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:

1. Ancient Philosophy
2. Latin
3. Metaphysics
4. Catechism
5. World Literature

It will be a full schedule, indeed. I was able to count two of my previous college classes toward the philosophy requirement, reducing my credits required for advancement in the program to 22 (a typical class is 3 credits, but Ancient Philosophy is 4), so I am on track to finish it in two years. He also mentioned something about placing the most critical philosophy classes in the first year, in case our superiors choose to skip the second year of Postulancy. Fr. David also noted that many seminarians today begin their studies of philosophy and theology with too analytical or technical an approach. For this reason, he introduces a "qualitative" critical thinking process through understanding literature and the arts.

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!

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!

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!

New Website!

The Oblates released their new website for the US Province - check it out at http://www.omvusa.org. The new design brings out brighter tones than the old site, encouraging a more pleasant visit to our niche on the web.

The new site runs on the WordPress engine, allowing it to dynamically incorporate rich content from other websites, and enabling multiple webmasters to update the website frequently, as needed. The Oblates are about bringing Christ to His people, through the hands of Mary, using all of the latest means of communication available - this new website is indicative of this charism, which you can read about on the website.


Happy Feast of the Assumption!

Moving out

Sister update: Teresa made it safely to Nashville Wednesday afternoon, after a 3-hour delay of her flight from Memphis to Nashville.

My update:

I received my formal letter of acceptance and welcome to the Seminary in Boston. It outlines what to bring and what to expect upon entrance.

I am to bring clothing (business casual dress is expected for all public activities; a uniform formal look is prescribed for sundays; season-appropriate clothing is specifically recommended), school/office supplies, my violin, and some spending money to cover personal items and the infrequent excursion.

The Oblates also ask that seminarians contribute to the cost of their schooling during Postulancy (the first two years), at $3,500 per semester, to a total of $14,000 over that time. In order to assist my family and I in covering this expense, we welcome any donations you may be able to contribute; please contact me directly by email at lilmax88@gmail.com.

I am presently working on consolidating my personal belongings at home, for long-term storage, and planning how to pack what I will bring. I will be coming home for the summers of 2011 and 2012, and maybe the Christmas break both years, as well, so I will need access to a lot of the things that I am currently using for work.

Now it's off to the Holy Hour for Vocations at St. Peter Chanel!


Love the Immaculata!

A New Adventure

The decision to join the Oblates of the Virgin Mary comes after almost 7 years of discernment, carefully praying, asking what God desires that I do with my life and the many gifts I have been given. I considered pursuing graduate school in the area of Computer Science, and was even accepted to a doctoral program with full tuition paid at the University of Virginia; however, during a visit to Boston in late March, I felt very strongly that I was to pursue entrance to the congregation at this time. After an extensive application process and review, I was accepted August 5, 2010, on the 180th anniversary of the death of the Founder of the Oblates, Venerable Fr. Pio Bruno Lanteri.

The Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary (OMV: Congregatio Oblatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis in Latin) was founded in 1826 in Pinerolo, in Northern Italy. Their work includes spreading devotion to the Virgin Mary, encouraging the faithful lay and clergy to remain in harmony with the Pope, giving spiritual direction with the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and promoting good books.

I will enter the community as a Postulant, without any formal ties to the group, on August 23 of this year. The formation process is at least 7 years long, including the equivalent of Master's degrees in Philosophy and Theology, as well as practical training to carry out the active priestly ministry. The Postulant status lasts 2 years, containing primarily studies in philosophy and church history. The third year of formation is the Novitiate year, during which I will study the particular charisms of the order and learn about OMV history and the desires of the founder. As studies progress, I will profess temporary vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to the community, and at the end of the formation process, I will renew those vows for life and subsequently be ordained Deacon and Priest. I may be assigned to work at any of the four locations within the Continental United States (Boston, MA; Alton, IL; Denver, CO; Hawaiian Gardens, CA) or the Philippines. The Oblates also have missions in South America and Africa, and work in Italy and throughout Europe.

Love the Immaculata!

Congregazione degli Oblati di Maria Vergine

This past Thursday, while I was enjoying the sweet mountain air in Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona (just north of Sedona), I received a phone call from the Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary (Congregazione degli Oblati di Maria Vergine in Italian; Congregatio Oblatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis in Latin), the religious congregation to which I applied earlier this year. I retrieved the message Friday morning, the Feast of the Transfiguration, when we were in town and within range of a cell tower. Fr. Dave Nicgorski, OMV, the Provincial, left me the following message, in response to my application.

Paul, how are you, this is Fr. Dave Nicgorski calling from the Oblates of the Virgin Mary; I'm the Provincial here, in Boston. I just wanted to contact you to say I'm delighted that you applied to the congregation, for the community here, in Boston. We met today with the Provincial Council and we all are excited about you coming, so I want to welcome you to Boston, and say that we approved your application, and I am looking forward to seeing you again, brother, all the best to you and I wanted to be the first to call and say, “Welcome.” So, my confreres, Fr. Jeremy and the other guys in Boston, will be contacting you shortly to invite you to join them this semester coming up in school, in Boston. All the best, Paul. I'll see you soon, brother and if you have any questions, feel free to call my cell; my number is (hidden), but otherwise, Paul, I just want to say, “Welcome to Boston;” I look forward to seeing you shortly. God Bless, bye.

God is good! In the Oblates' slogan, from our Founder, Venerable Fr. Pio Bruno Lanteri, Nunc coepi ("now I begin"). I received a second phone call, on Friday, from Fr. Jeremy Paulin, OMV, Vocation Director, who informed me that my entrance date will be August 23, 2010, just over two weeks away!

It is especially appropriate that I was accepted on August 5, because that is the day, in 1830, that our Founder died. His cause for canonization is currently in progress.

Please pray for me, and for an increase in those who consider and follow their true vocation, especially those who are called to the priesthood and religious life.

I will post here regularly, so that those who have known me up to this point may stay updated.

Love the Immaculata!