–#1–

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

–#1–

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

–#1–

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