I got the good news this week that the UC Davis Medical Center CPE program accepted me for their summer training. So I start there on June 4th and that will take me through 11 weeks of summer. Thankfully I’ll have a few weeks off before I go back to Rome for my last year of seminary. It sure is exciting to see these things fall into place.

–#2–

Wednesday we had our usual Family Catechism gathering. Brennen, our new youth minister, and I taught the Confirmation kids on the sacrament of confirmation. It went great! Great questions, great discussion, great sense of the beauty of this sacrament. It is always a grace and a joy to see things begin to click for them.

–#3–

Thursday we had our first staff meeting with our new bookkeeper, part time secretary, music minister, and youth minister. I am so glad to have all of them and excited to see what is in store, besides the fact that I will now have less work to do and more to simply absorb.

–#4–

Finally, Thursday evening I went out to the house of an Hispanic family who recently lost a loved one. They are currently praying a novena for her. It was a difficult situation to enter into but so utterly important to be there, praying with them, and giving them courage. This is part of what I have loved so much about my pastoral year. You enter into the lives of others and do your best to make God’s love present.

AMDG

This week is the Annual Catholic Appeal for the Diocese of Sacramento. This appeal helps support the charitable work of the Church throughout Sacramento as well as seminarian formation. Here is the appeal video that will be shown in every parish throughout the diocese this weekend.

 –#2–

I cannot believe it is already Friday. This week flew by. Saturday the youth group went out to Folsom for the first year of TWO/19 – a youth rally for the youth of Sacramento.

–#3–

Wednesday I was down in San Francisco for my last round of psychological evaluations. This was my 3rd round too! When you apply for the seminary, you go through psychological evaluations. If you ever switch seminaries, you go through them again. And now, in the Diocese of Sacramento, as you come close to ordination, there is a final round of evaluations. Luckily, these ones were the shortest ones I have had.

–#4–

Thursday I was up in Truckee for a Spanish Catechesis Class. Fr. Matt Blank (parochial administrator at Assumption in Truckee) and I did a switch. He came down to our Faith and Ale young adult group to speak on chastity and I covered for his class. They just finished a new church up in Truckee. It is beautiful.

–#5–

Finally, a bit of humor.

A PRIEST IS ALWAYS WRONG!

If he begins his Mass in time, his watch is fast;
If he begins a minute late, he keeps people waiting!
If he preaches too long, he makes people bored;
If he has a short homily, he is unprepared!
If he owns a car, he is luxurious;
If he does not own one, he is not with the times!
If he visits families, he is always out;
If he does not, he has no concern for them!
If he asks for donations, he is a moneymaker;
If he does not, he is too proud and lazy!
If he takes time in the confessional, he is too slow;
If he makes it fast, he has no time for his penitents!
If he renovates the Church, he throws away money;
If he doesnot, he has no initiative!
If he works with the elderly, he is old fashioned;
If he is with youth, he is flighty and mod!
If he is seen with women, he is a playboy,
If he goes only with men, he is immature!
If he is young, he has no experience,
If he is old. he should retire!
As long as he lives…………
There are always people who are better than him!

BUT IF HE DIES………..
THERE IS NO ONE TO TAKE HIS PLACE !!

AMDG

A powerful moment this week, that just makes me appreciate being a seminarian, was our RCIA class Monday. One of our RCIA team members was out sick so I was teaching on the last 7 Commandments. Which reminds me, please keep Denise in your prayers. But we spoke about the beauty and power of each of these commandments. When we got to the 5th commandment, a couple of the women in our group shared their own stories. We talked about the dignity of the human person and threats to that dignity in the form of abortion, euthanasia, genocide, embryonic stem cell research, torture, death penalty, and suicide. As we mentioned abortion, one of them explained how her own boyfriend pressured her to have an abortion. Another said her boyfriend’s mother offered her $5,000 dollars to have an abortion. In both situations they resisted that pressure and chose life. It was a really touching moment. It made me admire these women for being so strong in the face of incredible difficulty. Please keep all of our RCIA candidates in your prayers.

–#2–

Thursday I had a chance to visit my second home, the city of Davis, to give a short talk on my own vocation to the priesthood. It was a lot of fun and always a joy to visit my alma mater.

–#3–

In celebration of Catholic Schools’ Week, I was invited to 2 different luncheons, one on Thursday with the student council, and Friday with the teachers and staff. I also got a handmade card from each class. Why can’t we have Catholic Schools’ Week every week?

–#4–

Finally, an article in the Wall Street Journal has some great points on priesthood. Fr. Richard Cipolla, a married Catholic priest (he is a convert from the Episcopalians and falls under a provision made for episcopal and other ministers who convert), gives a great perspective on ministry when married. At its core is this, it is not easy. You have a divided heart which makes it hard to be husband, dad, and father to all. It is not impossible but it is not the ideal. The other thing though is that he calls for a reform of the priesthood. I think this has already started in earnest in the 21st century and was helped greatly by the Apostolic Visitations of seminaries. So I would not take such a negative view of the priesthood in the U.S. There is always a need for deeper conversion but I do think our seminaries today are doing a great job forming men to be the leaders of tomorrow, understanding what a celibate life entails, including the need for strong healthy relationships with other priests and lay people to support their vocation.

AMDG

This weekend I took our youth group down to the 8th annual Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco. It is a great event to reveal to young people the true fight for the dignity of the human person. I always find it interesting that counter-protestors come out and display hostile and negative attitudes towards the walkers. Rather than showing that they are able to dialogue, they come out and attack. They reveal quite easily for the youth that there really is a battle, and it is a battle between good and evil. They reveal what evil looks like.

We passed by one of the first groups of counter-protestors and one of them quickly realized I was wearing a roman collar. So he began to shout at me and started pointing at me and calling me vulgar names. My kids were shocked. To be honest, I was not quite expecting it. Usually they just chant and scream their slogans or insult the Catholic faith. It was my first time with some direct anti-Catholic priest type speech. But we dealt with it in silence.

Indeed it was a great weekend. And the local news did actually pick up the story for a couple minutes.

Let us continue to pray for the end to abortion and all attacks on the dignity of the human person.

–#2–

Whatever vocation we are called to live, there is necessary sacrifice. If we are called to marriage, we surrender some of our favorite hobbies, our personal comforts, and our free use of time for family. So also with the priesthood, people speak of sacrifice. One sacrifice always on my mind in the fall and winter months is my old ritual of Sunday football. My 10am-430pm routine has been shattered by the working day of a priest, or in my case, seminarian. But it is worth the sacrifice and more – especially considering the 49ers finally ran out of juice.

–#3–

Tuesday I gathered with my 2 pastoral year seminarian brothers for a meal and conversation. We had a good time discussing parish life and the joys and struggles.

–#4–

Thursday I was at Presentation Parish in Sacramento visiting with the students as the parish school. I think after 2 hours they know everything you can know about discernment, seminary life, and priestly formation without having gone through the entire process. Thanks to the Dominican Sisters, Fr. Leatherby, and Presentation students for having me!

–#5–

We are doing some interviews and hiring in the next couple weeks here at St. Joseph’s so please pray for the transition. I have to say I am especially invested in this whole process as I have been filling in for some of these currently vacant positions so I cannot wait!

AMDG

Saturday, the youth group went up to Paradise to compete in our first ever Frozen Turkey Olympics. After 2 events, we even held the lead. But eventually we were completely wiped out by the other 2 teams. But as you can see, we had a good time losing. In the event below, we were supposed to push our frozen turkey, nicknamed Steve, into certain sections on this picnic table for points. This contestant of ours shoved it so far it flew off the edge of the table almost hitting yours truly!

And here is St. Joseph’s, also known as the red team, after our less than glorious loss. They didn’t know, but we wore red for the 49ers, and it was worth it. We pulled out a monster victory over the Saints on the way home from Paradise!

–#2–

The Sunday 3:30pm Mass at St. Teresa’s was celebrated for Martin Lara, a parishioner here in Auburn, who was tragically killed this past week. Please continue to pray for him and his family.

–#3–

This week Fr. Brian has been out of town so I made myself acting pastor. Do not try to find the authority for that in canon law. I am just the one living in the rectory really. It has been a calm week so not too much to report. I had an interview for the Catholic Herald so once again you will being seeing this face in the magazine. I was in the magazine for Jan/Feb for vocations and I was pleasantly surprised with how many people in our parish read in the Herald as I have gotten a ton of comments in the past few weeks.

–#4–

The Walk for Life West Coast is this Saturday. We are taking a group of youth from St. Joseph’s out to San Francisco. Hope to see many of you there.

–#5–

Finally, our Holy Father spoke to Roman seminarians today telling them, “Priestly life requires an ever-increasing thirst for sanctity.” What a way to end today. We must hunger and thirst to be holy, to be full of charity, and to radiate that sanctity in the world of today.

AMDG

It has been another busy week. Part of this I attribute to National Vocation Awareness week. I visited a couple different Catholic schools to speak about vocations, including our own here in Auburn.

–#2–

Youth Group went well on Saturday. We had one of our best turnouts and quite a few newcomers. We have another event this weekend called Frozen Turkey Olympics. It is a competition between different youth groups that usually happens right after Thanksgiving but was rescheduled for this weekend. Please say a prayer for safe travels.

–#3–

This week I also did some more investigating of the resources available to the Hispanic community in Auburn so I can better assist. That has been some work but I definitely have some good ideas of what can be done now. It is amazing how many meetings make up the life of a seminarian on pastoral year, let alone a pastor.

AMDG

I went over to the Immaculate Heart Radio headquarters in Penryn on Saturday for their winter pledge drive and answered incoming calls of donating listeners. It was a blast! And I believe they reached their 1 million dollar pledge goal that will be doubled to 2 million with the help of an anonymous donor. They are currently expanding south, having just established themselves in Monterey, and now moving into San Diego in February. Thanks be to God!

–#2–

The rest of the week has been slow but it is definitely ramping up heading into the weekend. Tonight we start our first ESL or English Class for Hispanics. I am hoping for a good turnout and I already have 5 volunteer teachers to help! We also have Youth Group Saturday night and Sunday I am going to be recruiting for our tutoring program.

–#3–

Lastly, something from our Holy Father which is quite relevant for the weekend of Epiphany.

“Why did the Magi set off from afar to go to Bethlehem? The answer has to do with the mystery of the “star” which they saw “in the East” and which they recognized as the star of the “King of the Jews”, that is to say, the sign of the birth of the Messiah (cf. Mt 2:2).

So their journey was inspired by a powerful hope, strengthened and guided by the star, which led them towards the King of the Jews, towards the kingship of God himself. This is the meaning behind our journey: to serve the kingship of God in the world.

The Magi set out because of a deep desire which prompted them to leave everything and begin a journey. It was as though they had always been waiting for that star. It was as if the journey had always been a part of their destiny, and was finally about to begin. Dear friends, this is the mystery of God’s call, the mystery of vocation.

It is part of the life of every Christian, but it is particularly evident in those whom Christ asks to leave everything in order to follow him more closely. The seminarian experiences the beauty of that call in a moment of grace which could be defined as “falling in love”.

His soul is filled with amazement, which makes him ask in prayer: “Lord, why me?” But love knows no “why”; it is a free gift to which one responds with the gift of self.”

AMDG

–#1–

Merry Christmas! It has been a wonderfully slow week. Most of the normal parish activities are not happening this week so I hope people are enjoying some rest. We had 5 Masses over the weekend for Christmas. It was great to see so many people around. But you realize quite quickly as a priest that Christmas is not your day off. It is a big work day. Then everyone empties out and the parish is quiet. It is the great contrast of parish life from crazy busy to nothing at all. It is also a great experience to have during a pastoral year as you get a real sense of the fullness of parish life.

–#2–

Here are a couple pictures from the parish. The first is our Christmas decorations.

This second picture seems odd but it is actually big news because this is the site of our new parish hall. The fence in the back was just put up as well as the temporary fence in the front.

And that’s all from Auburn. Happy New Year!

AMDG

–#1–

This blog reminds me how badly I blog but how great others do blog. Check out a friend from the seminary, Fr. Jeff Starkovich, and his reflections on the life of a priest. Here is one to get you going.

The Christian life is full of paradoxes. This one was highlighted in Mass today:

“Give and gifts will be given to you.” Luke 6:38

The time came to distribute the Eucharist. I found myself in that comforting rhythm:

the Body of Christ,
the Body of Christ,
the Body of Christ.

But somewhere in the middle, as I lifted Your Body to continue the rhythm, time stood still. I stared at the host.

The truth of priestly life was clear:

to receive You, You first have to be given away.

–#2–

Check this out this advertisement for vocations in Spanish. It is pretty nice. Translation: No one is born a priest. Let us pray for vocations!

–#3–

Las Posadas has become a daily occurrence here. Following the Mexican tradition, we gather at different houses for the 9 nights before Christmas to reenact the search by Joseph and Mary for an inn to have the child Jesus. There are songs, prayers, and lots of good food. Plus I get to see a lot of people I do not see at Mass on Sunday so it is a great time to build relationships.

–#4–

I have been meeting some of the candidates applying to become seminarians for the Diocese of Sacramento. They seem like a good group. Please keep them in your prayer and keep praying for vocations. I am hoping for 10 this year!

–#5–

Sunday we had our annual Seminarian Christmas party. It was a great time to catch up with the guys who have been out at seminary and share some brotherhood. We had Bishop Soto and Weigand as well as a number of priests drop by. Big thanks to the Marriage Encounter people that prepared and served the food! Oh and we got some new vocation sweatshirts. So keep a lookout for them as our seminarians are now sporting them throughout the diocese.

AMDG

]]> http://considerpriesthood.com/2011/12/from-the-week-39/feed/ 0 http://considerpriesthood.com/2011/12/from-the-week-pastoral-year-2/ http://considerpriesthood.com/2011/12/from-the-week-pastoral-year-2/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:27:38 +0000 Colin http://considerpriesthood.com/?p=4071 –#1–

I am still recovering for the 24 hour celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Auburn. Sunday evening we started with our 5:30 Mass with Bishop Soto, some 400 people, and the Aztec dancers! It was a great celebration which was followed by some pan dulce and hot chocolate. Monday morning, bright and early, we started with the mananitas, songs to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Then we got to work setting up the hall for the evening festivities. We put together a stage for the Our Lady of Guadalupe play as well as prepped all the tables. At 3:30 we gathered for the procession from a nearby park to the church and then the party began. We had the mariachis, the play, a choir, and a number of ethnic dancers. It was a great night and we doubled our attendance from last year. The hall was so full we ran out of chairs. That’s always good. And it was a great event to gather together so much of the Hispanic community.

–#2–

Tuesday we had RCIA and I spoke on the Eucharist. It was a good discussion on some tough material. You never realize how challenging some of the teachings of the Church are until you encounter people who are trying to wrap their minds around them. Wednesday we had Family Catechism as well as our penance service. And Saturday is our next Youth Group event as we gather for our Christmas party as well as a Mass with Bishop Soto celebrating 100 years as a parish. It’s looking like a busy weekend.

AMDG

Well this week I really listened to the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I wish I could not hear what he was saying. :) I took the parish directory and started visiting people that are not regularly seen at Mass on Sunday. Today I had 14 visits. I spoke with about 7 families. A few others they had moved. At a couple I just left a note with the bulletin. Most of those families did not seem so eager to see me. Talk about encouragement. But nevertheless hopefully a good seed was planted. First time out also is helping me plan better conversation strategies.

–#2–

The recent arrest of one of the priests in our diocese has been tough. But you never realize how other people will react. One of our own seminarians was leaving from the mall while in his clerics and a group of young guys shouted out, “Hey priest, you’re in the news!” It is tough to hear. And to be so simply categorized and judged is heartbreaking. Men decide to be priests so that they can give their lives in service of God and neighbor. Yet often they are criticized and rejected. I think of how some people perceived Mother Teresa, a living saint of our age, in such evil and arrogant ways. Please pray for our priests and seminarians and all those involved in these past events.

–#3–

I cannot believe it is Friday. It has been a busy week. Saturday morning I was initiated as a Knight of Columbus. In the afternoon we had youth group with a good crowd of 10. Sunday we had our regular 3 Masses but with coffee and donuts as the first 2 and posole the third. That made for a ridiculously busy morning. Lots of people all running around the parish. But it was a good way to spend the day. RCIA, Family Catechism, Faith and Ale, and the Immaculate Conception Masses filled up the rest of the week as well as last minute preparations for Our Lady of Guadalupe this weekend. It looks like a fun weekend. Tonight I give my second Advent Reflection on Joy: The Sign of a True Christian.

–#4–

I have not had a lot of priestly news. But please pray for all the young men in our parish. I know there are some vocations there so please pray that they can be open to God’s will forming their hearts to a vocation that is theirs but also His. And the Discernment Weekend at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park is coming up. So if you know anyone or desire to discern with a bit more intent a vocation to the priesthood, get in touch with your pastor or vocation director. You’ve got to be a single (not married) male of 21 years or older.

AMDG

In vocations news, there has been a recent note of rising seminarian numbers in the U.S. We have our highest enrollment for major seminarians since the early 90s. Some like to look back to the 1950s and 1960s and say there is no boom at all. This is simply a recovery effort. But what would have happened if there was no recovery? Plus we need this boom/recovery now more than ever. The priest population, especially in the West, is aging. So praise the Holy Spirit for more vocations and let’s keep those prayers coming.

Meanwhile there is another article summarizing the typical new priest today. He is about 31, prays the Rosary, and goes to adoration. Careful, you might find yourself in there.

–#2–

This was a week of giving talks. On Monday I spoke to the RCIA group about the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Wednesday I spoke to the Hispanic parents about the symbols of the faith and the architecture of churches. Today I gave my first Advent reflection. I just feel a bit worn out and we still have another youth group talk tomorrow night! Good times.

–#3–

This is tough to write about but needs to be mentioned. One of our young priests in the Diocese was recently arrested on child molestation charges. He was ordained my first year into the seminary. It is incredibly sad to hear about. Please pray for the priest and all those effected. You can read more about it here.

AMDG

It was a relatively slow week. Thanksgiving shutdown a lot of things. Kids around here actually have all of Thanksgiving week off. Monday we had a practice of the Our Lady of Guadalupe play and then a tour of the church for RCIA.

–#2–

Perhaps this week can be better termed a rest week. Tuesday I went up to Georgetown and visited the Carmelite monastery. It was a great way to get away from the parish and find some rest. Sometimes you just get so caught up in ministry that you fail to realize that you need some time away to refocus and regain a sense of purpose. Tuesday gave me that. Wednesday we canceled Family Catechism so I spent it relatively quiet working on fixing up my youth ministry office. The rest of the week I was down in the Bay Area with family and then some friends. So I am definitely ready for this weekend and next week as things definitely start to pick up as we head towards Christmas.

AMDG

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.

I really have to work on taking my camera everywhere I go. This weekend was the big Pan de Vida Retreat down at Presentation Parish in Sacramento. The rumor mill tells me we had over 500 youth there for the event. It was a packed house and we even had more kids than I thought we would. Altogether, including chaperones and one holy seminarian, we were 21. That was a pretty good turn out and I think the retreat definitely had a strong impact. I even got up there and gave a short testimony.

–#2–

Sunday I spent the whole morning distributing the Butterbraids people ordered. We did amazing on sales so I thank all those who helped out! If you want a good fundraiser, this is it! But too many people asked me if we were doing it again around Christmas so I fear I might be doing this again soon. I had a real nice evening too as I went over to a parish family’s house for dinner. Great food and some good entertainment. We played this saint guessing game. I have decided I am not nearly well-versed enough in the lives of the saints to compete with some families. That is all.

–#3–

Tuesday we finally had our first pastoral year seminarian gathering. That is, Arnold, Ronald, and myself, all seminarians doing our year of internship work in the parish, got together in Chico for a nice dinner and some good conversation. We actually brought along Rene, one of our new seminarians and Fr. Francisco, so I think we lost a bit of the pastoral year feel. But it was fun nevertheless. Ronald did his typical all out cooking bonanza and I left wondering how I could possibly create a meal to compete when he comes to visit Auburn.

–#4–

Wednesday I spent the morning in Sacramento at Sutter Hospital. Don’t worry. I am not getting sicker. Actually I was there for my CPE (Clinical Pastoral Experience or Chaplain Training Program) interview. It went well and I find out next month if I got accepted. I spent the evening at Family Catechism mostly babysitting the 2 to 4 year olds. So that was a blast until they started escaping.

–#5–

Thursday I spent working in the office but I also had the chance to go down to Sacramento once again. A good friend from the NAC emailed me because his father was in the hospital down here so I got to a chance to visit and pray with him. It was a blast. I felt quite priestly. I actually got to do a similar run today as I visited one of our parishioners in an Altzheimer’s Housing Unit here in Auburn and gave her communion. In the afternoon I went over to E.V. Cain, the middle school here in Auburn, to watch a number of our youth play. I think there are at least 5 on the team. They also just happen to be undefeated so it is a lot of fun to watch the domination. Thursday night was also the KofC potluck. That was a blast and I met some new families. Now if only I could remember all the names. Fr. Brian and I did not win any of the raffle prizes but a generous winner handed over one of their pumpkin pies. Score!

–#6–

Finally, today I spent the morning at the school. This afternoon I got up the rest of the seminarian profiles. So almost every seminarian profile is available for you to read about your seminarians. Check them out. And this evening we have our first practice for the Our Lady of Guadalupe play we are putting on for the feast. I think I have recruited enough A list stars so hopefully they all turn up. And that’s all from Auburn.

AMDG