Over the last couple of days, I have continued reflecting on this year in seminary formation and have been given the opportunity to recall many graces that I have received. The Lord has been extremely generous to me! In reflection of the first part of the formational year, I got up to the celebration of the 50th Anniversary weekend that the seminary community experienced back in November. I would like to continue from there.

The weekend after the alumni reunion, the seminary again opened its doors to a large group of people for our fall Vocations Awareness Weekend. The VAW that took place from November 13-15th was rather difficult. There were a lot of young men attending that were seriously considering what God was calling them to do with their lives. However, there were others who were here simply because their parents wanted them to come and who had no intention of looking at the priesthood as something God was calling them to do with their lives. However, the Lord worked through all of it. He used each and every one of the seminarians and priests who were here to show the attendees that God loves them and that He is seeking them to serve the Church and the people of God in some capacity. It was rather humbling to see, in the midst of the sometimes chaotic weekend, that the Lord was using me to reach someone I had never met. It goes to show you that the Lord works with what you have to offer, however limited that offering may be. All we can do is surrender it all to Him because we cannot necessarily see how the Lord is working in others.

Five years ago today, Pope Benedict XVI was elected in the second day of the Papal Conclave. Let us remember the Holy Father in our prayers on this special anniversary. Most especially, let us show our support for our German Shepherd as he continues to guide the church.

Shortly after the Habemus Papam announcement, Pope Benedict XVI emerged and gave his first Urbi et Orbi address.

“Dear Brothers and Sisters,

After the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord.

The fact that the Lord knows how to work and act even with inadequate instruments consoles me, so above all I entrust myself to your prayers.

In the joy of the Risen Lord, confident of his unfailing help, let us move forward. The Lord will help us and Mary, his Most Holy Mother, will be on our side. Thank you.”

VIDEO SOURCE: YouTube

SOURCE: Vatican | Holy See

Yesterday, Palm Sunday, marked the beginning of the holiest week in the Christian calendar. As Catholics, this year we will seem to be walking even closer to Christ than usual as a result of the recent developments out of Europe and the media’s attack on the Catholic Church.

Holy Week is time when Catholics worldwide feel the pain of dying in Christ.

It comes this year as media reports bring up heartrending, often previously published, stories with a new twist – how the Vatican handled the cases. Efforts to link stories to culpable inaction by Pope Benedict XVI cause reasonable people anguish given all that the pope has tried to do to address this crisis…

For many, the emphasis of Holy Week is on Good Friday, a day that’s good not because Jesus died a terrible death that day, but because the death led to His subsequent resurrection. It holds deep meaning for Catholics now who seek meaning from the tragedy of pedophilia.

Pedophilia has had terrible effect on many and reminds us of sinful humanity than is around us and within us. It has made a long Good Friday for many, especially those victimized by this sin and crime. But as the church has learned while dealing with these wounds, as it did with the crucifixion of Jesus, the pain can lead to a church purified of sin.

Early this evening, Cardinal Francis George, Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released the following statement regarding the current health care reform bill up for consideration by the Congress of the United States (COTUS). The bill, in its current language, does not address the issues raised by the Bishops over the last several months. (Emphasis mine)

The Catholic Bishops of the United States have long and consistently advocated for the reform of the American health care system. Their experience in health care and in Catholic parishes has acquainted them with the anguish of mothers who are unable to afford prenatal care, of families unable to ensure quality care for their children, and of those who cannot obtain insurance because of preexisting conditions.

Throughout the discussion on health care over the last year, the bishops have advocated a bipartisan approach to solving our national health care needs. They have urged that all who are sick, injured or in need receive necessary and appropriate medical assistance, and that no one be deliberately killed through an expansion of federal funding of abortion itself or of insurance plans that cover abortion. These are the provisions of the long standing Hyde amendment, passed annually in every federal bill appropriating funds for health care; and surveys show that this legislation reflects the will of the majority of our fellow citizens. The American people and the Catholic bishops have been promised that, in any final bill, no federal funds would be used for abortion and that the legal status quo would be respected.

Check out the article that the Orlando Sentinel posted on their website this morning.

Benedict XVI, the first pope with his own YouTube channel and presence on Facebook, is urging Roman Catholic clergy to use social media to communicate with parishioners and reach those outside the church.

“Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis,” the Pope declared in January in preparation for World Communications Day in May.

But the Catholic Church, including the Orlando Diocese, has policies that take the “social” out of social media. Parishes that use social media, such as Facebook, are instructed to disable the comment functions of those sites.

The Orlando Diocese’s rules for the use of social media, enacted in August after six months of study and debate, expressly prohibit blogs because they imply two-way communication that encourages responses from the public, said Carole Brinati, Diocese spokeswomen.