In the Chapel of St. Raphael at St. John Vianney College Seminary, there is mural on the wall directly behind the sanctuary that illustrates the missionary activity of the Catholic Church. The mural quotes Sacred Scripture by stating: “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” In the midst of the contemporary piece of art completed by Gabriel Loire, those who enter the chapel are reminded of their baptismal call of bringing the salvific message of Jesus Christ to the entire world.

Over the last several months of seminary formation, the mural in the seminary’s chapel has been speaking to me more and more each day. As many of you have read in my blog posts over the last couple of years, the discernment of the priesthood of Jesus Christ is not easy.

The Church asks a lot of someone who is in the discernment process of becoming a priest. We are asked to take a look at the deepest recesses of our hearts and examine who we are at our inner most cores. That journey can be very painful at times because all of us begin to open wounds and hurts that we have experienced throughout our lives. When we recall those events, we are asked to bring them to spiritual direction to find healing. Over the past couple of years, as I have taken this inward journey, I have begun to discover who I am and what the Lord is asking me to do with my life.

On Saturday, the St. John Vianney College Seminary community came together with alumni, family, and friends to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Chapel of St. Raphael for the 50th Anniversary. Archbishop John C. Favalora, Archbishop of Miami, was the main celebrant of the Mass. The mass was concelebrated by Bishops Thomas Wenski (Orlando), John Noonan (Auxiliary of Miami), Felipe Estévez (Auxiliary of Miami), Agustin Román (Ret. Auxiliary of Miami) and Bishop-elect Fernando Isern (Pueblo) along with priest alumni.

All of the seminarians had a responsibility throughout the weekend. My responsibility was with the Schola, which sang at all of the liturgical celebrations throughout the weekend. The music that was chosen for the Mass covered each generation of the seminary, which hopefully brought back some enjoyable memories for the alumni that were present. Below is a list of the songs that were sung for the celebration of the Eucharist: (I will try to get the audio from the Mass when it is completed.)

• Go Up to the Altar of God composed by James J. Chepponis
• Kyrie from the Mass for John Carroll composed by Jan Michael Joncas
• Psalm 40: Here am I composed by Marty Haugen
• Celtic Alleluia composed by Christopher Walker
• Trilingual Intercessions composed by Donald Osuna
• Desde la Aurora hasta el Ocaso composed by Juan J. Sosa/words by Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy, D.D.
• Mass Parts: Festival Eucharist composed by Richard Proulx
• Agnus Dei from the Chant Mass
• God’s Justice composed by Robert Vallee (alumni and current member of the faculty of SJVCS)
• Amen. El Cuerpo de Cristo composed by John Schiavone
• Sacrum Convivium
• Go Forth and Preach the Gospel arranged by James Chepponis

From a current seminarian’s point of view, having the opportunity to share in the celebration of the 50th Anniversary Mass during my time at the seminary is something that I will remember for the rest of my life. Looking up to the altar during the consecration, I saw two bishops and a bishop-elect who had graduated from this place. Noticing this made me realize that we, the current generation of seminarians, are the future of the Church, which is terrifying and yet humbling. We all bring our own weaknesses with us as we begin the long road of discernment. However, the Lord has called each of us, despite those weaknesses, to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles, the martyrs, saints, and millions of Christians who have gone before us. We have all received the message of our Lord, Jesus Christ and it is our duty to go forth and preach the gospel to all nations and all peoples.

After the jump, more photos.