Summary
This is my personal blog (weB-LOG) of my experiences and random thoughts at seminary.
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Random Thoughts
Yes I'm Alive, But I'm On Vacation
Wednesday, May 26, 2004, 2:14 AM
In the past ten days I returned from seminary, enjoyed visiting friends for a few days, and have settled in with my family at home. Strangely it seems like my days are just as full as before, but now with less content. For example, I have not been keeping up on my blog. This is partly due to my lack of patience for this more ponderous (read: "slower") computer, but it's mainly because I have not done much worth reading or writing about.
This dry time, for which I've been at fault, have caused me to reflect on a few of the things I learned better in my first year at seminary. I'll perhaps write more on these later, but here is the short list of lessons we often need to be reminded of.
I need to pray, every day. Everyone needs to pray at least a half hour every day. That is unless you are too busy to pray, in which case you need at least an hour.
My goodness does not come from me. It is essential that I co-operate with God in any good act of love or service I do. Without Him, I can do nothing worthwhile or well.
I need to trust God, with more and more often. He's looking for chances to support and impress me. I need to give Him the opportunity.
One Year Down, Five To Go
Sunday, May 16, 2004, 1:10 AM
All my bags are packed. I'm ready to go.
Our semester here is now no more.
All that's left is to wake up and say goodbye.
Everyone's been packing for an early start,
The deacons were stripping their rooms apart.
It's amazing how the year has just passed by.
There were many days we played around,
But today was all about caps and gowns.
Today we had a graduation thing.
Everyone must go, there's things to do.
Some won't be back, including friends I knew,
But without change what could the future bring?
So we'll see just what will be,
Our Lord's plans for you and me,
Listen and he'll tell you where to go.
I'm leaving for the Northland,
Next fall then I'll be back again,
Yeah baby, it's time to go!
(Sound familiar?)
Isn't The Internet Wonderful?
Saturday, May 15, 2004, 1:21 AM
A cheap laugh from The Beatles.
Oh Website, Where Have You Been All My Life?
Saturday, May 15, 2004, 12:49 AM
ScriptureCatholic.com
Cantor's Verse
Friday, May 14, 2004, 11:42 PM
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor.
To seat them with princes,
with the princes of his own people. (Ps 113:7:8)
Proud To Be A Catholic Nerd
Thursday, May 13, 2004, 4:17 PM
I'm rather fond of this Catholic Nerd Blog. Its list of Catholic Nerd indicators has helped me confirm my long-suspected status. Here are some of my favorites:
You know you're a Catholic Nerd when...
...you get momentarily confused when you hear the word "discernment" referring to something other than trying to determine God's will.
...you ask for the intercession of people who have not yet been canonized, and it isn't some friend or relative.
...you refer to having a bit too much to drink as, "not in the best state to evangelize." (To which your friends reply, "meet 'em where they're at, man!")
...the biggest fight you've had with your boyfriend [or girlfriend] is about which one of you was praying the Apostles' creed wrong.
...your boyfriend tells you that you are one of his many girls, and you are not offended, because the rest of them are Mary, St. Therese, St. Joan of Arc...
And here are some others that I would add:
...you have formulated a prediction as to what name the next Pope will take someday.
...you have been heard to say that some particular saint "rocks".
...you have described some saint, bishop, or Catholic apologist as "the man".
...you get the joke: "I don't think I could be a martyr, but maybe a 'companion'." (Bonus point if you laughed.)
...you find the possibility that you are a Catholic Nerd a pleasant thought.
My DB's
Thursday, May 13, 2004, 2:31 PM
The LaX Contingent
A Good Friday Meditation
Thursday, May 13, 2004, 2:26 PM
From The Great Commandment blog.
I once heard Fr. Benedict Groeschel relay a story like this and it made a strong impression on me. In short, it showed me that the crucifixion is the best answer to the philosophical problem of evil.
A Luminous Mystery
Thursday, May 13, 2004, 2:21 PM
The seminarians here are wrapping up their finals. You can tell which are finished by the glow of their faces. Now that I've finished myself I'm not sure what to do next. I definitely want to give some quality goodbyes to my close friends who will be departing or moving on to other seminaries. (One of the faculty here observed that if you never really say "goodbye" can never say "hello" again.) One these friends is a DB who is leaving to joining the Jesuits. He has left me a number of books that I have gratefully received (like a kid on Christmas morning). I hope I'll use my freedom well this summer by reading a few of them. When I do, you'll be sure to get my thoughts on them.
"The Way We Pray Affects What We Believe"
Sunday, May 9, 2004, 4:43 AM
The Catholic Church is currently developing a new translation of the Mass in English which aims to be more accurate and sacred in style. The draft currently circulating for comment among the bishops of English-speaking countries could soon become the official English translation of the Mass all over the world. A religion reporter for the Australian Broadcasting Company has posted a copy of the draft translation on the internet.
I find the whole enterprise rather exciting. I hope and expect that the changes will be positive for the faithful, and I anticipate saying
these words myself someday:
When he was handed over,
entering willingly into his Passion,
(He [the priest] takes the bread and, holding it slightly raised above the altar, continues:)
he took bread and, giving thanks,
he broke it
and gave it to his disciples, saying:
(He bows slightly.)
TAKE THIS ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT,
FOR THIS IS MY BODY,
WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.
(He shows the consecrated host to the people, places it back on the paten, and genuflects in adoration.)
Not A 'High Pontifical Nap', More Like A 'Canonization'
Sunday, May 9, 2004, 3:19 AM
The pattern of productivity is a funny thing. Wednesday, I completed this paper on the Trinity, our Triune God. (It's a summary of another work and contains several interesting points.) Thursday and Friday, I wrote this study guide in preparation for our Ancient Philosophy final.
So what did I do Saturday? I slept through a total 7 hours of the day. (That's why I'm up so late tonight.) But it was not a wasted day, for the sleeping hours were necessary, and the waking moments were most memorable.
Salve!
Sunday, May 9, 2004, 3:00 AM
Friday evening, the seminarians gathered together for the fourth year farewell. It was a great time and two things stood out. The first was a huge surprise. The outgoing deacons presented the rector with a big check (think Price-Is-Right or Happy Gilmore) for $30,000 to support the seminary's foreign students. This gift will be paid over the next five years. [Between the 16 deacons this works out to an average of $375 annually.] Pretty impressive. Now next year's deacons will have to do them one better. ($30,001?)
The other major highlight was this Budweiser parody produced by my talented DB.
"What this girl--and our culture--needs is..."
Sunday, May 9, 2004, 2:47 AM
Occasionally I come across items that I feel compelled to share. Tonight I saw this on Mark Shea's blog. Scroll down to the post with the pictures, entitled "Simul Iustus et Peccator" (Latin translation: "At the same time righteous and sinner") These are the important paragraphs:
"Here [is a] photo of a sweet American gal who has made friends with a grateful Iraqi child... Here is that same sweet gal, illustrating that nobody is immune from the power of the One Ring"
"What this girl--and our culture--needs is..."
Abortion March Photos
Thursday, May 6, 2004, 5:12 PM
I came across some pictures of the recent pro-abortion march in Washington. (The pictures are at the middle of the page. Note 'The Best Argument for Life' at the top.) Two pictures particularly drew my attention:
My father once observed that those who claim to be the most vigorous supporters of free-speech often show no tolerance for other people expressing views they disagree with. That's what I thought of when I saw this picture. The image is unpleasant of course, like a picture of the Holocaust, but it is accurate and true.
Iconic - "Who Decides" in an empty baby stroller.
Milestones
Tuesday, May 4, 2004, 12:21 AM
Today we celebrated the 50th anniversary of one of our beloved priest's ordination. As a gift, all of the seminarians prepared a spiritual bouquet of our personal prayers and self-offerings to be done in his name. His homily today was so good that I asked him for a copy. Here's a teaser: "Eight days [after my ordination], the Mass of Thanksgiving that I offered in my hometown, Rocky Mount, North Carolina, turned out to be something of a nightmare." Now read the rest of the story.
My Aquinas paper on the morality of killing was completed this weekend. The pages came along much easier with the help of your prayers. Thanks.
Today I recollected a memory from the day of my First Communion. On the ride home I was opening my cards and gifts. When I got a rosary I remember feeling like, "Oh, great... jewelry." A lot has changed since those younger days, when the priest would randomly throw encouragements at you to become a priest and you would patiently, politely, and non-responsively wait for him to cut it out. Yep, a lot has changed.
A Tragic Moment
Sunday, May 2, 2004, 1:58 PM
"Every now and then you witness a small moment that is actually a big moment," writes Peggy Noonan in her most recent column. "Maybe it alerts you to something surprising that's going on, or maybe it illustrates what you already know but in a new way, one that can't be dodged or avoided."
One such time occured while she was watching a 40-year-old play recently revived on Broadway. "An important moment in the plot is when a character announces she is pregnant, and considering having an abortion. In fact, she tells her mother-in-law, she's already put $5 down with the local abortionist. It is a dramatic moment. And you know as you watch it that when this play came out in 1960 it was received by the audience as a painful moment--a cry of pain from a woman who's tired of hoping that life will turn out well."
"But this is the thing: Our audience didn't know that. They didn't understand it was tragic. They heard the young woman say she was about to end the life of her child, and they applauded. Some of them cheered. It was stunning. The reaction seemed to startle the actors on stage, and shake their concentration. I was startled. I turned to my friend. 'We have just witnessed a terrible cultural moment,' I said. 'Don't I know it,' he responded."
"And I can't tell you how much that moment hurt. To know that the members of our audience didn't know that the taking of a baby's life is tragic--that the taking of your own baby's life is beyond tragic, is almost operatic in its wailing woe."
"But our audience didn't know. They reacted as if abortion were a political question. They thought that the fact that the young woman was considering abortion was a sign of liberation. They thought this cry of pain was in fact a moment of self-actualizing growth."
"Afterwards, thinking about it, I said to my friend, 'When that play opened that plot point was understood--they knew it was tragic. And that was only what, 40 years ago.' He said, 'They would have known it was tragic even 25 years ago.' And it gave me a shiver because I knew it was true."
13 Going On 30
Sunday, May 2, 2004, 1:48 PM
Wednesday night I went to see 13 Going On 30, a movie in which a young girl's wish that would she be all grown up comes true (overnight). The preview tells the story. I really liked this movie. It starred the lovely Jennifer Gardner of tv's Alias. Though not a perfect film, it was funny and it gave me a surpassing feeling of gratefulness for the path my life has taken. Upon reflection, I realized the story reflected this teaching of Jesus:
"He called a child over, placed it in their midst,
and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3)
I loved the main character's innocence, not because of her comical naivety, but for her simple goodness. She does not lord authority over other people at the office because she sees all as her equals or betters. Instead of self-justifications, she is humble enough to seek forgiveness for past wrongs to family and friends. Through her character the difference between love and lust in clearly seen. She desires what is good for the beloved, instead of using the other just to love herself. In these ways, we should all become like her.
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