at a higher level.

photo by gaspa

The crypt below houses the relics of Saints Abdon and Sennen, two Persians who are traditionally believed to have been martyred during the Decian persecution, perhaps nearby at the Coliseum. Here also rests the relics of Saints Restitus and Companions. Under the main altar are the relics of Pope St. Mark.

photo by gaspa

The mosaic in the upper apse is one from the early medieval period. Though a bit rough around the edges, it is actually one of my favorites because if you notice on the left side, far left, you have a figure with a blue square halo rather than the typical circular one around his head. This is Pope Gregory IV, who was still alive at the time of the construction of the mosaic. That's the reason for the odd looking halo. Presumptuous perhaps. Beside him are St. Felicissimus and Mark the Evangelist. On the right are Pope St. Mark, Agapitus, and Ages. Christ of course stands in the middle with twelve lambs coming towards him from Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Notice though the arm of St. Mark the Evangelist resting on the shoulder of Pope Gregory IV, a great reminder of how close the Pope was to the first disciples. So also are we so close to these first Christians who gave their lives for the faith, for our faith, and now rest here for our inspiration.

photo by jimforest

Today's readings challenge us to trust the Lord. Just as the many saints who now rest in the church of St. Mark offered their lives for the Gospel trusting that God was always with them, so let us also trust in God's love and His mercy so that we too can stand before the world and profess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

For more info about this church check out pnac or wiki.

For more info on the Station Church series click here.

AMDG

Judgment day

2010-03-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

"[O]ur posterity will tend more and more to a single division into two parts – some relinquishing Christianity entirely, and others returning to the bosom of the Church of Rome." - Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835), Bk I, ch. VI.

"Rome and the atheists have gained ... These two shall fight it out -- these two; Protestantism being retained for the base of operations sly by Atheism." - Herman Melville, The Piazza Tales (1876), p. 406.

"I came to the conclusion that there was no medium, in true philosophy, between Atheism and Catholicity, and that a perfectly consistent mind, under those circumstances in which it finds itself here below, must embrace either the one or the other." - The Venerable Cardinal Newman, Apologia, (1883), p. 198.

It's getting close to annual evaluation time for the Sacramento men at St. Patrick's. Writing my self-evaluation is one of the toughest things I've had to do since entering the seminary. What I always feel like writing is, "I am the greatest of sinners and in no way worthy of the sublimity and beauty of the priesthood." To be sure, no man is worthy of the priesthood on his own merit; it is wholly an undeserved gift from God. I know that on an intellectual level. In my heart, I simultaneously swell with love for Jesus Christ the Eternal Priest when I think that He may be calling someone so unworthy as I am, and shrink from the awesome responsibility and call to serve that the priesthood entails. I don't think many priests realize how much the people notice everything they say and do. I've met lay people who still remember kind words or cold rebuffs from priests from thirty, forty, or fifty years ago. I know laity who would literally give their lives for their beloved pastor, and some who left the Church over something Father did or failed to do.

One thing my academic adviser - a convert himself - has always driven home to us during rector's conferences is that men who become priests today are entering into uncharted waters. For the first time in human history, secularism and atheism are rapidly become the norm for society. Not just the priest, but all Catholics, have to understand the kind of world we live in to better spread the Gospel. We have to strike a careful balance however. Understanding the world does not mean capitulation to the world. Nor should we indulge in an unthinking wholesale rejection of modernity. To test modern thought and distinguish that which is good from that which is evil takes a lot of work, and a good understanding of our own Faith. An excellent discussion about the kind of world we live in today can be found in Charles Taylor's A Secular Age.

But our study of philosophy in the Pre-Theology program is not meant to turn us into academic philosophers identical to those turned out by secular universities. Philosophy in the seminary is aimed at training us to more fully understand the theological truths of our Faith. It is meant to prepare us to become stewards of the Word of God and the sacred mysteries in which the priest participates as an alter Christus.

This is a big evaluation for me. The faculty is deciding on whether to let my class move on to seminary proper. First Theology! I find it hard to believe it's almost time. I still feel like I just got to St. Patrick's. So keep me and the pre-theology II guys in your prayers. March 22 is judgment day for the Sacramento guys.

Acolyted

2010-03-07T05:16:00.000-08:00

Well acolyte installation is upon us here at the NAC. Actually it has already passed us by. Here are some good shots from the Mass and ritual.

All the priests and future acolytes fill half the chapel

Presentation of the candidates for acolyte

Archbishop Rodi of Mobile handing me the paten

A view from above

A long line of white...

All of us together with Bishop Rodi

Fr. Avram came over from the Casa to join us for the Mass. Aaron was here so it was a gathering of just three Sacramento men. But we also had Laura, a friend of Fr. Avram, join us for the Mass and brunch. That's all of us above.

Here are a couple thoughts on the whole thing.

In reflecting on this moment in my priestly formation, first I must say, I am glad I am finally here! I have been watching acolytes for years. Heck, this is the fourth time I have seen the institution of acolytes! So I am glad it was finally my turn. :)

But I think what struck me most, in all seriousness, was the reality that I am being in a certain sense woven into a fabric that is much greater than myself. I am moving closer to being made a priest of Jesus Christ, to becoming something that I cannot do by myself and something which I will never exercise by myself but always with Christ and for the Church. And what I will share in is the same mystery of so many apostles and saints, the gift of holy orders. There is just something so amazingly powerful and mystical about being made a priest. We will no longer act or think simply for ourselves but always with the Church and for God's glory. It is within the awe that I realize there is nothing else that I want for my life than to be a priest for others. And my great joy is that it is something I have not grasped for but that God has given to me.

It is also worth a moment to speak about what it is an acolyte does within this whole scheme of liturgy. The acolyte is part of the procession, holds the sacramentary for prayers, serves at the altar, at times will distribute holy communion, and can purify the sacred vessels. His essential part to play in the liturgy is serving at the altar, doing his best to allow the priest to pray.

I also like the fact that as an acolyte you finally get your own inaudible prayer, that is, when purifying the vessels like the paten and chalice. Here is the prayer:

Lord, may I receive these gifts in purity of heart. May they bring me healing and strength, now and forever.

Finally, I liked what our liturgy director here at the college said. "When you are a lector, you are paying attention to the acolytes. As an acolyte, you are paying attention to the deacon." There is a direction to these institutions to lector and acolyte. They move us, point us, toward holy orders, to being made deacon, and ultimately priest.

AMDG

Vocation Video

2010-03-06T08:23:00.000-08:00

This is a priest vocation video from last year. It's so good. Archbishop Timothy Dolan knows how to preach it up and inspire.

"O Sacred Head, Surrounded..."

2010-03-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

It's midterms week here at St. Patrick's, and I'm off to class in a few minutes. Earlier this morning I was in charge of music for our class chapel Mass. I selected this for our communion hymn:

Afterward a lot of guys thanked me. One of them said, "You always select songs that are unfamiliar, so it takes us a while to get going." When I'm in charge of music, I often end up doing solos :p But it's a shame that such beautiful music is unfamiliar to so many of our Catholic youth, isn't it?

Good Advice for an Old Timer

2010-03-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

This is from Fr. Ronald Rolheiser.

While talking to an older priest, he asked him, "Father, if you had your life as a priest to live over again, would you do anything different?" Here's the answer he gave.

"If I had my priesthood to live over again I would be a gentler with people the next time. I would console more and challenge more carefully. I was one of those people who was taught and who deeply believed that only the full truth can set us free, that we owe it to people to challenge them with the truth, in season and out. I believed that and did it for most of the years of my ministry. And I was a good priest, I lived for others and never once betrayed in any real way my vows and my commitment. But now that I am older, I regret some of what I did. I regret that sometimes I was too hard on people! I meant it well, I was sincere, but I think that sometimes I ended up laying added burdens on people when they were already carrying enough pain. If I were just beginning as a priest, I would be gentler, I would spend my energies more trying to lift pain from people. People are in a lot of pain. They need us, first of all, to help them with that!”"

I think the words are insightful. It's a challenge to courageously uphold the truth but in a way that is truly pastoral, meeting people where they are and raising them up through God's grace to where He wants them to be, ultimately in His arms.

It reminds of what Fr. Paul Murray said in my Spiritual Theology class last semester. Jesus did not start his ministry by giving lectures. They needed something else. He started with love and mercy. Obviously he challenged them to recognize their sins but he did it through his love. It's the same way with men and women grieving over past abortion. You need to be sensitive to their hurt and help them to realize God can and does forgive them. But it does not help them to mitigate the truth and say it was not a sin. They need the truth but through a ministry of love.

AMDG

Acolyte Institution

2010-03-01T08:25:00.000-08:00

This Sunday, March 7th, myself and the class of 2012 will be instituted as acolytes. This is another step closer to holy orders. With the institution to acolyte, we officially serve at the altar.

Please say a prayer for me and all my classmates.

Photos forthcoming...

AMDG

Station Church: San Clemente

2010-03-01T02:40:00.000-08:00

This first Monday of March we headed down the hill and across to the other side of town to the Basilica of San Clemente (St. Clement) which is located near the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

photo by Michael Tinkler

This location has been a site of worship for the Church in Rome for a long time, going back to the 1st century. It is named after St. Clement who is believed to be the fourth Pope. He was either a freed slave or the son of a free slave who had been a member of the Imperial household. Tradition holds that he was banished to Crimea by Emperor Trajan where he continued to preach the Gospel. Therefore he was sentenced to death by being tied to an anchor and thrown in the sea.

This was one of the original house churches in Rome where Christians gathered before the legalization of Christianity. Eventually it would be replaced by a larger basilica around 390. In 867, St. Cyril and Methodius, the Apostles to the Slavs, brought St. Clement's relics back to Rome and Pope Adrian II placed them here. When two years later St. Cyril died in Rome, he would likewise by buried here. Relics of St. Ignatius of Antioch also rest here under the altar.

photo by tanguera75

The Norman attack in 1084 reduced the church to ruins and when rebuilding finally took place, the rubble was spread out and the level of the ground was raised several feet. It was only in 1857 that the remains of the older basilica and even older remains from the classical period were found.

One of the best pieces of art in San Clemente is the mosaic in the apse. In the center is a crucifixion scene with the cross of Christ represented as a tree that branches out in all directions. There are twelve doves on the tree representing the 12 apostles. In each curl of the branches are different scenes and figures. Below this there is a line of 12 lambs that are coming out of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, representing the Jews and the Gentiles. On the arch there are two major prophets, Jeremiah and Isaiah, reading their prophecies concerning the Messiah. I actually had my liturgy exam based off this mosaic. That's how much theology is tied into this mosaic.

photo by paullew

Today's readings call to mind God's mercy that has bestowed on us despite our sinful ways. As we look upon this mosaic, where Christ's cross shows forth God's never-ending love and mercy, may we be reminded that God reaches out to us no matter how far away we have run and calls us today, as he does everyday, to return to him with our whole hearts.

For more info about this church check out pnac, wiki, or sacred destinations.

For more info on the Station Church series click here.

AMDG

Pope Benedict's Thoughts on the Priesthood

2010-02-28T14:24:00.000-08:00

picture by miqul

Pope Benedict's thoughts on priesthood:

"The essential foundation of priestly ministry is a deep and personal bond to Jesus Christ. Everything hinges on this bond, and the heart of all preparation for priesthood...must be an introduction to it." (Cardinal Ratzinger, Called to Communion, 1996)

"This is the profound meaning of being a priest: to become a friend of Jesus Christ. We should commit ourselves again to this friendship every day...This means that we must know Jesus in an ever more personal way, listening to him, living together with him, spending time with him." (Homily at Chrism Mass, 2006)

"Let us not be consumed with haste, as if time dedicated to Christ in silent prayer were time wasted. on the contrary, it is precisely then that the most wonderful fruits of pastoral service come to birth. There is no need to be discouraged on account of the fact that prayer requires effort, or because the impression is that Jesus remains silent. he is indeed silent, but he is at work." (Address to Clergy in Cathedral of Warsaw, 2006)

AMDG

Missionaries of Charity, Madrid, Post 2

2010-02-27T06:31:00.000-08:00

My 2nd and last post on Madrid. :)

One of the things that has stuck with me from my time in Madrid was a new sense of who the Church is. I always like to imagine the parish I will serve and all the different programs I will help run and get involved in. And it's all nice and pleasant. If anything, Madrid showed me a whole different side. The Church I will serve, and in a certain sense marry, has a lot more 'personality' than I tend to think. And this makes her even more beautiful.

Willy helping one of the guys down the hill

This was shown to me very quickly on the first day and every day that followed. We would pray the rosary at 5pm each day. The men would pray too fast or too slow, too loud or without a sound or just plain garbled. They would make side comments, especially if someone said one Hail Mary too many. They would add their own prayers. Or they might just stare off into the distance. But I realized, despite the difficulty of praying like this, that this was the rosary of the people of God. This was what the Church is like. It's a mess. But that's the spouse each priest weds. It's not always the prettiest but its his spouse. And she is well worth everything, youth, career, or family, that we have given up to have her.

One of the 2 bedrooms

Perhaps my favorite incident in Madrid was with the one resident there who probably did not like me at all. But one night he asked for my help getting ready for bed. I helped him onto his bed and was in the process of changing his urine bag when he started peeing. The urine started spraying all over the floor and he was yelling at me, "Bolsa, bolsa, dame una bolsa." For some crazy reason my brain could never connect that the bolsa, which I always attribute to a bag, could also be this plastic urine container that is meant to catch or drain urine. So I ran around the house getting something else. Definitely not what I needed. Let's just say, he was not too happy. But he is most definitely part of the Church and I needed to serve him despite my lack of will.

Me folding another load of laundry

And just a random note...

My time is Spain was also a chance to discover a renewal happening in Spain. Though reports say that Catholicism is fading in Spain, I met Spanish sisters, new aspirants, others just visiting, as well as a number of young priests and seminarians all passionate about their faith and living it out in the service of their neighbor. One of the seminarians had three sisters who are all in religious life. I also heard of another who had a young friend recently enter the cloistered Carmelites here in Spain. In fact, every cloistered Carmelite monastery here in Spain is full, with many young sisters as well. I also met a lot of young people who would dedicate their time to helping out once or twice a week. One seminarian told me how he was taking 1000 youth on the Camino this year in celebration of the anniversary of the Camino. The Church in Spain isn't quite so dead. There is a new springtime.

AMDG.

Year of the Priest Video

2010-02-23T22:53:00.000-08:00

Check it out. There is three parts to this one.

Race to the Clericus Cup

2010-02-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

It's begun.

We beat out the Brazilians in a shootout after tying 1-1 at the end of regulation on Saturday.

Here are some shots from the game via Victor.

You can find more info about the Clericus Cup here.

Join the fans on Facebook.

AMDG.

Station Church: San Pietro in Vincoli

2010-02-22T04:27:00.000-08:00

Early Monday morning we were off to St. Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains), which lies in the middle of the city on the Oppian Hill or in other words, a long walk from the NAC.

This church was first established in the late fourth or early fifth century by Pope Sixtus III. It would be destroyed soon after by fire or earthquake. It was repaired by the Byzantine Emperor in 450, just about the time that the chains for St. Peter's jail time in Jerusalem were given to the Church in Rome. They were placed with the chains from St. Peter's imprisonment in Rome and the two fused together. They were originally kept in a shrine in the left transept but were moved into a confessio constructed in front of the new high altar.

photo by roblisameehan

Pope Julius II would add a number of improvements including space for his tomb. He would eventually be buried in St. Peter's. But his tomb is notable because it was completed in 1545 by Michelangelo and includes his famous Moses. This church also contains the remains of the seven Maccabee brothers. For more info about this church check out pnac, wiki, or sacred destinations.

photo by ndalls

It is no coincidence that we celebrate today's Lenten Station Church at St. Peter in Chains. This is also the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. This feast was first celebrated as early as the 4th century and commemorated the day on which Peter was first chosen as pope through his proclamation of faith and the words of Jesus.

photo by scuba04

We know that St. Peter or Simon (Greek) Bar Jona, Son of John, was a native of Bethsaida, the northern part of the Sea of Galilee, from the town of Capernaum. He had a brother Andrew and a wife who he took on his travels with him. He was partners with James, John and his brother in a fishing business. They are often portrayed as poor and uneducated. But Peter would have at least known the Scriptures well and considering he owned a couple boats with hired hands, you could say he was a small businessman. In fact, if there was a Yellow Pages listing, it might read: Johnson Brothers Inc., Wholesale and Retail Fish.

He was generous, impulsive, good-hearted, though often without even thinking. One only need think of the transfiguration, the remonstration before the passion, or the drawing of the sword in the garden. His heart was always in the right place but his brain was not always engaged. But after the Resurrection, the hapless Peter of the Gospels was gone and only the leader was left, minus the incident in Antioch of course. He was a transformed man as though the words of Jesus in today's reading from Matthew's Gospel finally took root and he was truly ready to be the rock.

The feast of the Chair of St. Peter celebrates what the early Church eventually came to understand as the moment when St. Peter was given a unique authority and charism over the whole Church. But there are two other passages that can also help us to understand the role of St. Peter, the role of any pope in the Church, besides exercising authority. In John 21:1 and following, Jesus meets Peter on the shore and here there seems to be more a conferral of responsibility and authority. John does not speak of power and hierarchy so much as love and service. And again in Luke 22:31-32, Jesus foretells the denial of Peter but also that when he has turned back, he will strengthen his brothers. Peter's mission will not simply be one of authority but also one who unifies, acts as a bridge, stands as a mediator.

Perhaps today as we gaze upon the chains that twice bound St. Peter, we can offer a prayer for our Holy Father Pope Benedict, for his intentions and his health, for his courage and faithfulness to his vocation as supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church, knowing that to be faithful to this vocation requires a prudent and just exercise of authority, a deep love and self-sacrificing service, and a man willing to bridge the divides of peoples and nations to bring all to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

For more info on the Station Church series click here.

AMDG

Preaching it up

2010-02-20T12:32:00.000-08:00

Fair warning, I am posting this practice homily of mine that I just gave recently for Ash Wednesday. The comments were not too harsh so I think it's readable for the public. Then again, it might come off a little harsh. :)

I sometimes wonder why so many people come out for Ash Wednesday. Is it perhaps because we just like receiving something. Ashes are a novelty. Is it a chance to discover who else at work or school is Catholic. Perhaps you are like me and enjoy laughing at people who have received big smudges on their foreheads instead of the symbolic cross. Or maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with the words we will hear today as we receive the ashes. "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel" or "Remember, man, you are dust and to dust you will return."

These words should echo in the depths of our hearts. And they should sting. They remind of us two well known but rarely discussed facts of human existence. We are all sinners and we are all going to die. That seems a bit drastic perhaps. But it's the truth.

These ashes remind us today that an event thousands of years ago, an event that defined life for everyone of us, still effects us today. Adam and Eve told God, I think I will go it my own way, I think I'll do it myself, basically, I don't need you.
This is where it all began. We continue in the path of Adam and Eve each day.

And we do this at times in very subtle ways. Sometimes it's a matter of turning to Jesus in prayer only when something tragic happens, a car accident, a sickness, or a death. We live without Jesus until the very moment we need him desperately. We live on auto-pilot until the plane is going down and we need to find someone to fly the plane again. Or it's living our own set of morals, choosing what to buy, how to live, and what kind of work to do based on what will most satisfy our dreams rather than God's dreams for us. We just do our duty each Sunday and then go back to living for ourselves.

How do we get back on the right track? How do we turn from this self-sufficient, self-independent attitude that is so deeply ingrained in all of us? How do we turn from sin? How do we free ourselves from our death sentence?

This Lent, we are called once more to conversion, to turn our hearts back to Christ, for he has the answer. He is the answer to our stubborn hearts, our sinfulness, our future deaths. These darknesses no longer need to rule. What we have to do is let Jesus into our every part of our lives. That is the only way he can heal us from sin and bring us to eternal life. We have to define our lives by our faith, by our relationship with Jesus. We have to move from preferring to go our own way, make our own decisions, deciding what will make us happy and move towards living in the love of the Lord.

He opens wide his arms, that's what Jesus spread out on the cross represents for us, God reaching out as a Father in love. And Paul exhorts us today, Reconcile! God, even while we were still sinners, reached out to love us. He has overcome every obstacle. Sin and death no longer rule. He's just waiting for your response. How do we let him in?

There are two things that we need. We have to first recognize that we are sinners, that we are fallen, that we are weak, that we ultimately need a savior. We need to realize the need for conversion after seeing our real selves, after knowing the score. The second is to realize that God loves us in an absolute way and reaches out to us in love. He makes us his sons and daughters. This is the foundation of true relationship with God. And from here, from these two points, we can begin to grow towards eternal life. This is it. What's stopping you?

Perhaps you are afraid to go deeper, to jump in the water. You know if you get into the water, you are going to have to change your life. That's right. But would you rather live life in the kiddy pool or swim in the ocean? God is offering you everything. Complete absolute love. And as Joel says today, he is slow to anger and relenting in punishment. He is giving you a shot.

Maybe you are afraid if you really get to know your God, He won't possibly be able to love you. You'll dirty the water. You've messed up too much. Didn't you hear the words of Joel, for gracious and merciful is he? He is loving like a mother to a child. He loves you since before you were even born and he still loves you today.

Or maybe you are afraid if you put yourself out there he won't respond. You'll get in and you'll drown. But Joel again tells us that he is rich in kindness, always faithful. He already sent his Son to free you from sin and death and he responds everyday with the gift of another day, the gift of life, the gift of those around you. What are you afraid of? Jump off that diving board. Go deeper.

This Lent we have the tools. The tools of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting which we are offered during this Lenten period can bring us to Christ. But we have to use them right. We can't do as the hypocrites do in the Gospel today, using these to look good in front of audiences. It has to be about growing in relationship with God.

Almsgiving is giving back to God what is already his, freeing us from material things and allows us to be free for God. It is an act that needs to be done with love.

Prayer is simply talking with the Lord. Make time for it. Turn off the TV or the radio in the car. Just speak to Him. He's waiting.

Fasting allows us to exercise discipline in our lives, checking our stomach yes, but as a result, our interior desires for food, for comfort, for whatever else. We can also fast from cynicism, skepticism, self-worship. We can then reorient our heart to the highest and greatest good, God and his will.

Confession should also be added on here. Jesus offers the greatest gift in confession and its absolutely free. Forgiveness! Only in confession do we experience true forgiveness. Don't forget to experience his mercy this Lent.

God uses each of these tools, He works in them, if we let him, to turn out hearts completely, utterly, to Him alone. Each of these tools, the almsgiving, the prayer, the fasting, confession, to move us beyond the self, beyond our egos, to God, to our neighbor. It is this movement that brings conversion. Let God be God in your life this Lent. Dive into the waters of faith, rejoice in the love God has for you, freed from your sins, let eternal life grow in you that you may one day rejoice in heaven with our merciful and loving Father. As Paul says, "Now is a very acceptable time; Behold, now is the day of salvation." Today is the day of your salvation.

AMDG

My House Job

2010-02-18T02:44:00.000-08:00

Lent started yesterday and so did my house job. Most of us in the house have some kind of house jobs throughout the year, like sacristan, magazine editor, sports prefect, etc. I'm the assistant Lenten Station Church Coordinator. Talk about a title. :)

For an idea of what the Lenten Station Church thing is all about check out our website. This is a tradition that goes back to as early as the second century where the pope would visit the different communities in Rome as a way to foster unity. The NAC only recently started up the Station Church tradition for English speakers.

So I have been and will be leading people, mostly seminarians, out to the different Lenten Station Churches, hopefully on time and to the right location.

I joined on to an initiative with some fellow brother seminarians and one former NAC guy now priest who happen to blog as well and we are attempting with our combined efforts to cover all the Station Churches with a blog post. So feel free to check out Victor's, Doug's, Dave's, Fr. Rust's, Francis', and Andrew's blogs as we proceed through Lent. I will post once a week or so on a different church but with our combined efforts, you can get a glimpse into every single one.

Happy Lent to one and to all.

AMDG

The Parents of St. Therese

2010-02-15T02:18:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share the stories of the parents of St. Therese because they witness the openness to the will of God in their lives. Their process for beatification is in process. Both her father and mother discerned a vocation to religious life before ultimately answering the call to married life. This is the challenge. We are called, each one of us, to be open to the call to priesthood, religious life, marriage, or the single life. That does not mean we must be a priest or a husband. Rather we must be open. The beauty of God's will is that He will give us only what we truly need and desire. The lives of Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin are an exemplary model for us all.

Her father, Louis Martin, was only 21 when he discerned a call to monastic life with the Augustinians at the Monastery of Mount St. Bernard in the Swiss Alps. But without any knowledge of Latin, he was told to wait until he had completed his Latin studies. He studied hard for a year until illness required him to give up the studies and he never returned to them.

He became a watchmaker and was quite successful at it. He continued to live a very devout Catholic life. It was only at the age of 35, and just three months after their first meeting, that he married Zelie Guerin in 1858. They both desired to live the religious life so they continued to be chaste during their marriage. It was only after a confessor suggested they consider the vocation to family life that their ideas changed. He would be a faithful husband and father even while losing his wife to illness and all of his daughters to religious life.

Here are a couple interesting quotes from him:

When Louis took his first daughter Marie to St. Pierre de Monsort to be baptised he remarked to the priest, ‘This is the first time you have seen me here for a baptism, but it won’t be the last!’

Towards the end of his life he suffered a stroke. He once remarked to a doctor, ‘I was always accustomed to command, and here I must obey. It is hard! But I know why God has sent me this trial. I never had any humiliation in my life; I needed one.’

Her mother, Zelie Guerin, sought to enter religious life but perhaps on account of her poor health, the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul would not accept her as a postulant. She decided that if God did not want her to be a religious, she would marry and have many children who would all be consecrated to Him.

One day while crossing a bridge she noticed a man passing by and heard an interior voice. "This is he whom I have prepared for you." It was Louis Martin.

Still convinced that she was called to religious life, she agreed with Louis to remain chaste. That did not last long. They would eventually have 9 children in 13 years though only 5 would survive to adult years.

I have not done justice to these two future saints but hopefully the little I have said will inspire you to read a more complete biography of their lives at this website.

AMDG

More Words from Oprah's Special

2010-02-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

This is from the Oprah website. The last quote is striking.

Sister John Dominic has been a nun for nearly 30 years and says the transition to the Church is often harder on the sister's family than the woman herself. "Any mother, the moment they lay their eyes on their child, they have dreams for them," she says. "And they [ask], 'What is my child going to be?'"

She says her own mother was upset with her decision. "I became a Catholic when I was in high school," she says. "Not being Catholic and not being exposed to it was very difficult for her. I had a family member that had been in a cult, so her idea was that I would be cut off from the world, I would be brainwashed and I wouldn't be able to think for myself."

Over time, Sister John Dominic says her mother realized she was still the daughter she'd always known. "They begin to see that we become who we are. My personality hasn't changed," she says. "They begin to see the freedom and the joy in that and there's an acceptance, and she's my biggest supporter now."

Sister Mary Judith says her brothers are always amazed she hasn't become a different person. "[They're] quite amused that I'm just the same person I was before—but almost more so," she says. "If it's your calling, if this is what you're meant to be, you're going to become more of yourself over time."

Full Article

Snow in Rome

2010-02-12T01:28:00.000-08:00

Well folks, I never thought I would see it, but it is actually snowing in Rome. We'll see if the snow 'sticks' around though. :)

Here the snow is just starting to fall a bit.

Now it's picking up.

It's covered over the chapel and the courtyard.

Our campo sportivo is now a winter wonderland.

Me heading out the door to check out Rome under a blanket of snow.

Another shot.

Italians trying to drive in this...yikes!

Snow angel...

St. Pete's covered in snow.

AMDG

Dominican Sisters on Oprah

2010-02-10T05:27:00.000-08:00

This can only be good.

The sisters have the preview on their website and I assume you can find the whole thing on youtube. American Papist also has a few different links.

AMDG.

Guidelines for Thinking with the Church Today

2010-02-08T01:49:00.000-08:00

I just completed my last 2 finals yesterday so I will be getting back to posting something very soon, today in fact. :)

I got the following from one of our formators here at the NAC. I think they are important and obviously helpful for not getting too big for our own shoes. But they are also helpful for continuing discernment purposes.

Guidelines for Thinking with the Church Today

1. Have a great devotion to the Eucharist; daily celebration of the Mass; daily reception of the Eucharist, and regular adoration of the Eucharist.

2. Have a deep love for the Person of Christ whether it be Christ in his passion, Christ in glory, or Christ in his sacramental mysteries.

3. Devote a significant time in the day to reading Sacred Scripture. Allow the word of God to form your spirituality and devotion. Christianity is not a 'religion of the book', but of the Living Word of God.

4. Have a profound devotion to Mary the Mother of God, the one who was always attentive to the will of the Father. Go also to meet Christ's friends, the other saints as well.

5. Have a great love and respect for the Pope and bishops and adhere to the teachings of the magisterium of the Church. Pray for the pope and bishops.

6. Repent again and again - exercise the virtue of compunction. Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation frequently.

7. Have a great love for the cross. It prepares us for an eternal weight of glory.

8. Engage in some freely chosen self-denial.

9. Give yourself to community life with all the joys and sacrifices that it implies.

10. Have a serious commitment to praying the Liturgy of the Hours.

11. Do some concrete work with and for the physically and materially poor.

12. Get involved in some type of Pro-Life activity.

These would be easier if I only had to do one each day. :)

AMDG

Missionaries of Charity, Madrid, Post 1

2010-02-03T05:52:00.000-08:00

I am sorry to start these so late. Things have been piling up. We start finals this week so I have been trying to prepare. This Italian Class is killing me. :)

The Missionaries of Charity run an AIDS hospice as well as a soup kitchen and a shelter for men and women on the west side of Madrid. The AIDS hospice usually has about 13 residents who are at different stages of dying. But thanks to medical advances, these guys live a lot longer. Supposedly, 10 years ago, there were guys dying every month. When I was there, these guys were in alright shape. Many of them had been there for years. I think half of them were in wheelchairs and those are the ones we really needed to help.

Those first few days in Madrid were tough. I started asking myself, why did I come here? Why, in fact, do I always try to find places to serve like with AIDS patients? Who gave me this stupid idea? I think that was the beginning of my prayer for the first few days.

I always dream up how things are going to be before I arrive somewhere. And somehow when I got to Madrid they did not quite add up. For one, I got there late because of my flight so I arrived when the sisters were doing their holy hour and the only guy there sent me away. So I came back an hour later and found that the sister in charge of the house where I would be was off at the hospital. So another sister just sent me up to the AIDS house to hang out. What a rough start. So there I am, sitting in a dining hall/living room, breathing in the fumes of five different types of cigarettes trying to make small talk, in my Spanglish-Italian. Tough. The sister in charge would finally wander in towards the end of the day, meeting people on the way, solving problems, and telling me over her shoulder as she showed me my room and hurried out the door that I would pick stuff up on the way.

Day 2. I don't think I wanted to get up that morning. And I definitely did not want my holy hour or Mass to end.

But things got better, quickly. I met the hoards of volunteers that come through this place and quickly became part of the family. A number of seminarians would come through and thankfully, we'd have English in common. There were some aspirant sisters and a girl visiting the order to talk to as well. The Missionaries of Charity inspire a lot of people to help. In fact, at this house, the volunteers really ran the house from the cooking and cleaning to the washing and feeding. They also financially supported the place. As a result, the sisters were around but not much. And I was not quite ready for that. When I was in Milan the sisters were around all the time and I learned a lot from them. We would do a holy hour together. It was great. Here, not so much.

The way the schedule was set up was actually real nice, especially when on Christmas vacation.

Mass at 8am
Get the boys up at 830am
Breakfast for the boys and Cleanup 900am to 11am
Downtime or Laundrytime or my breakfast 11am-1pm
Lunch for the boys 1pm-130pm
Put them down for naps 130pm
Lunch and Break 200pm-400pm
Get'em back up for Marinda or what we might call, snacking 400pm-415pm
Downtime 415pm-5pm
Rosary 5pm
Downtime 530pm-700pm
Dinner 700pm to 715pm
Take them to bed 715pm to 8pm
Freedom 8pm and on

So I started learning, albeit slowly, how to get the guys up and put them to bed, either changing everything from the pinochet (its a piece of rubber that wraps around the guy's penis to take care of the urine) and the diaper to just changing clothing and sending them off to the dining hall. I realized it was all a trust thing. Guys would not want you helping them at the beginning until they really learned to trust you. Then even if they did not like you, like one certain fellow, they would still ask for your help over anyone else.

I would also help serve the food, cutting up the meat for some or in the case of another, feeding him one spoonful at a time. We would make the beds, mop the floors, clean the toilets, empty the urine bags, hang up the laundry, and many more glorious things. At times, these things made me wonder why so many people would show up here to help, even young people.

The downtime in the morning and afternoon was usually occupied with small talk, lounging around on the couches in silence, or loss after loss at the game of dominos to the professional ringer of the house.

Occasionally there would be a play down the hill that all the men would go down for or a movie shown on Sundays. For the big celebrations we would all go down the hill for the big party.

That was life, for a couple weeks anyways. Day in and day out was much the same. But as I fell into the routine, the montony, I had the experience of really living with them. I stayed in a room in the back. I could hear them if they cried out at night. I sat in the same smokey dining hall, waiting out the minutes of each day.

There were times of joy and laughter but also the blunt reality of the situation, people slowly wasting away. I even had the experience of feeling simply horrible when I caught a 24 virus from one of the guys and spent the next day puking my guts out. I look back on it with great fondness. :) I think there is really something said for entering into the lives of others. By doing so, I was able to be with them and love them. Much of what I think inspires the volunteers, young and old, the sisters, the seminarians, even the priests who would come through, is that what they are doing here is love. At this place, love becomes incarnate. There is this mutual giving between the volunteers and these men. No, the men do not give anything material, but they give what little they have, their smiles, their tears, their lives.

Though this west side of Madrid might normally be on the "outskirts" of society in some sense, it has become ground zero for so much love and ultimately for so much change. People come here to love and they leave changed, ready to share love with so many who have yet to discover it.

I thank God for having the chance to share in this.

AMDG.

Congratulations

2010-02-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

Tonight Sacramento's own Jose Jesus "Chuy" Beltran and Carlo Perez were admitted to candidacy for Holy Orders along with the other men in Third Theology at St. Patrick's! Please keep them in your prayers. They have this semester, and then one more year to go.

A Rumor

2010-01-30T07:46:00.000-08:00

There is word out that the Diocese of Sacramento is working on a new vocations website that will include this blog. Keep your eyes open for the change. This, of course, could be months down the road but I might as well drum up some excitement now.

AMDG.

More Walk For Life West Coast Pics

2010-01-28T05:38:00.000-08:00

At the Cathedral in SF for the Mass

Archbishop Niederauer processing in

At the plaza before the Walk

Numbers growing...

AMDG.

The key to Benedict's papacy

2010-01-24T15:59:00.000-08:00

The National Catholic Reporter is a modernist fishwrap and hotbed of dissent, but it has a real treasure on its staff in the person of John Allen. Mr. Allen concisely described the key to understanding our current Holy Father's vision:

Here it is in a nutshell: Benedict’s top priority is internal, directed at the inner life of the Catholic Church. His aim is to restore a strong sense of traditional Catholic identity, in order to inoculate the church against infection by radical secularism. That’s not just a personal hobbyhorse of this pope, but rather the culmination of 50 years of mounting concern inside Catholicism that the church has gone too far in accommodating the ways and means of the secular world. Today, this wave of “evangelical Catholic” energy is the most important policy-setting force in the church.

As a result, when Benedict XVI says or does things that affect Judaism, the key is often to understand that he’s not really talking to Jews but to other Catholics.

Thus, Benedict’s decision to revive the old Latin Mass, including that infamous prayer for the conversion of Jews, was certainly not crafted as a statement about Judaism. Instead, Benedict sees the old Mass as a classic carrier of Catholic identity, an antidote to any tendency to secularize the church’s worship. Likewise, Benedict did not lift the excommunications of four traditionalist bishops, including one who believes the Nazis didn’t use gas chambers, to endorse their troubled history with antisemitism. Rather, he did so because the traditionalists act as a leaven in the church, fostering appreciation for the Catholic past — even if their ideas on some matters lie far from the pope’s own thinking.

The Holy Father's declaring this the Year of the Priest is part of his overall strategy of revitalizing Catholic identity. We've seen a blurring of the distinction between the ordained priesthood and the priesthood of all the faithful over the past forty years. The priest is not superior to the laity, but he is nonetheless different from the lay person at the very center of his being. As the seminarian approaches candidacy for Holy Orders and his diaconate ordination, he needs to pray hard and meditate on that priestly identity. He has not been ordained yet, but he should have internalized his vocation and future identity as an alter Christus. As my adviser put it, "If you make it to candidacy and you still haven't resolved the questions that ought to be resolved at the college or pre-theology level, then you have cheated yourself and holy Mother Church."

I have a long way to go before candidacy, let alone, God willing, priesthood. But at the same time, a seminarian is not just another lay man attending Secular U where we rock and roll all night and party every day. The seminary is where you need to form the habits that will be with you throughout your priesthood, above all a solid spiritual life with much personal prayer. That's not to say the seminary is not also a place of continuing discernment. No matter what God wills for you, you must allow Him to work in your life, above all through prayer and regular spiritual direction. I've seen it in our fourth year men - they grew in their time in the seminary. They became more and more secure in the faith that this is what God wills for them. You can see it yourself. I've met many seminarians of whom I thought, "He'll make an awesome priest." It might be you some day.

"Hey, you're from the blog!"

2010-01-24T13:15:00.001-08:00

Last Friday seminarians from all over the west met at St. Patrick's before the Walk for Life which took place yesterday. When I was introducing myself to our guests, one of them asked me, "Are you the Kevin from the Sacramento blog?" It's good to know we have a regular readership! Then he said, "It's pretty much just you and Colin, isn't it?" I hope my diocesan brothers take the hint ;)

Our day began with Mass at San Francisco's Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. Archbishop Niederauer concelebrated with many of California's bishops, including our own Bishop Jaime Soto who processed in alongside Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland. What I remember most vividly from the Mass was Archbishop Niederauer opening his homily with, "I will be a priest for forty eight years this April. This is only the second time I've heard the wrong Gospel for the day." He has a dry sense of humor like that, heh. But he gave a powerful homily afterward. He didn't name names but we all knew whom he meant when the Archbishop said that many members of the Catholic family do not accept Mother Church's teachings on abortion. But, he said, the sanctity of human life is not something on which good Catholics can disagree. All of us are morally obligated to oppose the evil of abortion no matter our state in life. He said it deeply gratified and humbled him to see so many of the lay faithful from all over the west to walk for life in a city that is hostile to our teachings on human life and the family, to put it mildly.

We gathered in Justin Herman Plaza near Fisherman's Wharf to hear the guest speakers. One of them was Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood employee, who through God's grace came to see the evil of abortion, repented, and is now a dedicated pro-life activist. I was deeply moved to see so many thousands of people come out despite the pouring rain. The thing you have to understand about the Walk for Life West Coast is the local media doesn't care for us. Last year a local columnist described it as a "dog and pony show." At 30,000 people last year, that's some show! I don't know how many people came this year. It was difficult to get an accurate count in that sea of umbrellas, but a good rule of thumb is to add at least ten thousand to whatever number the local media reports, and to divide by two whatever number of counter-protesters they name. From my point of view, the opposition definitely declined from what it was last year.

Almost all of St. Patrick's seminarians made it out there in addition to men from Mt. Angel (including our own Raj Derivera, Josh Sia, and Patrick Arquelles), St. John's in Camarillo, and St. John Vianney in Denver. We all quickly became separated in the ocean of people. What I like best about the Walk is getting to meet lay people from all over the Western United States. Coincidentally, I met a woman from St. Stephen the First Martyr parish in Sacramento, where my ex-girlfriend is getting married in April. I didn't run into anyone from my home parish this year, but from what I've seen on Facebook, they were there!

Abortion is the greatest of the many evils which plague the world today. We must fight it by every moral means at our disposal. I think it's vitally important for seminarians and clergy to be present with our people in this struggle. They're the ones who are taking time off from their lives to witness to a culture of life in a city which is in many ways an epicenter of the culture of death. The least we seminarians, and the priests, can do is to be there with them. The theology level seminarians, and the pre-theologians, all wore their collars. That way the laity know that the next generation of priests support them in their endeavor with our presence, and with our prayers.

I'm a poor seminarian myself, so I do hope one of my diocesan brothers - or maybe one of you kind readers - will submit some more pictures to post.

More here.

Straight from the Holy Father

2010-01-23T14:01:00.001-08:00

On Jan 23, 2009, in his message for the 44th World Day for Social Communications, Pope Benedict calls for priests to "make astute use" of available technology in becoming a presence as community leaders on the web.

A few quotes to get an idea:

"All priests have as their primary duty the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, and the communication of His saving grace in the Sacraments. ... Responding adequately to this challenge amid today's cultural shifts, to which young people are especially sensitive, necessarily involves using new communications technologies. ... Priests stand at the threshold of a new era: as new technologies create deeper forms of relationship across greater distances, they are called to respond pastorally by putting the media ever more effectively at the service of the Word."

"Using new communication technologies, priests ... must learn, from the time of their formation, how to use these technologies in a competent and appropriate way, shaped by sound theological insights and reflecting a strong priestly spirituality grounded in constant dialogue with the Lord. Yet priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ. This will not only enliven their pastoral outreach, but also will give a 'soul' to the fabric of communications that makes up the 'Web'."

"Our pastoral presence in that world must thus serve to show our contemporaries, especially the many people in our day who experience uncertainty and confusion, 'that God is near; that in Christ we all belong to one another'. Who better than a priest, as a man of God, can develop and put into practice, by his competence in current digital technology, a pastoral outreach capable of making God concretely present in today's world?"

"The development of the new technologies and the larger digital world represents a great resource for humanity as a whole. ... But this development likewise represents a great opportunity for believers. No door can or should be closed to those who, in the name of the risen Christ, are committed to drawing near to others. To priests in particular the new media offer ever new and far-reaching pastoral possibilities, encouraging them to embody the universality of the Church's mission, to build a vast and real fellowship, and to testify in today's world to the new life which comes from hearing the Gospel of Jesus."

As I have read on a number of other blogs, perhaps the Holy Father is saying, "Go forth and blog." :)

AMDG.

Stories from the Church in Haiti

2010-01-23T13:56:00.000-08:00

Some updates from Haiti.

Father Augustin Almy, a diocesan priest who was in the Port-au-Prince seminary at the time of its collapse on January 12, spoke to CNA this week sharing the story of his survival and describing the devastation in Haiti following the earthquake.

Speaking to CNA outside the remains of the seminary this week, Fr. Almy explained that at the time of the earthquake, he was in his second-floor room of the seminary watching television. “Suddenly I heard a noise...then I saw the walls coming down as the whole house began to collapse.” The Whole Story here.

This is a part of an email from Fr. Don McEachin, C.S.Sp., who runs a mission in the Dominican Republic, dated January 20th.

Fr. Werby just got back last night from delivering a truck load of medicines which are badly needed, to an inland hospital in Haiti, in the Diocese which he is from, which was not damaged and is now full of injured from Port au Prince. We are planning more trips, and collecting more supplies. There are 60,000 refugees from Port au Prince in this town in Haiti where Werby went yesterday with two Diocesan trucks, and the needs are great, from clothes to medicine, and of course food. Our parish and our diocese will now partner with the Diocese that Werby is from to direct all our relief efforts there, since it is easier to get there from here, and there are no security issues like those now affecting Port au Prince. We have been warned not to try to drive again to P au P with supplies because of the armed bandits which have been attacking trucks coming in from the Dominican Republic. We are using a border crossing much closer to us and with more security. Also, at the border, the security forces send an armed escort to accompany us. I am impressed with the generosity of the Dominican people. Local business have contributed bottled water, rice, and medicines in considerable quantity which helps us greatly to keep the out of pocket costs down and increase what we can deliver. There was another earthquake in P au P a couple of hours ago, measuring 6.1 on the scale, and some of us felt it here although I did not. That's a pretty serious earthquake and we are praying that there will not be many more deaths as a result.

Below is news received from Fr. Joseph Philippe who starting in 1988 built Fondwa from the ground up. Fondwa was a rural community developed by him and the peasants and provided the surrounding communities with water, clinics school, literacy classes, stores, radio station and a credit union. It’s heartbreaking for the Spiritans and all who know of Fr. Joseph’s work.

Thanks for your concern, your support and prayers. We have lost about 25 people in Fondwa including a member of the Sisters of St. Anthony of Fondwa: Sr. Odile Damus and a child of 2 years from the Fondwa Orphanage: Jude Dubic. They both died at the APF Guest Center which have been destroyed completely. Everything in Fondwa has gone. The infrastructure that we have built in 22 years: the Orphanage, the School, the APF Center, the Clinic, the Radio Station ( Radyo Zetwal ) the Sisters' Convent, the buildings of the University of Fondwa ( 7 of them). Everything has gone. The epi-center of the earthquake was in Fondwa, between Leogane and Jacmel. The big building of Pastor Luc Guerrier has gone. The Roman Catholic Church in Fondwa has gone also. The Church of Philadelphie ( a Protestant Church) has gone with about 15 young people under the concrete blocs. The Spiritan have lost one Seminarian, Stephane Douge who died with 12 other Seminarians ( Oblates, Montfortans ) at CIFOR. CIFOR ( a theological school for religious in Port-au-Prince) is gone completely. The Cathedral of Port-au-Prince has gone also. The Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Mgr. Joseph Serge Miot died and will be buried on Saturday January 24. A big part of St. Martial College has gone, specially the Elementary Section which was also used as the Spiritan Pre-Noviciate House. All of the buildings of St. Martial are damaged a lot. Our Spiritan house in Senghor where I live with Fr. Patrick Eugene is seriously damaged. Our court-yard is used actually as a Refugee Center for about 200 victims of the earthquake. The other Spiritans are Ok. Fonkoze has lost 3 employees - one Branch ( Bizoton near Port-au-Prince) has gone and 6 other branches very damaged. The Central Office and the Port-au-Prince branch are among them. But the rest of us are alive and are in strongly in solidarity with the rest of the Country. Together, we can rebuild Fondwa and Haiti.

Let's keep up those prayers.

AMDG.

Priestly Vocations Back in the Spotlight

2010-01-22T23:43:00.000-08:00

Wow...check out this headline. Baseball prospect heading to the seminary.

"Well, here's a story you don't see every day.

Grant Desme, a 23-year-old minor league outfielder in Oakland's system, is retiring from baseball to follow a calling into the Catholic priesthood.

The story was first reported by Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morosi — perhaps appropriately with that first name of his — and this isn't a case of a struggling player going through an early-life crisis. Desme was ranked the A's eighth-best prospect by Baseball America after hitting .288 with 31 home runs and 89 RBIs in A ball in 2009 and he was just named MVP of the Arizona Fall League.

Desme might have even been a late-season callup to the big league club in 2010. Our Y! Sports 2010 fantasy guide has him ranked the 40th-best minor-league prospect for near-term fantasy purpose. However, ESPN's Rob Neyer disagrees, saying that he didn't see Desme as a future star by the Bay.

Susan Slusser has more on Desme's decision to leave playing against the Padres and Cardinals so he can start praying with other padres and cardinals at a Catholic seminary in Orange County. He said the news came as bit of a shock to Billy Beane, but that the Oakland GM and entire A's system have been supportive of his decision.

Said Desme on a Friday afternoon conference call:

"I'm doing well in baseball. But I had to get down to the bottom of things, to what was good in my life, what I wanted to do with my life. Baseball is a good thing, but that felt selfish of me when I felt that God was calling me more. It took awhile to trust that and open up to it and aim full steam toward him ... I love the game, but I'm going to aspire to higher things."

Desme spoke with Baseball America last year about baseball being only "a game" and we wish him success on his spiritual path. In a selfish age when churches struggle to recruit young male Americans, his sacrifice of possible riches is a very admirable thing."

Here's the link.

But Silverado, California...that has to be...the Norbertines? :)

AMDG.

National Day of Penance

2010-01-22T08:05:00.000-08:00

Today we pray for all the offenses against human life, most especially the unborn. For all of you walking in the Walk for Life West Coast and the East Coast Walk for Life we're united with you in prayer from Rome.

AMDG.

A Vocation Story from a Dominican

2010-01-20T03:35:00.000-08:00

A Dominican at my university recently told part of his vocation story to us in class so I thought I would share some snippets because I think what he said was extremely valuable.

He said that when he was young, he had all his plans figured out. He was going to be a physician. He had a wonderful Christian woman in his life that he was going to marry in a couple years. They would wait until he finished school and she had finished her nursing program so that she could move to wherever he would go to medical school and be a nurse there. They even had the names of their first two children.

That summer, he was taking some extra classes in Berkeley, spending his time going to class, Mass at noon, more study, and some more prayer. He was living a life in solitude. Phone calls were expensive so he did not call his girlfriend much. There was no internet as he likes to say. He was alone. And each day after receiving communion he would say, "Lord, help me to pass my classes so that I can go to medical school and be a good physician." But slowly that began to change. The words remained the same but the Lord became the bigger part of that prayer.

One day, while taking a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge in SF God asked him a question. "Why do you want to be a physician?" He responded, "To heal people." God replied, "Is that the only way?"

From here began a long journey.

He would finish his studies in Berkeley that summer and rush down south to see his girlfriend. As any female member of the human race, she knew right away something was up. So did he. She got into the car with him to head down to the beach but he read very quickly, all was not right. There she was, sitting with her arms crossed, looking out the window. Not good.

Finally she spoke. "Who did you meet in Berkeley? Your heart has changed."

It was the conversation he did not want to have yet wanted to have. They agreed to pray with it and one day, she came to him and said, "Christ is calling you to be a priest. That is what you need to do." And he agreed.

He would eventually move towards applying to be a diocesan priest but a vocation director stopped him, saying, "I have been praying a lot for you and I have to ask you if you have ever considered religious life."

That became a turning point. And some 30+ years later he is still a holy and faithful Dominican priest teaching to this very day.

He says many wise things. Among others, God takes us places and gives us our vocation in life not because that is how we can best love God but rather how God can best love us.

I, like this Dominican, have discovered that God best loves me as his priest and how true it is, that it is his love alone that initiates, sustains, and completes this vocation that he has placed in my heart.

AMDG.

It Will Decide Everything

2010-01-16T04:24:00.000-08:00

“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.” Pedro Arrupe S.J.

This is one of my favorite quotes. It helps give you a quick intuition about your own life and just how far you have let God penetrate into it.

Help HAITI - Giving To Haitian Relief Via Cell Phone

2010-01-15T11:59:00.000-08:00

Truly sad and horrifying! that hundreds/thousands lost their lives in Haiti after a 7.0 earthquake devastated the city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Relief slowly beginning to arrive in the area from all over the world shows the instinctive power of of love and solidarity that we all have to all the victims and their families (who are in deep pain and anguish). This also means that in our own little way , it's never too late to extend our "hands" to Haiti.

Just Click this link for further instructions.

http://www.wxia11.com/includes/tools/print.aspx?storyid=139662

God Bless Us! God Bless Haiti!

Urgent Time for Prayer

2010-01-13T12:33:00.000-08:00

"The body of Msgr. Joseph Serge Miot, 65, was found under the rubble of the archdiocese, and may be one of only hundreds of victims trapped in the ruins of Church buildings on the island.

The apostolic nuncio in Haiti, Msgr. Bernardito Auza, said that the cathedral and all the major churches and seminaries in Port-au-Prince were leveled by the most powerful temblor to strike the island in two centuries. Hundreds of seminarians and priests were trapped in the rubble, he told Vatican Radio." (Source)

Please pray for the victims. A large number of the seminarians here gathered together just a few minutes ago to pray the Rosary for the many victims, especially those priests and seminarians still trapped under the ruins of their buildings. Please join us in prayer.

AMDG.

Advice from Someone on Leave

2010-01-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

I would not usually post part of a letter from a guy who recently left formation but I thought what he said was very relevant and I assume he would not mind if I put this on the blog. Here are some of his words on leaving.

"Basically, it just became clear that I needed to step back and see where God was leading me in all of this. I have had a lot of peace with the decision and prayer has been better than ever. So I feel good about it all right now. It just seemed like I was trying to achieve the priesthood rather than receive it, which is never a good thing (as my formation advisor back at SJV had said, "Mary didn't say she was going to be the Mother of God come hell or high water"), so it seemed prudent to get a bigger perspective by stepping out for a while."

I think it's wise advice, especially for us in formation. There comes a point in time where the zeal for the priesthood can wear off a little bit, it has for me, and you have to ask yourself why you are really here. And if the doubts and questions set in, you need to address them, not just press on the gas petal.

AMDG.

Straight from Vatican News

2010-01-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

VATICAN CITY, 9 JAN 2010 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy Father received the rector, students and former students of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, in a meeting marking the 150th anniversary of the foundation of that institution by Blessed Pius IX.

"The present reunion", said the Pope speaking English, "is an opportunity not only to remember with gratitude the time of your studies, but also to reaffirm your filial affection for the Church of Rome, to recall the apostolic labors of the countless alumni who have gone before you, and to recommit yourselves to the high ideals of holiness, fidelity and pastoral zeal which you embraced on the day of your ordination".

Recalling his own pastoral visit to the United States in April 2008, Benedict XVI noted how he had then expressed his "conviction that the Church in America is called to cultivate an intellectual 'culture' which is genuinely Catholic, confident in the profound harmony of faith and reason, and prepared to bring the richness of faith's vision to bear on the pressing issues which affect the future of American society.

"As Blessed Pius IX rightly foresaw", he added, "the Pontifical North American College in Rome is uniquely prepared to help meet this perennial challenge. In the century and a half since its foundation, the College has offered its students an exceptional experience of the universality of the Church, the breadth of her intellectual and spiritual tradition, and the urgency of her mandate to bring Christ's saving truth to the men and women of every time and place".

The Pope expressed his confidence that, "by emphasizing these hallmarks of a Roman education in every aspect of its program of formation, the College will continue to produce wise and generous pastors capable of transmitting the Catholic faith in its integrity, bringing Christ's infinite mercy to the weak and the lost, and enabling America's Catholics to be a leaven of the Gospel in the social, political and cultural life of their nation".

At the end of his remarks the Pope recalled how the college chapel, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, contains portrayals of "four outstanding models and patrons of priestly life and ministry: St. Gregory the Great, St. Pius X, St. John Mary Vianney and St. Vincent de Paul. During this Year for Priests, may these great saints continue to watch over the students who daily pray in their midst; may they guide and sustain your own ministry, and intercede for the priests of the United States".

AMDG.

Face time with the Pope

2010-01-09T11:28:00.000-08:00

We're currently celebrating 150 years at the North American College. Among the other big events was a meeting with the Holy Father this morning. Every previous pope from Pius the 12th, John the 23rd, Paul the 6th, and even JP2 visited the NAC. Ok JP1 did not visit the NAC but we had a pretty good streak going. Pope Benedict invited us over to his house instead today for a short gathering.

Somehow, my dumb luck or something, I got to shake his hand. :)

Here are some pictures from the event. It was raining, hard, but that did not stop all the fun.

A long dark trail of black across St. Peter's.

The famous bronze doors that we just happened to pass through...

Everyone anxiously anticipating the Pope's arrival.

The Pope is that white dot up there. As you can see, Rome has yet to catch on to the U.S. idea of seating everyone so that they all have a good view of the Pope.

Pope giving out handshakes...

AMDG

Christmas Decorations Contest!!!

2010-01-08T06:37:00.000-08:00

We decorate our halls here in Rome every Christmas as part of a friendly contest. Sadly my hall did not pull out a victory or any other sort of award this year but we put in a lot more effort. Perhaps next year. Here are a few pictures from the 4th floor. These were not exactly the best decorated halls.

Family Room Christmas scene

And my own 4th Central

We did an Advent Calendar on our doors

Along with some Christmas trappings

The winning hall did a lot more. That's all I will say. :)

AMDG.

Back in Rome

2010-01-05T06:14:00.000-08:00

The great thing about visiting and really living in a new place is that you form a new family. The sad thing is that you always have to leave it behind when you go.

It was a real joy to spend Christmas and the New Year in Madrid with the Missionaries of Charity and the many volunteers and men who lived in the houses. And honestly, I was sad to go. Yes I did and still yearn for the comforts of home (like laundry facilities) but ultimately it's the people that make it home. Madrid became like another home but like all the others, there comes a time to leave. So I packed my bag and headed out in the door in the darkness of the morning knowing the good I leave behind and unsure of the many goods that await back here in Rome. I want to pass on some of my stories but I will leave that for this weekend. Here is the chapel in the house for men with AIDS.

AMDG.

Genuine appreciation

2010-01-01T12:09:00.000-08:00

The truth is, that all genuine appreciation rests on a certain mystery of humility and almost of darkness. The man who said, “Blessed is he that expecteth nothing, for he shall not be disappointed,” put the eulogy quite inadequately and even falsely. The truth “Blessed is he that expecteth nothing, for he shall be gloriously surprised.” The man who expects nothing sees redder roses than common men can see, and greener grass, and a more startling sun. Blessed is he that expecteth nothing, for he shall possess the cities and the mountains; blessed is the meek, for he shall inherit the earth. Until we realize that things might not be we cannot realize that things are. Until we see the background of darkness we cannot admire the light as a single and created thing. As soon as we have seen that darkness, all light is lightening, sudden, blinding, and divine. Until we picture nonentity we underrate the victory of God, and can realize none of the trophies of His ancient war. It is one of the million wild jests of truth that we know nothing until we know nothing.

- G. K. Chesterton, in Heretics

May the blessed and holy Mother of God watch over us and guide us through this new year of 2010!

Too many parties all at once I'm sure

2009-12-31T11:03:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to his excellency, the Bishop of Sacramento, Jaime Soto! And may you all have a happy and blessed new year! I myself will be going to a party at the house of one of my old coworkers from the days of Longs Drugs (before they became CVS.) I always enjoy these opportunities because it won't just be people I know, but many people I don't know. And when people I don't know find out what I'm doing and where I am, they always have lots of questions about the faith and the Church. St. Peter tells us to always be prepared to give an account of the hope that is in us. I'll admit it can be daunting prospect given all of the false notions of the good life my generation has been raised on, but then I remember that it's not me I'm talking about. Whatever I say to people as a seminarian and some day, God willing, a priest, should not be about me. "It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me."

I clearly remember last year's New Year's Eve party. It made me grateful that all seminarians must have some philosophy before being admitted to theology. One guy I spoke with was something else. It was like pulling teeth just to get him to concede that there is an external reality which is independent of our own subjective perceptions. I think of it as a good experience though. Part of a priest's vocation is to teach Truth (Truth with a capital "T" is a person, remember.) The flip side of that is a priest must be able to refute error. The dictatorship of relativism the Holy Father once spoke of does not like the latter one bit. It is wrong to hold that some things are wrong. It is an error to tell someone they are in error. But that is precisely what we need our pastors to do today: 1) Lead people to the Truth that is Jesus Christ; and 2) perform the spiritual work of mercy of correcting those in error.

Prayer request

2009-12-30T08:59:00.000-08:00

Today would have been the 89th birthday of Monsignor Richard Schuler, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis. He died in 2007, and I would like to request that you say a prayer for the repose of his soul. Everyone who loves sacred music owes Monsignor Schuler a debt of gratitude for keeping it alive during a time of great upheaval in the Church. I also wanted to post a true story about Monsignor that shows what it really means to be "pastoral."

Msgr. Schuler did have friends in high places (which didn’t shield him from regular criticism from the chancery or attempts at sabotage), but he also had friends in “low” places. One of my favorite memories of the few months I lived at St. Agnes was the afternoon that Monsignor knocked on my door and asked if I was doing anything important. I said no, and he said, I’d like you to come with me for a bit.

We drove to a pretty decrepit-looking apartment building and walked up a couple flights of stairs. On the way he had explained to me that the woman we were going to see was agoraphobic. she had contacted him several months ago, saying that, though she seldom left her apartment, she did a lot of reading. In the course of her reading, she had become convinced of the truth of the Catholic Church. She wanted to be baptized. He met with her several times, instructing her in the faith until he was convinced she was ready for baptism. He set up a date and time and waited for her in the Church, but she failed to show up. When he called her, she said that she couldn’t bring herself to leave the apartment that day – her anxieties were just too severe. So, he told her he’d be over to visit the next week – that is what we were doing.

When we got to her apartment, he introduced me, and she welcomed us in. He spoke with her at length, in the most pastoral way I had ever witnessed. When she said that she was second-guessing her decision to become Catholic, because she wasn’t sure that she could make it to Mass on Sundays, owing to her psychosis, he reassured her that no one is bound to the impossible, and if it was truly impossible for her to make it to Mass, she was not under that obligation. He encouraged her to continue in counseling and medication, and to make every effort to come to Mass.
He also cautioned her about the ways in which Satan would use her mental condition to prevent her from joining the Church. In the end, he convinced her to be baptized.

He baptized her then and there in the kitchen sink, using the ritual in Latin at her request, with me as her godfather, confirmed her and gave her her first Holy Communion from the pyx in his pocket. We stayed with her for awhile after that, chatting – the glow on her face was amazing. As we were leaving, the bells from St. Agnes were ringing in the distance. He told her that she should remember, everytime she hears the bells ringing, she should know that she has a parish praying for her – and that she now has an obligation to pray for her parish, and especially her pastor (with that trademark twinkle in his eye).

I saw her once or twice after that at Mass, always in the back, by herself. I didnt get her address, and can’t even remember her name, but I pray for her often.

After that experience, anytime someone would speak of Msgr. Schuler as cold-hearted and reactionary – “Msgr. Rigid J. Schuler” – I would laugh and say, you have no idea what you are talking about.

Comment by Tim Ferguson

Merry Christmas to All

2009-12-28T06:01:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all from across the divide!

I am enjoying my time here in Madrid with the Missionaries of Charity. It´s been an interesting time to say the least and I will definitely have something to write about when I get back. There is just nothing quite like cleaning, feeding, and take care of every bodily need of adult men suffering from AIDS. I frequent prayer, especially at the beginning, was just, ¨Jesus help me!¨ Help me do this and to do it with love. Things are a lot easier now. The routine has set in. People know me. I sort of know Spanish. It´s good. Every day is a bit different. Which when dealing with the sisters is always expected and for the better. It´s a true experience of abandonment to Divine Providence. I cannot wait to share some of it when I get back to Rome. :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their time at home and with family.

AMDG.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T13:46:00.001-08:00

The House of Christmas by G.K. Chesterton

There fared a mother driven forth
Out of an inn to roam;
In the place where she was homeless
All men are at home.
The crazy stable close at hand,
With shaking timber and shifting sand,
Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand
Than the square stones of Rome.

For men are homesick in their homes,
And strangers under the sun,
And they lay on their heads in a foreign land
Whenever the day is done.
Here we have battle and blazing eyes,
And chance and honour and high surprise,
But our homes are under miraculous skies
Where the yule tale was begun.

A Child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam;
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home;
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost - how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky's dome.

This world is wild as an old wives' tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.

To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.

Christmas Break

2009-12-19T11:18:00.000-08:00

I will be heading out to Madrid this Christmas for a couple weeks to work with the Missionaries of Charity. They run an AIDS hospice for men as well as a number of other things.

I hope to keep posting through Christmas. We'll see what access looks like.

If I do not get to say it later, Merry Christmas to all.

AMDG

Talking Tough

2009-12-18T08:19:00.000-08:00

This priest brings up an interesting idea. He uses funerals as a place to reach fallen away Catholics who will attend funerals and weddings but not much else. Though I support his idea, I wonder if it comes on too strong. Anyways, it's definitely worth a read. It's from the Archdiocese of DC blog.

"I celebrate just over 50 funerals a year; about one a week. (People are dying to come to church here). And most of these funerals feature large numbers of fallen away Catholics and unchurched individuals. Most of these people I see ONLY at funerals and sometimes weddings. For this reason, in recent years, I have altered my approach at funerals and direct almost half of the sermon to the unchurched and call them to repent and return home. Surely in the first part I speak of the deceased, offer thanks to God for their life, entrust them to God and ask the congregation to pray for the repose of the deceased soul. I never fail to menton judgment and purgatory as reasons for this prayer. That is too often not mentioned at Catholic funerals, a terrible oversight if you ask me. But the bottom line is that I spend the first half of the sermon commending the deceased person to God’s benevolent mercy and care.

But given the terribly high loss in the practice of faith and the consequent grave condition of many of the souls at any given funeral I cannot allow (any longer) an omission to be made of summoning them to Christ. How can it be that God has led them to my parish and I would say nothing to them to dissuade them from their path away from God and his sacraments? So many souls today are not only unchurched and backslidden (fallen away), but they are often locked in serious, mortal sin. I cannot know this about any particular individual but it is clear that many are lost like sheep without a shepherd. While conscious of my own sin, I cannot remain silent (any longer) and fail to call the unchurched and fallen away back. And trust me, even at the funeral of strong Catholic families there are MANY who are fallen away. Add to that the fact that many funerals I celebrate are for people who themselves were not always fervent in the practice of the faith. Families of such as these have even more members in need of a sobering wake up call."

Full Article

AMDG.

Catholics come home

2009-12-17T13:38:00.001-08:00

Are you a fallen away Catholic? Do you know a fallen away Catholic? The Diocese of Sacramento is participating in the nation-wide "Catholics Come Home" project. Check out the website, starting with Bishop Soto's welcome to visitors. I enjoyed the video about famous Catholic converts. I'm the lowest of them all, but I'm in good company :)

Another Heroic Priest

2009-12-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

"Foley is one of 14 Catholic priests serving in Afghanistan and spends much of his time traveling around the country to visit soldiers at forward operating bases and smaller combat outposts. He also handles nine Masses on weekends including a Mass in Spanish.

"You have to remember it may be your fourth or fifth Mass of the day but to them it's their first Mass, and to some out in the field it may be their first Mass in four or five weeks. For some it may be their last Mass," Foley said.

Among Foley's duties is visiting patients and staff at the hospital at Bagram as well as mortuary affairs. He frequently is called at all hours to go to the hospital to comfort a wounded soldier from his battalion or a service member who is Catholic; he performs the Catholic ritual of anointing of the sick as well as comforts the fallen soldier's buddies.

"It's very somber, very respectful - there's a love for that fallen comrade," said Foley, adding that he's inspired by the attitude of wounded troops.

"You'd be so impressed with the soldiers. When they come in (to the hospital), their first question is, 'How are my battle buddies?' And the second question is, 'When can I get back out there?' It's a pretty inspiring place to be'."

Whole article here.

AMDG.

A culture of vocations or a culture of death

2009-12-15T11:34:00.000-08:00

I heard a story from a friend of mine the other day. Someone said to him, "I know what we can do to stimulate more vocations: the Church needs to change. It needs to allow priests to get married, ordain women, and be more gay friendly." He replied, "The Episcopal Church does all of that, and they have an increasing shortage of laity." His interlocutor responded that the Catholic Church is not the Episcopal Church. He then said, "Let's keep it that way."

I don't believe there can be such a thing as a "vocations shortage." God always calls enough men and women to serve His Church as priests and religious, but today not enough of them are answering that call. Why? In Pope John Paul II's letter on priestly formation, Pastores Dabo Vobis, he diagnoses two causes: cultural disease and ecclesial malaise. For 18, 22, 29, or however many years they've walked the earth, young men have been told that the world is here for them. They are unique consumers defined by what kind and how much of the stuff they buy. Virility is defined by how many women you've slept with. You are only "educated" to the degree you subscribe to rationalistic scientism. Certain strains of feminism demand that we accept that "to be equal" means "to be the same." And above it all, the implicit assumption that "truth" is a quaint medieval notion only held to by right-wing troglodytes. Sacrificial love - the kind modeled by Christ - is an almost foreign concept today.

JPII proposed the solution offered by St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians: sacrificial obedience to the Faith. Most of the people who read this blog are surely lay people, and I must tell you that it is part of your mission as a lay person to create a climate of vocations to the priesthood. So I ask you: 1) Would your life in Christ inspire a young man to become a priest? or 2) Would your life in Christ cause a young man to go running into the arms of the culture of death? Think about what all young Catholic men who are considering the priesthood face today: an atmosphere of suspicion because of the sex scandals, parents who want him to find more remunerative work, impurity as a way of life for his friends, and priests and DREs who allow error to contaminate the faith, if not kill it.

Every diocesan event I go to - no matter how big or how small - I always ask at least one young man if he has ever considered being a priest. And you know what? None of them has ever outright said, "No." Even if they did, that doesn't mean they don't have a vocation. Speaking for myself, I definitely said "No way" the first time someone ever suggested the priesthood to me. But you, the laity, are primarily responsible for leavening the culture. And it is part of your unique vocation to live and work in the world to create that culture which encourages priestly vocations. If a seminarian ever stays in your parish, take a moment to encourage him. Believe me, it makes all the difference in the world. And above all, pray a lot.

We still Kant have that

2009-12-11T14:42:00.000-08:00

I've successfully completed another semester at St. Patrick's, thanks be to God. This semester was more difficult than the previous two, mainly because I've been entrusted with more responsibilities around the house. But with Christ and the Blessed Virgin's help, it's all over. Pre-Theology just finished setting up for our end of semester Christmas banquet, so now I can finally relax.

My adviser, Fr. Stevens, is also the academic dean. I've noticed that all of my classes overlapped this semester: information I learned in my Ethics class became invaluable in my class on the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. My philosophy courses have been invaluable. Part of what it means to be a priest is to know the world in which you will be living and speaking to the people. Many people - including many Catholics - are good Kantians now in that they believe faith and reason are completely separate spheres. Every time you hear a Catholic pol say, "I'm personally opposed to abortion, but..." he is revealing himself as a child of Kant.

This generation of priests and seminarians faces a unique challenge in the history of Christendom: we live in a secular world. We no longer possess a religious imagination. I'll quote a line from one of Fr. Stevens' favorite poems: So much depends on a red wheel-barrow. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to unpack the meaning of that sentence. Those of us who went to public schools never really got to learn skills like that. Much of my seminary education thus far has been picking up skills and ideas I should have learned in childhood. Philosophy helps me understand why I didn't - because my teachers' teachers were operating with a specific philosophy of education and epistemology in mind.

Truth is truth no matter the source, so we cannot simply dismiss modern philosophers out of hand. Believe it or not, even Michel Foucault had some unique insights into the human condition that are valuable for understanding the world we must engage. So take the time to sift through them, testing everything, keeping what is good, and bugger all the rest. If you're thinking about the priesthood, I strongly suggest learning some basic philosophy too since you'll need to know it later on if you pursue it. At the same time, don't lose sight of the most important thing. Academics are important here, but your spiritual life is the most important.

New Monthly Discernment Group in Sactown

2009-12-10T07:52:00.000-08:00

We are starting a monthly discernment group for men 17-35 years old. Here is the info.

photo by roadsidepictures

Place: Leatherby's Ice Creamery (2333 Arden Way, Sac, CA)
When: Second Monday of each month
Time: 6:00 p.m. for dinner and ice cream ($5) followed by a talk

If you have any questions, feel free to call the Vocations Office (916) 733-0258.

AMDG

A Priestly Model

2009-12-09T11:04:00.000-08:00

Try this priest out. He was embedded with soldiers in Korea when the Chinese entered the war.

"For days, the 3rd Battalion fought off mass charges of Chinese. They ransacked bodies for weapons and bullets when they ran low.

Kapaun and Clarence Anderson, a doctor, set up an aid station in a sandbagged dugout.

The GI perimeter shrank to 50 yards end to end, but Lt. Walt Mayo saw Kapaun run 300 yards outside it to drag wounded inside.

During one of those runs to help the wounded, Kapaun was captured and led away at gunpoint. But Mayo, as he told author William Maher later, shouted a command and GIs rose up and fired, killing the captors.

McGreevy heard officers yell at Kapaun to leave the battlefield.

"No," Kapaun called back.

The officers yelled again.

"No," Kapaun said. "My place is with the wounded."

The priest looked as calm as he did at Mass."

Full article here.

AMDG

Some Christmas Humor

2009-12-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

I cannot but post this picture and the commentary, especially as my seminary is in the midst of decorating our hallways for Christmas.

"Good news is that I truly out did myself this year with my Christmas decorations. The bad news is that I had to take him down after 2 days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down.

First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.

Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard."

AMDG

Growing in Charity

2009-12-07T11:31:00.000-08:00

What prepares one to take the step to be a priest or religious? Among other things, perhaps one of the greatest is charity or love. A vocation without love will become a cross rather than a joy. With a vocation for a lifetime, it must be love. Only love can last forever.

St. Therese was always one to discover certain fonts of grace in daily life that would help her to love. She tells the hilarious story of how she is washing with another sister who keeps splashing her with the dirty water. Rather than telling her to stop annoying her, she accepts them and as she says, "I decided to turn up as often as I could to that lucky spot where so much spiritual wealth was freely handed out." She also tells the story of sitting next to the most distressing nuns during prayer who annoy her with small noises. And she uses the opportunity to simply offer it as a prayer as she cannot pray with others.

In many ways, one prepares for the long haul, a life consecrated to God or the married life, by beginning with the smallest of things. Rather than complaining about that one thing that always gets on your nerves, start going out of your way to brighten the day of a co-worker who drives you nuts. I find this all the time in the seminary, whether it's fellow brothers who I much rather avoid than each lunch with or particular events in the seminary that become moments of interior complaining. But they can also be moments to love when you just don't want to or pray when you would just prefer to complain.

I think we are called, and I am so especially, to find those fonts of grace God has already put in our paths and that we constantly avoid. It is not easy but the practice of true charity will bring such good into the world and prepare our hearts to say yes to God in the smallest of things and the greatest - so that our yes today reverberates through our entire lives.

AMDG.

Discernment Retreat

2009-12-05T00:18:00.000-08:00

I just heard the word that the annual discernment retreat at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park (my alma mater sorta) will take place from January 15th to the 17th, 2010. If you areinterested, contact the vocation director in your area. It's a great weekend to meet seminarians, get the feel of the seminary, and receive some tools for discernment. There is not any kind of formal commitment to seminary required.

AMDG

Or maybe I'm just long-winded

2009-12-01T11:27:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I forget this is a house of formation and not a regular post-graduate academic institution. We often have oral exams. Many guys leap at that opportunity, but in many ways orals are more difficult than written exams. You don't have as much time to think since the professor is sitting across from you at his desk, waiting. You have to study harder in order to have the information readily available.

I just had my oral final exam in ethics. Fr. Andrews asked me to explain Kant's deontological theory of ethics and stopped me after two minutes or so. "Ok, you obviously know that. Tell me about natural law." Another two minutes, "Ok ok, you know that pretty well too. Anything else on any other topic we've studied in class?"

They do oral exams because in a real sense all of the seven years I'm here will be aimed toward making me a good preacher. Most of the people in the parish will only see you on Sunday morning. The sermon/homily is your one interaction with them all week so you have to have that gift of cramming as much information as possible into ten minutes or less. You have to hold their attention, communicate real content, and resist the temptation to easy one-shot gimmicks. And as many, many lay people have told me, not many priests have that talent. Fr. Stevens says you should always look at the readings for that Sunday and ask yourself, "What questions do these readings pose to us?" Do that, and the homily is already halfway finished.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T11:37:00.000-08:00

We do Thanksgiving weekend big at the College. In part to celebrate the holiday and build up community but also to keep our minds off home.

Thanksgiving morning we prepare our own breakfast by hall before the big Mass and feast at noon.

Guys cooking up the bacon

Eggs and gravy

Me with the finished product

Gluttony...

Friday the New Men do their big dinner for themselves.

Saturday we have the New Men and Old Men shows which basically make fun of the College, faculty, old men, new men, and everything and anything else. It's hilarious. Sorry I cannot post pictures from that. :)

Sunday is our big Spaghetti Bowl that pits the New Men vs. the Old Men in a flag football game. The Old Men have a streak going and even though the New Men played well this year, picking off four passes, they still went down to defeat 36-33. They had a great comeback though, outscoring the Old Men in the second half 21-7.

National Anthem

BBQ

Old Men on offense

New Men on offense

Hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving weekend. There are truly so many things to be thankful for.

AMDG.

Happy anniversary

2009-11-29T11:11:00.000-08:00

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, which marks the one year anniversary of Bishop Soto's installation as the Ordinary of the Sacramento Diocese. It is also the fortieth anniversary of the Ordinary Form of the Mass, heretofore known as the "Novus Ordo Missae" or the "Mass of Paul VI," as opposed to the Extraordinary Form or the "Tridentine Mass." That last is something of a misnomer, for the Mass as it was codified by Pope St. Pius V (one of my favorite popes) had actually existed for many centuries before the Council of Trent.

To mark this occasion, the New York Times of all things published this op-ed from a traditionalist Catholic commenting on Pope Benedict's desire to restore a greater sense of the transcendent and the holy to the Mass. The Ordinary Form isn't going anywhere, but it is the Holy Father's wish that through greater availability of the Extraordinary Form, the two forms of the one Rite will influence each other. It drives me crazy when people say that the priest "turns his back on the people" when he offers the Mass ad orientem. What is actually happening is the priest and the people are facing the Lord together.

Friends of mine who are old enough to remember the pre-conciliar Church say that while the priest offered the Mass, the people were in a sort of spiritual free for all in the pews. Some followed along in their missals, some said the Rosary, some just stared off into space, or slept. Although the words have been much abused, I agree that there ought to be "full, conscious, and active participation" by the people (what that entails exactly is a long discussion all by itself.) What I do not and cannot agree with is the once prevalent belief that Vatican II represented a rupture and repudiation of the Catholic past; that was taken for granted and the argument was whether that was a good or a bad thing.

I believe the Holy Spirit gives us the popes we need (and once in a while the popes we deserve.) Our previous Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, held the line on moral issues when there was enormous pressure to change the Church's teachings on everything from women's ordination, to contraception, to homosexual activities. John Paul, in an inspired bit of wisdom, spread his hands and said people were attributing to the Pope far more power than he actually possessed. Pope Benedict XVI is transcending the squabbles of the past by rejecting their major premise: Vatican II was not a rupture with the past. The Church was not born in 1965. We must reject the hermeneutic or rupture for the hermeneutic of continuity, as Benedict said back in December of 2005 to the Curia.

It's an exciting time to be a seminarian and to be a Catholic!

Practice Homily

2009-11-28T22:31:00.000-08:00

This is supposed to be a homily to high schoolers but I think it has wide application. This is like my 6th practice homily. Only 20 more to go! :)

Readings from Thursday of the 33rd week of Ordinary time.

We hear in the Gospel today that Jesus is weeping. He is weeping over Jerusalem. We can find that hard to believe. We imagine God as this stern fellow or a man demanding justice for sin. But to see him expressing emotions, and especially one of sorrow, comes to us as a shock. And why is he weeping? Just before this scene, he had entered Jerusalem to crowds of followers so happy to see him and celebrating him as the promised savior of Israel. But he knows what is to happen next. He will suffer and he will die. The party is over. He is truly weeping because he came to remind his people of who they were yet ultimately they did not accept him or his message. They had forgotten that they were God's chosen ones and God's only son could not wake them from their slumber.

And Jesus continues to weep today. The Jews are not the only ones who have forgotten who they are. So have we. We have a certain amnesia. I don't mean we've forgotten the last week of our lives or the last 15 years of your life, but I mean who we were meant to be. Our identity.

We stand out from every other living creature on the earth. We have to sew together clothing and cover ourselves. We have to fashion houses and furniture. We have to do so much differently from every other animal. We are almost like strangers on this earth. But this is a sign. It is a sign that you and I, all of us, were made by God as the high point of creation, above all other things, in his very image, for his very glory. And our identity, who we were and are still meant to be, can be discovered only in God.

With that, we look around the world today, we realize something is not working right. The poor, the hungry, the marginalized, not just materially but spiritually, they are everywhere, even in our own streets, often in our own families. If God had this great plan in mind for all of us, someone or some people really screwed up. What do we see? We live in a culture that emphasizes, promotes, even worships independence, self-sufficiency, pride, ultimately the self. We worship the self. Our entire culture, from the tv set to the computer worships before us. We work to make everything as convenient as possible. For us. We indulge in every kind of pleasure because it suits us. Our neighbor is forgotten.

We have settled for ourselves. We have settled for self-satisfaction. But we are called to self-gift. This is our identity. We are called to give ourselves away. The ultimate question man asks, who am I, is only answered in Christ. It is answered with the gift of yourself.

The life Christ led was one of gift. From his descending from heaven to live among us, to his preaching, his teaching, his suffering, death, and resurrection, all for us. He offered his complete life. And we are called to that same task. This is our identity. We are called to be gifts of ourselves. It will ultimately mean finding ways to love others through a sacrifice of our time, energy, and money. It will mean entering into people's lives and simply being present for others. And we will each discover how to do that in unique ways, whether you are called to spend more time with family, maybe lonely grandparents or friends that are alone or depressed. But the core of it is this self-gift. Our great joy here on earth is to discover how we are each called to this self-gift. Jesus calls out to each one of us today, reminding us of what we have forgotten, of our great vocation to give of ourselves. Let us not disappoint but answer his call, knowing that our response will fulfill the deep desire of our hearts to give of ourselves until the very last breathe.

AMDG.

Happy Thanksgiving to all

2009-11-26T06:09:00.001-08:00

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness. Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.

That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

- George Washington

A Dangerous Prayer

2009-11-24T11:01:00.000-08:00

One of my brother seminarians on my hall was telling his vocation story and he said the following: "And then I said that dangerous prayer that we all know about..."

What's that dangerous prayer?

It's probably the one Mary said much of her life.

"Lord, show me your will and I will follow you always."

You say that prayer and you entrust God with everything. And He takes you on the craziest ride of your life.

Almost every seminarian and religious I have ever met has had some sort of experience like this. It is the letting go and letting God lead. It is no longer saying what do I want with my life but rather what does God want me to do with my life. It is that reorientation.

And the moment that occurs, the moment that begins, is really the true beginning to our lives. Because then God can really get inside us and lead us where He knows we are called to go. And we can rejoice that we are fulfilling the deepest desire of our hearts and God's. It's good stuff. :)

AMDG.

Living Alone in a Rectory

2009-11-21T08:36:00.000-08:00

We just had a conference on living alone in a parish. It is a reality that many parish priests face today and tomorrows future parish priests will face on a regular basis. In Sacramento, it's a fact of life. I have already spent time in two rectories where the priest was the only one there.

So what do you do?

We had four priests who combined have probably served as priests for over 130 years give us some advice and suggestions.

Among other things, find and keep friends of all sorts. Priests, laity, family. They are all essential. Keep yourself connected to the diocese and the events. Plug yourself into a priestly support group. Have a priest mentor early on. Catch yourself if you are falling into addictive behaviors or self-isolating ones. Listen to your superiors. There is definitely something to be said for trusting your bishop and his appointed representatives.

They also made an interesting note. As you get settled into priestly life, you get used to time alone. But it is important to realize what this time alone is like for you. It should be a chance for solitude and not loneliness. It should be a chance to enjoy the quiet and rest in the loving arms of the Father. Not a moment where depression hits and we try to fill our thoughts with things that will distract us.

photo by cuellar

Anyways, it was nice and refreshing. I always like hearing what it's like out on the front. You can get isolated from it all, especially in Rome.

AMDG.