A Little More About Me

Based on a good friend's comment that my blog is becoming too political and my own mother's comment that she got lost reading my most recent post, I've decided to interject amidst the stream of politically-influenced and charged posts and return to the topic to which this blog was first dedicated - that is, my own journey as a seminarian with the Oblates of the Virgin Mary.

After returning from our awesome retreat, directed by Fr. Shawn Monahan, OMV, currently working at St. Mary's in Alton, IL, we jumped into a few days of class whilst planning for Br. John Luong's final vows and ordination to the Diaconate (I played violin for his vows and served at Holy Cross Cathedral for the ordination). The very next day, we rose quite early to board a bus (of which I became the leader) on a pilgrimage to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. as part of a 500-person contingent from Boston. I was able to meet up with some of my little sister's sisters, of the Congregation of St. Cecilia in Nashville, as they led youth from Tennessee and New Orleans to DC. It was a moving event to attend, amidst light rain and throngs of peaceful marchers from all over the country, and, as usual, secular media barely made mention, save for a few notices of traffic diversions.

Over the week following, we hosted 16 men discerning a priestly vocation, possibly to the Oblates of the Virgin Mary. They were able to share meals and recreation with us and attend some classes. Their stay concluded with a seminar by Fr. Timothy Gallagher, OMV on the rules for Discernment of Spirits. It was great to see such enthusiasm in seeking the Lord's will in their lives and their openness to discovering where such a pursuit may lead them. A couple men who visited are presently applying to the Congregation.

My studies philosophical studies on the meaning of life continue to be engaging, with the renowned Dr. Peter Kreeft at Boston College - we have read Ecclesiastes, Plato's Gorgias, the opening books of Aristotle's Ethics, Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, and now Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. Each title has been an engaging look at what makes life meaningful and what makes life meaningless or contributes nothing to life's meaning. What is really remarkable, and what is echoed in John Paul II's encyclical letter Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason), is that there is a clarity of partial truth exhibited amidst the shortcomings of each philosopher's explanation of life's meaning, distilled from the multiple proverbial sayings of Lao Tzu, or found among the ashes of the Nazi concentration camps in Frankl's account. The late pontiff and the Church as a whole in her rich tradition has always affirmed these truths found in the thought and tradition of other peoples and has always taken these to be the first steps of their approaching an ever fuller possession of the Truth, who is Jesus Christ himself, the Λογος, the Word made flesh.

And it is precisely such dialogue and awareness that the ecumenical councils of the Church have convened to address since Her founding, as we study in my class on the Second Vatican Council. The documents published by the Holy Father in communion with the College of Bishops are jam-packed full of deep statements concerning our faith and moral life, and we are taking the time to appreciate what a gift to the church this council is.

Our course on the Philosophy of Man (Anthropology)—though up to this point a repetition of the foundation for Ethics that I received last Spring—affords an opportunity to consider again the natural approach to discussing the human person and his constitution, which provides a basis for discussing fundamental life issues challenging society at this time without at first bringing faith into the picture, a dynamic frequently destructive of civil discussion. With our participation in the March for Life and the recent showing of Cardinal Sean's informative message on the ballot initiative in Massachusetts that would legalize physician-assisted suicide, such study was never more relevant!

Our class on Sacred Scripture, at this point emphasizing the Old Testament, is wonderfully enlightening, as we study how the texts that we now call our Bible were first composed and then gathered together, carefully preserved and handed down. We have discussed the literary genres present in scripture, the various cultural traditions whose imagery and expressive style influenced those early writers, and the turbulent historical context in which the first several books of the bible came to be written and preserved. At the same time, my study of New Testament Greek sheds light on the linguistic tools that biblical writers had at their disposal, both the expressiveness that can be lost in translations to modern languages and the limitations of the language at the time that invited the use of descriptive terms in place of the invention of new words. Because both of these classes are taught by Fr. Peter Grover, OMV, director of St. Clement Shrine and STL candidate, they have a wonderful complementarity for me.

Community life continues to be wonderful and vibrant, as we share stories, take walks, play cards, and share our varied interests with one another, whether food, biking, music, or watching and playing sports. I can personally attest to the great supportive spirit of fraternity that we have with one another, as we routinely check in on each other and assist those who fall ill or whose families experience some sickness or loss.

And in my personal discernment, I now explore what the Lord is calling me to do in the coming year. The Oblates will not have a novitiate program next year, though I am ready; rather, the plan is presently to begin forming an Oblate for the work of Novice Master, and to designate a location in which we can support a class of novices, beginning in the Fall of 2013. While I do not feel called away from the community, this certainly presents an interesting crossroads in my formation; rather than simply proceed along the typical program, I must now discern whether to advance to study Theology in the Fall or spend a year working and earning an income to support my studies and family, while living with (or at least close to) an Oblate community.

Thank you to my faithful readers and those who happened upon this post for whatever reason! Please take a moment to say a prayer for me, and know that I pray for you and the fulfillment of all that the Lord desires for your life. Our solidarity in prayer is one of those precious things that the world can never really obstruct, and it is one of those efficacious gifts we have received from the Lord that he desires we use in His service, until at last we may join Him in paradise!

In the Heart of Mary,
Paul

Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca