Merry Christmas!

What a year!

Just when I get used to being at home, the hustle and bustle of Christmas festivities kicks in! I've been told, however, that I wouldn't have it any other way.

Please head over to my main website for my Christmas greetings for this year.

This semester was challenging in new ways. Beginning a new year with new formation staff in the seminary, with new postulants (congratulations to them on a semester well-done!), and several transfers among the professed community, it has felt like starting over in so many ways. But it remains a fact that I began this year with one year of formation already under my belt. I sought to live this semester in the moment, aware of what may lie ahead and conscious of my past, yet not sacrificing the here-and-now for either of those realities. And I had a blast! It was great getting to know Rafael, Matt, Josh, and Scott, learning about their vocational journeys and growing in our relationships with the Lord and with each other. I think we all share the sentiment that it feels like we've been together much longer!

This semester, I completed the History of Philosophy sequence (Modern and Contemporary topped off Ancient and Medieval, which I had last year) and I am now in the final stretch of the Systematic Philosophy course, having just completed Logic & Epistemology, following upon last year's Metaphysics and Ethics (with Philosophy of Nature and some Philosophical Psychology). Next semester will be quite enjoyable academically as I complete my year of New Testament Greek, cruise through Philosophical Psychology, study Inculturation in Asia, and explore Vatican II documents and Old Testament scripture.

We balance the studies with solid prayer and enriching community time. We have certainly done many more varied things than I had experienced last year, from card games to Band of Brothers, walks around the Charles River and throwing darts. Our day trips have taken us out to Mount Wachusett and New Bedford, and our Thanksgiving weekend adventure in Montreal was a beautiful and rejuvenating one.

So at this point, looking back with gratitude and looking forward with a hopeful excitement, let us celebrate Christmas! As Pope Benedict XVI invited us to pray in his "Urbi et Orbi" message for Christmas this year, let us join in calling out, "[Domine,] veni ad salvandum nos" – "[Lord,] come to save us!"

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Closing another semester

Well, I am on the verge of completing another semester here in Boston. It has certainly been a wild ride, and it's not over yet! I still have Modern Philosophy to study for, which is going to be a difficult exam because the subject matter consists of philosophical errors. It is more like literature than philosophy, remembering what each thinker said (though it was wrong) and how they influenced each other.

For those of you who are curious to read some of what I wrote this semester, I've posted my major coursework on Scribd in this collection. Check it out and let me know what you think!

I'll write my end-of-semester wrap-up reflection when I get home... until then, there's plenty of studying, packing, and cleaning to do!


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

The final stretch

So here we are, the last two weeks of the semester! Actually it's just a week and 3 days. I still have all of my end-of-the-semester coursework due, beginning with a paper and final quiz in Film on Monday. Things are moving along well, but there is still plenty of work to do. We also have our Lessons & Carols service this Tuesday evening (see the St. Clement Shrine website for more information and join us if you're in the Boston area!)

Pope Benedict XVI has made his Christmas wishes public at the lighting of the mountain-sized Christmas tree of lights in Gubbio, Italy. Zenit published his wishes this week. The pontiff asked:

1. "that our gaze, that of our minds and our hearts, not rest only on the horizon of this world, on its material things, but that in some way, like this tree that tends upward, it be directed toward God. God never forgets us but He also asks that we don't forget Him;"
2. "that we recall that we also need a light to illumine the path of our lives and to give us hope, especially in this time in which we feel so greatly the weight of difficulties, of problems, of suffering, and it seems that we are enshrouded in a veil of darkness. But what light can truly illuminate our hearts and give us a firm and sure hope? It is the Child whom we contemplate on Christmas, in a poor and humble manger, because He is the Lord who draws near to each of us and asks that we receive Him anew in our lives, asks us to want Him, to trust in Him, to feel His presence, that He is accompanying us, sustaining us, and helping us;" and
3. "that each of us contribute something of that light to the spheres in which we live: our families, our jobs, our neighborhoods, towns, and cities."

Let us align our intentions with those of Peter and seek to embody these wishes in our own lives.

Something that lies at the intersection of the topics of this blog and my technical blog (Penguins 'R' Us) is the recent introduction of .xxx domain names on the Internet to designate sites with "adult content." A news story that was tagged as being relevant to the computer programming field described a business move by prominent academic institutions and various corporations to acquire the .xxx domain names that contain their respective trademarks and brand identities, in order prevent the public from scandal through a presumed affiliation of these organizations with the less-reputable web content that could be posted to sites hosted on those domains. This technique, known as domain squatting, is not an unfamiliar process for large companies, but this is a nuanced case that was not possible until the ICANN decided that it would permit the new .xxx top-level domain (TLD) suffix earlier this year. On the philosophical level, it is an interesting question to ask - is the public availability of .xxx domains a good thing or not? On the one hand, it does enable organizations to filter network traffic to exclude traffic from all .xxx domains, which is much easier than human-assisted blacklisting or keyword-based blacklisting (which inevitably yields both false positives and fails to identify other sites that the organization would desire to block). On the other hand, adult content can still be present on .com and other TLDs, and the press coverage and time and energy spent by the ICANN to decide whether to offer .xxx certainly drew attention to the multi-billion dollar industry and now provides a space within which it can thrive, in a sense enabling and possibly even legitimizing its existence and proliferation. It remains to be seen what economic and ideological impact this move will have on the adult website industry and on consumers of the Internet in general. As always, we can always pray and sacrifice more for the triumph of the culture of life over the culture of death, of which the adult website industry is a strong part, and we can do our part to call attention to the violence that it does to human dignity across the board.

Now it is time to prepare for Mass and then take to the kitchen for a Southeast Asian culinary adventure!

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Busy-ness!

I can't believe it's been another two weeks since I last posted! What began as a fairly faithful weekly endeavor has now become bi-weekly, de facto, anyway.

I was going to title this post "Thanksgiving and Communion" but, alas, that's what I called my last post! We had a great time visiting with our Oblate brothers in Montreal last weekend. We got to see many beautiful churches and get a feel for the Old City, complete with fire-eating street entertainment. It had snowed the previous day (Wednesday before Thanksgiving), so things looked wintry, though the weather was fairly clear. St. Joseph's Oratory was great as usual; an added bonus was that the lights were on in the upstairs oratory for some kind of children's choir rehearsal, so it turned out that we could see everything well. We also heard the carillon concert and got to meet the carilloner, who is the daughter of a previous cantor at one of the parishes that our Oblates run up there.

But now, we're right back in the swing of things, beginning our dash for the finish line, which is a bit late this year. I won't depart Boston until the 22nd, leaving me just enough time at home to prepare for the festivities. In addition to writing papers, reading, and studying, there are several events that have made their way into our schedule for the remaining weeks:

• Mass for the President's Symposium of Thomas More College (Merrimack, NH) - this afternoon a bunch of us stepped in to serve this concelebrated Mass including Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR. It was a beautiful Mass with great music and a very sharp homily by Fr. Robert Reed of Catholic TV.
• Lessons and Carols at St. John's - this was tonight, and it was awesome! Great choral works, some accompanied by piano or woodwinds, a flute quartet, an excellent violin performance, and a very appropriate and uplifting meditative mood really made for a great evening.
• Appreciation Mass and Reception at St. Clement's this week - we'll all pitch in to thank our volunteers and benefactors in the Christmas spirit.
• Day of Recollection on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception - we'll have a couple conferences from a Jesuit priest from BC and take the day off of classes, leaving time for prayer and reflection.
• Lessons and Carols at St. Clement's - I will be involved in this, and can't wait to see how we put ours together. 

On the spiritual side of things, I was struck by something that was shared at morning prayer today - the pope's intentions for the month December. They are the following:

General Intention: Peace among All Peoples. That all peoples may grow in harmony and peace through mutual understanding and respect. 

Missionary Intention: That children and young people may be messengers of the Gospel and that they may be respected and preserved from all violence and exploitation.

Last year, a major theme was the call of Christ to his would-be disciples, to "become like little children" and so enter the kingdom of heaven. I had noticed the theme of growing in humility as a desire that was growing in my heart, and also a call to return to that simplicity of a child's faith - to trust more, and to "de-clutter" my life in so many ways. The line that struck me most from this month's intentions is "That children and young people may be messengers of the Gospel" - not only are all the faithful, including non-children, called to become like little children, but children are called upon to lead them! I think the pope is also calling upon youth to find their faith in a world in which God is violently ripped from public view and so many families are permitting their children to "make their own decision" regarding their religious practices and beliefs.

The phrase calling peoples to "harmony and peace through mutual understanding and respect" also hits home for me now as I begin to write my final paper for Contemporary Philosophy, a class that has focused on the errors of our day in the realm of political philosophy. I plan to write on diversity, both ideological and cultural, and how the Political Liberalism of John Rawls would accept and promote diversity, and also how the Church approaches the kinds of "pluralism" that Rawls suggests are a given element of a society governed by a liberal democracy. This is also an area of particular interest to me, and it is possible that I may undertake an independent study course on the subject of inculturation... but that's just the beginning of a whole new semester.

Please pray for Br. John Luong, OMV, who was recently approved to make perpetual vows by the Provincial Council. He will make them in late January and subsequently be ordained deacon and then priest later that year.

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Thanksgiving and Communion

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! What great privilege we have to be aware of God's gifts to us that take many forms, in our own existence and the possibility of salvation that we have in Christ Jesus, and in our talents and family and friends.

After a cold and rainy day yesterday, the icy winds that picked up in the evening blew the storminess away and we have perfectly clear skies in Boston today! The "air waves" are full of Christmas music and everyone is busy preparing food and cleaning house for their guests; it is no different at St. Clement's! We host the combined communities of St. Clement's and St. Joseph's retreat house for our turkey-feast, and so by the team effort of the seminarians here, we cleaned the large refectory, not normally used for dining, and set all the tables; this morning, an army of potato-peelers and carrot- and cheese-slicers invaded the kitchen to prepare all of those items for our festivities today.

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks, not only interiorly, but in the presence of one another and indeed for one another. Communion is not only the term that commonly refers to the Holy Eucharist, but it literally means "with union" and almost "of one essence." Communion refers to a relationship that is so close that the participants in that relationship are intimately aware of the inner dispositions of each other and, possibly absent specific actions toward this goal, support each other merely by their being present. The communion of the Blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the perfect communion - these three persons in one God are in a perfectly simple (that is, without extraneous details) relationship with one another that is totally self-giving so that all that each Person is constantly flows into the other Persons - concisely stated "circumincession." For us on earth, we are called to image that communion, and to aspire to it, to let Christ live in us and abandon ourselves to him, as John the Baptist says: "He must increase, I must decrease" (John 3:30) and St. Paul: "no longer I, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20)

In our formation meetings over the last three weeks, we have discussed the idea presented in John Paul II's Vita Consecrata ("Consecrated life") that religious life is an image of the communion of the Trinity on earth. We have taken that more concretely into our formation process, discussing how it is that we can open ourselves to grow in this communion within our community of seminarians, within our religious congregation, within our local church in Boston, and in the Church as a whole. Amongst ourselves, this yielded the sharing that we had last week. Based upon the Trinity's Communion of self-giving, and building upon our material cooperation in sustaining the operations of our own house, we sat down to share with one another some stories of our childhood and our families, then to express our current state with respect to the various duties and obligations that we have and how we are doing in general, and then we reflected on the passage of Matthew 18 that speaks about little children, and reflected on our pastoral assignments (teaching Confirmation and RCIA) in light of that Word of God. We closed by sharing how that very experience of sharing our deeper feelings with one another affected us and drew us closer together.

What was fascinating about this experience is that we so often, as men, hide our feelings and struggles, but at the same time, we had the understanding that, having been called to this life, we are all in this together, and that in this sharing, we do not expect to be a burden to others but rather to draw closer to one another so that we may face the human and spiritual challenges that confront us not alone, but together, with our brothers. This was an important element of the night that we needed to establish before entering into that space. And that understanding helped us to grow in our communion with one another, something for which each of us is very thankful!

So enjoy your turkey (or ham? lobster?!) and be thankful for one another. Lift up also those who feel alone in the world; send them your guardian angel and pray that our good God will send someone to bring them His love, comfort them and build them up.

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Missale Romanum: Editio Typica Tertia

The Third Typical Edition of the Roman Missal, promulgated by John Paul II in 2002, has been translated into English (finally) and will replace its predecessor in just two short weeks with the beginning of the new liturgical year. This translation restores many older liturgical texts in a translation that is more literarily faithful to the Latin original and that carries greater theological weight.

Br. Stephen Fahrig, OMV has recorded a two-part discussion of the changes and the additional meanings that are brought out. Fr. John Wykes, OMV, Director of Communications for our province, made the videos which are posted on the OMVUSA YouTube channel. I just learned this morning that today's workshop on the new translation at my home parish, staffed by the Oblates, St. Peter Chanel in Hawaiian Gardens, CA, will show Br. Steve's talk as part of the day's activities. Here is the first part of his talk:

My favorite new text from the Mass is the prayer just before Communion. Currently, it reads, "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed." The Spanish, "Señor, no soy digno de que entres en mi casa, pero una palabra tuya bastará para sanarme." and this translates: "Lord, I am not worthy that you enter into my house, but a word of yours will suffice to heal me." The Latin, which reads, "Domine, non sum dignus ut entres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea" and this is now translated: "Lord, I am not worthy that you enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed."

As you can see, the imagery of entering "into my house" or "under my roof" is more clear and conveys a more precise image than simply that I "receive you." It also makes clearer the primacy of spiritual healing upon reception of the Most Blessed Sacrament in saying not just that "I shall be healed" but "my soul."

The common response "And also with you," now replaced by the more accurate "and with your spirit" (from the Latin "et cum spiritu tuo") has far-reaching theological ramifications. Whereas the current wording could indicate that the priest has given us something that we should wish him to have also, the new wording indicates that, acting "in persona Christi" (in the Person of Christ), he is granting us peace or the Lord's presence, and precisely because of the sacramental character that the priest has received, the people acknowledge that he does have that presence of Christ in his soul. In a very careful way, the priest is able to recognize both his humanity and the gift of the sacramental power of priest, by Christ's own choosing him for this ministry. Aware of this great and unmerited gift, he can humbly serve the people with the full power of Christ.

This week has been so busy for me, and continues to be very busy as I prepare to write my term paper in Contemporary Philosophy. The weather in Boston has been up and down, and as suddenly as the peak of the Fall colors came, it was gone. We now descend into the New England winter, with temperatures falling to highs in the low 30s and teens to zero overnight - let's see how many Nor' Easters we get this year to spice things up!

But now, it's time to get back to work. More soon!

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

A Wintry Walk

I went for a walk with Br. Jerry this afternoon; it was brisk out but very picturesque! Here are a few shots to give you an idea...


This week was quite busy with studying for a Modern Philosophy midterm examination and reading up on John Rawls' Political Liberalism for Contemporary Philosophy. Greek demands more and more time as we go along, to keep all of the grammar and vocabulary fresh, but it is an exciting course and a fun, deeper look into more authentic textual interpretations of Sacred Scripture (and I've always loved studying languages!). We got our grades back on our Logic exams, and were proud to hear that Dr. Lang was impressed with them! Since we know our Logic well, we now proceed to Epistemology, the study of the certitude (truth) of human knowledge and how it is that we know.

It's also been quite cold this week - things really cooled off on Wednesday into Thursday, at which point, with all of us freezing everywhere but the kitchen, we decided it was time to fire up the boiler and warm the house up a bit. It's still frugally cool throughout the house, but at least it's liveable. Boston saw its first snow Friday night and a little more last night, as you can see in the photos, but things should warm up a bit before we really hit winter. It doesn't typically snow until late December, but may snow as late as April or even May.

The next three days will be interesting. Tomorrow night, we begin the vigil of the Solemnity of All Saints (All Hallows' Eve, or Halloween), at which point we postulants will begin a day of recollection at our St. Joseph's Retreat House in Milton. All Saints is a feast to acknowledge and rejoice in the lives and gifts of those who have gone before us and done the Will of the Father. These men and women whose lives of faith were heroic in various ways, some through their radical conversions, some for the testimony of the sacrifice of their lives, and others through their quiet fidelity to Christ's invitation to a life of love. We can find great encouragement in knowing that they were able, insofar as their humanity was capable of embracing God's grace allowing Him to work through the willingness of their lives, to do what the Lord asked of them, and that, as we find ourselves in similar circumstances, we may do the same. We can also beg their intercession for us in our many and varied trials, that they intercede for us with the Father in obtaining graces for us, for our many needs.

Then Wednesday, we will commemorate All Souls' day, a time to remember those who have died, especially those who have died over the past year, and to offer prayers of intercession on their behalf that God might bring them into the glory of His eternal kingdom. We find evidence of this both in the New Testament letter to the Hebrews and in the second book of Maccabees - those who believed offered prayers and sacrifices on behalf of those who had died, in order that they might be granted eternal salvation. We often hear the phrase "the poor souls in purgatory," which has some truth, as many common phrases do: the souls in purgatory, while they do not suffer eternal fire, nevertheless endure a pain for their purification, a pain brought about by their sins, and their poverty consists in their helplessness on their own - they need us to pray for them, to offer sacrifices for them, and to allow them to help us on our faith journey. We also hear the souls in purgatory referred to as "holy" and "blessed" and this, too, is true, for while they had sufficient faith and good works in their lives to merit salvation from eternal punishment, their shortcomings in "making up" or atoning for the sins that they did commit require the satisfaction of purgatory as a final cleansing of their souls before their entry into the fullness of the beatific vision in heaven.

So let us ask the intercession of all the saints, those canonized and those as yet unknown by name to the Church on earth, and that of the poor holy souls in purgatory, that we may persevere in faith in our lives, bearing the fruit of good works, that our lives may be pleasing to our Maker and we may join Him and the angels and saints in the light of eternal glory!

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Mount Wachusett Hike

I took a few pictures on our Mt. Wachusett hike for Columbus Day. The Fall colors are just starting to come in. After the hike, we had dinner with Josh's parents, who live just a few miles from there.

Back to studying for another busy week of classes!


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Descartes and the Holy Rosary

What do René Descartes and the Holy Rosary have in common? Not too much, actually. They just coincided for me this week!

In Modern Philosophy, we completed our study of those thinkers who made the transition from the Medieval period into the Modern period in Philosophy. Prior to Descartes, we had studied the Italian Renaissance philosophers Giordano Bruno and Pico della Mirandola, Galileo Galilei, Francis Bacon, Francisco Suárez, and others. The major idea in the Modern period was coming to some understanding of how we do or do not come to know things, especially the "physical" universe and our senses, and also approaching the "God question." The Contemporary period, which I am studying concurrently, focuses on political and legal philosophies, questioning the basis for morality and how that should be incorporated into governments to support stable and diverse societies. Descartes doubts everything, which eventually leads him to concede that his being deceived is a proof for his existence, though this doubt and deception are only mental, thus: "cogito ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am"). A bit strange... and his example of his experience of wax melting and all his dreams makes me wonder whether his Meditations on First Philosophy inspired the movie Inception, which contains dreams within dreams and ends in a suspenseful state in which we are unsure whether the whole thing was a dream or whether it, in fact, started in reality.

On Friday, October 7, we celebrated the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. The morning homily reflected on the Rosary's structure and usefulness in our lives - it is a prayer composed of short prayers that are very familiar and thus frees us to meditate on the mysteries in the life of Christ, seen through Mary's eyes, and can calm and even heal us. In the evening, we carpooled to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross for the solemn profession of vows as a diocesan hermit of Mary Thérèse Inoue, the sacristan at our St. Francis Chapel in the Prudential Center. Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, OFM Cap. began his homily with a story of living through the Cold War era, seeing the fear in peoples' faces and all of the precautions taken to have shelter in the case of an attack. He then brought the warfare idea into the spiritual realm, calling to mind the many attacks against our faith and against human dignity in our time, and identified the Rosary as a primary means of engaging in this spiritual warfare. He then shifted to the heroic statement of Mary's response to the Lord's call for her to live a life dedicated to prayer and penance as a hermit here. We all noticed the strong spousal imagery throughout the ceremony, indicating that the hermit now takes Christ as her bridegroom and draws ever nearer to Him in order to be united to Him at the end of her life.

Tomorrow, we will take our day off for Columbus Day and go for a hike at Mt. Wachusett, and make a couple other stops before returning home to study for the week of classes to come. We should be able to take some good pictures of the Fall colors here in New England!

With the feast of the final apparition of Our Lady of Fatima approaching, let us renew our zeal for asking the intercession of Mary, our Mother, for a renewal of Gospel values and respect for human dignity everywhere in our times, especially by praying the Rosary well and often.

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Recollection and Evolution

Today was a nice break from the not-quite-fast-paced-yet-full schedule of the seminary. We had a day of recollection with two conferences from Fr. Chris O'Connor, Vice-Rector of St. John's Seminary. It was good to have another of the faculty join us here at St. Clement's to get a more personal sense of who the Oblates are.

He spoke on various themes surrounding priestly formation, primarily the need for honesty and trust on both sides of the seminarian-formator arrangement. He also shared many stories of his own priestly ministry that illustrate the various points he was making. He opened with the story of Zacchaeus from Luke 19, inviting us to take notice of the Lord passing by and respond to His presence by "climbing a tree." This relates to a previous image that came to me in prayer, accompanying the phrase from a Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer: "You have no need of our praise, yet our desire to thank You is itself Your gift." My image was that of a turtle reaching up its head while the rest of its body remained on the ground under its shell, a symbol of the weight of worldly realities of our human experience that we seek with the slightest movement of "our own" to reach for higher things, the things of God.

Evolution comes into the picture with tonight's movie choice. A fellow postulant chose Expelled, a documentary by Ben Stein about the arguments not only in support of Evolution as a partial or complete explanation of the origin and history of life on earth but also in support of Intelligent Design as such an explanation and then about the startling atmosphere of censorship with respect to raising the possibility of Intelligent Design as such an explanation. Stein follows several researchers and leading authors in each school to determine not only each of their stance with respect to the scientific theories and/or world view, but also their perception of the reality of censorship of not only proponents of Intelligent Design but honest scientists and journalists pursuing reasonable dialogue on the general question. In the documentary, Stein continually refers to Naziism and the Berlin Wall as a direct analogue to Darwinism (and actually investigates a real connection there) and modern-day censorship of the voice of those seeking to investigate Intelligent Design. He asserts in closing that truth and freedom will prevail, using quotes from Reagan's famous "Tear Down This Wall" speech.

Otherwise, this week was more normal and packed full of interesting things in class like the irrelevance of truth in John Rawls' political liberalism, the modern era philosophers who filled gaps in their science with faith-based explanations, a soup of Greek pronouns, and the mighty Categorical Syllogism! I also got to meet briefly with pilgrims going with Fr. Jeremy to various religious sites in Canada and praying for vocations, and I donated platelets downtown yesterday.

Today, as we celebrated the memorial of St. Therese of Lisieux, we were invited to reflect on her life of complete self-sacrifice, in the smallest things, and constantly, to the point that this way of life was so instructive that the Church calls her "Doctor." Let us take her example of humility and offer the daily sacrifice of our lives for the salvation of all!

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Rain, rain, rain

Boston has been a bit wet this week. It's rained almost every day, and the intervening days were hot and humid - 70 ºF at 6am and rising from there with 60-80% humidity - the rain was a relief!

Greek has really been picking up - we have covered about 50 words, the grammatical structure for the first and second declensions of nouns, the present and future tense (indicative active) of verbs, the definite article, adjective declension and agreement in the first and second declensions, the present tense of εἰμί, the verb meaning "to be", and personal pronouns.

Logic is pretty fun now, getting into the rules governing properly-formed categorical syllogisms. I can see more tangibly now how the study of logic will make for a growing instinct for recognizing poorly-formed arguments when I see them in the future.

We have a visitor with us this weekend, which is always fun. He's gotten a chance to see a bit of the city, which is very different compared to his small-town roots in North Dakota. He has also been meeting with lots of priests in the house as he shares his story and learns more about religious life in general and the Oblates in particular.

This past Friday, we celebrated the memorial of St. Padre Pio di Pietrelcina, a great mystic and confessor who bore the stigmata for many years. His devotion to the Eucharist, to the Passion of Christ and in seeking the assistance of his guardian angel are exemplary inspirations to all. And though it would seem a bit harsh of him, at times, in his blunt dealings with people who came to him, he was given the grace to know their situation before they had even spoken, and was inspired to give them the message that he did, whether it was that they should have actual sorrow for their sins before approaching the sacrament of confession, that they must confess something they wished to hide, or if in some way, they had concealed some important detail in their spiritual conversations with him. Above all, it was his union with Christ in the Sacrifice of the Mass that is the most touching. Bearing Christ's wounds in his own body at the precise moment in the Mass that Christ shed his blood and breathed his last, Padre Pio had the most intense expression of love for Jesus' sacrifice and of union with him in that moment. What a saint!

I am settling into this year more and more, with the good men who are here studying, as well. It was a rough couple weeks getting started and figuring out how we would all split the duties and keep the house running as well as provide enough time for study and prayer (and a little recreation!), but things are pretty well worked-out now and we have more opportunity to get to know one another and grow together in this vocation. In so many ways, it is like starting over; though I have the experience of one year, new leadership and new confreres means a very different-feeling experience. Also, while it is so important not to miss out on the present moment wondering about the future, formation is a forward-looking process. We make our discernment patiently about how God has been working in our lives and how He wishes us to work for Him in each new day. Toward the end of this year, I will hopefully have the opportunity to apply to begin my novice year, approaching first vows. It seems so far away now, and, as I just stated, it is important not to miss the joys and trials of my second postulant year, though I am aware of the bigger picture as such.

Hopefully in the next couple weeks, we will be able to invite our confreres at St. John Seminary to share some prayer time and a meal with us here, demonstrating our solidarity with one another in the faith and in this vocation. More to look forward to! This coming Saturday, October 2, the Vice Rector of St. John Seminary will come to give us a day of recollection - please pray for the fruit of our prayers.

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Settling in

It is always refreshing to start a new year. New year's resolutions, a new room, some new guys, changes in leadership - all sorts of changes, but still a great deal of continuity. And this is a harmonious analogue to the Church as a whole - as her missionaries encountered new peoples with different languages and cultures, she incorporated their traditions in the local expression of her own long-standing Tradition and developed her teachings so as to give a relevant explanation to the culture at that time.

I am settling into the change of room - besides location, the arrangement of furnishings and such is slowly becoming familiar. Classes are mostly a continuation of what I had last semester. I continue the History of Philosophy sequence with both Modern and Contemporary philosophy; last year's Latin gives way to Greek this year; systematic philosophy continues with a hybrid course on Logic & Epistemology with Dr. Lang; and "Film: An Oblate Introduction to Cinematic Arts and Social Communications" is the cherry on top. All of my classes are enjoyable so far. Contemporary Philosophy, which I have not yet attended due to various scheduling mishaps, promises to be an interesting look at the most recent philosophical thought, with an angle toward politics and justice systems.

We are settling into the liturgical rhythm now, too. I begin leading this week, announcing and initiating all of the prayers said in common. One of our new postulants will observe how I lead in order that he may lead the following week, as is also being done with the other liturgical roles of "reader" and "server."

This week we also began introducing Mass parts from the Third Edition of the Roman Missal (editio typica tertia), commonly referred to as the "New Translation." We sang the Third Edition standard Gloria in accord with the Archbishop's instruction to be prepared to sing it immediately when the new liturgical year begins this November on the First Sunday of Advent. In the remaining months before the Third Edition is to be used exclusively, we will introduce the other "ordinary" parts of the Mass so that our congregation is prepared for the official change.

And tomorrow we celebrate the 185th anniversary of the founding of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary! The Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, celebrated on September 12 as a Solemnity by all Oblates, was designated our titular feast (having to do with "title") as we received papal approbation on September 1, 1826 as the Congregatio Oblatorum Virginis Mariae (Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary). Celebrate with us!


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

New Beginnings

Since I arrived in Boston on Friday, it has been one grand introduction and orientation for the new year. Fr. Tom, the Assistant to the Postulants and our primary contact for formation, rightly pointed out this morning that today is the last of the "first" days that we will have for a while.

Our four new postulants are excited and enthusiastic beginning their first year of formation with us, even pooling our various skills in the kitchen to cook dinner for the community on Saturday night. Fr. Jeremy took us on a hike on the T and then walking across the Charlestown bridge to see the USS Constitution, finally catching a bite of ice cream before returning home for dinner. We enjoyed a few games of Bocce ball and Wiffle ball after the Labor Day dinner with the combined communities of Oblates from St Clement's and St Joseph's Retreat House in Milton.

Today we began a new year of seminary intellectual formation with our first class meetings in philosophy. This promises to be another great semester!

We are all trying to get back into the swing of things with a few good changes and a bunch of new faces, but things are settling down quite nicely.


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

On Homosexuality

This is a topic that human nature makes uncomfortable and that modern media distorts in so many ways. With the recent news of the State of New York's legalization of marriage-like unions between two people of the same sex, and a photo I saw of two TV drama characters at their lesbian wedding, coupled with President Obama's promotion of the "It Gets Better" campaign, people today need an authoritative source to speak out on the ultimate truth of the matter, taking into account the manner in which our contemporary audience receives teachings regarding homosexuality.

I recently received, by email from an Oblate priest, an article entitled "I am Not Gay . . . I am David." This article has a refreshing, realistic view on the topic of homosexuality today. It discusses the problem of our modern vocabulary that creates an essential identity of persons with a same-sex attraction with various terms, such as "gay," "lesbian," "homosexual," "transgender," and so on. It highlights the fact that emotionally and psychologically, the labeling of these terms does a tremendous injustice to the persons who are referred to in these terms, denying in a sense the fact that they are human beings and persons of great dignity.

What the Catholic Church has tried to teach is that the faithful should have the attitude of repugnance for sin itself (actions that are immoral due to a violation of natural law, the virtues, and the Commandments of God), but the utmost love for every person, regardless of what they have done. This love that we have for each other comes from the fact that God created every person who exists (from the moment of their conception) out of love, and our loving each other is a response to that Divine Initiative.

Understanding this general teaching in the context of the issue of homosexuality, we must work to reaffirm the dignity of those persons we may meet who are attracted to other persons of their sex, while helping them to understand the moral violation that is a sexual response to that attraction. This is the activity that the Catholic Church condemns as being fundamentally (naturally) disordered. And this is an ancient problem, most notably highlighted in the condemnation of Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities in which sexual activity among persons of the same sex was rampant and in which warnings against such crimes went unheeded.

The campaign of many contemporary groups to reduce bullying and oppression of persons who have same-sex attractions, especially those who exhibit such a disposition, is a distorted movement. The "It Gets Better" campaign focuses on enduring the trial of schoolyard bullying of a "homosexual child" in order to meet a loving life partner and subsequently live a "great life." A series of video testimonies from prominent speakers and activists who support the social freedom for those who have same-sex attractions to manifest this attraction sexually and legally have highlighted these points. Another series of videos made by employees of the Federal Government over the last couple years follows the same trend, trying to convince people (especially youth) that it is possible to lead a "normal" life, manifesting their same-sex attraction.

What makes these campaigns effective and appealing is their generalization of terms and their use of terms that are well-accepted and valued in our society. The study of communication calls them "God terms" because as we have total faith in God, so we have a strong acceptance and adherence to these terms. Terms like "rights," "human nature," "freedom," "choice," and "personal identity" are abused to represent things that are fundamentally and naturally a violation of personal freedom, identity, and choice. We are made to feel bad for those people who are bullied on these pretexts, which is, in fact, justified. Proponents of these campaigns rightly point out that the high suicide rates among oppressed same-sex attracted youth are alarming and should be prevented. We should have compassion for oppression of human persons who find themselves in a particular situation such as this. This is the only benefit of the campaign. This compassion, however, must be elevated in the context of eternal salvation, and while we love and value the infinite worth of each human person before the eyes of God, we must help that person to achieve salvation by living a life that is pleasing to that same God.

The culture of death that has engulfed American society in so many ways and shows itself in many other parts of the world involves this issue of the promotion of active homosexual lifestyles, in addition to the devaluation of life in the womb and of the elderly or suffering. How timely it is that today is the feast day of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan friar who was martyred in a Nazi death camp in 1941 and whom the Church has named patron of the Pro-Life Movement, and who is also my Confirmation patron saint. Let us ask his powerful intercession for a dramatic conversion around the world to the deepest understanding of the truth on this issue. Let us ask that, in his words, the world may be won for the Immaculata, his endearing name for Mary the Mother of God, "as soon as possible, as soon as possible, as soon as possible!"

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Nature!

ZENIT - Pope to Parents: Take the Kids Outdoors

Our German shepherd, Pope Benedict XVI encourages parents to take advantage of the fair weather and lack of school commitments common in many families for the rest of the year by showing their children the splendor and beauty of the great outdoors. This is something I always enjoyed as I was growing up; we began taking annual camping trips to national parks throughout the Southwestern United States, hiking in the mountains, exploring caves, and playing in rivers all over the place. And it was on these trips that the only mention of the priesthood as a possibility for my vocation ever came up - that I might bring my kids back to these places, or maybe I might be a priest.

How good God is, and how much we can agree with His reaction when He created the earth and the plants and animals, as He looked out saw that it was good!

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Independence!

Happy Independence Day!

As we prayed yesterday, while we recognize our achievement of political independence from England, we must further recognize our essential dependence on our Creator, the giver of life. Freedom, in the deepest sense, is the capacity to choose from good alternatives, as well as bad ones, ready for the consequences of each. It is also the ability to choose the good, not being forced to choose the bad.

So often independence and freedom are chalked up as an encouragement to do whatever feels good or desirable, on any level. The rich history of philosophical thought shows us that everything a person does is desired by that person for some reason, even things that society sees as evil - many times some harm is done to oneself or another person because of a desire to alleviate suffering for oneself or someone close.  That is to say, nothing that any person does is undesirable on every level. But as an entire culture, especially what is frequently represented on broadcast media and visible in many partial ways in the underlying mindset of many individuals here, Americans need to elevate their evaluation of what is acceptable conduct and what is desirable conduct among the members of American society for its own preservation. In politics, education, the family, and the work ethic, this society has turned to so many policies that are unsustainable - shockingly ironic given the tremendous push for so many elements of our physical infrastructure to be sustainable.

Let us pray and work toward a society that is more sustainable - inevitably more in line with the eternal plan for the whole human race, the plan ordained by our Creator and sustained by His Grace, with our cooperation. And such a Creator sent His Son and the Divine Person who is the love between them to guide us along this path, in the loving arms of so good a Mother. Let us follow them in Faith, Hope, and Love - verus amor!


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

The Holy Spirit!

Veni Sancte Spiritus! Come, Holy Spirit!

Pentecost, traditionally 50 days after Easter (10 days after Ascension, which is 40 days after Easter), marks the birth of the Church, as Fr. Ed Broom, OMV (www.youtube.com/fredbroomomv) noted in his homily on the Thursday after Ascension. The account of the coming of the Holy Spirit, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, upon the Apostles, in the presence of Mary, notes in several places that "[the apostles] were praying in one accord" and "they were all gathered together" - representing the community of the early church. Further, when the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, leave the upper room, Luke notes in the Acts of the Apostles that "there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem" (2:5). The Spirit most certainly works in mysterious ways - how else would have so many devout Jews have come to that place at that time in order to witness the Spirit's power?

Fr. Ed also encouraged us to be "Romans 8" people - people of prayer inspired by the Holy Spirit: "the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings." (Romans 8:26) He noted that, in this way, the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray, and also gives us the courage to be faithful witnesses of the Gospel message of God's incredible love for us.

Let us then come together in prayer, inspired by the Spirit, and then go out, bearing witness to God's love and His incredible offer of salvation to all we meet through the example of our lives and the words we may be inspired to share. And let us recall that "Mary, the mother of Jesus" (Acts 1:14) was with the Apostles when they received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, her spouse, and continues to intercede for us in this way.

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

It is finished!

Final exams are over, and I feel very confident in high marks across the board. Some classes are already determined and the grades published and the last ones I should hear about in the next few days. We studied long and hard until the end here, also preparing for the Seminarian Scholarship Dinner, to be held tomorrow night here at St. Clement's in Boston.

I also concluded my meetings with the psychiatrist/psychological counselor, and spiritual director for the year, preparing for the summer with both. We have a massive Spring Cleaning operation slated for next week before we all take off, and everyone at the house is gearing up for summer work and assignments. The main project at St. Clement's is to re-roof the church, a continuation of work that was begun last summer on other parts of the property.

As for me, I will be returning home until the last Saturday of August. While home, I will be working doing odd jobs in several areas including web design and development, IT support, and academic tutoring. I am open to coach children on violin and viola and provide training for others on any of the above areas - spread the word and refer to my main website: www.pnguyen.net on which I have posted my resume suitable for seeking summer employment at this time. It contains complete contact information for others to reach me.

It has been a truly phenomenal year, and it has been a great blessing to have such a welcoming and vibrant community of Oblates here in Boston, the militant support of prayer warriors here, at home, and everywhere, and maintained contact with family and close friends as I embark on this new journey of seeking to do the Lord's will particularly through preparing for priestly ministry. Many thanks to all of the academic personnel and everyone who has contributed to my vocation and formation through your prayers, sacrifices, and (even silent) approbation of this path.

I am also grateful for the sisterly support of Sr. Teresa, who celebrates her first birthday in religious life today. Happy Birthday!

Finally, on this feast of Our Lady of Fatima, who first appeared to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco on this day in 1917 in Portugal, let us charge forth with great vigor bringing the whole world to:
Love the Immaculata!

And let us say with Venerable Fr. Pio Bruno Lanteri, whose 252nd birthday we celebrated yesterday:
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Mothers' Day

I would like to open this post with the alternative prayer for today, the third Sunday of Easter:

Father in heaven, author of all truth,
a people once in darkness has listened to your Word
and followed your Son as he rose from the tomb.
Hear the prayer of this newborn people
and strengthen your Church to answer your call.
May we rise and come forth into the light of day
to stand in your presence until eternity dawns.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

This is such a beautiful prayer! When the church provides alternative prayers for Sundays or other feast days, they are taken from more colorful texts and are generally older. Both are valid, though, so we should be careful not to be caught up in chasing appearances.

But here is an "appearance" worth looking at - these flowers opened up over the last few days and are such a timely gift for Mothers' Day:

On this Mothers' day, it is also important for us to remember our heavenly mother, given to us by Christ on the Cross, His own Mother Mary. Many people have posted on Facebook the words of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego, comforting him over his uncle's worsening health:

My child, my littlest one, listen to my words
and allow them to penetrate your heart.
Allow nothing to afflict you or cause you anguish.
Let nothing disturb your heart.
Am I not here, I who am your Mother?
Are you not in my shadow and under my protection?
Am I not the source of your life?
Are you not in the folds of my mantle,
in the crossing of my arms?

These words also came to me this morning as I wanted to post something for Mothers' Day, and I later discovered so many people with the same inspiration. At Evening Prayer today, I also felt inspired to post Mary's song of praise, the Magnificat, which is part of Evening Prayer each day:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day, all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise He made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.

Pray for us, Most Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ!
(Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genitrix, ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi!)

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Springtime in Boston!

Enjoy these photos of the beautiful flowers and new growth around Boston - just last week things were still pretty gray and dead-looking... what a change!

Springtime in Boston (2011)

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

The Holy of Holies

Mid-way through this Holy Week approaching the Paschal mystery, we pause to reflect on what it all means.

Yesterday, we attended the Chrism Mass for the Archdiocese of Boston with many other seminarians, a handful of bishops, and about 250 priests, including 4 Oblates and the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Methodius and an accompanying priest from that church. At the Chrism Mass, the oils of Catechumens and of the sick are blessed and the sacred chrism is consecrated. It is a special time when the priests present renew their vows and are commissioned for the next year to administer the sacraments with the oils blessed and consecrated by their bishop. I was able to attend the Chrism Mass here in Boston last year during my final Come-and-See visit, and was likewise moved by the number of priests who showed up and their exercising the power of Christ the High Priest in unison during the Consecration of the Eucharist, the pinnacle and source of the priestly life. I was also on the "other side" so to speak; we had a come-and-see visitor accompany us, as well, a position I was in last year. Cardinal Sean O'Malley's homilies have been encouraging for his priests to continue to give their lives for the Church, aware of the gravity of the work that they do and aware also of the great strength we all have in Christ to do this work.

Tomorrow night begins the holy Triduum of Easter with the Commemoration of the Last Supper. The Church slows to real-time in these days, reliving with precision the events of so many centuries ago. We step through the Last Supper and keep vigil as the apostles were asked to do in the Garden of Gethsemane. We enter Friday fasting as Our Lord is on trial, and commemorate His carrying the Cross at noon. At the 3pm hour of mercy, we will offer the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as the first day of a novena leading up to Divine Mercy Sunday, and at 7pm, when Our Lord is in the tomb, we will again read the Passion narrative and share in His body and blood in the consecrated species conserved from the night before. Saturday, as Our Lord is in the tomb, we continue our fast and make preparations for the celebration of Easter. Then, as we approach that glorious Easter morning, we commemorate all of salvation history and share in Our Lord's triumphant resurrection.

This is a time for much prayer and reflection, and it is a time of great mercy. It is in this time in which we commemorate Our Lord's salvific self-sacrifice that His abundant mercies flow forth the strongest. On Divine Mercy Sunday, our having repented of our sins and received the Sacrament of Confession during Lent along with having received Holy Communion and prayed for the intentions of the Holy Father grants us the remission of sins and all temporal punishment, restoring us to Baptismal purity. What a tremendous gift! God recognizes our weakness and also our ability to leverage His strength. He loved us into being and offers us His love at every moment of our lives, should we choose to accept it. Let us accept it with open arms and open hearts. Let us join with Mary and allow her to convey to us God's merciful forgiveness and grace, as He has chosen that she do.

Let us enter into silence as much as possible these next few days, keeping watch with the Lord, sharing in His sacrifice, made for each of us and for all of us. Let us then rise triumphant with Him on that glorious Easter morn!


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Fifth Week of Lent!

Time is flying by; I will be home in 6 weeks! We are approaching the deepest part of Lent with this final week before Passion Sunday and Holy Week before the glorious octave of Easter and the Beatification of John Paul II on May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday, which begins our final week of instruction. After a week of final exams and another week of cleaning house, I will come home for the summer. It really makes me stop and think, look back on my first year, when I got off the plane in Boston early August 23, 2010, when I got Provincial Fr. Dave's message in the desert in Arizona, when I visited during Holy Week last year and committed myself to the application process, all those little bubbles on the psychological examination, and refused my admissions offer at the University of Virginia. It is truly tremendous how much happened in the last year, and how much I have grown and lived.

I wanted to blog last Saturday; it was the 6th anniversary of John Paul II's death (April 2, 2005) and we went to the North End to take part in the first evening of the Boston Eucharistic Congress. Over 300 young adults were gathered in adoration with the monstrance blessed by Pope John Paul II and sent to the United States to be used at times when the faithful gather to pray for vocations. It was a very powerful evening with live music from students of MIT and Boston University and a dozen priests hearing confessions in the lower church. Attendees took shifts making holy hours throughout the night and into the next day; they took the morning off to offer their time and talents in service to the community in various ways, and returned in the afternoon for the vigil Mass of the 4th Sunday of Lent with Cardinal Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap. We remembered the late pontiff in our liturgies and joined the universal church in celebrating so wonderful a gift. "Be not afraid."

The week before that, we attended the Worcester Men's Conference. It was a powerful showing of over 1000 men from around Massachusetts (Boston's was canceled this year, driving attendance in Worcester). Four Oblates attended, myself included, marketing for vocations but also looking for various opportunities to network and connect with other groups in the area. One of the chief speakers at the Men's conference was Deacon Jack Sullivan, whose miraculous healing, attributed to Cardinal John Henry Newman, from complications after an operation to address a spinal cord injury, was the miracle that led to his beatification this past September. It was inspiring to see so many men seeking to be strong in their faith, singing together at the Mass, and reinforcing their zeal.

The seasons are definitely changing. With snow on the first day of Spring, it was a bit confusing in the Northeast, but the past weeks have borne some sunny days and the new shoots are visible many places. Rambo the turtle is out of hibernation now, and the Italian fig tree in the courtyard is out of its winter protective wrapping. Changing seasons is something I did not notice so markedly in Southern California. My confreres from the Midwest and Northeast rave and marvel about the changes happening and to come, and comment about signs that indicate the severity of those changes. I am slowly beginning to appreciate the changes; after a month or so without snowfall, I was presently surprised to see snow falling one morning and smiled to myself without realizing it. Boston weather continues to be quite unpredictable, though.

The Red Sox had their first home game yesterday (they play the Yankees three times this weekend), and the stadium's activity spills out onto our sidewalks as thousands of game-goers walk to and from the park, wrapping around St. Clement's. The noise of pedicabs and rambunctious fans pollutes the normally (though ironically) quiet atmosphere inside the Shrine.

Something that has come up in recent reflections is the reality of brotherhood and family in this Oblate community. It is something that I have begun to consider more directly and personally. How much do I trust my new brothers? How willing am I to talk to them? How willing are they to share things with me? The distance between us all continues to shrink, and, though I have always felt very welcome and at home, I did not immediately feel the warmth that is family. My sister Christina mentioned to me in the Fall that I have a new family now, and that was nominally true then, but has grown so much deeper now.

For a spiritual reflection, I noticed the Intercessions from Vespers of Thursday of the Third Week of Lent and I have been meaning to put them to use somewhere. The evening that we prayed them, all of my special intentions were included in the general ones, and I just felt a great sense of peace, that there was no need for me to voice my particular prayers because the Church, in her goodness, already anticipated all of those difficulties. That completeness was profoundly touching. It was not just that something that crossed my mind that day happened to be one of the intercessions; every single one was personal, but they were also printed in the same book of prayers governing the liturgies of thousands of English-speaking religious and laypeople who prayed them that same day! Here they are:

Christ the Lord gave us a new commandment, of love for each other. Let us pray to him:
    Lord, build up your people in love.
Good Master, teach us to love you in our neighbor,
—and in serving them to serve you.
On the cross you asked pardon for your executioners,
—give us strength to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
Through the mystery of your body and blood, deepen our love, our perseverance and our trust,
—strengthen the weak, console the sorrowful, and give hope to the dying.
Light of the world, you gave sight to the man born blind when he had washed in the pool of Siloam,
—enlighten catechumens through the water of baptism and the word of life.
Give to the dead the perfect joy of your eternal love,
—and number us also among your chosen ones.

May we strengthen our Lenten observance in these final weeks before Easter, uniting ourselves to Our Lord's Sorrowful Passion, that we might also share in His glorious Resurrection, offering everything that we are and have in the hands of our merciful Mother.

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

The Media of Our Day

Our modern times are saturated with media: print media, broadcast media on radio, TV and on-demand media via the Internet and mail-order video services like Netflix. We have video billboards and ads running on monitors in grocery stores and banks. Go to any drug store and find the drug store's generic brand product styled just like the name brand one, taking deceptive advantage of the visual recognition that the brand name style commands. Pop music and music videos also provide extensive consumables to us that, though they are more about entertainment and some underlying meaning, many fail to convey a meaning of significance, either to the author's personhood or to that of the listener/consumer.

As in my other posts, let us look for a moment at the etymology of the phrase we use to encapsulate all of these things: "media." From the Wikipedia article on Media, we find that there are many varied topics concerning the term "media" and that the one thing they have in common is the idea of a "go-between." Terms like "immediate" and "intermediate" may further help us to characterize what "media" means. Immediate refers to the lack of something "media" and "intermediate" refers to something that is "between the media." "Media" itself refers to the middle of something. Applying this to what we call media nowadays, be it in print, audio, video, or a combination of those, they all fall "in the middle" of something. For us who consume media, our side of "the middle" is the receiving end, and on the other side of the medium is some meaning or significance. So the medium (media is plural) conveys or translates or embodies the meaning or significance intended and brings it to us, who read, listen, or watch it.

It would seem dysfunctional should the case arise in which one side of the medium is nonexistent, namely, the recipient/consumer was unaware of the presence of the medium, in which case the meaning would not be communicated, or if there was no significance or meaning at the source of the medium, in which case words, sounds, and images would be received but as arbitrary sensory stimulations only.

This post is motivated by the occasional incidence of pop music into my life. Songs like that which was performed at the Superbowl Half-time show this year, "Tonight's gonna be a good night" tell of the bliss of the party scene and the fleeting pleasure of sexual encounters. So many "pop sensations" are just that - all feeling with no sense of enduring value, virtue, or faith. Art need not be expressive of the infinite to be of value; certainly through the mediation of something finite (such as nature), the infinite may be implied and the participation of the finite in the infinite by its nature gives value to its expression in some form of art.

Those of you who know me know that I enjoy a lot of country music. Some country music is about a farm boy lusting after a girl while he plows the fields. Some country music is about grandpa sitting on the porch pondering the meaning of life. Some country music is about a single mom caring for her baby in the face of great trials (Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel" and "Temporary Home"). Rascal Flatts' "Why" sings in disbelief of one who committed suicide, wondering figuratively what would "make you leave the stage in the middle of a song." Some country music is about fighting to conform our human nature to its divine purpose (Brad Paisley's "Letter to Me") taking the advice of those older than ourselves and even taking the advice of our own clear-headed selves in times of trouble or despair. These speak of enduring values and experiences that are pleasurable, gratifying, or significant, even to the point of death.

It is often not worth our effort to analyze media and artwork that may have little value to prove precisely how little value it has or to perfect it; there is plenty out there that does have obvious value and yields great fruits when that value is explored further. However, there are iconic and "sensational" works that demand the attention of scholars in order that the masses are not led astray by the errors of those works (e.g. Dan Brown's da Vinci Code, the Harry Potter series, the fascination with vampires, etc). It is in these cases that humble scholars and holy people like Fr. Lanteri (founder of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary) and Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta and so many doctors of the church (St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, etc) rose to the occasion of addressing the truth and falsity of these widespread errors for the populace.

Let us guard carefully our own hearts and minds and those of our children and our peers that we might be worthy in all that we do to receive the unfading crown of glory in heaven by our pursuit of virtue in this life, above all the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love; Verus Amor.


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Ashes, ashes, ...

We all fall. To temptation, that is. Sometimes seriously, sometimes less seriously, we all fall. Ashes are a reminder of this reality, of our generative inheritance of Original Sin. It is somewhat harsh to speak of our "fallen nature" and disregard the capacity remaining in our nature to receive grace and the mercy of God. Nonetheless, our weakness that makes us susceptible to falling into sin makes the phrase "fallen nature" seem appropriate many times.

During the liturgical season of Lent, which begins tomorrow, we turn our thoughts and prayers to the Passion of Christ, recognizing the awesome gift that God gave us in sending His son to take on our flesh and walk among us. We call to mind the suffering He endured for our salvation, the stripes He bore for us that we might be healed (cf. Eucharistic Prayer III, Is 53:5), and we seek to participate in His passion, uniting our sufferings and inconveniences to those that He bore in His humanity for our sake. By the sacrifices that we make, we temper our bodily and material desires, detaching ourselves to those things that do not endure, and seeking to grow in the virtues that will remain beyond our bodily death. We must remember, however, not to be downcast or sullen in this time of penance, but rather to be joyful and consumed with hope and trust in God's mercy (cf. Mt 6:16).

Sr. Teresa sent me this Lenten reflection, which I hope you find fruitful in your spiritual journey:

"So dear is the cross of Christ to us... whose power flows forth to bring us our salvation. We often act as that last centurion, as eager for belief as unbelief, that we pierce 'the one before whom we fall on our faces' (Benedict XVI), and blood and water gush forth from His side. The lifeblood of Christ overflows then upon our hearts, for his pericardia is pierced through. Through our unbelief came His fountain of mercy, which we may embrace and kiss, and repent to receive...
"Be willing therefore to be pierced, to be run through, to have your spiritual pericardia torn asunder, that those who seek Christ may drink from the living stream flowing from your heart, eager for the salvation Christ has won for me and for you."

May this Lenten season be filled with great hope as we take seriously Christ's invitation to us to repent, believe in the Gospel, and follow Him with ever greater zeal for His Kingdom, drawing others to the fountain of mercy that is His Sacred Heart. May the sorrowful and ever-glorious Virgin Mary accompany us on this road to Calvary, culminating in the resurrection of her Son and our salvation, wrought by her total surrender to the will of God.


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Perfect

Perfect.

This little word has come up quite frequently lately. When I first heard its meaning questioned, in our Father Provincial's homily at Deacon Tom's final profession of vows, I quickly ran through what I knew of various languages, searching for its etymological derivation. I soon arrived at the Latin composition of "per", a preposition meaning "through" and "factus", the past participle of the verb whose infinitive is "facere," meaning to "make" or "do". There is actually the composite verb in Latin: "perficere," which incurs a conversion of the stem vowel in by virtue of the prefix, and a further stem vowel change upon conjugation to the past participle, which is "perfectus." So, perfect literally means "to be made through" or describes something that is "made through" or "complete" (which literally means "with fullness"). Can you tell I am enjoying studying Latin? I was always fascinated by language. Dictionary definitions also frequently describe perfection in the negative sense; rather than state (positively) that something is completely pure in its composition, the definition is that the subject lacks imperfections or defects (the keen reader will notice that "defect" is also composed of the same root word, facere, this time with the addition of the preposition "de", meaning "down" or "away from").

The Gospels tell of Jesus' exhortation to "be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." There is so much pressure in the modern world to strive for perfection, not to miss a beat, to be all that you can be. Recent turns of events have brought me close to the lives of several artists, whose career paths demand this acute attention to detail and brutal concentration on every element of preparation for their formal performances on their various stages, as well as their informal performances of living each day. In my own field of computer programming, every character (symbol) in the source code of an application or script counts - if even one is out of place, catastrophic effects result. The Evangelical Counsels of the church (poverty, chastity, and obedience) are taken as vows upon entering religious life formally (I have not made these formally, though, as seminarians, we do live them, according to the example of our vowed brothers and formal study). In the Oblate formula of profession, the term "perfect" is applied to the Counsels, and so it is with great importance that we consider the reality and consequences of perfection.

Philosophically, we understand the Gospel message of "perfect as God is perfect" to be an analogy. It does not mean that we should take on God's perfection in its entirety. It means that God is the standard of perfection which we take as our example. God's ultimate simplicity leaves no room for imperfection in him; by becoming more like him, we approach his simplicity and become free of imperfections. However, we cannot become God. While we may participate in His perfection, we cannot attain it in full because we are finite beings and He is infinite. Theologically, the instrument of this participation becomes clear. It is grace. Grace is that which God gives to us that imparts an intimate sharing in His divine life (all three persons of the Trinity). It is in this way that we can be perfect "as" (in the same manner as) God, because He has shared a part of Himself, including His perfection, with us by His grace. And we can receive His grace most properly through His sacraments, particularly the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion.

So we have seen how rampant a misunderstanding of "perfection" is present in our world, and how the divinely illumined interpretation speaks truth that can be proven and extended to the farthest reaches of our intellect. This sort of discussion is exemplary of my new-found love for philosophy (is that philo-philosophy? or do I simply have "philosophy" - the love of wisdom? alas, Greek is waiting in the wings...).

Amidst the lofty philosophical discourse, however, we are earthly beings, bound by turns to this world and our glimpses of the next. We experience imperfection in everything that we see, for nothing is absolutely simple as God, and yet there is a tremendous harmony in the natural world. All of the changes we perceive in the seasons, the average global temperature, the death of plants and animals and the birth of new ones, the ebb and flow of the tides, all evidence the fundamental imperfection of the created universe (but God did say it is good, not evil, and not indifferent) whilst upholding with great strength the dynamic perfection of it all - that is to say that, though everything in itself is lacking perfection, there is a marvelous cooperation such that the whole experiences less imperfection than all its parts; by God's design, it is all pleasing to Him.

I had a busy, emotional roller-coaster of a week, beginning last weekend with phone calls and letters made and received to and from family and friends that were each mixed bags of joy, sadness, consolation, and desolation. This alternation continued throughout the week with various appointments and meetings and obligations threatening to push me past the bounds of my patience and spirit of determination. I finished the weekend in the kitchen (making flan and frying onion rings with one of my brothers) and enraptured by the rich mezzo-soprano voice of one of the Sunday choir members whose Master's degree recital was this evening. Needless to say, it was quite the week, and by far my most intense week here in Boston with the Oblates of the Virgin Mary.

One usage of "perfect" in contemporary American English is the phrase, "that's perfect," signifying the appropriateness or "fitness" of a phrase or manner of action, such as the choice of colors for the bridesmaids' dresses at a wedding or the choice of music for a particular occasion, or a new title for an event or the name of an organization. I would like to apply this phrase, in like manner, to a series of notes I received from my sister, Sr. Teresa. Late last week, I received a package of three notes from her, wishing me a Happy Valentine's Day, a Happy Birthday, and a Happy Six-Month Anniversary of having entered religious life (yes, I entered on my half-birthday). Not only did my dear sister remember all of these occasions, her brief notes in each of them were so specific and personal and filled with images that were a significant part of my vocation story or that the two of us shared that all I can say is: "that was perfect!"

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Birthday week

At the Morning and Evening prayer hours of the Liturgy of the Hours, we have an opportunity as members of this community to voice specific prayers of intercession after the given prayers of intercession have been recited. Often Oblates will pray for intentions present in their lives; we pray for any Oblates who are traveling or for important meetings that are going on in the government or in the Church. We also offer prayers of intercession for our immediate family on their birthdays, as well as on the birthdays of Oblates everywhere in the world (yes, we keep a list). This week was full of Oblate birthdays (hopefully mine will be among them soon) including Fr. Jeremy (vocation director). It is really nice to celebrate milestones in each others' lives with a personal touch added at dinner that day, whether it is for a birthday or an anniversary of vows or ordination. The sense of family, community, brotherhood, and, in all of these, mutual support, is very evident.

Since my brother, John, is learning to write and is now expressing himself in more complete sentences, he wrote me a birthday note, which my parents scanned and emailed to me. Here it is. Corrected for spelling, it reads: "Happy Birthday, Paul! Dear Paul, In all of the years that I've known you, I have noticed how smart you are about computers." Awesome!

This week was a bit more challenging than most with respect to obligations at school; I had a major presentation on Friday in Medieval Philosophy, covering the second half of Book IV from Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy for the second hour of our class period. I had to prepare an exposition of the text, relate it to the rest of the book, and relate it to other philosophers, while fielding my classmates questions both of clarification and of relation to still other philosophical thinkers and ideas. It was a great experience and I think it went well. Our instructor, Sr. Mary Veronica (same name as Sr. Teresa's novice mistress!), asked me later to do further research on a connection we made to Einstein's theory of relativity to present briefly next week and that she might use in future classes. Apparently she's interested in philosophy of science and seeing concretely how thinkers in ancient and medieval times anticipated modern technical discoveries.

In Shakespeare this week, we covered The Merchant of Venice, a charming comedy about a young man who seeks a wife but needs to borrow money from his dear friend in order to pursue her. His friend procures a loan for him on the credit established by his sailing ventures, which fall through. The woman he seeks is very clever and virtuous, and meanwhile clandestinely goes to court and to settle a disagreement between her suitor's friend and his creditor, bringing everyone home happily and married. As always in Shakespeare, there is much intertwining of plots and, as we are studying specifically this semester, hints at authentically Catholic doctrine as concerns ethics and virtues and vices. Here, the primary themes are justice and mercy, while there is also a representation of liberality, as taught by Aristotle and later Aquinas. There are also scenes that use a liturgically-inspired form or uniquely biblical images, and where the church is rightly involved (such as in a marriage), it is. Another thing that we highlighted in the course is that Shakespeare often places his personification of virtue in a female character, which is consistent with the Catholic view of the dignity of the human person without preference of gender and as a challenge to male-dominated social structures.

So it's been fun, and I look forward to many more fun and intense weeks such as this one! 



Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Staying Busy!

Since I last wrote at the end of January, classes have picked up, we had a day of recollection, and Confirmation classes are more than halfway complete. The weather has begun to indicate that Spring is on the way with 50-degree days and the snow melting down, making lots of ice on the sidewalks and roads with freezing temperatures overnight despite the daytime highs.

We are placing a greater emphasis on music in the liturgies this semester with the Postulants taking turns planning and leading music each week. We are also working on our individual musical talents, which means that Steve is helping out on piano more and I am working on my vocal technique while also studying Church teaching on sacred music. I am very glad to be able to cultivate my musical abilities (as is Sr. Teresa!).

Latin is becoming more and more useful as we learn more tenses and grammatical structures; though all the morphology is confusing and can become overwhelming at times, it feels good to be able to understand more directly the parts of the Mass and various documents of the Church and the Fathers of the Church, which we encounter in our various classes and individual inquiries. The other instructors are also good at incorporating the Latin grammar directly when giving the name of some teaching in Latin. An example of this is from Ethics: the finis operis (the end of the work) and the finis operantis (the end of the one working) are considered in whether and to what extent an act is imputable, that is, the one who committed the act can be "blamed" for its commission and effects. The difference in the Latin is that in the former, operis means "of the work," as a noun (opera) in the genitive, and operantis is the present participle of the related verb (operare) in the genitive case, used as a substantive adjective.

If you have not had a look yet, please check out the new promotional video for the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, On Fire With the Love of God, which features scenes from our daily community life, various Oblates talking about our life, and reenactments of scenes in the life of our founder, Father Pio Bruno Lanteri. I had the privilege to act in some of the reenactment scenes, and I am also featured in sections on our community life. Here is the trailer; the full version will premier next Wednesday, February 23, 2011.

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Icicles and Snow

Our courtyard has two feet of snow in it - St. Joseph is buried up to his waist! And there are awesome icicles hanging from the fire escape next door.

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

A Prolife Weekend

The Spring semester is full-swing ahead! Having just completed our third week of classes, things are really picking up. The reading is heavier this semester than last (Medieval Philosophy and Shakespeare constitute the majority); classes are just as engaging, though, and they fit together well, too.

This past weekend we celebrated Br. Tom's profession of perpetual vows and his ordination to the transitional diaconate (by Cardinal O'Malley; 6 other men from the Boston area were also ordained).

After the festivities on Saturday, we got a good night's sleep before jumping on a bus with about 35 young adults from the Boston area and drove down to Washington, D.C. for the March for Life. We had Mass Sunday evening at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (about 11,000 in attendance with a 40-minute entrance procession, of which the first 25 minutes were seminarian-servers processing in); Cardinal O'Malley concelebrated. The music at that Mass of Vigil for Life was beautiful, traditional and majestic. Reflecting on the reality of abortion after receiving Communion, I had two images: (1) the blood of the babies whose lives were mercilessly taken, crying out to God as Paul says to the Hebrews: more eloquently than that of Abel; and (2) all their angels (cf. Matthew 18:10), powerful creatures existing since long before their little charges' conception and ordained to protect and guide them, but, their lives having been ended even before their birth, they now praise the Father together, present at every Eucharistic banquet.

Cardinal O'Malley celebrated Mass Monday morning for the 1,000 Boston pilgrims, at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart (run by the Franciscans since before Cardinal O'Malley was first ordained over 40 years ago) - it was very nice to see a bit of the local church before we headed to the Capitol for the march.

We joined a few hundred thousand people to march from the Capitol mall to the Supreme Court building, which includes a decent incline from which we could look both forward and back to see the sea of protesters. There were very few counter-protesters, and it was great to see such diversity present in the march. There were many college-age groups, lots of religious, and whole families.

Upon returning Monday night, we jumped right into the week's classes. Tuesday evening, Fr. Greg Staab, OMV celebrated a Mass of Memorial for the Unborn, including a candlelight procession representative of the 53 million babies lost to "choice" since the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision. It was a very moving service, preceded by the Most Holy Rosary and with simple & beautiful music and great reverence. Fr. Greg outlined the issue of abortion from a natural perspective and then enriched it from our faith perspective. He closed by saying that at the heart of the pro-life movement is an attitude of love for both mother and child and a sense of sorrow and reparation for those who have been involved in abortions, for their conversion and repentance. He also stressed that it is not possible to vote on abortion, because it is objectively wrong and no majority or minority can decide its right-ness for a society. Rather, it is a spiritual battle that must be approached as such.

Let us pray for the eradication of the practice of abortion and the restoration of the culture of life, and let us exhibit such a culture so that the world may see and desire the beauty of living in a way that values life and possesses freedom in the truth that is Christ.


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Back in the swing!

It's been a phenomenal week back! After returning from our retreat, we had a break until classes resumed on Wednesday.

We began preparing for a busy week of visiting discerners and a weekend seminar by Fr. Timothy Gallagher, OMV on discerning the will of God, according to St. Ignatius of Loyola (of course). Monday morning we cleaned out 13 bedrooms and prepared them for our many guests, men discerning a call to the priesthood. We dusted and mopped and vaccuumed and did laundry, made copies and stuffed folders and arranged schedules for airport, bus station and train station pickups. Weather (see previous post) interfered with about half of our guests' arrivals; we finally had a full house Friday night. Our guests attended class with us, slept, ate, and prayed according to our schedule, and formed a fairly cohesive sub-community in the few short days they have been here.

It is really powerful to sit around and swap vocation stories and hear how various things influenced our many and varied lives. Wednesday night, Fr. Greg Staab, OMV gave a talk on Consecration to Mary, which was completely full-circle for me in terms of the circumstances within which my particular discernment for the priesthood began - taking a class from him in the Ignatian style (this week has been completely Ignatian for us) in preparation for my Consecration to Mary, which, further, was made on the titular feast of the Oblates, the Holy Name of Mary (September 12). Preparing to share my vocation story and recent developments was also a great chance for me to reflect on how things have been going and look for trends and interesting threads that manifest themselves in my life. The thing that amazes me is how powerful every aspect of our lives is, and how fully we embrace the depth of everything that we do, from classes to prayer to prudence in living and working and dealing with each other, and also how interconnected each of those components are. In a word, seminary formation is comprehensive; it is holistic but not to the detriment or neglect of the constituent parts, that is, it is complete and big-picture oriented while not overlooking necessary details. That is what makes it so amazing!

Anyway, we are also preparing to teach Confirmation again, this time the curriculum mainly consists of the Sacraments, and we are preparing second-year (8th graders) students for their reception of Confirmation this coming May. Next weekend, we begin by celebrating Br. Tom's final profession of vows on Friday night, and Saturday, Br. Tom will be ordained to the transitional diaconate. Dark and early Sunday morning we'll hop on a bus to go to Washington, D.C. for the March for Life, to return the following day.

Needless to say, it will be a busy week!


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca