The first Vocations Awareness Weekend at St. John Vianney College Seminary for the 2009-2010 academic year will be held from November 13th to the 15th. For anyone from the Diocese of Orlando interested in coming on this weekend, please call the Office of Vocations at 407-246-4875.

Two weeks ago, the seminarians had a week packed with all kinds of exciting events, including a visit from Christopher West for a Theology of the Body conference, as well as visits from our bishops for Board of Trustees meetings. We also participated in a Day of Recollection,which was very well received by yours truly–I was able to rest with the Lord with no worries about papers, tests, etc. This past week, the seminary community celebrated the first major event in its 50th Anniversary year with the dedication of a new mosaic to Mary, Star of the Sea and the consecration of the seminary to Mary. What an exciting couple of weeks!! Thankfully, the next couple of weeks are going to be a little more ordinary.

Throughout this week, most of us here will be working on papers that are due in the very near future. We will also be studying for our mid-term exams, which are coming up next week (October 5th-9th). However, then we all have something to look forward to; mid-semester break is the week of October 12th. For me, break will be spent catching up on some much needed rest and spending time with family in Orlando. I am mostly looking forward to getting to see my nephew crawl around the house.

Off to the chapel for Morning Prayer and Mass. Bye for now….

The Prayer of Consecration from the ceremonies yesterday:

Most Holy Trinity, Our Father in Heaven, who chose Mary as the fairest of your daughters; Holy Spirit, who chose Mary as your spouse; God the Son, who chose Mary as your Mother; in union with Mary, we adore your majesty and acknowledge your supreme, eternal dominion and authority.

Most Holy Trinity, we put St. John Vianney College Seminary into the hands of Mary Immaculate, the New Eve and Star of the Sea, in order that she may present this seminary to you. Through her we wish to thank you for the great blessings you have bestowed upon us throughout our fifty years of service. Through the intercession of Mary, have mercy on the local churches we serve. Shower wisdom upon our bishops and all who assist them in their responsibilities of governance. Bestow strength to our seminary administration, faculty, and staff. Grant protection to those here discerning the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Call forth the precious gift of many vocations to the diocesan priesthood. Through the intercession of our mother, have mercy on the sick, the poor, the refugee, the tempted, sinners–on all who are in need.

Mary, Immaculate Virgin, our mother, patroness of our land, we praise you and honor you and consecrate our seminary and ourselves to your immaculate heart. O Sorrowful and immaculate heart of Mary, pierced by the sword of sorrow prophesied by Simeon, save us from degeneration, presumption, and despair. Protect us from all harm. O sorrowful and immaculate heart of Mary, you who bore the sufferings of your son in the depths of your heart, be our advocate. Pray for us, the community of St. John Vianney College Seminary, that acting always according to the will of your divine son, we may live and die pleasing to God. Amen.

Here are some pictures from the seminary’s ceremonies yesterday dedicated the new mosaic and consecrating the seminary to Mary.

PHOTO SOURCE: Tom Pringle

VIDEO SOURCE: Tom Pringle

Today, St. John Vianney College Seminary will be consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in a ceremony presided by Bishop Thomas Wenski, Bishop of Orlando, signifying the first major event of the seminary in celebration of its 50th Anniversary year. Over the past several months, a new mosaic dedicated to Mary, Star of the Sea has been in the works. The first major pieces were placed over the summer. For the first few weeks of this semester, the “Garden Crew” (a seminary house job) has been diligently working at polishing the tiles and removing the excess grout. The mosaic truly looks amazing! (Pictures will be posted after the dedication this afternoon.)

Dedicating the mosaic to Mary, Star of the Sea is significant for us at the seminary. It reminds us that whenever we face challenges, struggles and temptations in life we can always look to our Blessed Mother for guidance and protection. In other words, we are all ships drifting out on the sea with no idea of which way to go. But we look to the sky and see a bright light emerging through the darkness and chaos of the storm, leading us to a safe harbor. That bright light that guides us is Mary.

Let us turn then to our Blessed Mother, Star of the Sea, asking for her  intercession to protect us from all temptations and guidance to lead us to know her Son more deeply.

Mary, New Eve and Star of the Sea, pray for us.

PHOTO SOURCE: Dignare Me Laudare Te, Virgo Sacrata

From The Florida Catholic:      (My comments are in italics.)

DENISE O’TOOLE KELLY | FLORIDA CATHOLIC STAFF

ORLANDO | Everyone’s on Facebook.

It’s an exaggeration, to be sure, but it’s one the media relations and communications folks at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops were hearing too often to ignore.

“That’s where the people are, and that’s where we need to be if we want to get our message out,” Don Clemmer, assistant director of media relations for the bishops’ conference and a primary keeper of its new Facebook page, told the Florida Catholic.

USCCB media relations officers for some time have been using the Twitter to send brief notices (140 characters or fewer, in accord with that networking site’s design) to followers about press releases and other items of interest. The USCCB’s Twitter followers now number more than 2,200. In March, Clemmer and his colleagues started a blog to “report and reflect on matters concerning the U.S. Catholic bishops, especially as they play out in the blogosphere and the media as a whole,” according to the first posting.

The Facebook page went live the first week of August, and amassed more than 1,100 fans in its first month. Why Facebook, why now?

“We were kind of asking similar questions ourselves, but sort of from a ‘why not’ perspective. Why don’t we have a page on Facebook yet?” Clemmer said. “And it happened pretty quickly from there.”

The USCCB has used Facebook to help spread the word about the bishops’ positions on health care reform and immigration policy, to explain a change in wording in a section of the U.S. version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for it’s second edition, and to announce the launch of new Web site designed to help the faithful understand and implement upcoming changes in the English-language Mass.

Facebook has also become a venue for the USCCB’s community of fans to engage in free and lively discussion. Some might argue that, at times, it is too free and lively.

“At the end of the day you always have that option to remove” objectionable comments, Clemmer said, adding that he expects to do so sparingly. “At this point in the game I think we’d been leaning toward the side of cultivating the discussion on our page.”

WHAT FANS THINK

Both the open forum and the information about Church stances appear to be appreciated by Catholics in Florida who have signed up as fans of the USCCB on Facebook. (In keeping with the spirit of meeting people where they are, the Florida Catholic “interviewed” fans who listed Florida hometowns via the private message function of Facebook.)

“I have been a longtime fan of the USCCB Web site, using it primarily to keep up with topics of interest and importance to Catholics. Becoming a fan of its Facebook page just made it easier to keep up and also provided a forum in which to share comments with other fans,” wrote Richard Paul Siegel, who belongs to St. Lucy Parish in Highland Beach.

Tom Pringle is a seminarian for the Orlando Diocese and parishioner of St. Charles Borromeo in Orlando. He said the content on the USCCB’s Facebook page has been informative.

“The USCCB’s statements on the current issues facing our country, especially health care reform, have allowed me to formulate my own opinion. In most cases, the bishops have been the voice of reason that allows us to see a different side of the issues,” he said. “They help us to see the whole picture. As Catholics, it is important for us to know where our bishops stand on the issues.”

Tara Dibble, a parishioner of St. Stephen in Valrico, had just discovered the page when she received her interview request from the Florida Catholic.

“I think that the Church is recognizing that social networking is a way to reach the masses and it is a very progressive decision to use this outlet. So frequently I hear complaints from fallen-away Catholics that the Church is out of touch with today’s young people – this shows that this just isn’t true,” she said.

Fellow St. Stephen parishioner D’ann White said the opportunity to become a fan of the USCCB on Facebook built on ways the faith community already was using the social networking site, calling it “a wonderful way for the individual church community to stay in close contact.

“Since becoming friends on Facebook, myself and fellow parishioners have been able to keep better track of the needs of members of our parish – when there is a sickness, a death, a job loss, an occasion to celebrate. We are better able to provide immediate encouragement, assistance, congratulations and sympathy, and I believe it has brought us much closer together.”

Father Scott Circe, parochial vicar of St. James Cathedral in Orlando, said he has enjoyed the interaction with other fans of the site.

“I think it is a great idea for the USCCB to get involved with social-networking Web sites because it can spread its message with a broader spectrum of users. May the Lord bless the Church and its outreach, and may others come to know of God’s goodness through the USCCB Facebook page,” he said.

Father Tomas Marin, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Doral, noted that the USCCB Facebook site has all the information the bishops want to get out to the public, and offers a way to do so quickly. “The Church needs to keep the good news up to date,” he said.

The article from The Florida Catholic can be found here: http://thefloridacatholic.org/blogs/living_faith/welcome-to-facebook-us-catholic-bishops/