WITH GREAT JOY, ST. SEBASTIAN PARISH PROUDLY ANNOUNCES . . .

Many of you are experiencing priests collecting boxes.  It is the time of year when those who are completing their assignments are getting ready to move where the Spirit (and their bishop) calls.  For these more seasoned men, the news of where they are going is largely handled over the phone.

But there is another group of men anticipation something similar.  They are our soon-to-be newly ordained.  The announcement of where they will be spending the next four years of their lives is not handled so casually.  Rather, it is more like a game show.  Those to-be-ordained and their future pastors are invited to the Cathedral Rectory where Bishop Thomas would make the big reveal.

I was really not all that concerned.  It is a great group of men and I would consider myself lucky to have any of them.  But for some reason, I woke up nervous that morning.  I would meet the guy with whom I would be working and living for next four years.  So I guess that is worth being nervous over.

I rode up to Cleveland with other Akron pastors who would be receiving a newly ordained.  (That made the trip so much easier.)  We were ushered into the Bishop’s parlor, a large well appointed room.  We sat on wingback chairs in front of the large marble fireplace over which hung a large painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary who presided over the room.  The rector of the seminary spoke to us first and told us his impressions of the men we would soon be meeting as we distractedly sipped at our coffee.

Then, about a half hour into the meeting, the Bishop lead the soon-to-be-ordained-preists in the room and sat them in alphabetical order across from us.  Fortunately the Bishop was not of a mind to prolong the torture and immediately went about the task of announcing the assignments.  Here are the results:

Deacon Peter Bang                       Holy Angels, Bainbridge

Deacon Jacob Bearer                     St. Francis de Sales , Akron

Deacon James Cosgrove           St. Christopher, Rocky River

Deacon Eric Garris                      St. Raphael, Bay Village

Deacon Matt Jordan                      St. Hilary, Fairlawn

Deacon Robert McWilliams                St. Joseph, Strongsville

Deacon Peter Morris                     St. John Vianney, Mentor

Deacon Anthony Simone           St. Sebastian, Akron

Notice Deacon Simone is at the end of the list.  It was agony waiting to see who would be coming to St. Sebastian.  When it was down to just Deacons Morris and Simone, I was as tense as a cat on the sting above a pool of swimming doberman pinchers.  Quickly enough, by process of elimination, it became clear that we would be blessed to have Deacon Simone at St. Sebastian!

About a month ago we had a dinner for this class at St. Sebastian.  Even though they were not supposed to know, for various (and good reasons if anybody from the diocese is reading this) they knew that one of those men would be coming here in June.  “If they were puppies,” they told me, “and we get to pick one of them . . . “  Well don’t you know Deacon Simone was at the top of the list!

The rest of the afternoon was a workshop basically detailing how best it might be for old men (me) and young men (the deacons) to live together in harmony.  Then we had to go our separate ways for they had a seminar to go to that evening.  It was like getting a new bike and being told you can’t ride it for two months.

When I went through this as a young almost priest, we left the meeting and found phones to call people and tell them where we were going.  Whey Fr. Pfeiffer was coming to St. Sebastian, all of his class and phones to immediately text to their family fiends where they were going.  At this meeting, WE ALL HAD PHONES and by the time the meeting was over, parishes were already posting the results! 

Please keep all of these men in your prayers.

You are invited to the ordination at St. John Cathedral on May 19th at 7:00PM.

IS YOUR EVIL PLAN ON SCHEDULE?

My evil plan is right on schedule.

 

While I was in the seminary, the priest shortage was in full swing.  It did not bother me because it was all part of plan that would serve me well and as we all know, this is all about me.

 

Here is the plan:  The shortage would continue causing a “buyer’s market” meaning that I will get THE assignment that I had always dreamed about.  THEN, there would be a huge influx seminarians so that there would be a surplus of priests to take care of me in my old age.

 

Well, I cannot think of a better assignment for me than the one that I have right now.  And, in general, vocations numbers are rising.  So now it is time to kick things into high gear.  I’m not getting any younger and I have to train my handlers now while I have the energy.

 

One of the reasons that things have been so hectic that I could not post recently is that I was busy implementing the next part of my evil plan yesterday.  A group of young men approached the parish and asked if they could take a trip to the seminary to see what this priesthood thing was all about.  So we loaded up a few cars and headed out to the seminary.

 

We spent the day talking to seminarians, taking tours, praying, eating (lots of eating) and meeting with the vocations director.  Fr. McCandless and the seminarians were very gracious hosts and I enjoyed myself until we came across our ordination pictures on the wall.  “That’s YOU?  So that’s what you look like with hair.”

 

One of the biggest surprises of the day was from our young ladies who want to have a similar trip.  I had no idea.  So plans are in the making.  Thanks heavens they overcame my lack of awareness.

 

God always works with us.  He doesn’t force anything upon us.  He tends not to work in spite of us.  Like a good Father, he assists His children in their endeavors – does not tell them to sit the couch while He does everything the right way – and gives us some ownership.  So do you want more vocations?  Don’t sit on your hands and simply wish that there will always be someone to say Mass, hear your confession, or anoint your loved one.  Don’t simply pray that there might a priest around when you want one.  Don’t just simply talk positively about the priesthood.  Tap a young man on the shoulder that you think might make a good priest and TELL HIM.  One of the TOP reasons men who thought about the priesthood as a young person never looked into it is because nobody every suggested it to them – said that the community thought that they might just be good enough – that they want him.

VOCATIONS IN YOUR DIOCESE

Last week I wrote about the seminarian situation in the Diocese of Cleveland.  Somebody wrote in and asked about the rest of the United States.  What’s going on and what should we do?  It led me to do some research and the findings are interesting.  In some ways very encouraging and in other ways we really need to get to work.

 

First some quick background:  In the Catholic system of priest training there are generally three levels of seminaries.  Almost extinct in the United States is the high school seminary.  Cleveland’s high school seminary closed a number of decades ago.  Next is what equates to the college level seminary.  In Cleveland that is Borromeo Seminary.  It used to be its own college but has since associated itself with John Carroll University which is now the institution that awards the diploma though formation and many of the seminarian classes are held at the seminary.  Then there is the graduate level seminary.  St. Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology is the institution that fulfills this role here in Cleveland.

 

The number of graduate level Catholic seminarians (this is the important number since it is from this group that men are ordained) in the United States was 3,694 in 2013, a 16% increase since 1995.  That does not mean 3,000+ will be ordained next year.  This is the number of men in a 4 to 5 year program and will be ordained, God willing, over the next few years.  That sounds like a huge number but divide it by 50 states, divide that number by the number of dioceses in your state, and then divide that by the number of parishes in your diocese.  Last year 511 men were ordained.  The peak was in 1964 with 994.

 

Here is what a typical newly ordained Catholic priests looks like in the United States according to an article in the Catholic World News:

 

81% has two Catholic parents

20% have 5 or more siblings. 

10% have 4 siblings

22% have 3 siblings

4% have been home schooled

63% went to university before entering the seminary

62% worked full time before entering the seminary

67% served as altar servers

67% are white

15% Hispanic

10% Asian

5% African American

68% regularly pray the rosary

62% participated in Eucharistic adoration before entering the seminary

67% were encouraged by their parish priest

40% of the men were the oldest of the family.

 

Just by comparison, while both of my parents were Catholic, my dad was non-practicing (to say the least) until his death bed.  “Religion is for weak people,” he said, “but at least you will be leader among weak people.”  (Ha!) I have two sisters, was an altar server, graduated from the University of Akron and worked for a couple of years before entering the seminary.  I am of Slovenian descent and prayed the rosary on a semi-regular bases then and occasionally made my way to St. Augustine in Barberton for Adoration.  My home pastor, after whom I took my confirmation name, encouraged me, and I am the baby of the family.

 

So there is the trend but as you can see it is merely a trend.  Don’t carry this list around with you to find the perfect person to encourage to be a priest.  Find a single male (huge age range here) and suggest it to him.  (The worst he can do is laugh.)  We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. 

 

1.      Identify him.

2.      Encourage him.

3.      Pray for him.

4.      Repeat

MONDAY DIARY: THE CROSS CROSS

So this past weekend was the Bishop's Seminary Brunch.   It was only the second one to which I ever went.  The first time I went as a seminarian to provide entertainment for the folks.  I remember walking out afterward and running in to our bishop for the first time (who was then Bishop Pilla) and he said, "Good afternoon John" and I was on cloud nine that he knew my name.  A minute later I realized I had my name tag on.

 

I don't know about you but when I hear "brunch" I'm thinking there will be some sausage and/or bacon and other not so good for you but just the same wonderful foods that are at least tangentially associated with that in between breakfast and lunch (hence the name) meals.  But it was chicken and pasta.  Don't get me wrong, it was very good chicken and pasta - superb - but it was probably more of an early dinner than what I think of as brunch.  But that makes for a lousy name.  "The Bishop's Seminary Early Dinner"

 

There were about 1,000 people there.  My cousins were the co-chairs this year and the when they kicked the afternoon off this incident occurred:

Well, it provided a good laugh for us well trained Catholics.  It got me thinking about some of the ways that people use to cover when they start to make the Sign of the Cross and then realize that it is not called for yet.  I put my had up to give a blessing and their hand goes automatically to their forehead before they realize I have a couple of sentences before the actual blessing comes.  Here are some of the techniques used to cover:

Anyway, as one of the seminarians reminded us - priests come from the people and they need encouragement, support, and prayer.  If you see a young man and for some reason you think that he has a vocation, say something to him.  And if you have a couple a couple of spare seconds, pray for those in formation.

MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUSIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: A LITTLE BIT OF HUNGER GOES A LONG, LONG WAY

Today, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Sebastian (the birthday boy) and I decided to take a trip back in time.

We set the Wayback machine for Martin Luther King day in 1993 in the vicinity of Wickliffe, Ohio and ended up in one of my classes headed by a priest we will name Fr. Double P.

And so we hopped onto the seminary van and headed to the inner city from where, a couple of years previously, they moved the seminary because it was deemed too dangerous.

Fr. Double P's plan, in his efforts to teach us about inner city life, was good but flawed.

It is always good to call first.

Ironic isn't it?

But too late.  The van was gone and we were stuck in the city wandering around for hours with no place to go, no coffee shop to sit in to get out of cold, and nobody to visit.

 

So as it turned out, it became a great lesson in spite of poor planning.  Join us next time for "You're never to cold to learn" or "A hamburger in the hand is worth two in the suburbs."

MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUCIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: PRESEMINARIANS

SO . . . This past weekend, in order to help celebrate Priesthood Sunday, Fr. P and I held a dinner at the rectory for seminarians and any young (to youngish) men of the parish who are considering priesthood.  It could range from those ready to sign up tomorrow to those who give it the remotest possibility such as if the French Foriegn Legion should regect them.  We would have considered it a success if two or three guys showed up, but eleven signed up (though one had to cancel due to other responsibilities.)  Wow.

 

It started off a bit rough however.  These ten guys with no real former connections (they were from all kinds of age groups) kind of sat around and stared at their glasses of pop as if they had all been sent down to the principals office and were too embarrassed to recognize each other.

 

The first half of the night looked a bit like this:

And sounded like this:

And felt like this:

But we were fortunate also to have four seminarians there.  Over dinner (a fabulous dinner prepared by a volunteer from the parish who heard about the dinner and wanted to be a part of it AND who just had knee surgery on Friday but STILL made dinner) the priests and seminarians told their vocations stories.  They all had similar themes - our hearts were restless and found peace when we started pursuing God.  (Very Augustinian no?)  But, the big guns were saved for last.  Fr. O's story is a whale of a tale and succeeded in making everybody loosen up:

NOTE: Despite the depiction above, there was no beer or smoking at the event though it is true that the land war in Asia was not a success.

 

At this point everybody loosened up a bit and things became a little more fun.  One of things used to entice guys to come was a climb up the bell tower and I quote, "IF the weather was good."  It was not.  It was not remotely even mild.  It was the beginning of the Frankenstorm.  Sebastian didn't even want to go for his walk.  So I offered an alternative:

The point of the afternoon was not to lure these guys into becoming priests.  God will have to do that if it is His plan.  The point was for the guys to see that there are other men in the parish who are also considering this life - they are not alone.  And they at least asked the question seriously once.  Please keep them in your prayers.

And it was also nice getting to know these men a little better also.  For instance, I found out that Paul (below) is afraid of heights, the full extent of which we did not fully realize until we were seven stories up in the tower with low railing overlooking Akron in a rainstorm.  Nice timing to come clean guy.

Also, thanks to Anthony, a seminarian who came to St. Sebastian this weekend to promote vocations.  He and our two seminarians, Jeremy and James, and the seminarian assigned to the parish for the year, Brian, made the day great.  Keep these guys and they guys of your own parish in your prayers that you may have priests available to you when you need them.



MONDAY DIARY: THEY ARE THERE

This past Friday Fr. Pfeiffer and I jumped into the priest mobile and headed north to the Seminary to see two seminarians who call St. Sebastian their spiritual home installed as readers.  Confessions went long that Friday afternoon and getting out we ran to the car and jumped on the highway.  Driving toward Cleveland we passed mile after mile of slow, backed up cars driving home after work I assume.  Fortunately far fewer people were driving into Cleveland. 

 

“I’m sure glad our commute is a walk down the stairs in the morning,” I said.

 

“Me too,” came the reply.

 

Actually my commute is twice as long as Fr. Pfeiffer’s.  I must go down the entire flight of stairs in the house while his room is off the first landing.

 

After stopping for some pon pon chicken we pulled into the CP&L parking lot on that dark rainy night with just adequate time to make it to the Mass.  It was nice being back at the seminary and seeing so many good men who are giving the priesthood an honest looking into.  And to get the pon pon chicken

 

Gentle readers:  Vocations are out there.  But like plants or savings or love, they need to be nurtured and cared for.  Here are a few stories from just a last couple of weeks around the parish:

 

This past weekend Fr. Pfeiffer stopped me in the aisle of the church following the 11:00 Sunday Mass.  “Do you want me to take the baptisms and you register this new guy or do you want to take the baptism and I register?”  I had married the parents of one of those to be baptized just last year and so chose baptisms.  We went to the sacristy, me to vest and Fr. Pfeiffer to de-vest, and the gentleman to be registered stood close by.  Noticing he was there without a family in tow I asked him if he were considering the priesthood.  He stated that he was in a state of discernment and that it was a real possibility.

 

Very recently I was taking Sebastian for his evening constitutional and came across a young man who was working an event at the parish hall.  We stopped and chatted for a few moments and he asked a number of questions concerning the number of years one had to study for the priesthood and what kind of degree I had and a few other questions along these lines.  Suddenly it hit me and so I asked, “Are you thinking of the priesthood?”  He smiled and said, “I think so.  At least I would like to explore the idea.”

 

Two other young men came to our parish from another parish to explore ideas of the priesthood.  One decided it was not for him but at least he gave it an honest thinking over.

 

The youth minister stopped in my office this morning and showed me a picture from our trip to the youth conference at the Franciscan University of Steubenville this past summer.  It depicted three young men of our parish who are seriously considering the priesthood and stood up when the speaker called for all those considering a vocation.  One of them has already visited the seminary and talked to the vocations director.

 

There is another young man who stated his intention to submit an application (not to the diocese), and a happy number of grade  and middle schoolers who have expressed interest and we regularly pray for them.

 

I tell you this only to point out that vocations are out there.  THE NUMBER ONE REASON why young men who were at one time thinking of going into the priesthood did not do so is because NOBODY SUGGESTED IT OR SUPPORTED THEM IN THE IDEA.

 

This week the priests of the diocese will be with their bishop for three days.  Technically there should be no Masses (or they should be difficult to find – we will have one on Thursday celebrated by an order priest at 8:15AM) and as a diocese we will get a taste of what it might feel like if we do not promote vocations.  So tell a young man that you think he might be a good priest and then pray for him.

A FRESH VOICE - GUEST BLOGGER PART II

This is Part II of a 2 part series by seminarian Patrick Schultz

In the anthropocentric worldview, to be free is to wield the hammer of creativity and by sheer exercise of the will, sculpt oneself and one’s world as he or she sees fit. There is no notion that our choices should conform to our nature and promote our end, simply because modernity denies that we have a nature to conform to or an end to actualize. Herein lies the difference: to consider all of reality as devoid of intrinsic natures and indwelling ends is to see all being as malleable and moldable according to our whims, including the human person. If man is not endowed with a nature and an end, then all is permissible, and more importantly, everything is right. In a “Hakuna-matata”—no worries—fashion, whatever a person chooses, he is right; no one can object. You cannot go wrong within this framework. Why? Because if the supra-material causality of spirit is illusory, then there are no intrinsic natures in nature; likewise, if there is no transcendent spiritual dimension, then there is no God. If there is no God, then there is no grounding for morality, for good, for evil, for right, for wrong, for anything. If, as Nietzsche contends, “God is dead,” then all concepts of anything absolute dissipate. Without a lawgiver, law is a farce. The voice that speaks categorically in our heads, the voice of conscience that whispers those “ought’s,” is an illusion that can and should be ignored. The anthropocentric worldview is a slow asphyxiation. As Flannery O’Connor once remarked, it is a noxious gas that is breeding the moral sense out of certain segments of humanity, much like the wings have been bred off certain types of chickens. Our culture is being bred to believe in nothing, or better yet, that everything is permissible.

Although I doubt the woman on the plane was aware of what she was implying, her question was brimming over with this destructive worldview. I am here to affirm the opposite, and I will spend the rest of my life spreading the gospel of the theocentric worldview. Seminarians, postulants, novices, and all those earnestly seeking God, are looked on by the culture as misguided idealists who are throwing their lives away. And that is the crux of it. We are throwing our lives away. There is a theo-logic inaccessible to human reason that confounds modern sensibilities: for each one of us, we find ourselves by losing ourselves; we gain everything by losing everything; we become fully alive when we die to self. The Church declares that man, made in the image and likeness of God, “is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself” (Gaudium et Spes 24). To actualize our freedom for excellence is to recognize this sublime truth: it is by giving that we receive. It is through a willed dispossession of self that one fully comes to life.

So, what on earth would make me want to be a priest, especially in this day and age? The answer is simple: I want to respond to Him who loved me first. Just as He gave himself completely to me out of love, so too I wish to give myself completely to him. The only appropriate response to love is love itself. Out of love I was formed, and out of that same love and creativity, I am held in existence from moment to moment. At each and every second of my existence, I stand over the precipice of non-being, and yet God continues to choose me, and wills me to be. In light of such an unfathomable, magnanimous gift, how could I not respond by laying my life down, and giving my all? I do not desire to be used as a means to further God’s ends, as many moderns would interpret; I desire to cooperate willfully in the theo-drama that we are all a part of. I want to be, like all the great saints, one who enrolls in the school of silence, and says everyday: “Here I am, Lord. I long to do your will.”

A FRESH VOICE - GUEST BLOGGER

Here's a treat for you! As you know it is the habit at Adam's Ale that when we approach our busy holy days I have come to rely on Guest Bloggers to fill the gaps when otherwise this space would have to go blank out of necessity. As we enter into this Holy Week it is my pleasure to hand the Adam's Ale reigns over to Mr. Patrick Schultz. He is a junior philosophy major at Borremeo Seminary here in the Diocese of Cleveland. He hails from Saint Mary Parish in Hudson, a hop, skip, and a twenty minute drive from Saint Sebastian. His philosophy teacher, Fr. F. who contributes to Quote Tuesday quite often suggested (with the permission of the seminary) that he submit a paper that he wrote to Adam's Ale. After reading it I was most excited that this space be venue for his first publishing.

I was able to meet Patrick at the Aquinas lecture this past week. It is also a pleasure to report that he is also quite a personable gentleman. So with no further ado, here is Part I of a two Part series.

Answering the “Hakuna-Matata” Culture of 21st Century America
By: Patrick R. Schultz

I was sitting next to a woman on a flight recently. We were sharing a pleasant conversation; she was telling me about her children and grandchildren, and I was sharing stories about me and my younger brother. The topic, however, turned, and she asked me where I go to school and what I study. Instead of avoiding the question, I dropped the bomb: “I am actually a seminarian studying for the Catholic priesthood.” She became quiet, and a puzzled look filled her lined face. She quipped, “Oh, that’s interesting,” at which point I thought the conversation was over. But then, she turned back and looked at me, and as if she were figuring out how to best word her question, she asked, “What on earth would make you want to do that, especially in this day and age?” Indeed, what on earth would compel anybody to walk such a path?

The modern world is ripe with possibilities and new frontiers for young people to explore and take part in. We can do things, go places, learn concepts, communicate, and live lifestyles, etc., that our forbearers could never have dreamed. American culture marches forward to a steady beat that rings out loudly: change, development, innovation, and progress. We live and move and have our being in a consumerist culture where the externals (money, career, popularity, image, power, etc.) are exalted on high. When our heroes are Hollywood celebrities and professional athletes, and our role models are The Housewives of Orange County and the cast members of MTV’s The Real World, it is logical that, given this cultural heartbeat and social framework, the priesthood could only appear as an arcane, outmoded “career.” The Catholic Church is consequently perceived as an antiquated institution, which drives people back into the dark-ages of superstition, sexual repression, and corruption. The priesthood, let alone the pursuit of holiness, is utterly counter-intuitive, and counter-cultural. In a word, the priesthood appears diametrically opposed to plain common sense. The modern world simply cannot see the value in it, or the logic behind it.

And this is the key: the occluding worldview of modernity, which has devalued the spiritual and the absolute, makes it not simply difficult to see, but downright impossible to see. The woman’s incredulous response to my answer points to this very blindness. Our ideas matter; our underlying presumptions about the world, the universe, about reality, all matter. They are the lenses through which we process reality. Therefore, since modernity has acquiesced to Nietzsche’s bold proclamation, “God is dead,” contemporary culture is anthropocentric, that is, we possess a temporal or human-centered worldview. This worldview does not liberate humanity but rather slowly poisons it. What is needed is a theocentric worldview, that is, a Godly worldview, which considers man as a composite being of spirit and matter, endowed with reason, and oriented towards a transcendent destiny.

Implicit in the woman’s question is this anthropocentric worldview, and its consequent redefinition of freedom. The concept of freedom, especially here in America, is the value par excellence. We cherish, honor, celebrate, and defend our freedom more so than anything else. We talk about personal freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion (or lack thereof). We talk about one’s freedom to choose, freedom to determine one’s future, and freedom to define happiness and the meaning of life. Fundamentally, we exalt the freedom of the individual to act however, and choose whatever, insofar as one’s actions and choices do not infringe upon another’s autonomy. Like many concepts today, we causally use this word freedom, putting it front and center and often hiding behind it, without knowing what it really means. In the history of ideas, freedom has undergone a dramatic redefinition, which coincides with the devaluation of the spiritual and the absolute. Where freedom once was seen as freedom for excellence, or virtue, it now implies a freedom of indifference. Before, the person who best actualized his inborn potential for excellence was most free. Now, he who can simply choose between a plurality of options is free.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI - CALLINGS IN CLEVELAND'S CATHEDRAL - PARTII

This is part II of Fr. Pfeiffer's vocation story. Part I was posted in last Friday's Potpourri.

During this year off I rented an apartment with another great friend from high school, got a job, and lived in the “real world.” It was during this time when I finally started asking the question, “What does God want me to do?” rather than my usual “What do I want to do?” I could not articulate it that way at the time, but during this period I was praying more, continued reading C.S. Lewis books (which interestingly was the consistent thing I did through all the preceding years as well), read the Catechism, and even The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. By this time in my life I was big on apologetics, and I would almost look for debates to defend the Church (I may have done this to a fault at times). I loved talking about the faith. Somehow through all of this, my response to God grace started to grow, and I came to the decision of joining Borromeo Seminary (the college level). I figured if I was energized about the Faith, then maybe I should look into the priesthood; maybe my uncle was onto something I thought.

I told my uncle, and he was thrilled. Then I told my parents and they were very happy and supportive. I told my friends and again was blessed to find much support. During my time at Borromeo Seminary people were affirming this call to priesthood and God kept pulling me along year after year. He pulled me along in my spiritual life as well making me more aware of His infinite love (even for me). Even when doubts would creep up I could not find a good reason for leaving the seminary. It was invaluable to have a good spiritual director during these times (which is probably why the church requires spiritual directors for seminarians). After graduating Borromeo I progressed to St. Mary Seminary for theological studies and more intense training for ministerial priesthood.

It was in my seminary years where living as a holy Christian man really came to the forefront for me. Living out the Faith through the call to holiness (which of course includes realizing how far away I still am) became more paramount. Before seminary I lived the Faith as best I could, but it was extremely intellectual (which is a good thing - don’t get me wrong). I knew the Faith, but was still coming to know the person of Jesus. I am still becoming more aware of Him and His love. This is a life long process of formation for all of us in whichever vocation we choose. His grace somehow worked through it all and kept calling me to priesthood. It is this vocation through which I am to live a holy life. What a blessing it is to be called as a steward of the sacred mysteries even while I am still a sinner. I keep reminding myself that God does not call the worthy, but makes worthy those whom He calls.

Finally after five years at St. Mary’s Bishop Lennon recognized that call. He ordained me a transitional deacon on Oct. 25, 2008 and on May 16, 2009 he advanced me to the rank of the presbyterate in the Order of Melchizedek of Old. The Bishop has assigned me as the parochial vicar of St. Sebastian Parish in Akron, OH for the next four years. I am loving priesthood! - the Mass and sacraments, the people whom I serve, Fr. V. and Sebastian (the dog). How good God is! “And now you know the rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey would say.

Praised be to our Lord Jesus Christ - May God bless you and Mary keep you!

SEMINARY UNVEILED

HAPPY FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION!

When I was shorter and had much more hair and being a priest not much more than a passing daydream, I imagined the seminary a far different place than it turned out to be. I don’t know why, but I thought it would be much more, I don’t know, English, which is quite ludicrous I know. It was pictured as an old mansion type building set on the shores of Lake Erie. Leather bound books would be in oak bookcases in a library with leaded windows. Classes would be held in sitting rooms and be rather like sharing the wisdom of the elders than formal classes. In chapel we would sit in choir stalls and wear cassock and surplus and sing in Latin.

Not quite.

So I thought as I was giving a tour of the seminary during the FEST, I would take some pictures and give those of you who have not been in a seminary a little taste of what one is like. The tour is a rather limited one (or the tours would have gone on for hours) but you might get a better idea of what one looks like.

First I would like you to meet Fr. Mike Gurnik, classmate and head of vocations for the Diocese of Cleveland. He roped me in to give the tours of the seminary at the FEST. He’s the go-to man if you are thinking of becoming a priest in our diocese.

This is the seminary. Well, actually it is the Center for Pastoral Leadership (CPL) and actually houses two seminaries, St. Charles Borromeo Minor Seminary and Saint Mary, Our Lady of the Lake Major Seminary and Graduate School of Theology. In addition to these are all the other training programs for service in the diocese as well as some other programs run out of some of the buildings on the campus. The land was originally a farm evidenced by the large barn still on the back of the property. The farm was willed in half, one half going to the Good Shepherd Sisters who built the Marycrest School for Girls, the other to a Jewish Community who built Telshe Yeshiva.

In 1954 the Diocese bought the property from the sisters, expanded the building, and in different manifestations has had a seminary there ever since. The CPL sits on 54 beautiful acres and has a combined floor space of almost 280,000 square feet.

In the entrance way you will find this bronze piece in the floor that has the coat of arms for the Diocese. Legend has it that if a seminarian walk across it, he will not be ordained. Not wanting any prospective future seminarian to accidentally tread across it on this day, Fr. Gurnick put a plant on top of it.

If you turned left, there would be the Aula Magna (large hall) that was once the movie theater for the seminarians who were strictly forbidden to leave the grounds. Since then the floor has been leveled and it is now a large conference room. This is where Dawn Eden came to speak when she came to Cleveland.

In the other direction and through these beautiful gates is the Bruening-Marotta Library. It is one of the finest theological libraries in the United States. It is home to some historically significant works including the Bishop Ignatius Horstmann Collection that served as the original seminary library. The oldest book in this collection, which is pictured here, dates back to 1504.

As you walk around the building there is nary a corner that is not used as a display for art. One of the collections is known as the Hallinan-Newman Art Collection considered one of Cleveland’s premier religious art exhibits.

One of my favorite pieces is this one, hand carved in Germany. When closed it presents the first chapter of the Gospel of John, “In principio erat verbum . . .” “In the beginning was the Word . . .” When open we see a beautiful manger scene.

The heart of the campus is Resurrection Chapel. It is oddly shaped with the separate naves stemming from the sanctuary. This was from the Marycrest days when the nuns could have their own private chapel, the resident another and the third I was never quite sure about. Perhaps it was for visitors. Seen here are some of the many statues of saints that surround the seminarians as they pray.

This nave is used for the recitation of the Divine Office. The seminarians face each other for morning, evening, and night prayer, chanting the verses of the Psalms and prayers in an alternating fashion.

At the head of this nave is the Tellers Brand Pipe organ, a gem of an instrument. No matter how hard they try, electric organs just do not quite cut it like a good pipe organ.

Here is a model of a seminarian’s room. You can tell it is a model and not the real thing. No seminarian is this neat. That would be unhealthy.

There is a lot more to see, but you would get board reading and I would get board typing. There is of course the refectory where the seminarians and others eat. Fr. Gurnick supplied us with the statistics that the boys eat about 24,000 eggs and 30,000 slices of bacon for breakfast each year. And this is during a health craze in our country. Because of this there is also a weight room, gym and racquetball courts. Not to be forgotten are the classrooms that are not unlike typical college classrooms, lounges, recreation areas, courtyards, and other various and sundry nooks and crannies.

Here is one last thing though. This is model of the previous building which still stands in Rockefeller Park on Ansel Road which housed Saint Mary Seminary before it moved to this site. Talk about a gem of a building. But actually I would like you to notice the little white building to the side. There has been much speculation over the years as to what this house was. Some thought it the bishop’s house or some other building that was originally on the grounds. I know the truth. And now you will too. It is my house. When I was taking my model train set down, I brought one of the houses with me, opened the glass case and set in there about 12 years ago and there is has remained ever since. And that’s the rest of the story.

Here is the Vocation site for the Diocese of Cleveland. Please pray for the seminarians returning to studies soon!