Holy Priests

Well, I just returned from a week of retreating silently.  It was absolutely amazing and therefore, I hope to post a series of reflections from my time in Greccio (where the retreat was) over the next few days.  This first post is one that comes from a heart full of gratitude and humility.

So many times people thank me for being a seminarian, which is great, but too often I fail to thank you for being amazing Catholics!  One of the first days there we were told that the cost of our retreat was a pretty hefty sum.  Faithful Catholics just like you pay a great deal of money for us seminarians to be able to go away for a week and "waste time" with Our Lord.  Why would people give money for us to go away and, in the eyes of the world, to do nothing?  The answer is simple:  YOU WANT HOLY PRIESTS!  You want priests who are have a deep personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.  Yes, you want priests who know their theology, celebrate beautiful liturgies, can relate to people, etc, I am NOT saying these things are not good, they are very important, but all of these things flow from being in a loving relationship with Christ.  Being in silence with God for a week, doing three holy hours each day, praying the Liturgy of the Hours, attending Mass, hearing talks and simply being quiet (both externally and internally) allowed Him to do much talking to me.  The best thing he said to me was, "I love you"...you will see a few ways he told me in my upcoming posts!

Thank you for your prayers and support.  Thank you for wanting and demanding holy priests.  Thank you for supporting us seminarians in whatever way you are able.  I hope that in some way these posts bring you closer to our loving God.

In Christ,
Patrick

P.S. - It is not letting me upload pictures at the moment, so take my word that the place we stayed was great!