Sweet Sweet Freedom! Finals Round 1

Well gang, I survived my first found of oral finals.  It was not as great as some of the guys said it would be, but overall it was a really good experience, not so much for the actual finals, but for some other reasons I hope to elaborate in this blog.

First of all, it was a very trying ten days.  Seven finals in ten days…that’s a bit much.  It was a great opportunity however, to focus on the intellectual aspect of my formation for a while.  With all of the things going on here at the college, that seems to get pushed to the background pretty often for me.  It was very refreshing getting to commit myself to studying and learning about God and our Roman Catholic Church.  Learning early Church History in Rome was such a blessing and I was often humbled at the opportunity.  Having the teacher stop in the lecture when he speaks of one of the great saints and say, “you know if you go over there by such and such…it’s about a ten minute walk from here,” is pretty amazing.  Though I did not appreciate it at the time, it was good to have the old struggles that come along with learning.  It was a great lesson in discipline and time management to make use of the scarce time available to prepare well for my tests.  One thing I am extremely grateful is the new attitude I have tried to develop (somewhat successfully) towards school and exams in particular.  As I approached my tests, I had a great feeling of peace (though I was still pretty nervous) knowing that I had studied hard and learned some great material trying to make my studies not only an academic exercise, but a prayer.  I was comforted with a peaceful feeling about my finals.  I truly feel like I am beginning to care less about grades and more about learning about our loving and faithful God.  If I get a 7 on a test, so be it, as long as I tried my hardest and learned something along the way.  I know that sounds like a talk a parent would give their child who is struggling, but it is a great feeling.

Another great thing about finals was the attitude in the house.  Everyone was studying and at times stressed out, but it was great to see how we all supported each other.  Everyone was always asking if others had finals and offering them words of encouragement to keep going.  The most important and moving thing was the amount of prayer that took place.  People were as dedicated as ever to their daily prayers, attending Mass, and other devotions.  Along with this, the guys in the house prayed constantly for one another as we prepared for and took our tests.  I really feel like we grew closer as a house by uniting ourselves in prayer.  I know that it was a great comfort for me having so many tell me they would pray for me as I went off to my tests.

Finally, I want to thank all of you who continue to support me with your kind words and prayers.  Your support is humbling and appreciated always, but especially during finals when I was stressed and tired.  Your prayers truly helped me not just to make it through them, but also to keep my prayer life going in the midst of so much craziness.  Thanks again and be assured of my prayers for all of you.

In Christ,

Patrick

Lector Institution

On Sunday January 16, 2011 I and 53 of my brother seminarians were instituted to the ministry of Lector.  This means that we are now officially appointed and called by the Church to proclaim the word of God in the context of the Sacred Liturgy.  As Archbishop O’Brian said in his homily during our installation, the Church uses the institution as Lector, then later as Acolyte (serving at the Altar), to allow us to take gradual concrete steps toward the altar, culminating in ordination to the Deaconate at the beginning of our fourth year and ultimately in priestly ordination after the fourth year of theological studies.  I would like to share a few reflections that I have had since being instituted and carrying out my new office in the Church.

As I mentioned to some of my brother seminarians, “I went straight from high school to the pros”!  My first assignment for carrying out my duty as Lector was to read the second reading at our Sunday mass for the seminary community.  Not only was I scheduled for a Sunday mass, but it just so happened to be the day designated for the newly appointed Cardinal Burke to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving here at the college for his being elevated to the College of Cardinals. 

The day was great.  Since being instituted God has really called me to reflect on my new ministry and to continue to go deeper into the Sacred Scriptures.  The 2^nd reading from the Office of Readings Sunday morning continued this call.  It was taken from the Vatican II document on the Scared Liturgy entitled “Sacrosanctum Concilium”.  One line that particularly struck me was that when Scripture is read in the Liturgy, it is in fact Christ himself who speaks through the minister.  What an honor it is to be able to carry out such a role in the Church.

As with my first meeting with Cardinal Burke, I was quite impressed.  In just a few minutes of being around him, it becomes apparent the he is a very prayerful and humble priest of Jesus Christ.  His words in his homily were very comforting for me.  He spoke several times of the tremendous weight of the responsibilities which he has taken on by virtue of his elevation to the College of Cardinals.  In his humility, he stated that the only way that he can carry out his responsibilities is to remain faithful to and utterly dependent on Christ and his Church.  He focused, in particular in his reliance on prayer, both on his own prayerful relationship with our Lord, and the prayers of all of the faithful for him and his ministry.

Lately, I have realized more and more what great responsibility comes along with being a priest.  At times, I have been worried, wondering if I will be able to live up to so noble a calling.  The answer to my question is no; I cannot live up to the call to be a priest of Jesus Christ.  However, this is the beginning of being a faithful servant.  I know that there is nothing that I can do to minister to God’s people, it is only by moving aside and letting God work through me that I will be a good and faithful servant.  I must continue to realize that I can do nothing without God’s help and with this knowledge, I must allow myself to be totally dependent on Him.

Thank you all for your prayers for me.  Please continue to pray that I will be a humble servant for our Lord and that I will always seek to know and follow his will.  Please know of my prayers for all of you.

In Christ,

Patrick

Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving

So obviously, my post is a little late for the title, but the blog was inspired on Thanksgiving day, so there you go. I heard from pretty much all of the priests who have studied here in Rome along with the older guys who are still here that the first holiday season away from home is the toughest.  I am sure that will be the case.  However, so far it has been a good kind of hard.

First off, Thanksgiving weekend here is crazy busy.  We had Thanksgiving on Thursday (obviously) which included each hall getting together for a breakfast, then mass at noon, followed by a huge Thanksgiving day meal, but that was just the beginning.  We also had our New Man class dinner on Friday night, followed by the "New Man" and "Old Man" shows Saturday night, then to finish it all up, the "New Men vs. Old Men" football game known as the "Spaghetti Bowl".  All of these activities helped to once again make the new men feel like we were at our home away from home with our new family for the next 4 to 5 years.  Although these activities were wonderful, fun and comforting, I still had plenty of time to miss my family and friends and reflect a bit.

It is amazing that it has taken being thousands of miles away from home to realize just how blessed I am.  On Thanksgiving my mom's whole side goes to one of her sister's house (the same sister every year).  We get there mid to late morning, visit for a while, the men watch football, the women talk, the men turn the T.V. louder, the women talk louder, then we eat.  This is usually followed by napping and more eating.  It is such a simple tradition, but it is great.  The family is all there simply enjoying time together.  It was particularly difficult being away since this is the first major holiday since my grandfather passed away in February.  I was able to see how it is because of his strong faith and focus on the family that my family still gathers frequently, not just for big holidays, but every Sunday at least a handful of people go to my grandma's for lunch.  It was absolutely amazing that I was reflecting on all of this just before mass because I know through faith that once that mass started and most especially during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, I was intimately united to my grandparents that have passed away, my family and friends back home and all of the members of the Church past and present...how awesome!

Only a few days after Thanksgiving, I had another occasion for great joy as my parents celebrated their 35th Wedding Anniversary.  What a great example they have been to me throughout my life and in particular during my time in the seminary.  They have done nothing but support me from the moment that I told them I had decided to apply and for that I am forever grateful.

So, even though I am far from Louisiana, I have much to be thankful for as we approach the celebration of the Birth of Christ.  I am thankful for my family, especially for my parents and grandparents and for the gift of faith that I have received from them.  I am thankful for my friends.  I am thankful for all of those back in the diocese that continue to sustain me with their prayers and support.  I am thankful for this opportunity to study in the Eternal City and for God's call for me to follow His Son.

Happy Feast of St. Andrew!

Main altar in the Basilica of St. Andrew in Rome.

In Christ,
Patrick

P.S. - I am also thankful for a package I received yesterday which had 4 pounds of Community Coffee and gumbo and red beans and rice supplies amongst other things!

Consistory Weekend

Hello Again Gang,

As you can see from the frequency of my posts, things are getting a bit hectic around here these days.  This weekend was the consistory where Pope Benedict elevated 24 new cardinals to the Sacred College of Cardinals.  Their most well known task is electing the pope, but they also perform many varied important roles for the Church.

Of course, looking forward to this weekend I was excited to see the inner workings of the Church and the "Church Celebrities", but I never knew how fruitful of a weekend it would be spiritually.  I had a ticket for the consistory on Saturday, but due to large crowds, I was not able to get into St. Peter's for the event.  I came back to the college and relaxed for a while as I had to work the reception afterwards here at the college for the two new American cardinals, Cardinal Wuerl and Cardinal Burke.  My job was to serve drinks and this lasted from about 12:15pm - 3:15pm.  It was amazing that in such a simple task, I had so much fun and was unusually joyful.  I really felt like St. Theresa was watching over me helping me to do a simple job with great love.  I had many opportunities to visit with people who had come to witness the event because they knew one of the two cardinals.  It was so humbling hearing them thank me and my brother seminarians over and over again, offering us words of encouragement and most importantly assuring us of their prayers for us.  Recently I have been praying about being more focused on what I am doing at any given moment.  I feel called to do this especially when talking to people.  Maybe they are keeping me from what I "should" be doing (according to my plan), but perhaps God has put me there to talk to them for a reason.  This was especially insightful when related to my desires to do something great for God, to be the saint I am called to be.  Typically, when I think of the saints, I think of the great things they did and wonder how I could ever do these grand works.  Through prayer, I have realized that most of the actions of the saints, taken individually would not be too grand, but their constant normal acts inspired by the love of Christ have changed the world.  This is what we are all called to do.

After serving for the reception, I made my way over to St. Peter's where we took part in the traditional greeting of the new cardinals.  Certain areas of the Apostolic Palace were opened up that are closed to the public except for this event and the new cardinals were spread throughout receiving anyone and everyone.  I made my way to about 7 of the new cardinals.  I first greeted and congratulated them then asked them for a blessing and for them to pray for me, usually after they had already requested for my prayers for them.  This was so humbling.  Here were men who have faithfully served the Church and have been called to be Princes of the Church asking me to pray for them.  It was a great witness to their humility and it showed me that they are truly no longer living their own lives, but Christ is living in them (in the words of St. Paul).  It was such a powerful experience for me to get to meet them and see that they are people just like me.  The only reason that they have been so successful in their ministry is because they realize (as indicated by their requests for prayers) that it is not about them, but it is about Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven and that they need a personal relationship with him if they want anything they do to bear fruit!

The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI,
processing out after mass.

Cardinal Koch blessing another seminarian and me.

To round out the weekend I was able to attend mass in St. Peter's which the Holy Father celebrating and all of the new cardinals attendanced along with several other cardinals (including Cardinal Arinze!!), bishops, priests and deacons.  Mass with our Holy Father never ceases to amaze me.  It is so wonderful being able to attend mass celebrated by the head of the Church here on earth.  The awesomeness of the experience was even that much greater since this was my first time being at mass with him in St. Peter's where the altar upon which the holy sacrifice of the mass takes place is directly over the tomb of St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles.  St. Peter's successor celebrating mass on an altar resting on the tomb of St. Peter...it doesn't get much better than that.   As Pope Benedict was processing out after mass, I was able to make my way near the railing and was no more than 10 feet from him as he passed.  What a great opportunity it was to be there.  I heard a quote when I first got here, that "the pope of your time here in Rome, is the pope of your heart".  Pope Benedict truly has been the pope of my heart from the time he was elected.  I look up to him as a role model of a good priestly life and hope that I can follow his faithfulness to God's call.  Thank you for keeping me in your prayers and please know that you are all in my prayers. 


In Christ,
Patrick

First Travel Weekend - Athens

Hello all,

As some of you know, I was fortunate enough to spend this past weekend in Athens, Greece.  This trip was amazing for several reasons.  First of all, it was great to venture out from the college for a little while.  Though I thoroughly enjoy being here, it was nice to get away.  The main reason for this is that when I came back, it felt like coming home (though South Louisiana will always be home).  In a way, it really helped to ease my homesickness.

Though Athens is great in general, this weekend was extra special since they had the running of THE marathon yes the original route from Marathon to Athens.  This year marks the 2500^th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon which took place in 490 B.C.  The marathon originated after a man ran from Marathon to Athens to tell the leaders in Athens of their unexpected victory over the invading Persians.  To add to the excitement, one of my brother seminarians ran the marathon.  It was his first ever marathon, but as he said, “I did train for three weeks”.  You can see from this statement why his nick name is “Cavallo Pazzo” (Crazy Horse).  Cavallo Pazzo ended up finishing in 3 hours and 41 minutes, which is a very good, especially since it was his first and since the course was very difficult (more than half of it was uphill!).  This was my first time being at a marathon and it was quite exciting.  I went to the Panathenaic Stadium, where the marathon ended, and took part in the festivities there waiting for Cavallo Pazzo to finish.  It was great being in a stadium with thousands of people cheering on the runners.  It was especially exciting whenever a Greek would finish because they would start playing Greek music then dancing and cheering would ensue.

In addition to the marathon, we got to see some amazing things in Athens.  Saturday morning we made our way up to the Acropolis, which houses the Parthenon (temple to the goddess Athena), a building which housed the Vestal Virgins which were attending Athena in the Parthenon, and various other buildings.  It was great walking around a city so foundational to western culture and philosophy, especially after spending the last two years studying philosophy.  It was great walking in the footsteps of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and so many other great philosophers. 

After eating some amazing Greek food we then embarked upon the greatest part of our trip (for me anyway).  Since we were quite full and still in need of some prayer time for the day, we made our way to the Areopagus.  Right now you are thinking: “Patrick, what on earth is the Areopagus?”  The Areopagus is the location given in the Acts of the Apostles (Ch 17) where Paul gave his speech to the men of Athens.  This location was home to our holy hour/midday prayer/post-lunch nap and it was awesome!  Even though I have visited Paul’s tomb at St. Paul outside the Wall and I know that he walked all around Rome, which I get to be in everyday, this was such a powerful experience for me.  The Areopagus is a rock located in between the Acropolis and the Ancient Market Place, both full of temples dedicated to the Greek gods.  Paul stood in the middle of these two areas so sacred to the Ancient Greeks and proclaimed the one true God of Jesus Christ.  May we all have the courage, the wisdom and the holiness to do the same! 

The final thing I would like to comment on is the faith of the people that I was fortunate enough to witness.  We stayed in some rooms in a Jesuit student housing complex.  The area of town where it was located is home to many immigrants, including many Polish immigrants.  The Jesuit Church had several masses on the weekend, more than half of which were in Polish.  We went to mass on Saturday evening and when we got there (a little late due to circumstances beyond our control) the church was overflowing.  There must have been between 25-50 people standing in the back and even outside of the church.  One thing that was particularly moving to me was a rather simple and humble gesture.  When it came time for the consecration, everyone present, young or old, man, woman or child, inside in a pew or outside on the cold hard floor, everyone knelt.  It was such a great outward expression of their interior faith in what happens during the consecration and in the true presence of God in the Eucharist.

As always, please know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers.  Please pray for me.

In Christ,

Patrick

Recent Happenings in the Eternal City

Well things have gotten into somewhat of a routine here the past couple of weeks with the start of school.  Yesterday marked the end of week two of my classes at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (a.k.a. The Angelicum or The Ang) and so far so good.  Since we finish our degree in only 3 years here as opposed to 4 back home, we end up taking a good number of classes.  This semester I am taking 8 courses: Fundamental Theology, Intro to Scripture, The Acts of the Apostles, Intro to Theology, The Pentateuch,  Biblical Greek, Intro to Patristics and Ancient Church History.  Lucky for me I go to one classroom and the teachers change out each class so I don't really have to remember which class I have on a given day...I just make my way to my classroom and wait.  The setup for classes here is spoiling me already.  We have 4 - 45 min classes each morning starting at 8:30.  After each 45 min class we get a 15 min break, even if the class goes over two of the periods...it is quite nice!  Even better, there is a coffee bar in the university about 30 seconds from my classroom, so we are able to have a nice cappuccino in between classes...this does wonders to help one stay awake and alert in class...not that it matters for me, but it is a big help for those who have trouble with that sort of thing!

Another great experience, which I mentioned briefly in my last post was being able to attend a Papal Mass in St. Peter's Square where Pope Benedict and Holy Mother Church elevated 6 people to Sainthood.  Among them of note for the NAC community, were Sts. Mary MacKillop and Br. Andre Bessette.  St. Mary MacKillop is the first saint from Australia and so the Aussie population in the house was glowing and gitty with excitement for the big day.  St. Andre was a Holy Cross brother from Canada, so the 1 1/2 Canadians in the house along with some from the Northern U.S. were also very excited.  I was able to share in the excitement of the day by attending the mass with about 6 of my Australian brothers and a fellow American.  We really got to enter into the excitement as we (the two Americans) were assigned to prepare and hold the Australian flag...we were honorary Aussies for a day!  It was great to see how getting a saint really boosted the guys faith.  Not only were they happy and proud to have a saint from their motherland, but they were also excited about what her canonization was doing for the Church in Australia.  There were many people who came to Rome for the canonization and the guys here were telling us of the effect St. Mary was having back home.  The faith of the people was truly increased by having a concrete and personal example of how to live a Christian life.  I feel like I truly got to see what the whole meaning behind having devotions to saints is all about.  Also, being at mass with the Holy Father was amazing.  It was the first time since Would Youth Day in 2005 that I have attended mass with him and I was reminded of the universality of the Church and the pope's role as chief shepherd of the flock on earth.  A final amazing thing about the mass was that my next door neighbor here at the college got to chant the gospel.  He was one of the men recently ordained a deacon in St. Peter's, so at that point he was a deacon for less than two weeks.  He chanted the gospel in Latin in front of the Pope, several cardinals, a plethora of bishops priests and deacons, and o yeah a square full of people!  I mean it was time, he had been a deacon for almost 2 whole weeks!

I guess that is about it for now.  I hope that all is well back home.  Let us remain united in prayer.

In Christ,
Patrick

Viva il Papa

Well folks, yesterday was a pretty amazing day for me.  Riding the wave of amazingness (I make up my own words) that came with attending mass on Sunday in St. Peter's Square where the Church elevated six Blesseds to Sainthood, our Holy Father wrote me a personal letter!  Well if you want to get technical he wrote it to all seminarians, but nonetheless, I felt pretty special.  Having been at mass with him the day before and the fact that he lives all of about 7 minutes away on foot made this letter take on a whole new meaning and made it very real. I am not ashamed to admit that I even got a little teary-eyed towards the end of it.  PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE take a moment to read it.  Even if you are not a seminarian, which I suspect many of you reading this are not, I think it would be great for you to read it.  I think it will give you an idea of what is expected of us in the seminary from Holy Mother Church.  You will also see our Holy Father's view of seminary formation.  With this new knowledge I think that your prayer for seminarians will be more real and fervent (not that I am doubting your prayers for me in the least, but a little help can never hurt)!  Anyway, lest you spend too much time here and not reading the letter, here it is:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20101018_seminaristi_en.html

In Christ,
Patrick