Today, Sunday, September 12, 2010, marks the 184th commemoration of the Titular Feast of the Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary. It is celebrated as a Proper Solemnity by the Congregation.
At Morning Prayer, Br. John and Br. Tom renewed their temporary vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the spirit of Fr. Lanteri, a solemn and joyous occasion for the entire congregation.
My first (almost full) week of classes is now over, and what a week it was! I enjoyed all of my classes; they are all challenging and intriguing, with much reading. I thought to myself, as I was reading the life of St. Dominic during a Holy Hour toward the end of the week, that I was still reading, and it had nothing to do with a class! The previous night, I had read over 100 pages of Homer's Odyssey, along with John Paul II on the Catechism and the Prologue to the Catechism, itself. And that is not to mention the Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle that we have been working through in Metaphysics. Anyway, the study of philosophy (literally, the love of wisdom, in Greek) is fascinating and empowering - it is this subject that awakens the mind more than in any other discipline and requires both systematic, analytic consideration of the subject matter and an intuitive, experience-based progression through it.
This coming week, we will attend the ceremony of ordination and installation for two new bishops for the Archdiocese of Boston - it should be good!
Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Saturday, September 04, 2010
From Retreat to the Set
This week began with a meeting concerning the house rules, which are to be expected in a community that is preparing some of its members (the seminarians) for a life of discipline with the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The rules are fairly standard for a professional setting, but they were presented along with a reflection comparing seminary growth to being raised in the home of the Holy Family in Nazareth. Fr. Dan Barron, OMV, prepared the reflection that is included in the brief handbook, in which he presents Mary as lady of the house, Joseph as its master, and the serenity and good will that must have pervaded the home as Jesus began to grow up. He remarks that the examples of charity, compassion, and even frustration shown by Jesus' parents would have formed Him into the God-Man that had mercy on lepers, fed the hungry, wept at the tomb of his friend, and violently chased the money-changers and vendors out of the temple. So too, we, he recommended, should enter, spiritually, into that sense of preparation and growth in the midst of immense holiness.
Monday afternoon, we went over to St. John's Seminary to register for our classes and obtain a welcome package containing important information about the school. The seminary now supports the education and spiritual formation of 100 seminarians from a couple dioceses and a handful of religious orders, a number that has been growing steadily for the last few years.
Monday evening, the three Postulants departed for the St. Joseph House of Retreat, in Milton, MA (I learned the town was self-incorporated in 1662!). The three days that we spent there, in retreat, were amazing. I opened my heart to my Lord and my Lady, cleared my mind, and let them speak. It was tremendous what I realized about the depth and surety of my vocation to the priesthood. At the same time, I read the lives of St. John Bosco (and a bit of St. Francis de Sales, as he relates to St. John Bosco) and St. John Vianney, two very inspiring priests, who lived in Italy and France, respectively, and who were contemporaries of Fr. Lanteri and were affected by his work. Their lives contained very moving moments for me, in which the Will of God was revealed to them, their immense trust in Divine Providence with the intercession of Mary was richly rewarded, and their sensitivity to the most basic needs of those around them had such a great and resounding impact that many thousands continued to be converted, based on their efforts, for decades after their deaths.
Last night, after dinner, my brother Postulant, S.G., and I had a little jam session in the Upper Room (the old sisters' chapel from when a cloistered convent occupied these buildings). He plays piano quite well, and knows quite a few popular tunes. We will probably be writing some music. Tonight we discovered that our singing voices are very similar, which is really awesome. Again, we'll probably be writing some music.
Today was spent at the house in Milton, again, with Fr. John Wykes, OMV, and a frequent visitor to St. Clement's, D.M. Fr. John prepared a full script, and we went to the house to film some re-enactments of the life of Fr. Lanteri. We were away from home for 12 hours for this piece of the project (there is more filming to be done, as well as recording narration, and final editing). It was really nice to be able to help out in such a project. The Youth Group project to present the life of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina to the Confirmation students several years ago resulted in all of us who participated gaining a powerful understanding of the spiritual foundations of a man so "in-tune" with God; today's experience was no different.
We return to Milton for a Labor Day BBQ Monday afternoon, but Tuesday is the first day of class. Here we go!
Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca
Monday afternoon, we went over to St. John's Seminary to register for our classes and obtain a welcome package containing important information about the school. The seminary now supports the education and spiritual formation of 100 seminarians from a couple dioceses and a handful of religious orders, a number that has been growing steadily for the last few years.
Monday evening, the three Postulants departed for the St. Joseph House of Retreat, in Milton, MA (I learned the town was self-incorporated in 1662!). The three days that we spent there, in retreat, were amazing. I opened my heart to my Lord and my Lady, cleared my mind, and let them speak. It was tremendous what I realized about the depth and surety of my vocation to the priesthood. At the same time, I read the lives of St. John Bosco (and a bit of St. Francis de Sales, as he relates to St. John Bosco) and St. John Vianney, two very inspiring priests, who lived in Italy and France, respectively, and who were contemporaries of Fr. Lanteri and were affected by his work. Their lives contained very moving moments for me, in which the Will of God was revealed to them, their immense trust in Divine Providence with the intercession of Mary was richly rewarded, and their sensitivity to the most basic needs of those around them had such a great and resounding impact that many thousands continued to be converted, based on their efforts, for decades after their deaths.
Last night, after dinner, my brother Postulant, S.G., and I had a little jam session in the Upper Room (the old sisters' chapel from when a cloistered convent occupied these buildings). He plays piano quite well, and knows quite a few popular tunes. We will probably be writing some music. Tonight we discovered that our singing voices are very similar, which is really awesome. Again, we'll probably be writing some music.
Today was spent at the house in Milton, again, with Fr. John Wykes, OMV, and a frequent visitor to St. Clement's, D.M. Fr. John prepared a full script, and we went to the house to film some re-enactments of the life of Fr. Lanteri. We were away from home for 12 hours for this piece of the project (there is more filming to be done, as well as recording narration, and final editing). It was really nice to be able to help out in such a project. The Youth Group project to present the life of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina to the Confirmation students several years ago resulted in all of us who participated gaining a powerful understanding of the spiritual foundations of a man so "in-tune" with God; today's experience was no different.
We return to Milton for a Labor Day BBQ Monday afternoon, but Tuesday is the first day of class. Here we go!
Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Week 1!
It has been a quiet week since my arrival; the other students arrive later today. The first few days, it rained all day long, so I did not get out except to buy shampoo and deodorant. I had lots of time for prayerful reflection on my vocation and my new life, something that I realize a little more, in a tangible way, every day. I have also had lots of time to read, about the life of our founder, Fr. Pio Bruno Lanteri, and also Scott Hahn's Many Are Called, a reflection and exposition of the institution of the priesthood and the many roles that priests play in modern society.
It brought me great joy to receive a little message from my dear sister, Sr. Teresa, who entered the Nashville Dominicans a couple weeks before I left home. She copied a passage out of the Summa Theologica (Thomas Aquinas) and closed with "Welcome to religious life!" What a beautiful life she has been called to!
A couple days ago, I received my class schedule from Fr. David Beauregard:
We begin the full schedule tonight with Solemn Vespers, an orientation meeting tomorrow afternoon regarding the liturgies and music, and other administrative business on Monday. Monday evening, we depart for a 3-day retreat at the Oblates' St. Joseph Retreat House in Milton.
After the 3-day weekend, we begin class on September 7.
My policy for email correspondence will be to check email daily to wade through spam and mass mailings, but only reply to non-urgent messages on weekends. My designated time to use the phone is Saturdays and Sundays between 12pm and 9pm Eastern time (3 hours ahead of Pacific time).
Please send me prayer requests! I can offer them publicly during Morning and Evening Prayer every day so that the whole community raises your intentions to the Father!
Love the Immaculata!
It brought me great joy to receive a little message from my dear sister, Sr. Teresa, who entered the Nashville Dominicans a couple weeks before I left home. She copied a passage out of the Summa Theologica (Thomas Aquinas) and closed with "Welcome to religious life!" What a beautiful life she has been called to!
A couple days ago, I received my class schedule from Fr. David Beauregard:
- Ancient Philosophy
- Latin
- Metaphysics
- Catechism
- World Literature
We begin the full schedule tonight with Solemn Vespers, an orientation meeting tomorrow afternoon regarding the liturgies and music, and other administrative business on Monday. Monday evening, we depart for a 3-day retreat at the Oblates' St. Joseph Retreat House in Milton.
After the 3-day weekend, we begin class on September 7.
My policy for email correspondence will be to check email daily to wade through spam and mass mailings, but only reply to non-urgent messages on weekends. My designated time to use the phone is Saturdays and Sundays between 12pm and 9pm Eastern time (3 hours ahead of Pacific time).
Please send me prayer requests! I can offer them publicly during Morning and Evening Prayer every day so that the whole community raises your intentions to the Father!
Love the Immaculata!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Arrival in Boston
I put up a few pictures I took last night after getting settled in.
It is very quiet here right now, even when there are people around! Things will pick up when the other students arrive later this week... and then we'll be on retreat, pretty quiet again, lol. Of course.
Love the Immaculata!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Arrival
I have arrived in Boston! Fr. Jeremy and Br. Jerry came to pick me up from the airport. My flight left at 9:20pm from Long Beach, arrived in Washington, D.C. just after 5am local time, and my flight was already scheduled an hour later due to a late departure of the inbound plane from Oakland, CA. We finally departed around 10:30am, arriving in Boston at 11:55am.
I am just getting all my stuff out, to see what little things I need to buy (I am going to make a CVS run in a short while here before the rain picks up again).
I already received the schedule of duties through December, including assisting at community prayer and Masses, and cooking on Saturdays (Br. John Luong and I are scheduled together for cooking; we have 5 Saturdays to cover for the semester).
Further orientation, including housework chores and the rules of the house, will occur next week.
Important Note: anyone who wishes to contact me by phone should do so on weekends between 12pm and 9pm Eastern time, at my Skype number: 562-219-2372. The 617 area code numbers you may have are an office number and a number for a disconnected phone that nobody uses :)
Love the Immaculata!
I am just getting all my stuff out, to see what little things I need to buy (I am going to make a CVS run in a short while here before the rain picks up again).
I already received the schedule of duties through December, including assisting at community prayer and Masses, and cooking on Saturdays (Br. John Luong and I are scheduled together for cooking; we have 5 Saturdays to cover for the semester).
Further orientation, including housework chores and the rules of the house, will occur next week.
Important Note: anyone who wishes to contact me by phone should do so on weekends between 12pm and 9pm Eastern time, at my Skype number: 562-219-2372. The 617 area code numbers you may have are an office number and a number for a disconnected phone that nobody uses :)
Love the Immaculata!
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