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 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.

GUEST BLOGGER: POVERTY OF FRIENDSHIP

Greetings friends,



Today we have a guest blogger (saving me from a tight schedule today.)  Mr. Ryan Mann is a seminarian for the Diocese of Cleveland.  I hope you enjoy his thoughts and that it spurs some thinking in your part of the cyberworld.

Last fall, while interning with the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA in Washington D.C. a priest friend came to visit. One night, on our way to dinner, we were stuck in traffic - not surprising for the District. As I looked out my car window I saw a homeless man nestled into an abandoned store’s stoop. I turned to my friend and asked, “Do you think you could ever end up homeless?” With almost no hesitation he quipped, “No, I have friends.” I was silent with awe.

Over the next few weeks I shared this story with other friends in the area. Each one responded with a similar awe.  This priest’s response was so obvious and simple, and yet not one of us ever thought of it that way. After sitting with this for a while, I came to realize that my priest friend’s response was the right response (the point I am making here is not the cause of homelessness, but the nature of friendship revealed in my friend's comment).

Friendship isn’t simply a nice thing to have. Aristotle, for example, taught that friendship is necessary to become fully human. Without friendship virtue would be beyond our reach and life itself would be lonely and dull. And yet, as good Americans, my friends and I felt a very different ethos animating our bones and tainting our minds. This was the modern mind that sees an individual at the basis of all society, and tells us to depend on will power, ingenuity, and hard work to avoid situations like the homeless man. This worldview was at odds with the simple and enlightening answer of my friend, and I'm sure that is why it shook me up so much. He spoke from some other world, from some other place, and it was simple, profound and transforming.

This “other world” is none other than the Kingdom of God. This priest’s radical vision was Jesus’ vision. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus like Aristotle never does anything on his own. He is constantly referring to the most basic element of His existence, his relationship with the Father. Jesus says things like: “…the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.” (Jn 5:19). On the Cross - a situation much worse than being homeless - Jesus sighed, “Father into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk 23:46). He was not even going to die of his own accord. These pronouncements disclose that Jesus was not a modern American whose trust resides in himself. Jesus’ trust was in his Father and it was this relationship that made him so radical 2,000 years ago and continues to make him radical today.

The problem for most of us is that we have accepted a dangerously modern approach to life. Aristotle’s insights have been dismissed as antiquated and Jesus’ revelation is seen as weak and idealistic.  We are told to trust nothing other than our own ego and “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I assume this means that real men and women buckle down and think more, work harder and adapt. While hard work is not to be avoided and ingenuity is praiseworthy and good, we are not saved by our efforts but by grace, by the community where Christ lives, the Church. This way of being in the world is mysterious and strange, but mystery and strangeness is the nature of Christian living.

It’s something of this mysterious way of being in the world that my priest friend knew and revealed to me.  He knew friends are there to laugh with and challenge you to grow, but in a revolutionary way he also knew that in those painful and tough times friends are there to help you. When we are most vulnerable and in need of help we don’t need to do it alone. I never thought I’d be homeless, but now, because of a friend, I know why.

MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUSIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: THE NEW PUPPY

Greetings,

Yes, today's post is very late, the reason for which will probably be the topic if next week's Monday Diary.  This week's, however, will deal with new developments in the St. Sebastian Rectory.  I received a phone call from the seminary this past week asking if I would kindly take in a seminarian for his live-in experience before his first year of theology.  I told Fr. P. that I had to go to the seminary to pick up a seminarian to bring home to stay with us for a little while and he said it sounded vaguely like I was bringing home a new dog.  And you know what?  He was right.  The story did seem to parallel well:

So I went and picked him up.  It required getting a bed ready, going to the store and buying food and other necessary things.  It wasn't much different getting a seminarian.  Then there was the initial introduction to their new home:

Then there was the essential training of how things are done around here - what is acceptable behavior and what is not:

In fact there is very little difference save that one is allowed to eat at the table and one is not.  But I imagine it will not take very long until we allow the seminarian to leave the children's table and join us and Sebastian.

There is even an economy of having both around.  What seems to work for one seems to work just as well for two with not much extra effort:

Joking aside, it is quite swell to have a young wanna be in the house and quite an honor that we get to be part of his training.  If you think of it say a prayer for him and for all of our seminarians.  And if you see them, they like treats. 

THE REPORTS OF MY DEATH HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGERATED

Worldwide the Catholic Church continues to explode in numbers. But despite this it is a fact that at times a branch of the Church can simple shrivel alarmingly. Nowhere is this most sadly exemplified than the first lady of the Church France. And with all of the reports of parish closings and cutting back of services in the Diocese of Cleveland it may seem like that is happening here. Somewhere around 50 parishes are closing, many of our parish schools have closed and some still will. Some services are cut back. In fact, this coming weekend a local parish will close (St. Hedwig) and the pastor will come and be in residence here at St. Sebastian with Fr. Pfeiffer and myself. It is a legitimate question to pose: are numbers are dropping and we cannot afford to “keep up appearances.” Are we dying?

There is good news and bad news here. First the bad news. It is not the Catholic Church that is shrinking it is north east Ohio. The growth rate of north east Ohio in general has been 0 to negative. This is most dramatically seen in Cuyahoga county (home of our See) where the population has plummeted. It is not that Catholics are disappearing it is that people in general are moving away and among them are Catholics. We statistically shrink as the population shrinks.

So in 1970 there were approximately 915,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Cleveland. Now there are only 735,000 in our eight counties. That is a drop of 180,000 Catholics. That number alone represents a hefty number of parishes. Not only is that a drop in need for services it is also a dramatic drop in people who fund those services.

But the people of the diocese have been very generous. In the past 6 years offertory collections have risen yearly 1.5% to 2%. In these tough economic times that is commendable. However expenditures have risen yearly 4% to 6%. That is a trend that cannot be sustained forever.

One can look at this then and say that the diocese is not withering, it is resizing to the reality that exists for Catholics in north east Ohio today. That is not to say that what is happening is not without controversy. But that discussion is not in the scope of this particular article.

This is necessarily a tragic (though it is sometimes sad) story. We are responding in hopes of remaining strong. And there are areas in the diocese that are growing where parishes continue to grow (sometimes too much!) And our major seminary has more men studying for the priesthood than it has in ten years. There are 32 theologians, 28 for services in the diocese of Cleveland, two for the Diocese of Daegu, and two for the Congregation of St. Joseph.

May God bless us in our mission even in these challenging times.

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!

RULES, RULERS, RULIEST PART II

The mystery has been solved! (I think.)

N. read about the mysterious discover of Fr. Ozimek’s copy of the “RULES of Saint Mary Seminary” showing up at St. Sebastian (see Rules, Rulers, Ruliest from last week.) When the priest that followed him retired he packed up a bunch of books to be donated to a resource library here and it is assumed that the RULES book must have been included and pulled aside as an amusement perhaps for the priests of the house. A reasonable explanation. Thanks N.!

Here are a few more excerpts from the book:

45. RECREATION DAYS: When out on recreation days they must not go to places of amusement, such as theaters, dances, ball-games, and the like. These rules apply, with proper modifications, to any occasion when they are out of the house.

47. RECREATIONS: Games that are mentally fatiguing rather than physically fatiguing are not be encouraged. Dice and cards are excluded, as are all games for money. Cheap joking, suggestive remarks and course amusements will not do. All are to share in the recreation period.

48. SICKNESS: (I love this one) A student who feels ill should ask for a doctor, if he thinks that there is anything seriously wrong.

49. MEALS: Nourishing food is ample quantity will be provided. There will be no occasion for talk and criticism about the quantity and quality of what is served, and there will be no reason to bring food surreptitiously or to take food from the refectory to be consumed in rooms. To do so is merely a confession of greediness. As to drink, any one found under the influence of liquor will be severely dealt with, and anyone who brings liquor into the house or who has it in his room invites expulsion.

53. DISPUTES: There must be no loud debates amongst the students. Men may differ in opinion and may state those differences in quiet tones; much vociferating (another great word) indicates a determination to win by strength of lungs rather than by weight of reason.

54. HONORARIUM: The bell should be obeyed as God’s command. Instant response to it will make obedience easier.

79. VACATION LETTERS: At the end of their holidays they are to remind their pastors to write out the report on their conduct while in the parish. The report is to be sent to the Seminary sealed.

82. SPECIAL OFFENSES: There are some faults which are so disgraceful in a cleric and so scandalous to the people that those guilty of them must be summarily dealt with for the good of all. And one who does such things, which God forbid, must be instantly expelled. Amongst such offenses would be, getting drunk, fighting in the presence of others, striking a cleric, insulting a professor, joining a group gathered secretly to gamble or drink, going out of the Seminary at night without the superior’s permission, foul language, or familiarity with a woman. Once guilt is established in such offenses, there is no reason for hesitation; the culprit is to be dropped at once as unfit to be a cleric.

THE END.

MONDAY DIARY - CHAPTER 15

I warn those who are going to be ordained to write everything down because you will forget. That had to be admitted even in the writing in my journal ten years ago. “There is too much to even try to remember and so I will give snippets of things that are standing out even now,” I wrote.

Ordination morning started bright and early in my room at the seminary. I was in an older part of the building with dark wood doors, high ceilings, and thick plaster walls. The rooms were just large enough for a bed, a desk, a chair, a bookcase, a closet and a sink. The closets in the older sections were considerably smaller than in the newer (they were once nun’s cells) but the woodwork a better sound proofing more than made up for that inconvenience.

I prayed the Liturgy of the Office, dressed in my finest black suit, packed up the things that I would need for the rest of the day and headed off for ordination. I was driving my Uncle Leo’s Grand Am. He had been my confirmation sponsor but had died a few years back and so it way of having him with me in a way. In any event it beat the 1979 Ford LTD that I had been driving – an auto junkyard on wheels – such is the curse of being a seminarian at times. Actually it was beautiful on the inside with a front seat as big as a davenport, but the outside had quite seen its day and every few days it was necessary to pull over and break off whatever had been dragging along the road.

After parking in the cathedral garage the walk was made to the chancery building. On the way I saw my family, Mom and Dad, sisters and nephews in a coffee shop and popped in to greet them. They were so excited and a bit nervous themselves.

We met in the bishop’s parlor. It was early but Bishop Pilla was already dressed and so we felt obliged to do so also. This was the year right after Bishop Pilla had major heart surgery and he was a bit pale but able to joke with us and recap with us what we were to do that morning.

The bells started peeling in the bell tower about fifteen minutes early. The class gathered to pray and to dedicate ourselves once again to the patronage of the Blessed Virgin. The Bishop signaled us over and prayed with us one last time and we were sent to line up “under the arch”, a large passage that allowed cars to pass into the heart of Cathedral Square that connected the cathedral to the chancery building. Traditionally this is where the bishops and main celebrants line up while the rest of the priests and deacons line up along East 9th street. For the first time we were lined up under the arch on this beautiful, sunny, Saturday morning. Bells still peeling in the tower above our heads, the crucifer started his journey down East 9th Street, turned right at the corner up Superior Avenue, and finally into the door of St. John the Evangelist Cathedral.

RULES, RULERS, RULIEST

Wednesday past I had an open house at the rectory. In order to this I wanted my office to be cleared of the clutter which I had bestowed upon it in my hasty move. Becoming annoyed with my meager progress I decided to just start at one end of the room and start with whatever was there and work my way across attending to whatever was next in the path.

One of the first objects of attack was a drawer in an end table. It was full of discarded items: candle stubs, old decks of cards, light bulbs, and the like. But at the very bottom there was a little Brown book with the intriguing title, “RULES”. I picked it up and found that it was the seminarian’s rulebook of Saint Mary Seminary, Cleveland, Ohio. But here is what really blew me away. The book was inscribed by “Joseph Ozimek, 1942.”

Now, Fr. Ozimek was my pastor for most of my early life and was an ardent supporter of my in my seminary days. Even when diabetes took his legs he said, “If I have to crawl to your ordination I will be there!” He was at least in spirit.

I took my confirmation name in large part due to him and he was instrumental in my deciding to become a priest. As far as I can tell he had no connection with Saint Sebastian so why his book would be here is a mystery – and a happy sign.

The book itself is interesting. It was a much different seminary from the days when I attended there. Here are some of the RULES:

12. PROMPTNESS: The activities of the seminary are regulated by a series of bells. The ringing of the bells is a call to obedience. Slow compliance is grudging service to God; prompt and eager responsiveness is a good-will offering to God.

14. SACRED THINGS: The words of Sacred Scripture must not be used lightly or jocosely (that is a great word) in common conversation. And the same is true of names of God and the saints. When the names of Jesus and Mary are used, they should be reverenced by bowing the head.

22. MUTUAL RELATIONS: “But before all things,” says St. Peter, “have a constant mutual charity amongst yourselves” (1 Pet. iv, 8). Students will seek to preserve “the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. iv, 3). There will be no particular friendships and no private aversions. In occupations, games, walks or in any recreations they will exclude none of their fellows from their company, and groups will not clique together.

23. CONVERSATION: It is evident the Seminarians must adhere to the rules of good manners in their conversation. They will not use slang, loose grammar or vulgar expressions. Abusive language and, still more, indecent language, is contrary both good manners and morals. When jokes cause pain, they are no longer jokes, and the pleasantry becomes a persecution. This applies to the calling of nicknames, too; and it is a rare soubriquet (another great word) that will not make the subject of it resentful.

31. CHASTITY: There is not much to be laid down in the rules concerning chastity. The only observance of it is perfect observance. It is the Seminarian’s duty to imitate in spotlessness of soul and body the purity of the angels.

33. NEATNESS: Neatness is good both as example to others and as an aid to one’s own comfort and health. The students should keep their clothes tidy and clean, rents should be repaired and spits should be removed at once. They must not, of course, become fastidious. Plainness and neatness are the qualities to be sought in all such things.

34. ASSOCIATIONS: There is t be no unnecessary talking with the janitor or porter or other servants. Seminarians must not go into the porter’s room. Nothing but the most urgent reasons can excuse talking with the Sisters who have charge of the domestic affairs of the house or with the women who are hired to help them.

35. ENTERING ROOMS: No student may enter another’s room without permission. This rule is peremptory and offenses will be severely punished.

There are some more that are interesting but this getting long already. I finish up next Wednesday.

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!