–#1–

Saturday was the last big event for the year. The Hispanic community held a Cinco de Mayo Celebration with food, music, games, and other entertainment. I gathered a lot of our youth to help out with the different games.

Above is my facepainting crew.

Here the youth are filling water balloons. It doesn’t end well…for some of us!

–#2–

With 2 weeks to go until the end of my Pastoral Year, I have begun to reflect on the experience. I say Pastoral Year but it really adds up to about 8 months. But during this time I have felt myself drawn so deeply into the life of the parish that it makes you want to never leave. At the same time, you realize this is much of the priesthood. Every place you go you enter and then have to leave after 2 or 4 or 6 years of time well spent.

Nevertheless I have learned a lot more about what priesthood will look like for me. I realized where I am strong and where I know I have a tendency to be weak. I learned new ways to minister and new forms of evangelization. I also gained a real sense of how a parish must function as a church constantly in mission, seeking to draw all people, Catholic and non-Catholic, to the joy of Jesus Christ.

As well, I thank God for another year of formation as my own ordination draws near. After finishing here in the parish on May 31st, though I will stay through the weekend, I start CPE (Clinical Pastoral Experience) at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento on June 4th. The program lasts through mid-August and then I will have a couple weeks off before I return to Rome for my final year of formation. I will hopefully be ordained a deacon on October 4th in Rome and return to Sacramento in June for ordination to the priesthood.

After 6 years, it is all finally coming to a conclusion. The many years of prayer, study, and growth finally give life to the priesthood. I cannot wait! Until then, the work continues.

–#3–

Finally, the annual Ordination Class of 2012 Report is out from the USCCB. This year is particularly striking as over 40 of the men being ordained came to the North American College in the same year I did in 2008. Please say a prayer for the Class of 2012. The ordinations have already begun and continue over the next few months as hundreds of men lay down before the altar and give their lives to service of God and neighbor.

AMDG

–#1–

Friday I joined some of my brother seminarians at St. Patrick’s Seminary as the concluded their academic year and a number of our guys received degrees. Congratulations to Jhay Galeon, Eric Flores, and Guillermo Hernandez! Summer assignments start at the beginning of June but meanwhile all the guys from Mount Angel and St. Patrick’s have some time off. I’m not sure about our brothers down south at Seminario Hispano.

–#2–

Saturday was our big Cinco de Mayo festival for the Hispanic Community. It was a week late but well worth the wait. A number of our youth helped run the different games including facepainting, air hockey, and bowling. I spent 12 hours running in circles and getting hit by water balloons. And only today did I found out Fr. Brian had encouraged this. All I can is that I am still recovering from the day.

–#3–

Bishop Morlino had a column on vocations this past week. He had some things to say about priesthood. This is part of it.

When we look for candidates to the priesthood and as we pray for vocations, we are looking for men who are brave in their willingness to seek holiness, to speak the truth, to lay down their lives. There is no place in the priesthood today for “wimpish-ness.” There is no place for an attitude that just wants to please people, no matter what they think and no matter what they want. Today the priest has to stand up and be brave, preaching the Truth with love. He has to be willing to be unpopular. And if it comes to it, he has to be open to martyrdom.

These are some challenging words but a great reminder for us all.

AMDG

Sorry I won’t get to this post until Sunday. It’s been an insane week and I haven’t had time to sit down for even 10 minutes!