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/

This past week, the seminary community welcomed Christopher West and his conferences on John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (TOB). The TOB is a collection of 129 Wednesday General Audience reflections by JP II on the “meaning of human embodiment as male and female.” (PTOB, p. 2) If you have never heard of this fantastic and revolutionizing series of reflections, I encourage you to find the book, get a copy, and read it! It will change the way you perceive your relationships with friends and family members and, more importantly, your relationship with God.

The Theology of the Body is not simply for married couples, it is meant for all people who are looking to grow in their relationship with the Lord by examining their relationships with their fellow human beings. It is only through the relationships we have here on Earth that we can get a glimpse of what true union with God involves. We have to remember, however, that man is made in the likeness of God, not the other way around. “God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective ‘perfections’ of man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of God.” (CCC 370) Christopher West calls the TOB the “lens through which to view the whole mystery of human life.” (PTOB, p. 7)

The most profound aspect of the conferences for me was the part on celibacy. Throughout the years, there have been so many different reasons explaining why priests should remain unmarried. Here is the common one (this one I have used to explain celibacy in the past.) “If a priest gets married, he will not be able to devote the majority of his time to the people of his church community. Instead, the majority of his time will be given to his family.” I never realized how ignorant this statement really was until this series of conferences. Christopher West explained it to us in a way that really made sense.

A man who gives his life to the church by becoming a celibate is “someone who freely forgoes sexual relations in order to devote all of his energies and desires to the union that alone can satisfy. Those who are celibate for the kingdom share the same vocation to love as those who marry, but manifest this same vocation in a different manner. By devoting themselves entirely to the marriage of Christ and the Church, celibate men and women boldly proclaim that ‘the kingdom of God is here’.” (PTOB, p. 20)

He goes on to say:

“Christian celibacy is not a rejection of sexuality. Rather, it is meant to be a living out of the ultimate purpose and meaning of sexuality—union with Christ and the Church. The celibate person must embrace the spousal meaning of his or her body and live it in an authentic call to spiritual union and fertility.” (PTOB, p. 23)

“Celibacy is not a life of sexual repression but of sexual redemption. Christ calls everyone to experience liberation from lust through the redemption of the body. Only to the degree that one is free from the domination of lust is he or she able to live a healthy life either as a married person or as a celibate.” (PTOB, p. 23)

If there is anyone who is interested in this topic, I encourage you to do some research and look into what this is all about. Once you get into these amazing reflections by John Paul II, you will be amazed at how much it will really change your life. I have simply just begun my personal study of the Holy Father’s reflections and it has already touched me tremendously. Imagine what it could do for you.

For more information on the Theology of the Body, or to find resources to begin your personal studies of it, please visit http://www.tobinstitute.org.

Citations:

CCC—Catechism of the Catholic Church

PTOB—Proclaiming the Theology of the Body: A Seminar for Priests

PHOTO 1 SOURCE: Tom Pringle

PHOTO 2 SOURCE: St. John Vianney College Seminary

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children.“

- President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001

September 11, 2001 is a day that will live in our hearts and minds forever. This date, for us, is like the day our grandparents remember so vividly, December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor; it is like the day many of our parents remember so clearly, November 22, 1963 when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. All three of these days, covered in tragedy, pain, and uncertainty were pivotal moments in our nation’s history. Yet, the people of the United States did not let the ugliness of terror and hate get the best of them. Instead, all of us as Americans were brought together to comfort, console, and pray with one another.

None of us will forget where we were the minute we heard the news of the attacks on the United States that fateful September day. I was in my eighth grade Pre-Algebra class when the Physical Education teacher walked in and asked the teacher to go into the hall. When he walked back into the classroom, Mr. Ray turned on the television and passed the news on to us. As we sat there watching Peter Jennings give us the latest details, the television picture shifted from the World Trade Center towers to a picture of the Pentagon on fire. At that point, we all knew what was going on…America was under attack.

Later on in the day, when my fellow classmates and I went on to our English class, we continued watching the coverage. Right before the first tower collapsed, the principal had someone in the office come over the intercom informing the teachers to leave all televisions off. After our English teacher, Ms. Stewart,complied with the instructions, she told us that the lesson plans for the day had been thrown out. We were going to talk about what was happening in our country – something I am thankful for to this day. After talking about it for a few minutes, we began to write about how this made us feel and what impact it was going to have on our lives. I remembering writing a poem for our country, something I have shared with several of my closest friends.  [I will see if I can find a copy of it somewhere and post it later.]

As we go through this day, let us remember all of those who lost their lives in the morning hours of September 11, 2001 – all of the rescuers, all of the victims in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the heroes who perished in the Pennsylvania field. Let us also remember the men and women who have died defending our country since that day. Finally, let us remember all the families that lost their loved ones as a result of these terrorist attacks on our country.

May God bless the United States of America!

A few years back, when news of the clergy sexual abuse scandal hit the church, many people would think that young men would be turning away from the church and ignoring the call of our Lord to the priesthood. The biggest fear was that the number of men entering the seminary would drop dramatically. Though the clergy abuse scandal may have had some impact on numbers immediately after the news broke, things have not remained that way. In the past couple of years, numbers at seminaries across the United States and globally are on the rise.

In fact, at St. John Vianney College Seminary this year, the number of seminarians is at 35-year record high. The seminary welcomed 35 new seminarians at the beginning of August, bringing the total number of seminarians to 76 for the year. We are witnessing hope.

MIAMI | When former Air Force pilot Ryan Boyle, 32, finished his stint in the military to pursue a 10-year call to the priesthood, he inadvertently helped make history.

Boyle, who hails from St. Petersburg, is part of the largest group of seminarians – a total of 76 – that St. John Vianney College Seminary has seen in more than three decades.

“The last time we had numbers like this was more than 35 years ago,” said Msgr. Michael G. Carruthers, rector-president of the seminary, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year.

St. John Vianney opened in 1959 as a high school seminary for the then newly created Diocese of Miami. It now takes in students from throughout Florida, other U.S. dioceses and the Bahamas who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in philosophy or a two-year degree in pre-theology in preparation for the priesthood.

The larger-than-usual entering class has created some extra work for the faculty and staff.

“It’s been a lot of hard work, but we’re very excited. We’ve been adding extra tables, chairs, and preparing to accommodate these young men here,” Msgr. Carruthers said.

He credited Archbishop John C. Favalora’s support for the seminary – particularly his resistance to the idea of moving the education and training of priests-to-be away from the seminary setting – for “enabling the growth of a healthy environment and a strong model of priestly formation” that made the growth in enrollment possible.

“Some suggested that we have a study house attached to a university,” Archbishop Favalora said, where future priests would attend classes with other college students while living and being instructed on the particulars of the priesthood in the study house. “However, neither the U.S. Catholic bishops nor I agreed with that. Seminarians need to be trained in the seminary. That is how it is done and how the bishops want it done.”

The historic number entering the seminary also seems to defy the economic reality.

“I’m proud these men are answering God’s call. There is a lot of pressure, especially during these hard times, to go and do something else. However, they are here seeking (Christ),” Archbishop Favalora said. “It really shows that God’s ways are not our ways.”

The archbishop visited the seminary Aug. 22 to officially open the academic year with the traditional Mass of the Holy Spirit, during which he invoked the guidance of the Spirit upon the seminarians, their professors and the seminary’s staff.

“We’re invoking the Holy Spirit to transform us into something greater than what we appear to be,” Archbishop Favalora said. “We’re asking the Holy Spirit to make holy the work we’re going to do.”

“The Holy Spirit is the breath of the seminary. It is a string that connects us to Christ whom we follow,” said Martin Nguyen, 20, a third-year seminarian from the Diocese of Orlando.

“It is an honor to pass on the priesthood from one generation to the next. Passing on the faith is what this seminary is all about, and I’m very proud to see so many taking on that tradition,” Archbishop Favalora said.

–The Florida Catholic, “St. John Vianney Seminary enrollment at 35-year high”

Bye for now…

PHOTO SOURCE: The Florida Catholic

All of the seminarians here at St. John Vianney College Seminary began the new academic year this morning with Daily Mass. In his homily, Fr. Joseph told a story about a man who came across a butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon. In order to help the tiny creature, the man cut the cocoon, allowing the butterfly to emerge with ease. However, what the man did not realize was that the butterfly needed to struggle to fit its lethargic body through the tiny hole at the bottom of the cocoon. This would have allowed the excess fluid in the body to spread to the wings, causing them to open wide, permitting the butterfly to fly away. Instead, the butterfly’s lethargic body retained the moisture and its wings did not open. The tiny creature spent the rest of its days crawling upon the earth, never having the ability to lift its heavy body off the ground and fly.

What does this have to do with seminary? Fr. Joseph tied this story in with the upcoming year. He told the seminarians there will be tremendous struggles and challenges that will occur this year. In formation, the struggles are necessary to achieve growth. If we have someone come along and ease the burden of the challenge, we will never experience the growth we need. The Lord never gives us a challenge that we are too weak to overcome. If we persevere and have faith, we can overcome any obstacle that is put in our path. Fr. Joseph told us not to be afraid to accept the responsibilities that we are given this year because they are only meant to help us grow. If we look for the easy way out and have someone take the challenge away from us, there is no possibility for growth and we will never learn how to fly.