A good afternoon to everyone!! Yesterday afternoon, my fellow seminarians and I returned to St. John Vianney College Seminary after a much needed mid-semester break. Though the break was shorter than our normal breaks, it was very relaxing, allowing me to catch up on some rest. During the break, most of my time was spent with family and friends including two very awesome priests!! However, my prayer life was also enriched over the break–the dust is beginning to settle and I am able to see how the Lord has been working in my life over the last few months.

This afternoon at 5 p.m., the seminary community begins our annual silent retreat. So, from 5 o’clock this evening until Sunday afternoon, I will be free from the distractions of cell phones, computers, etc. Needless to say, I am really looking forward to this retreat; I am kind of wondering how the Lord is going to work. Please keep me and all the seminarians in your prayers, that the Lord will grant us all humility to receive and recognize the movements of the Spirit in our lives. As always, you all will remain in my prayers.

Pax.

“Today, Ash Wednesday, we begin the Lenten path that lasts forty days and which leads us to the joy of the Lord’s Easter.”  (Benedict XVI, Wednesday Audience 17 Feb. 2010)

In his weekly audience today in St. Peter’s Square, B16 stated that the Church asks us to embark on a journey of conversion during Lent:

It’s almost that time of year when the seminary community welcomes another group visitors for our Spring Vocations Awareness Weekend. For all those in the State of Florida who are interested in attending the weekend, please contact the Office of Vocations in your Diocese. The numbers are located below.

Diocese of Orlando:

Archdiocese of Miami: 305-762-1137

Diocese of St. Petersburg: 727-345-3452

Diocese of Palm Beach: 561-775-9552

Diocese of Venice: 941-484-9543

Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee: 850-435-3552

Diocese of St. Augustine: 904-262-3200, ext. 101

***Note: If you are the bulletin editor at a parish in the Diocese of Orlando, please email me ([email protected]) for additional bulletin inserts promoting Vocations Awareness Weekend.***

On Friday, February 5, 2010, St. John Vianney College Seminary hosted the 11th Annual Fides et Ratio Conference. The main speaker for this year’s conference was the United States Ambassador to the Holy See, Dr. Miguel H. Diaz. Ambassador Diaz studied as a Pre-Theology seminarian for the Archdiocese of Miami back in the day. It was nice to see how the Ambassador’s faith has been shaped by this remarkable, holy place. The purpose of Ambassador Diaz’s speech was to highlight the growing relationship between the United States and the Vatican, especially in the areas where the two countries are working together for the common good of all peoples.

To begin his first speech on U.S. soil, the ambassador spoke of his role in the United States government, which is to be a “bridge-builder of issues between the United States and the Vatican.” The ambassador noted two challenges that his office deals with: 1) global tensions that are the result of increasing pluralism, and 2) interests between the United States and the Vatican for the sake of the common good.

Ambassador Diaz mentioned that human identity is still a major issue as a result of the drastic changes in cultural dynamics in countries across the globe, which he attributed to “human migrations.” This struggle to define the human identity has made difference–whether those be based on culture, ethnicity, or gender–a threat to the world family. We have become increasingly fearful of the other before we have thought about becoming friends. However, we cannot allow this to continue because the “actualization of person” happens when we are in communion with others. Therefore, developing relationships with others is “not a choice” because we meet God in the other.

Hello everyone!! It has been a few weeks since I last posted anything, so I wanted to keep you all up to speed on how life is going at the seminary. For the most part, things have been relatively quiet around here; not too many things happening out of the ordinary. Nonetheless,  here is a brief recap of the last few weeks:

On January 15th, the seminary community went on a Day of Recollection to assist us in switching gears from the Christmas Break and to prepare us for the upcoming academic semester. Our retreat master was Monsignor Thomas Caserta from the Diocese of Brooklyn (Pastor of the Shrine  Church of St. Bernadette). Msgr. Caserta spoke to us about the evangelical councils of obedience, chastity, and poverty. (Interesting side note: Diocesan priests do not take a vow of poverty; instead, diocesan priests take a promise to live in simplicity.) The Day of Recollection, which only lasted about 20 hours or so, was eye opening for me. It allowed me to really reflect on priestly service and the baptismal call of all. The mini-retreat gave me the opportunity to reflect on how the Lord is working in my life and how he continues to call me to serve His church, His people.