I am the 1%

Amid all the recent protests around the world against the “1%” I really didn’t pay much attention to the matter. I thought the Occupy Wall Street protest was just a one day thing where a lot of people just needed to vent. However, when I saw that this Occupy Together movement was growing throughout the country and the world it started to grab my attention a little more. While I still don’t think I completely understand the point of these protests I have begun to reflect on a few things related to this movement.

A wise priest once told me that there is only one luggage rack on a hearse. When, God willing, the Lord calls us home to his Heavenly Kingdom we will not be going with any luggage. We will not be able to take our cell phones, computers, iToys, money, jewelry, real estate, or any other material possessions. We will only be taking ourselves. I am mentioning this because this is an important lesson that we all forget. If nothing material in this world is going to last an eternity then why do we need to spend so much money purchasing these items? Why do we need to have hundreds of thousands of dollars saved up when we don’t need a penny of it in Heaven? Of course, parents want to, and should, provide their children with excellent education, and all people should be able to live a healthy lifestyle. However, a healthy lifestyle is the bare essentials.

“…give us this day our daily bread.”

The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is to be treated with dignity and respect. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church the teaching of Christ’s greatest commandment is re-stated as “respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that ‘everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as another self, above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity.’” With that said, all human persons should be working to receive food, shelter, clothing, and health. We are not entitled to these things. We do have to work for them but these are the bare essentials that we should be happy with.

When looking at the Occupy Together movement I first ask myself “why?” Why are all these people gathering to protest the “1%” of people who are extremely wealthy? Especially here in America where our countries dream is to be a business owner and become rich! I think that amid all these ideas of getting “rich” and “having it all” that we lose sight of what it really means to be rich and to have it all. My own family does not have very much money. We almost live from paycheck to paycheck as many families are doing now. My family hasn’t been on a vacation is years, my father is rarely home because of all the extra hours he tries to work, and we don’t have any “fun money” to throw around. However, I still consider my family to be having more, and am richer, than even Bill Gates himself. We have shelter, food, health, and clothing. More importantly we have love, each other, and most importantly, we have our Lord, Jesus Christ. Because my family is able to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every Sunday and praise God for the many blessings in our life that alone makes us richer than any of the 1%. Unfortunately, so many people have lost sight of Christ that is may just be about 1% of people who agree with me. My gift of faith, and the greatest gift of all, the Eucharist, is all I need to sustain me for the rest of my earthly life, and will help me to one day, God willing, be welcomed into the Heavenly Kingdom where, with the Saints, I can praise God forever and ever.

So, in conclusion of this reflection, I think we all need to do less occupying of our cities and Occupy the Eucharist. May the Blessed Mother guide us, St. Michael protect us, and Almighty God Bless us all.

A reflection on my summer internship

St. Francis de Sales tell us: “To be perfect in our vocation is nothing else than to fulfill the duties which our state of life obliges us to perform, and to accomplish them well, and only for the honor and love of God.” That was my personal theme during my internship this past summer.

Unfortunately, I was not perfect this summer and I made my fair share of mistakes, but I knew that I was working for the greater glory of God and it was my duty to keep trying my best.
My summer internship was at St. Christina Parish on far Southwest side of Chicago in the Mount Greenwood area. Living on the Northwest side my whole life I really didn’t have any idea what to expect, and while it was a whole other world, it was much better than I had initially assumed. I was fortunate enough to be working with my home parish’s previous pastor, Fr. Larry Sullivan. Fr. Larry has known me since I was in Kindergarten. However, I did not know the other three priests living in the rectory or any of the 2,400 families that congregated at the parish.

The whole parish was extremely welcoming and kind to me all summer. They were very spiritual people and also very fun! They each touched my heart and strengthened my vocation very much. I really fell in love with that parish. I enjoyed my time there so much I ended up sticking around for an extra two weeks after the internship was officially over. I was sad when I had to leave but I assured everyone I would be coming back to visit as often as I could.

It’s hard for me to say exactly what I did because no two days were the same. Honestly, I did everything except administer the sacraments. The most consistent thing I did was visit the sick and the home bound. I visited the same people in their homes weekly and made stops at various hospitals to visit parishioners or their families. Other activities I helped with were Vacation Bible School, Adult Bible Study, alter server training, senior citizen trips, eighth grade trip, eighth grade dance/awards, vocations talks with school kids, Baptismal prep, Sacristan, Reader, Eucharistic Minister, attended finance, school board, parish activity board, athletic committee, picnic, raffle, youth ministry and staff meetings, I attended Deanery meetings, and theology-on-tap sessions, and in any other free time I found I was shadowing one of the four priests on staff on different visits or meetings. It was a very busy summer to say the least. One thing I couldn’t wrap my mind around was that their schedule slowed down over the summer and I was still busy all day, every day.

As I mentioned before, this experience really strengthened my vocation. Many times over the school year I would ask myself “Can I really do this? Can I live in a parish and work with people all day?” Well, after this experience I now know that I can do it and that I love doing it. Once I started working with the people I fell in love with them. They invited me into their homes for meals, camaraderie, and faith sharing; I was with some of them when they lost a loved one, and celebrated weddings and baptisms with other families. These parishioners were so welcoming and friendly that I felt as if I had been a part of the community my whole life.

One part of the experience that I was not good at was my own personal prayer life. I never learned how to set time aside to pray the Office, or any other private devotions. The only consistency in my prayer life was daily mass and weekly confessions. Because every day was so different than the previous, it was hard for me to really create a set schedule. I now know that at my next parish assignment I need to create a set schedule for my prayer life. Unlike some of the other seminarians at their parishes, the priests in my rectory didn’t pray or eat together. Once a month the priests, and myself, would choose an evening to go out, but, we still never prayed together. That isn’t a bad thing, but I know that I can’t always rely on a set schedule like we have in the seminary. I have to be hard on myself and create my own prayer schedule.

There was one specific experience that really touched my heart from this summer. As I had mentioned before, my only consistent ministry was visiting the home bound. I saw the same people, on the same day, every week. After week three it started to feel very routine and in a way meaningless. For a stretch of three weeks I felt like I was walking in, having the same conversations, and leaving. I didn’t feel like I was really helping these people. I didn’t feel like my presence was worth their time. It wasn’t until my last visit with one woman and her care giver that I felt I was making a difference in their lives. Her name was Joan, and I never knew her care givers name. On my last day with Joan, I rang the doorbell and the caregiver, who is probably in her late 60’s, answered the door in a nice dress and makeup on. I thought it was strange to be dressed that way at 11:00 A.M. but I thought “maybe she is going somewhere fancy for lunch.” Then as I walked to the living room I see Joan sitting on the couch, also dressed up with a ton of makeup on. I knew something was up. Then Joan started to rush me to start the prayers and give them the Eucharist, which was not like her to be in a hurry, so I thought they did have somewhere to go. Once I finished Joan told me to go in the kitchen, and waiting for me in the kitchen was a small lunch with very fancy china and silver where. They told me that they appreciated me and my company all summer that they wanted to see me off right. We sat and talked over lunch for about an hour and a half. It really made me feel loved and showed me that, even when it doesn’t feel like it, I am making a difference in these people’s lives. The rest of my visits all gave me a huge hug and their tears drenched the shoulder of my shirt as I said goodbye to them, even the men. It was truly a humbling week for me.

For my brothers who will be doing their internship this coming summer I pray that they will get a community as warm, holy, inviting, and loving as my parish community was to me. I felt the Lords presence every day and felt stronger and stronger in my vocation. I still have a lot to learn, and I am nowhere near ready to be in a parish full time, but if the Lord is calling me to priesthood, I am more than willing to continue walking this journey with him to that blessed day when I am ordained into the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

This really is the month for Mothers!

The month of May has always been a special month! We celebrate our mothers and the Queen of all mothers, the Blessed Virgin Mary! But for my family it is an extra special month because my mothers birthday is this month as well! Actually, today is her birthday! I would like to wish my mother a very happy birthday! I love her very much and can't thank her enough for loving me, supporting me, and for giving birth to me! Without her love I would not be alive or the man that I am today. So thank you mom! I love you!

Speaking of a mothers choice, Mary, Queen of all mothers and parents, made a choice that was very hard, and that choice was to love God with her full being and then to birth, care for, mother, and love the Son of Man, our Lord, Jesus Christ. It was through her "YES" that we came to know Christ and to be saved by his great act of love.

One devotion to the Blessed Mother that I hold dear to my heart (literally) is wearing a scapular of our Lady of Mount Carmel. The scapular is a special devotion to our Blessed Mother that forms a special relationship between the person wearing the scapular and the Blessed Mother.

The earliest form of the Scapular promise states simply that wearers of the brown scapular, the Carmelite habit, will be saved. In the first place this meant Carmelite religious who remained faithful to their vocation. Later the small Brown Scapular became popular with the laity as a sacramental.

The nature of the spiritual help associated with the Brown Scapular came to be described in greater detail and specificity. A traditional formulation of the Scapular Promise is "Take this Scapular. Whosoever dies wearing it shall not suffer eternal fire. It shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger and pledge of peace."

As we continue this month celebrating all our moms let us continue to pray to THE MOM, the mother of our Lord, the Queen of all children, asking for her intercession and protection.

Hail Holy Queen!

Since May is the month dedicated to our Blessed Mother I think it is appropriate to give a short reflection on the Blessed Mother and her importance in my own life.

Honestly, it wasn't until recently that I started having a strong devotion to our Blessed Mother. I viewed praying a rosary as a punishment or chore that I never wanted to do unless I had to. I had respect for the Blessed Mother but I don't feel I ever loved her as I do now. Actually, I just started growing in my love for the Blessed Mother this past January when I began a devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort. His book is called True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. St. Louis, along with countless other Saints, tells us that the only way to truly know Christ is by understanding and praying with our Blessed Mother. Praying St. Louis' devotion has certainly helped me understand and love our Blessed Mother and I feel that my relationship to Christ has grown immensely because of my new love for Mary.

I would strongly encourage you to begin a devotion to our Holy Mother. Mary is our Lady of Perpetual Help and Queen of All Saints! There is no prayer Mary's intercession won't help with. Remember, it was Mary's "YES" to fulfill God's will in her life that we even have Christ! Mary is the Immaculate Conception! Mary has been saying "YES" to God since her conception! We can all learn from our Blessed Mother!

Other devotions to Mary, Queen of the Universe:

The Rosary!
These promises were given by Our Lady in an apparition to St. Dominic and Alan de la Roche for anyone who says the rosary...

1. Whoever recites the rosary shall receive singular graces.
2. I promise special protection and graces to those who recite the rosary.
3. The rosary will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4. The rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things.
5. The souls of those who recite the rosary shall not perish.
6. Those who recite the rosary devoutly shall never be conquered by misfortune.
   
7. Those who have a true devotion to the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
8. Those who are faithful in the recitation of the rosary shall have, during their life and at their death, the light of God and the plenitude of his graces; at the moment of death, they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.
10. The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.
    
11. You shall obtain all that you ask of me by recitation of the rosary.
12. All those who propagate the holy rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
    
13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of their death.
14. All who recite the rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion to my rosary is a sign of predestination.
    

I will be posting different prayers and devotions to our Blessed Mother throughout the month.

It is my prayer today that Mary, Queen of Martyrs, intercedes for us all and that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Blessed John Paul II

This coming Sunday, May 1, the Second Sunday of Easter, also called Divine Mercy Sunday, is going to be an extra special day! Not only do we celebrate the Second Sunday of Easter and Christs Divine Mercy but we also get to celebrate the Beatification of Blessed John Paul II! This is very exciting for the whole Church around the world!

For anyone who prays the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) the feast day Office of Readings has come out for Blessed John Paul II and I have posted it here. His feast day has been by the Church for October 22.

BLESSED JOHN PAUL II, POPE

Charles Joseph Wotjtyła was born in 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. After his ordination to the priesthood and theological studies in Rome, he returned to his homeland and resumed various pastoral and academic tasks. He became first auxiliary bishop and, in 1964, Archbishop of Krakow and took part in the Second Vatican Council. On 16 October 1978 he was elected pope and took the name John Paul II. His exceptional apostolic zeal, particularly for families, young people and the sick, led him to numerous pastoral visits throughout the world. Among the many fruits which he has left as a heritage to the Church are above all his rich Magisterium and the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church as well as the Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church and for the Eastern Churches. In Rome on 2 April 2005, the eve of the Second Sunday of Easter (or of Divine Mercy), he departed peacefully in the Lord.

Common of Pastors: For a Pope.

Office of readings

Second reading

From the Homily of Blessed John Paul II, Pope, for the Inauguration of his Pontificate

Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ.

Peter came to Rome! What else but obedience to the inspiration received from the Lord could have guided him and brought him to this city, the heart of the Empire? Perhaps the fisherman of Galilee did not want to come here. Perhaps he would have preferred to stay there, on the shores of Lake of Genesareth, with his boat and his nets. Yet guided by the Lord, obedient to his inspiration, he came here!

According to an ancient tradition, Peter tried to leave Rome during Nero’s persecution. However, the Lord intervened and came to meet him. Peter spoke to him and asked. “Quo vadis, Domine?” — “Where are you going, Lord?” And the Lord answered him at once: “I am going to Rome to be crucified again.” Peter went back to Rome and stayed here until his crucifixion.

Our time calls us, urges us, obliges us, to gaze on the Lord and to immerse ourselves in humble and devout meditation on the mystery of the supreme power of Christ himself.

He who was born of the Virgin Mary, the carpenter’s Son (as he was thought to be), the Son of the living God (as confessed by Peter), came to make us all “a kingdom of priests”.

The Second Vatican Council has reminded us of the mystery of this power and of the fact that Christ’s mission as Priest, Prophet-Teacher and King continues in the Church. Everyone, the whole People of God, shares in this threefold mission. Perhaps in the past the tiara, that triple crown, was placed on the Pope’s head in order to signify by that symbol the Lord’s plan for his Church, namely that all the hierarchical order of Christ’s Church, all “sacred power” exercised in the Church, is nothing other than service, service with a single purpose: to ensure that the whole People of God shares in this threefold mission of Christ and always remains under the power of the Lord; a power that has its source not in the powers of this world, but instead in the mystery of the Cross and the Resurrection.

The absolute, and yet sweet and gentle, power of the Lord responds to the whole depths of the human person, to his loftiest aspirations of intellect, will and heart. It does not speak the language of force, but expresses itself in charity and truth.

The new Successor of Peter in the See of Rome today makes a fervent, humble and trusting prayer: Christ, make me become and remain the servant of your unique power, the servant of your sweet power, the servant of your power that knows no dusk. Make me a servant: indeed, the servant of your servants.

Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power. Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ and with Christ’s power to serve the human person and the whole of mankind.

Do not be afraid. Open, I say open wide the doors for Christ. To his saving power open the boundaries of states, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid. Christ knows “that which is in man”. He alone knows it.

So often today, man does not know that which is in him, in the depths of his mind and heart. So often he is uncertain about the meaning of his life on this earth. He is assailed by doubt, a doubt which turns into despair. We ask you, therefore, we beg you with humility and with trust, let Christ speak to man. He alone has words of life, yes, of life eternal.

Responsory

R/. Do not be afraid. The Redeemer of mankind has revealed the power of the Cross and has given his life for us. * Open, open wide the doors for Christ.

V/. In the Church we are called to partake of his power. * Open, open wide the doors for Christ.

Oration

O God, who are rich in mercy and who willed that the blessed John Paul the Second should preside as Pope over your universal Church, grant, we pray, that instructed by his teaching, we may open our hearts to the saving grace of Christ, the sole Redeemer of mankind. Who lives and reigns.

-------

As we look ahead to this joyous occasion please keep all those traveling to Rome in your prayers as well as all Deacons, Priests, Bishops, and especially his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.

I hope you all had a very happy Easter and I pray that the joy of the risen Christ will reign in your hearts forever!

Letter to the Editor

Recently in Loyola University’s student newspaper, The Phoenix, there was an article entitled Abortion and the faithful/conservative paradox. I am submitting a letter to the editor in response to the article and I would like to share it here as well...

When I read this article it literally broke my heart. To think that a person would choose to murder another human being, who can’t defend them self, to save their own life just boggles my mind. Mr. Betori, I think it’s great that you want to stand with raped and dying woman but do it in a responsible way. A good moral rule of thumb to try out is: you can’t kill one to save a thousand. Our ends can never justify our means no matter how good the end may be. We Christians have God’s law to hold which clearly state “Thou shall not kill.” Now you may be asking “why is it morally acceptable to allow a mother to die to save her child’s life?” The doctors on the case should do everything within their power to save both lives, but if the mother unfortunately passes in the process then it was within the natural order that she die. No doctor or lack of treatment killed her.

I agree that Roe vs. Wade is not the most important issue facing the world today. However, there is no greater moral crisis than the diminishing of human dignity and worth. You cannot deny that all pro-choice people are completely ok with human beings murdering one another. So when we are ok with killing people and supporting immoral and SELFISH decisions, as is the case with abortion and euthanasia, we are committing a grave moral offence. No Catholic “high up” is denying people entrance into paradise, just like God doesn’t send anyone to hell. We condemn ourselves to hell when we sin and deny ourselves of the beatific vision by voluntarily turning away from God. St. Joseph Hospital stripped them self of their Catholic title before the Bishop did when the hospital decided to break away from Church teaching by participating in an act deemed morally sinful.. Bishop Olmsted just made their break away from the Church official.

Since I am one of those people who thumb through a rosary often I pray for an end to murder and for a greater respect for all human life. If we put people in jail for killing others then why should our tax dollars support woman committing the same crime? May Mary, our Immaculate Mother, intercede for us and help turn our world into one that respects the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death.

-Dominic Clemente Jr. '12

We are one body and we do not stand alone!

This past Sunday and Monday I was blessed to attend the National March for Life in Washington, D.C. It was a busy two days but they were a very touching and memorable two days. I traveled with my brother seminarians early Sunday morning so we could make it to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Basilica for the Vigil Mass for Life. Hundreds of Priests, Deacons, seminarians, dozens of Bishops and five Cardinals were all present at the mass along with hundreds of religious and laity. It was a beautiful mass.

The next day we attended the Youth Mass where about 20,000 youth gathered to pray for a greater respect for all human life. Once the youth mass was over we all marched to the Mall where we heard members of Congress and the Senate voice their views on Roe Vs. Wade and how it should be overturned.

This was an unforgettable two days and it was so inspiring! I will continue to pray for an end to abortions, for the government to abolish the death penalty, for inhumane practices to come to an end, and for all people to respect all forms of life from conception to natural death.

Pre- Game

This weekend, instead of watching the Chicago Bears stomp all over the Packers, my fellow brother seminarians and I will be participating in the national March for Life in Washington, D.C. We will be attending the vigil mass for life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Sunday night and then march through the streets on Monday. This is my first time attending this event. I will be taking plenty of pictures and maybe some videos to post after we get back Monday night along with my own thoughts on the event.

I would like to point out that the pro-life movement is not just for the unborn. If you are truly pro-life we should be standing up for all people who are losing their right to life and those who feel don't have a right to life such as men and woman sentenced to death by a jury, the thousands of teens and adults killed every year by gun violence, those who are persecuted by their peers, and those who take their own life. We, as members of the pro-life movement, have a greater responsibility than just to the unborn. I feel sometimes we forget that.

Here are some stats on how many people either don’t treasure their own life, don’t treasure other people’s lives, and those who had their right to life taken away from them here in the United States:

• Suicide (2009) 1,110,000 people took their own life.
  
• Executions (2010) 46 people had their life taken away from them.
  
• Abortions/ Murders (2009) 1,225,241 had their life taken away from them.
  

Please keep all those traveling to Washington, D.C. this weekend in your prayers, but more importantly, please pray for those who are persecuted, executed, murdered, and for the unborn. I have provided a prayer if you would like to use it.

Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life,
And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.
I rejoice that you have conquered death
by the Resurrection of your Son.
I am ready to do my part in ending these immoral acts.
Today I commit myself
Never to be silent,
Never to be passive,
Never to be forgetful of those who lose their right to life.
I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement,
And never to stop defending life
Until all my brothers and sisters are protected,
And our nation once again becomes
A nation with liberty and justice
Not just for some, but for all.
Through Christ our Lord. AMEN!

This is my story

Well, if I am going to blog about my journey to priesthood I guess I should tell my story right? It wasn’t long after people started finding out about my decision to enter seminary when I was being asked “Why do you want to be a Priest?” That’s a hard question for me to answer. It’s not that I want to be a Priest, but it’s that I love God so much that I want to do his will, and if Gods will for me is to become a Priest then that is what I will do.

I have always been heavily involved in my parish. Ever since I was a child I wanted to be an altar server. I thought the robes looked cool and I liked that I would be able to move around during mass (I have a hard time sitting still for long periods of time). So, when I was in fourth grade we were allowed to sign up to be altar servers. I was so excited when we went for training after school! The priest that trained us was Fr. Ed, our associate pastor at the time, and he was teaching us all the different names for things, and how to vest ourselves, and how to serve the mass. This was the best day of my life and it was the first time I ever thought about being a priest when I got older. However, at that time I was afraid of being alone so I automatically threw that idea out the window.

I never thought of priesthood again until I was in seventh grade. I was entertaining the idea for a while thinking about what I would do on a regular basis, if I wanted a family or not, if I could handle being alone (I was not afraid of being alone anymore but rather afraid of not having anyone to talk to), and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to leave my dream of becoming an actor! Even though the idea was in my head I never talked to anyone about it. Once I got to high school I became extremely involved in theatre and my dream of becoming an actor grew into becoming a director! Besides my big dreams I was also thinking about becoming an architect (that changed once I found out how bad at math I really am), a teacher, and a few other professions.

While in high school I still had priesthood in the back of my mind, and I left it there. I had an ongoing on-again off-again relationship with a girl I really liked, I was working with different theatre groups and really getting involved in the arts, and I wanted to have kids one day. I even thought about becoming a youth minister as a way to justify myself for not looking into priesthood. During this time I was more involved in my parish and faith than I had ever been. I was always working in my schools campus ministry, helping with retreats, I was a lector and extraordinary Eucharistic minister at my school and parish, and very active in my parishes youth ministry. Just because I didn’t want to be a priest didn’t mean I wanted nothing to do with the church.

I was surprised to realize I was a senior in high school and had to start making decisions. I decided I wanted to stay in theatre. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do yet but I know I wanted it to be theatre related. So after I graduated high school I attended my local community college as a Speech/Theatre Major. Once I started college and knew I had to make a final decision within two years I started praying to God on my vocation. Now when I say vocation I do not mean religious vocation. I was praying to God asking him what job he wanted me to do. I know God gave me my gifts for a reason but I didn’t know how he expected me to use them. Did God want me to be a teacher? Director/ Producer? Actor? I had no idea.

As I was praying that thought of priesthood kept entering my mind. At that point in my life it was both frustrating and awkward. Frustrating because being a priest was not something I wanted to do and awkward because I was still dating my high school sweetheart who I loved very much. During the second semester of my first year in college the relationship I had with my girlfriend started to go sour and I realized that theatre didn’t make my life feel whole. The whole year when I was in my theatre classes I felt happy but I didn’t feel like my whole heart was in my studies. It was at that point, when I realized theatre wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and seriously thought about priesthood. I was doing a lot of serious praying about it. I still did not want to be a priest but I didn’t want to be a hypocrite. Sitting in prayer always asking God what his will is for me and now I think I know and I won’t look into it…that’s just a bad move to make.

When my girlfriend and I broke up for the last time I thought it was an appropriate time to look into it a bit deeper. I did research on priesthood, started asking subtle questions to priests I knew about their seminary experience and how they like being a priest, I started reading a couple blogs I found, and I was still doing some heavy duty prayer over it. One day I did the math and figured out that I have been thinking about this for six years and never did anything about it! As I was starting my second year in college, still a speech/ theatre major, I decided it was time to answer what I think is Gods call. In August I spoke to my parish’s pastor and he hooked me up with my diocese vocations director and now I am here at St. Joes.

Obviously, this was not an easy decision to make, nor was it one I made over night. By the time I made it to seminary I had been thinking of priesthood for SEVEN YEARS! Now that I am here in the college seminary I have never felt happier, more complete, or joy in my life. I am still not sure if God is calling me to priesthood but so far I don’t feel that I have made a mistake and I certainly don’t regret coming here. I know this is a very long post but I wanted to tell my whole story. May our Blessed Mother, ever Virgin Mary, intercede for us all and bring us closer to her son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, and help us all find our vocation.

Peace.

Something on my mind...

One year ago this week I started my studies here at St. Joseph College Seminary. Two years ago I would have never guessed I would be where I am today. God does work in mysterious ways. This past school year I have been teaching fourth, fifth, and sixth grade kids the catechism at a parish not far from my house. I get to spend two hours with the kids every Sunday morning and together we learn who Jesus is. I love talking about my faith and being able to share, not only my faith, but also my knowledge of our faith with these youth really brings a lot of joy into my life.

Since I started teaching at this parish I have grown closer with the associate pastor, Fr. Mike. During this past Advent Fr. Mike asked me if I would come and talk to the kids that go to the parish school about my vocation story. Apparently, this week is national vocations awareness week (no one told me). So these past three days I have been speaking to all the fourth-eighth graders about vocations to religious life and specifically my vocation story. On Wednesday I was talking with the eighth graders and one of the students asked me if I ever shared my vocation with any of my friends or family before I decided to attend seminary. I did not.

I have always been a private person. I am actually so private that my closest friends will tell you that I’m not private at all. When I was thinking about priesthood there were only four people that I told. One of them was actually my girlfriend at the time. But after I told them I never wanted to talk about it with them. While I was explaining this to the student that asked the question I started to think about what my formation director said to us: “No one can begin to think about their vocation unless you plant the seed.” So maybe if I were more open about my vocation that would help increase vocations? I’m not sure but that is why I am now an official blogger.

Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has asked that priests and religious use the media to their advantage to evangelize and catechize. The same goes for the laity, religious education directors, youth ministers, deacons, and seminarians! This is my way of using the media to not only tell my vocation story but also to share and document my journey to Priesthood, if that is where God is leading me. I have had priesthood on my mind for a long time but I never thought I would actually try it out. I guess I really made God laugh all those years when I told him MY plans. My mother always told me I could put a smile on any ones face. I just didn’t think I was funny enough to make the omnipotent God “LOL”.

So, if you care to follow me on my journey you are more than welcome to. Please be assured that I will not only post boring seminary ramblings or theological jargon. I will post anything and everything that relates to my journey. Be it a funny story, some pictures, video, and yes…maybe a little theology every now and then. I am very unpredictable so be ready for surprises. I have never blogged before so give me time to get used to this. I am a very conversational writer, I have bad grammar, and I can’t spell to save my life. So sit back, relax, and pray for my brother seminarians, all Priests, myself, but more importantly pray for an increase in vocations.

Peace.