Thursdays

Thursdays . . . honestly, they've never been my favorite day of the week. (As Auther Dent says in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, "I could never get the hang of Thursdays.") But I've learned to live with them. I mean, they're not going away any time soon, are they?

I realized tonight, however, how much I had missed attending our seminary's Adoration / Night Prayer / Benediction on Thursdays. Last semester, the Vocations Discernment Group that I lead met on Thursday evenings, and that wasn't a bad thing over all, but I did miss the coming together in prayer with my brothers. It didn't really hit me until we were singing the hymn for Compline. Something inside me breathed a sigh of relief hearing the guys sing. I was home.

I guess that I need these Thursday nights . . . it gives me a break in the week to be in community and in the presence of the Lord in a way that's slowed down and relaxed. It gives me a chance to just be in the midst of the insanity of seminary life. I allow myself to reflect upon the cup, the chalice that the Lord is asking me to drink from, and, on most occassions, I can say, "Yes". And, with diaconate ordination only 125+ days away, I was able to pray a song-prayer from my youth this evening, and truly understand the depths of the message:

Lord, make me like you.
Please make me like you.
You are a servant,
Make me one, too.
O Lord, I am willing;
Do what you must do
To make me like you, Lord.
Please make me like you.
Whatever you do, Lord,
Please make me like you.

Can I drink the cup that the Lord is asking me to drink from? At this moment, I believe I can . . . and that feeling grows each day. Some days the will and ability is strong than others. But, when it comes down to it, I just need to have faith in God and His will for me.


Enjoy the journey . . .

Down time?

Well, it's been a crazy time for me here. I spent last weekend and the beginning of the week doing stuff to prepare for events in the latter part of the week, which is now gone.

On Saturday, a group of us went to Franciscan University of Steubenville to spend some time at the FOP (Festival of Praise), which was needed after a hectic first-week of classes. We stopped at one of the guys' home on the way back, caught a bite to eat at Steak 'n Shake, and then headed back to Latrobe in snowy conditions. Sunday was a good day, getting some stuff done . . . lots of reading. Monday was pretty much back to the grind, as was Tuesday. All-in-all, I got done what needed to be done before Wednesday . . .

. . . Which was when we left for Washington, D.C., and the March for Life. The Vigil Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was awesome. I had the opportunity to sit with my diocesan brothers from our minor seminary back home, and slept in the Shrine / Basilica overnight. The seminary was in charge of a Holy Hour from 2-3 AM, which I always enjoy. Some singing, and some silence. I got about an hour's worth of sleep before people were getting ready for the day. The March itself on Thursday was hectic, but very good . . . and I felt better for having been there.

Today was my day to run around the Pittsburgh area, trying to pick things up and get things organized. It was mostly successful. The diocesan brothers here went out for dinner, which was good to do - just to be out and relax with each other and have a good time was a nice way to end the week.

Tomorrow is unplanned, mostly. I have to attend the funeral for my cousin's mother-in-law, who passed away from complications with a stroke suffered earlier this week.

Other than that, things are going well, and I'm starting to settle in for the semester. It will be good.



Enjoy the journey . . .

It's begun . . . again

Well . . . we're back in school. The retreat was OUTSTANDING, and I got a lot out of it. I feel refreshed, and ready for the semester to end. In some ways I'm joking . . . but in other ways, I'm not.

The classes for the semester are: Eucharist

The Fourth Gospel

Pastoral Counseling I

Homiletics II

Deacon Prep Lab

Spanish Deacon Prep Lab

Independent Study: Pastoral Practicum in College Campus Ministry

Most of them require a lot of reading . . . which I'm not against . . . it will be a lot of time spent, though. They're all good classes. I think that I'll enjoy Pastoral Counseling and Deacon Prep the most. And, of course, my Independent Study will be awesome!

Although it's only been three days since we've started the semester, it's been a whirlwind of activity around here. Between classes, prayer, class prep and formation, we've been keeping busy. Today, the monastic community celebrated the 200th birthday of their founder, Boniface Wimmer. We had an outstanding service for Vespers, which opened up the celebratory year. I was leary about going . . . "another thing" that we had to do, but it was a great experience.

In any case, I should do reading . . . I'll post more soon.

Enjoy the journey . . .

Going Back to Go Forward

And so, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2009!

I'll be leaving early this afternoon to head to IUP and then back to Latrobe to prepare for the Spring Semester. Every year at this time, the entire seminary goes on retreat at a local retreat center. I mentioned this to a friend of mine when we met for drinks earlier this week. Jokingly, he said that I should never retreat . . . "You can't go forward if you retreat." However, for me - or for any Christian, really - to move forward in the Christian life (or in my case, formation), one does need to retreat so that one can "regroup" and take a step back, see where they've been, and move forward in their life.

I've always looked forward to the retreats that the two seminaries I've attended have offered. Of course, I've always enjoyed going on retreats. I'm looking forward to this one, since I'll be spending some time reflecting on the questions I'll be asked on the day of my diaconate ordination, as well as the readings that have been chosen. I'm also looking forward to the fraternity with my classmates, as well.

Well, Happy 2009 (again)! Be blessed.

Enjoy the journey . . .