We were so happy to celebrate the final profession of religious vows of Br. John Luong, OMV this past Friday, and attend his diaconate ordination on Saturday! Both were deep and incredibly beautiful celebrations in the life of the Church and that of our community. We also got to spend good time with some of his immediate family and meet other USA Oblates who traveled in to be with us during this time.
As soon as the dishes were put away, though, we packed our bags for Washington, DC and left promptly Sunday morning (5:30 am and 15ºF) on a long bus ride to where we would stay in Virginia. I became the bus leader, in the absence of one, and upon convening with the leader of the other bus and coordinator of the young adult pilgrimage to the March for Life, I got my real-time briefing of how the trip would go. Needless to say, my trip was a bit more stressful than it would have been, had we had a leader from the outset. But I enjoyed the trip just the same and I am really grateful to the dozen Boston University students and the other young adults who traveled on "my" bus for their patience and flexibility.
I also got to meet up with some Nashville Dominicans at the "Life is VERY Good" Mass, Concert, and Prayer Vigil that we attended Sunday night; it was neat that they recognized me, and we got to listen to Matt Maher perform the song that is the theme song for the Sacred Heart Novitiate of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. They have so much life and joy!
Now we are in the swing of the flood of young men who are visiting our seminary this week; many have arrived already and more are on their way. Tonight, we will double our usual community for dinner, and add a few more in the coming days. We invite these men to live with us, pray with us, eat with us, attend classes with us, and learn about religious life, discerning their vocations, and our congregation in particular. Please pray for all of them during their visit.
Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Monday, January 09, 2012
Back in Boston!
...and it's cold again! Having had to scrape frozen dew off of the car back in Long Beach, and then endure the blistering 90ºF of Christmas and the New Year this time around, Boston has its usual chill, but is still unusually mild. I had a great time at home with family and friends, and carry those memories with me as I begin this new semester.
We all arrived without travel–weather anomalies, and this afternoon we leave for a few days of retreat, directed by visiting Oblate priest Fr. Shawn Monahan, from our parish of St. Mary's in Alton, IL. Everyone is glad to be back at St. Clement's and we welcome this opportunity to refresh ourselves spiritually.
Spring semester is always a bit different than the Fall. The temperatures travel in the opposite direction, the Lenten season has a different dynamic than Advent, and it is visiting season for the seminary. We will host a large group of young men discerning a call to the priesthood and interested in the Oblates at the end of the month; they will take part in a seminar on Ignatian discernment in addition to living with us and experiencing the rhythm of seminary life. This week is also vocations awareness week, in which the faithful are invited to mention the need for an authentic discernment of one's vocation, and to renew their convictions of their own.
Let us consider, in this time of new beginnings, what things we may be called to change, reform, or deepen in our lives, and what treasures we may hold dear as we press on in our earthly journey, recalling today our own baptism as we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus at the beginning of His public ministry. And let us place everything in the loving arms of Mary that she may direct and inspire us along the holy way to her Son.
Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca
We all arrived without travel–weather anomalies, and this afternoon we leave for a few days of retreat, directed by visiting Oblate priest Fr. Shawn Monahan, from our parish of St. Mary's in Alton, IL. Everyone is glad to be back at St. Clement's and we welcome this opportunity to refresh ourselves spiritually.
Spring semester is always a bit different than the Fall. The temperatures travel in the opposite direction, the Lenten season has a different dynamic than Advent, and it is visiting season for the seminary. We will host a large group of young men discerning a call to the priesthood and interested in the Oblates at the end of the month; they will take part in a seminar on Ignatian discernment in addition to living with us and experiencing the rhythm of seminary life. This week is also vocations awareness week, in which the faithful are invited to mention the need for an authentic discernment of one's vocation, and to renew their convictions of their own.
Let us consider, in this time of new beginnings, what things we may be called to change, reform, or deepen in our lives, and what treasures we may hold dear as we press on in our earthly journey, recalling today our own baptism as we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus at the beginning of His public ministry. And let us place everything in the loving arms of Mary that she may direct and inspire us along the holy way to her Son.
Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Happy New Year and Solemnitas Mariae Mater Dei
Happy New Year! I welcome 2012, seemingly following 2010 directly. What happened to 2011?? It seems like so much has transpired, that I've been so many places and met so many people, yet the time has flown by! They tell me it only gets worse...
Today is also the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (in Latin: Solemnitās Mariae Mater Deī). We celebrate this great feast, introduced following the proclamation of Mary's motherhood of God at the Council of Ephesus in 431, condemning the heresy of Nestorius, and teaching that a mother is mother of the whole person, not just the body or humanity. We further acknowledge Mary as our own mother, invoking her powerful intercession with her Son in our time of need and offering all that we are and have through her Immaculate hands so that we become a pleasing offering to Him. My own vocation story is quite Marian, having first felt the call while preparing to consecrate my life to Jesus, through Mary, according to the teaching of St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort, and really felt that it was she who suggested that I consider the priesthood as my vocation. She continued to guide me in my discernment and my trials as I completed my undergraduate studies, and I am so grateful to have so good a mother in Mary.
In the new year, let us then place our lives anew into her Immaculate hands, and allow our hearts to be influenced by that contagious purity and love that she most perfectly exhibits among mankind, drawn ever closer to her Son. In this time of predictions of the end of the world, let us place our trust in Divine Providence that what ought to be accomplished in the world is done, saying with Mary: Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum; may it be done unto me according to your word. And let us look forward with joyful hope to the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting, gloria in saecula saeculorum, amen.
I invite you also to read the blog post of Fr. Ed Broom, OMV on this occasion.
Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca
Today is also the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (in Latin: Solemnitās Mariae Mater Deī). We celebrate this great feast, introduced following the proclamation of Mary's motherhood of God at the Council of Ephesus in 431, condemning the heresy of Nestorius, and teaching that a mother is mother of the whole person, not just the body or humanity. We further acknowledge Mary as our own mother, invoking her powerful intercession with her Son in our time of need and offering all that we are and have through her Immaculate hands so that we become a pleasing offering to Him. My own vocation story is quite Marian, having first felt the call while preparing to consecrate my life to Jesus, through Mary, according to the teaching of St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort, and really felt that it was she who suggested that I consider the priesthood as my vocation. She continued to guide me in my discernment and my trials as I completed my undergraduate studies, and I am so grateful to have so good a mother in Mary.
In the new year, let us then place our lives anew into her Immaculate hands, and allow our hearts to be influenced by that contagious purity and love that she most perfectly exhibits among mankind, drawn ever closer to her Son. In this time of predictions of the end of the world, let us place our trust in Divine Providence that what ought to be accomplished in the world is done, saying with Mary: Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum; may it be done unto me according to your word. And let us look forward with joyful hope to the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting, gloria in saecula saeculorum, amen.
I invite you also to read the blog post of Fr. Ed Broom, OMV on this occasion.
Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca
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