Special congratulations to the St. John Vianney College Seminary Class of 2011!!

Chapel of St. Raphael, SJVCS

Last evening, Archbishop Thomas Wenski, the Very Rev. Roberto Garza (Rector/President), faculty and staff, fellow seminarians, and guests celebrated the graduation of 22 men from SJVCS in Miami. The graduation ceremonies represent the culmination of the initial step on the journey to the priesthood for these young…well, mostly young men. Depending on their educational achievements prior to entering seminary, these men have spent anywhere between two and four years attempting to comprehend the vast and exciting world of philosophy. (If you couldn’t tell, I’m being sarcastic.) The reception of their degrees last night, however, signifies that they are now ready to move on to the study of theology.

As most of you know, I studied philosophy at St. John Vianney College Seminary for two years. Though I decided to leave at the end of the last academic year, these graduates–my former classmates–have remained in my prayers as they have continued their journey towards the priesthood. Each of them have their own unique personalities and bring many gifts to the Church. I am looking forward to the day when they are, God willing, ordained priests. They are an excellent group of guys who have a deep desire to serve the Church and our Lord.

To the graduates: I am very thankful for the opportunity to have walked with you on this journey. No matter what the Lord calls us to in life, we will always be connected by a common bond: we once shared in a unique journey of faith that led us to develop a deep and personal relationship with God.

Congrats, fellas! Please know that you all continue to be in my prayers and I ask that you please keep me in yours. We continue to be brothers in Christ.

Side note: If you’re interested in finding out more on the Chapel of St. Raphael on the property of the seminary, here is an old newspaper article from Miami: http://library.stu.edu/ulma/va/3005/1966/01-21-1966.pdf [This is a PDF!] . It’s pretty interesting, you should check it out.

Have a cupcake to celebrate Catholica Omnia's 1st birthday.

A year ago today, as I began transitioning out of studying in the seminary, the Thomas Pringle Vocation Blog was renamed Catholica Omnia. When I originally made the change, I was unsure about what things I would cover and I even questioned whether or not I would continue blogging. However, seemingly everywhere I went, people were asking me to continue with the website so they could continue to follow my journey. So, needless to say, I continued to keep the pages up.

Throughout the year, as I began to write about papal trips to various countries, bishops appointments, social concerns, and much more, the experiences taught me more than I would have learned otherwise. In June, I began to recognize that there was a lot of interest in learning about the Catholic position on various social issues, an idea came to mind about starting a series of posts on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Wherever that idea came from, the result has been an incredible blessing for me and I hope the posts have been as much of a grace for you.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for stopping by, however often that may be. We are on this faith journey together and I thank all of you allowing me to share my own personal faith experiences, thoughts and challenges. Keeping the website up, no matter how challenging it can get a times, has been one of the biggest blessings in my life.

May the Lord grant you abundant blessings and happiness.

Good evening, everyone! This year in the seminary has been the most challenging one of all and, as fast as the year has gone, the year is not yet completed. There is still much work to do–finishing final papers, finishing up projects, and studying for final exams. So, over the next couple of weeks, I am going to take a break from posts on the blog to focus on the most important things–prayer and academics.

As the seminarians journey throughout the end of this year, please continue to pray for us. We need it now more than ever. I hope everyone is having a blessed Easter thus far. Remember to keep your eyes focused on Christ. And, unless anything big happens with the Catholic Church in the US, do not expect to see a blog post until the end of April. Peace and blessings to all of you!