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:

[C]onversion means changing the direction of the path of our lives…It is going against the current when the ‘current’ is a superficial, incoherent, and illusory way of life that often drags us down, making us slaves of evil or prisoners of moral mediocrity. Nevertheless, through conversion we tend to the highest measure of Christian life, we trust in the living and personal Gospel who is Jesus Christ. He is the final goal and the profound path of conversion, the path that we are all called to travel in our lives, allowing ourselves to be illuminated with his light and sustained by his strength, which moves our steps. (Benedict XVI, Wednesday Audience 17 Feb. 2010)

The Holy Father also reminds us that we have our origins in God and that we shall one day return to him because of the gift of Jesus Christ:

The human being is dust and to dust it will return, but it is dust that is precious in God’s eyes because He created humanity, destining us to immortality…Jesus the Lord also wanted to freely share in human frailty with each person, above all through his death on the cross. But it was precisely this death, full of his love for the Father and for humanity, that was the way of glorious resurrection, the means by which Christ became the source of grace given to all who believe in Him and participate in the same divine life. (Benedict XVI, Wednesday Audience 17 Feb. 2010)

Therefore, in these days of Lenten journey, let us take some amount of time each day to reflect on the gifts that God has given us. Let us reflect on the times that God was made present to us and we turned away from that presence. We should identify and remove the things in our lives that are having a negative impact on our spirituality and causing us to sin. Give up something for Lent as a sacrifice. However, we should also give something in return for all the things God has given us. Here are some practical suggestions: make an effort to pray the rosary everyday; be friendly and compassionate to those who tend to get on your nerves; show love to someone who has not shown you love in return; or volunteer at a food shelter.

May the Lord bless all of us throughout this Lenten Season and bring us closer to Him through a conversion of heart. Have a blessed Lent.

Photo Source: LIFE

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.

On January 23rd, St. John Vianney College Seminary hosted the Liga Orante, a group of little old Cuban women who get together to sponsor fundraising events  and pray for vocations to the priesthood. It is always great to hang out with the ladies from the Liga Orante because it allows us to see and thank some of the people who pray for seminarians and support us. We also get to work on our Spanish conversational skills. (I still need a little more practice on this front.)

Throughout the last three months or so, the entire junior class (with only a few exceptions) have been working on our Humanities Projects. The purpose of the projects is to show a correlation between humanities (art, music, etc.) and religion or philosophy. For the project, the juniors were broken up into five groups of three. The groups were asked to choose two humanities categories and prepare a 15 minute presentation. My group chose painting and literature and its correlation to theology; we focused on the Passion story–the Way to the Cross, the Crucifixion, and the Descent from the Cross. The presentations were given on January 28th. All of the groups did an excellent job!!

So, that’s a recap of the last few weeks. Some interesting highlights for the weeks to come include:

• Our annual Fides et Ratio conference takes place on February 5th. This year’s guest speaker is a Pre-Theology alumni of St. John Vianney, the United States Ambassador to the Holy See, Miguel Diaz. Mr. Diaz will be speaking on the relationship between the United States and the Vatican, which is a little different from our usual Fides et Ratio topic of discussion–as the sitting ambassador, Diaz must speak from his office. More to come on this later!!
• Mid-semester exams will take place from February 15th through February 18th. Please pray for us this week.
• The beautiful and reflective Season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 17th.
• Mid-semester break begins on February 18th…I will be home by 1:00p.m. I am quite excited about spending some time with the family, especially Micah D. who is now walking!!!
• We come back from mid-semester break on February 25th and almost immediately go on a three-day silent retreat. Please pray a little extra throughout those three days (Feb. 25th-28th).
• Finally, Vocations Awareness Weekend is already right around the corner. The seminary community will welcome young men from most of the Dioceses of the province March 12th-14th. Anyone interested in attending should contact their vocations directors. Contact information can be found by going to Whispers of the Spirit.

Pax.

PHOTO 1 SOURCE: St. John Vianney College Seminary

PHOTO 2 SOURCE: St. John Vianney College Seminary

PHOTO 3 SOURCE: CNS