The Cold Hard Truth About the Semester

Sorry for the absence over the past couple of weeks. I took the opportunity over the Christmas Recess to really rest, relax and gear up for the new academic semester that began bright and early Monday morning. We woke up to a very chilly 41 degrees , which is down right freezing cold by Florida standards. Before I get into the experiences of the upcoming semester, I wanted to wish all of you a very happy and blessed New Year. But, this is not just a new year, it is also the start of a new decade. So Happy New Decade as well!!

This semester is going to be a little different from the Fall semester, mainly because we do not have any major events planned, except our bi-annual Vocations Awareness Weekend in March–I am already expecting to have another well attended weekend. I always look forward to hosting the countless young men who come to the seminary to discern God’s will for their lives for that brief period of two days. I never took the opportunity to come on one of the weekends even though I had been invited numerous times by people in my parish. So, if there is a young man out there from the Diocese of Orlando who is thinking about serving the church as a priest, please seriously consider contacting Fr. Miguel at the Vocations Office about coming down March 12-14, 2010. (more…)

Mid-Semester Exam Week

Hello all! I apologize for the low number of posts for the last couple of weeks. Academics always have a priority, especially this week with mid-semester exams. Now, to make matters worse, I have some kind of virus that will keep me out of the classroom until tomorrow night. But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I will be home next week for mid-semester break. See most of y’all then!!

Bye for now….

The Weeks Ahead

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….

In the beginning…

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.

The Big Day

Hello everyone! Later on today, I will be leaving Orlando for Miami to return to the seminary for the beginning of the new academic year. Classes begin on Monday, August 24th. But, before then, the returning seminarians will go on a mini retreat to have some time to transition from our summer assignments back to seminary. It will gives us some time to reflect on our experiences of the summer. Please keep us in your prayers for Friday and Saturday. Peace and blessings to all!!

Three Days

Many of you may think that my recent wrist surgery has made me a little loopy with a title of “Three Days” in the middle of August. No, “Three Days” is not an article about the most profound Christian celebration, the Triduum. Rather, it is simply about the remaining three days of the seminarians’ summer recess from the seminary.

Even though the majority of the seminarians have been enjoying the last few weeks at home, the new seminarians from all of the dioceses of Florida have already begun their year of formation. Altogether, there are 35 new seminarians from across the state, including eight from the Diocese of Orlando. (A breakdown of the numbers will be coming shortly.) Along with these 35 men, the additional 44 returning seminarians reenter St. John Vianney College Seminary on Thursday of this week. This makes a total of 79 seminarians for this academic year.

As we return to the seminary this week, please remember to keep us and those responsible for our formation in your prayers, especially during this Year for Priests. Please know that all of our benefactors are prayed for on a daily basis at the seminary. We voice our gratitude in our intercessions during our communal Evening Prayer. Thank you for your prayers and support.

The Year Ahead

SJVCS Crest

My how the time flies when you are having fun! It seems like just yesterday that I was driving myself crazy studying for hours on end for my final exams. In less than three weeks I will be returning to St. John Vianney College Seminary to begin a new academic year and my second year in formation. My junior year is going to be so busy, not only because of the workload associated with my class schedule, but also because it is the 50th Anniversary of the seminary. There is a whole list of events taking place towards the end of the first semester to celebrate this wonderful Golden Anniversary.

At convocation on Wednesday, the newest Diocesan Representatives were announced. For St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, the Orlando representative is Ben Lenhertz. For St. John Vianney College Seminary, the representative is yours truly. I hope and pray that I am able to perform the tasks and duties that come along with this responsibility.

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Convocation 2009

Hello all!! My summer at Divine Mercy came to a close this past weekend. I was given the opportunity to thank all of the good Fathers (Fr. Michael Farrell, Fr. Karl Bergin, Fr. Ted O’Reilly), Sisters (Sr. Maura Bane, Sr. Mary Divilly), and Office staff for being so hospitable and welcoming; however, I was most thankful to the parishioners of DM for all of their support and prayers. By the end of my assignment, I really felt like a part of the community – the sign of a great parish! For the next few weeks, I will be resting from my time in “Little Ireland” – can’t get more Irish than being in a parish with 3 Irish priests, 2 Irish sisters, and an Irish seminarian.

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Summer Assignment Update

Hello all! When I started this blog, my intention was to use it as a tool for my family and friends to kept up to speed with my progress in seminary. However, over the past year, the blog has evolved into a tool to express my thoughts on issues that are facing the church in this day and age. Now that Whispers of the Spirit has been launched, I have decided to bring the blog back to its roots, informing everyone of my personal journey through seminary, including the struggles and challenges.

On June 1st, I started my first summer assignment at Divine Mercy Catholic Church in Merritt Island, Fl. The last month has been truly remarkable. There have been many graces and blessings that have emerged from this experience.  The friendships I have made are endless, feeling tremendously welcomed by all the parishioners. These friendships include two fantastic Irish priests and an Irish seminarian that have become my brothers in the last few weeks. Because there is no rectory on campus, I have been entrusted to the care of the two Mercy Sisters who live on site; they take pretty good care of me! I am truly blessed to be in this parish!!

Fr. Karl, my supervisor, has given me certain duties that are required for the summer, but has left most of the things up to me to decide what to get involved with – as long as I get involved. So for a little taste of what I do around the Divine Mercy community.

• Monday is my day off, which is usually spent in Orlando.
• Tuesday:
  • In the mornings, I go with Sr. Maura to the local nursing home and various residences to bring communion to those who are sick and homebound.
  • During the afternoons, I either go to the St. Vincent de Paul store or stay around the office.
  • On certain Tuesday nights, there are Website Committee meetings that I am obligated to go to by request of Fr. Karl. (I wonder why?)
• Wednesday:
  • Wednesday mornings are somewhat easy-going. I usually just hang around the office, observing certain aspects of Church Office life. I usually sit out in the front foyer with the Office Manager, Tracey.
  • Wednesday afternoons I go out with the St. Vincent de Paul guys to deliver food to the hungry of the community. This has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life!
• Thursday:
  • Rather than going to Mass at Divine Mercy, on Thursday mornings I go to the nursing home for a communion service with the residents of the nursing home and the assisted living facility next door.
  • Thursday afternoons are usually spent at the St. Vincent de Paul store in Cocoa.
• Friday:
  • Every Friday morning at the Daily Mass, I give a brief reflection on the readings of the day.
  • Friday afternoons are usually spent in the office or in the convent; things are a bit slow on Friday afternoons as you can imagine.
• Saturday Evenings and Sunday Mornings:
  • I am obligated to be at the weekend Masses, to be present to the people. I usually spend the period before and after Mass to greet people.
  • During the Masses, I fill-in any place they need me, whether it be distributing communion, lectoring, etc.
  • At the 11:30 a.m. Mass I play my trombone with the contemporary choir. I thoroughly enjoy this because it gives me a chance to give back to the community in a personal way.

St. Vincent de Paul Store - Cocoa, Fl

During my second week at Divine Mercy, Fr. Karl and I accompanied the youth group to Catholic Heart Workcamp in Tampa, Fl. I was utterly fascinated with the youth of the church and how they were so willing to give up a portion of their summers to go to a place they knew nothing about to help those less fortunate than themselves. This was my first time participating in a CHWC. I will tell you one thing, the future of the church looks very bright!!

This past week (week of June 22nd), Divine Mercy hosted its annual Vacation Bible School. Throughout the week, I helped out with the Crafts station. I had a blast, especially assisting the little ones cut and paste all kinds of arts and crafts.

As you can tell, my time at Divine Mercy has been rather busy. The most rewarding things I have done are visiting the sick and homebound and distributing food on Wednesday afternoons. Visiting the sick and the homebound has been truly a remarkable experience. Every time I give communion to someone, I always ask myself, “Who am I to be carrying out this ministry and to receive this remarkable gift?” I cannot help but think about my unworthiness; in my eyes, I will never be worthy enough to bring the gift of Christ to others. All I can do is carry out the Lord’s will.

I hope that I have been able to give you a little synopsis of what I do here at Divine Mercy. I am thoroughly enjoying my time here and I hope that the growth that is occurring here may continue throughout this next year in formation. May God bless all of you!

Bye for now…..

Month of April

Hello all! I hope you are all enjoying the new website!

The month of April has been and will continue to be hectic as Final Exams approach. In fact next week, I have three papers due, two of which are due on the same day. Throughout this week, I will be continuing to spend a little time on all of them. I should be done by Wednesday of next week with all the papers. So, over the next two weeks, I will not get a chance to post much on the site. My studies do come first!

Throughout the month of April, I will be praying for a special intention and I ask that you pray along with me. If you go to my Contact page, you will see that I do have one special cause, the ASPCA. Throughout this month, the ASPCA is honoring Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. During your prayer time this month, please remember the ASPCA and all the homeless, neglected, and abused pets in your prayers.

As the end of the year approaches, the seminary is already preparing for the upcoming year. Today, I got to pick my classes for next year. (Well, technically, I didn’t pick them – they were picked for me.) As it stands now, my first semester next year is going to be extremely busy. The classes that are required have a lot of writing involved with them. They include: Metaphysics with Dr. Solis, Modern Philosophy with Fr. Ferdi, Church History with Dr. Morgan, Themes of the Catechism with Dr. Morgan, and Intermediate Spanish with Dr. Jimenez.

Well, I am going to get back to writing my New Testament paper. May God continue to bless all of you! Bye for now…

He is Risen! Alleluia, Alleluia!

This past week, the church celebrated Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and coming to a close on Easter Sunday. As we journeyed with the church, we experienced Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey, the celebration of His Last Supper, the pain and suffering of His Passion and death, and the greatest triumph of all, His Resurrection. As we journey through this week and the rest of the Easter season, let us not lose sight of all the things our Lord, Jesus Christ did for us by dying for us upon the cross.

Over the past few days, I have been reflecting on this year, my first year of seminary formation. A few weeks ago, I mentioned how a year had passed since I had begun the process of becoming a seminarian fro the Diocese of Orlando. On that Monday of Holy Week last year, I had no idea of the things the Lord had in store for me for the upcoming year. It has been a year of extreme challenges and triumphs.

The challenges came from being away from family and friends for the first time, being in a completely different environment. I pretty much grew up at my parish. In fact, just the other day, when I was home for Holy Week Recess, I was talking to my mother about how the parish raised me. I have been associated with St. Charles Church ever since I was 3 DAYS old. So, you can imagine, leaving that environment was tremendously difficult. However, when I got to the seminary in August, I quickly found a new home and I grew to love my brother seminarians as if they were my biological brothers. The Lord truly does work in marvelous ways. Throughout the next year, I am sure the struggles will be even more difficult to deal with; but, I know that if I believe the Lord is there with me, I can conquer anything that challenges me along the way!

Here are some pictures from Holy Week 2009 at St. Charles!!

Summer Assignment

On Friday evening before the Operation Deliverance Prayer Service at Blanchard Park, Fr. Miguel informed all of the seminarians of their summer assignments. During the months of June and July, the majority of the seminarians will be placed in a parish within the Diocese of Orlando to gain some experience in various aspects of ministry. This summer, I will be staying in Merritt Island at Divine Mercy Catholic Church.

Interior of the Church

Exterior of the Church

More information to come soon! I am meeting my supervisor, Fr. Karl Bergin, on Wednesday at the Chrism Mass at Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine.

“Speak, Lord, Your Servant is Listening”

This weekend, the seminary community sponsored a Vocations Awareness Weekend. It was an opportunity for men throughout the Ecclesiastical Province of Miami (Dioceses in the State of Florida) to experience a little bit of seminary life and to recognize God’s love for them on a deeper level. Even though the weekend was geared towards the guests who think God is calling them to discern the priesthood of Jesus Christ, it was also an invaluable experience for the seminarians. For myself, this weekend allowed me to recall the events that led me to enter into a deeper conversation with the church about the priesthood of Christ and the possibility of entering the seminary.

I believe that it was the grace of God that allowed this Vocations Awareness Weekend to take place this particular weekend. Many of you may recall that March 16, 2008 was Palm Sunday. I can tell you that this date will never be forgotten by me because it was when I heard God’s call to re-open the book of vocations in my life. On that particular evening, I was just finishing my prayers and not looking forward to getting up the next morning and going to school. As I was “flipping through the channels” looking for something on television to put me to sleep, I had this tremendous feeling that God was in my presence and that He was communicating something to me. Our heavenly Father was answering a prayer that I raised to Him a few weeks prior.

At the beginning of the 2008 Lenten Season, my parish sponsored a Lenten Retreat, where all of the parishioners were invited to attend a series of evening meetings led by Fr. Michael Sullivan, O.S.A. The Sunday the talks were set to begin, Fr. Sullivan was the main celebrant at the 7:30 a.m. Mass. As he was going through his homily, Fr. Sullivan was calling upon different people within the congregation to stand up and answer some questions. Being the altar server at that Mass, I was prime for the picking because I was sitting right up front. Sure enough, he asked me to stand and began asking me all sorts of questions. In the course of the questions, Fr. Michael looked me in the eyes and asked, “Tom, have you ever thought about being a priest?” I was speechless!! I couldn’t believe that this was coming up…again!

When I was in the 8th grade, I began thinking about serving God through the ministry of the priesthood. But throughout high school and my first year and a half of college, the desire for a family and a career in law enforcement and politics consumed me. I thought I had my life planned out. Did I ever get that wrong?! The saying goes; if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. Well, He clearly had a good laugh at my expense.

Through the course of the next few weeks, I spent each night praying for the Lord to show me what He wanted me to do with my life. I was grappling with making a decision to follow my desire to be a police officer or to follow the Lord’s call to the priesthood. March 16, 2008 was when God provided me with the answer. The next day, I contacted my pastor, Fr. Thomas Barrett (Former Vocations Director for the Diocese of Orlando), telling him the story of my experience the night before. He told me to get in touch with Fr. Miguel, the current Vocations Director, and schedule a meeting with him. In our email and phone conversations, Fr. Miguel reminded me that we, as a Church, were entering into the most profoundly spiritual week of the year and encouraged me to take time to sit with the Lord, a piece of advice I took to heart. A couple of weeks later, I began the application process to be accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Orlando.

As I reflect on this past weekend, I am thankful that the Lord was able to allow me to recall the events that led up to my decision to enter seminary. As each day passes in formation, I am reassured that this is the path the Lord is calling me to take. Each day, I wake up with a renewed vigor that the Lord is present in my life. As we go about the remainder of the Lenten season, I encourage all of you to call to mind an experience you had where you knew the Lord was present in your life. Thank Him for that and allow that experience to carry you through Lent, to the Easter season.
May God bless you and may He continue to bless the Catholic Church. Bye for now…

Retreat and Mid-Semester Break

Hello everyone! I got back from the retreat at Morning Star Retreat Center in Miami earlier this afternoon – what a marvelous place to have a retreat. I really enjoyed being able to just sit and relax in the arms of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I realize that He continues to form me into the person He needs me to be, which I am truly thankful for. I am looking forward to the next few weeks as I continue to pray about the topics covered during the three days.

Over the next couple of days, the Orlando seminarians will be meeting with our Vocations Director, Fr. Miguel Gonzalez. I really enjoy my conversations with Fr. Miguel because it gives me a chance to hear a little news from home and to communicate how seminary life is treating me, which he is always very interested in hearing about. I ask that, throughout the next couple of days, you pray for Fr. Miguel, Sr. Kathleen Powers, Juanita Lacy, and Bishop Wenski as they have a huge responsibility in helping to minister to the next leaders of the church. Over the next few months, they will continually be meeting with young men who believe they have been called by the Lord to enter the seminary. Please pray for them as they discern the newest seminarians for the Diocese of Orlando.

Mid-semester break was a welcome relief! The month of February is generally a very difficult month for seminarians – not because of Valentine’s Day – because we tend to fall into the routine of things and become lethargic with all the everyday tasks we have to accomplish. (I did experience this as the month went on.) This is the time when more prayer is needed, especially through increasing the amount of time spent in front of our Lord. This is the only thing that really helps the seminarians get through this month of “cabin fever” (as Fr. Alvarez calls it). Thank God it is March!!

Over the break, I got to spend a little time with family, including the newest addition to the Pringle family, little Micah Denton. (Dad is going to call him “Doc” because his initials are M.D. – who knows, maybe it will stick.) The little guy has increased his weight from 6 lbs. 1 oz. to 7 lbs. and 5 oz. Next time I get to see him, he is probably going to be twice the size he is now. That is one of the toughest things about being away from home; you don’t get a chance to really be a part of your family members’ lives. But, thank God for the internet and instant communication – I can always get on Facebook or Myspace and see pictures that my brother uploads.

During the retreat, I decided that I would spend a little time each month on a special intention. Throughout the month of March, I am going to pray for the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Orlando. Because of the recent events surrounding our economy, school enrollments across the Diocese are expected to decline. So, I will pray that, even during these difficult economic times, parents recognize the value of a Catholic education and that our Heavenly Father finds a way for all the schools within the Diocese to function and stay afloat until these economic hardships are overcome. I ask that you all continue to pray for this as well.

May God bless you all and may He continue to bless the Diocese of Orlando. Bye for now…..

Exam Week, Mid-semester Break, and More

Hello all! Next week the seminary community will be busy once again with Mid-semester Exam Week. In fact, you can already tell the difference in the house, there are quite a bit of seminarians beginning to study for their exams, while others don’t know when they have their exams. (It’s kind of weird how that works.) My exam schedule is pretty light. Here is a brief overview:

Monday: Ministerial Practicum

Tuesday: Introduction to New Testament

Wednesday: Drama and Ministry

Thursday: Medieval Philosophy and Catholic Poets

Friday: Nothing – hitting the road immediately following Mass.

As you can see, Friday, I will be heading home at about 8:15 or so in the morning. That means, counting on traffic not being too bad, I should be home by at least 12:00 noon for mid-semester break. I won’t be home too long this time; I will only get a chance to relax a little, but that is in fact what is needed for everyone. I am looking forward to spending some time at my parish and spending time with my family, including meeting my nephew for the first time. Throughout the break, I am going to have a mentality of “work, play, pray, chill” (minus the “work,” of course).

When we return from mid-semester break, we will be immediately heading out to a local retreat center in Miami for three days. This means that I will be cut off from the world (which is not necessarily a bad thing) and spending time with the Lord. I always look forward to these retreats because they give me some time to reflect on how God is working in my life – where he is present, where I have neglected to see his presence, etc. The retreats always leave me with a sense of peace and comfort in knowing that, no matter how much we turn away from Him, He will always be there to accept us into His arms and shower His loving graces upon us.

I hope things are going well for everyone. May God bless you all.

P.S. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Dr. Thomas Collins, former principal of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School, who died recently.

Bye for now……………