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.

After VAW, the rest of the fall semester was normal. By no means is seminary ever normal!! Seminarians are constantly embarking on journeys that travel into the deepest recesses of our personhood and it is rather exhausting in itself. However, to have a lot of extra things back to back, the semester was very exhausting. At the same time, however, all of us felt that we had accomplished a great feat; our exhaustion felt good. But, nonetheless, we all were looking forward to getting back to the regular routine of seminary life. Shortly after getting back into the regular routine, the seminarians had their final exams for the fall semester (all of which I passed–to go on the record) and departed for home to celebrate the Christmas holidays with family and friends.

Over the Christmas break, I was able to spend some amount of time at the feet of the Lord. I asked him to continue guiding me, strengthening me, and illuminating His will for my life. The fall semester was one that was filled with many struggles and the Christmas break showed me that the Lord had something rather interesting in store for me during the spring semester. He was going to be working in me and through me in ways that I could not imagine. When we returned from Christmas break, all of the seminarians breathed a sigh of relief when we noticed that the forthcoming semester was rather normal and tranquil.

“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. 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.” [1]

Our semester continued with the presentation of the junior class’ Humanities Projects on January 28th. The purpose of the projects was to show a connection between the study of humanities (art, music, etc.) with that of religion and/or philosophy. To make the presentations go smoothly and not take five days to present, the juniors were broken up into five groups of three. Each of the groups were asked to choose two humanities categories and prepare a 15 minute presentation on how they are connected to theology or philosophy. Each of the projects were rather good; I was impressed by the work some of my fellow classmates completed. 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 project had a very profound impact on me because I was able to see how, through painting and literature, the Lord can reach us on a level that is immense. I was reminded of God’s love for each of us. It reminded me that, no matter what we do with our lives, as long as we are praising the Lord and working to serve others, then we are living the life that God wants us to live. But it also reminded me of my sinfulness and how the Lord is constantly calling me to a conversion of heart and mind.

The most intriguing event of the second semester was the visit of a very special alumni for the seminary’s annual Fides et Ratio Conference. This year, the seminary was very blessed to have Ambassador Miguel H. Diaz, United States Ambassador to the Holy See, come and give the annual speech to the seminarians, faculty, and other invited guests. “The purpose of Ambassador Diaz’s speech was to highlight the growing relationship between the United States and the Vatican, especially in the areas where the two countries are working together for the common good of all peoples.”

Ambassador Diaz had a message for the seminarians in attendance:

“We need religious leaders who know the world, who know the issues of the world and who can wrestle them.” He went on to say that “we are not called to flee from the world. The Church is in the midst of the world. The people of faith are called to be there, to be in Haiti, to be wherever human dignity is trampled.” And finally, the ambassador told us that “we have to remember the past because we do not want the future to be that past.”

It was a reminder to all of us that the Lord needs us to stand up for our faith and the morals that He gave us. We need to live in a way that illustrates the love of the Lord. We need to defend the rights of others, putting ourselves last, risking everything we have been given to make the voice of God heard in the world.

After Fides et Ratio, things once again returned to our regular routine. In February, after returning from mid-semester break, we went on a three-day retreat. The retreat was very helpful and grace-filled for me. I was given the opportunity to spend a good amount of time in the presence of the Lord without the distractions of the external world. I was able to focus on my prayer and to truly grow in my relationship with the Lord and with our Blessed Mother. A couple of weeks after the retreat,the seminary community once again opened its doors to guests for our second Vocations Awareness Weekend of the year.

As you can see, the post is getting long again. Therefore, stay tuned for Episode III where I will reflect on the Spring Semester from VAW until the present time as we prepare for graduation and Summer Recess.

PHOTO: (1) St. John Vianney College Seminary; (2) St. John Vianney College Seminary; (3) College of St. Benedict–St. John’s University

This afternoon at 5 p.m., the seminary community begins our annual silent retreat. So, from 5 o’clock this evening until Sunday afternoon, I will be free from the distractions of cell phones, computers, etc. Needless to say, I am really looking forward to this retreat; I am kind of wondering how the Lord is going to work. Please keep me and all the seminarians in your prayers, that the Lord will grant us all humility to receive and recognize the movements of the Spirit in our lives. As always, you all will remain in my prayers.

Pax.

Sunday, August 17th:
On Sunday, the new seminarians began, somewhat reluctantly, their four day silent retreat to reflect upon their journey to the seminary thus far. It gave all of us an opportunity to recall the days of the New Student Experience and how we have all come together as brothers in the faith. We were not able to use any kind of technology, including computers, cell phones, radios, televisions, etc. However, this was a gift from God, because we were able to recognize God’s presence in our daily lives.

Monday, August 18th – Wednesday, August 20th:
The retreat continued until Wednesday, when we were finally able to get our cell phones back from Reverend Doctor Rios (we just found out that he had been taking classes to become a doctor without anyone knowing – including Archbishop Favalora). When I finally got my phone back, I turned it on and was greeted by 41 messages!! YIKES!!

The retreat was an awesome experience! It gave us all the time we needed to have for prayerful reflection not only on these days here in the seminary, but for most of us, our entire lives. I was able to see that God has been present in my life the entire time. I just never really noticed! After the retreat ended and I discovered that my vocal chords did not disappear, I was able to voice what I felt touched me the most. When I was sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament, a sense of peace and comfort came over me and I knew that God was with me.

Thursday, August 21st:
On Thursday, all of the Returning Men arrived at the college. They are great guys also!! We have all been getting along really well so far. In my book, we are no longer New Men and Returning Men; we are Men of the Church who are traveling the same road of discernment to the priesthood.

Friday, August 22nd: (Happy Birthday, David!!!)
Friday….what a day! It was jam packed with a lot of fun and some not so fun things. We all had to be up at 7:30 for Morning Prayer, which was a little difficult for the guys returning after a long summer break, but I was used to it. Then we had breakfast, got our books for the semester, and the New Men went out on a “Social.”

We carpooled to the Dadeland Mall, which is about 5 minutes to the south of the seminary, and walked to the MetroRail station (above ground rail system). From there, we went to Downtown Miami and attended Mass at Gesu Catholic Church (the oldest Church in the Archdiocese). Then we went shopping for awhile and got back on the train and departed for home. That night, however, the New Men had to vacate the property because the Returning Men had to go on their Day of Recollection (silent retreat).

Well, a group of us decided to go to see a ceremony where some ladies were installed as nuns. On the way home from the ceremony, we were coming down the Palmetto Expressway when we ran over an iron gate that was sitting in the middle of the road. Unfortunately, the SUV I was riding in got a flat tire. At the time, it was about 11:40 p.m. and curfew was at 12:00 a.m. We were only about 5 minutes from the seminary when we ran over this stupid gate and had to sit there waiting for the tire to get changed. But, because so many cars ran this gate over, the Florida Highway Patrol had to come out and take a report, which took some time. By the time we got back to the seminary, it was about 1:15 a.m. way passed curfew!! But the Dean of Men did get a call from us, so he knew we would be late. But, I got very little sleep last night!!

Saturday, August 23rd:
Today, the Archbishop of Miami came and celebrated a Mass of the Holy Spirit with us as we begin the school year on Monday. Following the celebration of the Eucharist, we had a HUGE dinner. Fr. Miguel even came down to see us for this special occasion. After dinner, we had a little bit of free time so a group of us went bowling and had quite a bit of fun!

Hopefully, I was able to catch everyone up on my week. It was a week filled with great triumphs! Even the flat tire was a blessing because we were able to do some apostolic work on the side of the road (make sure everyone was okay, make sure no one needed any help, etc.). All of the seminarians are looking forward to this upcoming year of formation as we are a community of joy!

I leave you with a couple of questions from our retreat to use to reflect upon your own relationship with our Heavenly Father. Where has God been present in your lives? When have you been aware of His presence? When have you neglected to notice His presence? Have you given thanks to God for all the gifts he has placed in your lives?

Bye for now………..