Courtesy: University of Central Florida

Whew! It’s amazing how quickly the summer passed us by. And, let me tell you, what a summer it has been.

Many of you know that I decided to leave the seminary this summer and have been following my progress with starting anew on Twitter and/or Facebook. That decision ultimately led me to transfer to the University of Central Florida, which has been an interesting task. The last couple of months have been spent making sure all needed documents were signed, sealed and delivered to the university. After all of that, I am looking forward to finally getting started.

Tomorrow will officially mark the beginning of the Fall 2010 semester. I have only registered for four classes so I should have ample time to continue blogging, etc. My classes for this semester are: Civic Engagement, Public Administration in American Society, Administration of Public Policy and Interdisciplinary Leadership in Public Affairs.

Many people have told me that the reason I went to the seminary was to find my singing voice; I can actually see some truth into that. Even before entering the formal discernment process, I was an active member in my parish’s adult choir but that usually entailed providing inaudible backup singing. However, on Good Friday of this past year I was given the opportunity to cantor for the first time. From that point on, I came to the realization that maybe that was the next step in my ministry to the Church.

The main thing that I have discovered throughout my journey in the seminary and the transition back to the “lay” life is that we all have unique talents that we bring to the table and we have all been called to use those gifts in service of God’s people and the praise of God’s name. All too often people fail to recognize that their talents were given to them by the Creator. God has given us so much and the least we can do is offer a small portion of those gifts back to Him.

Now, for some news from Rome: Pope Benedict XVI is due to return to Rome sometime after his September trip to the United Kingdom. The four day trip will culminate with the beatification of  John Henry Cardinal Newman. For more information on the Papal Visit to the U.K., visit: http://www.thepapalvisit.org.uk/. You could also “follow” the official Papal Visit Twitter account: @thepapalvisit for all you tweeters out there.

Also, on the homefront, we have learned from Francis Cardinal George, President of the USCCB, that the Vatican has approved the final version of the new English translation for the Roman Missal. In a letter on August 20th, Cardinal George said: “We can now move forward and continue with our important catechetical efforts as we prepare the text for publication.” The new translation takes effect in all parishes across the country on Novemer 27, 2011. We are in for an interesting time, folks. For more on the new translation, visit: http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal/.

Well, that’s it for now. Until next time, stay tuned.