Easter

The Mass of the Easter Vigil begins outside, in the dark of night, lit only by star light and the glow of a fire. The contrast of light and darkness during the Easter Vigil brings with it many beautiful symbols of the Christian faith as well as many symbols of our human experience.

Celebrating the Easter Vigil at the seminary brought about many sentiments and reflections. Through what could be seen as the darkness of nostalgia for home, the marvelous light of Christ's peace and joy shown brightly in the beautiful liturgy: this symbolized by the candle light carried by each person who received the flame that came from the one source, the Easter Candle. 

Now as the Easter season continues for a total of 50 days, it is truly up to all of us to carry the light of faith, hope, and love that comes from the one Source of all life -- the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. During this joyful season, in which the Church cries out "Alleluia" (literally "praise God") everyday in the Mass, it is important to call to mind frequently why we are thankful for our faith and how it affects our daily life.

One big celebration we have at the NAC during Easter every year is the Rector's dinner by which we express our thanks to all those who provide financial help to the seminary. During the evening, all the seminarians come together to serve the meal as well as provide some entertainment. My role was singing in a small choral arrangement which sang during the dessert course. Here's a video of our performance. http://youtu.be/ZN9pOiHS24A

Thank YOU for all the prayers by which you serve Kevin and I (and all seminarians) and, in a real way, sustain us in our vocation. Happy Easter to all!

The Passing of Three Days

Altar of Repose for the Blessed Sacrament  on Holy Thursday

On the eve of Easter, there is a certain sadness about not celebrating the Holy Week at home in a parish.  But the resources, that is the man power, that they seminary has too put on a liturgies, especially of these finally three days, is not easily matched.

Our Rector, praying with Christ in the garden

So, here of this shoots from the awe inspiring beauty of the various masses and liturgy of this time.  We gather as brothers to celebrate the central mystery of the our Faith.  To experience the suffering and death of Christ together. Looking forward to tonight, were we can sing in on voice, the great hymn of praise, the memorial of Christ's victory over death:  "A...."  

Three Deacons chanted the entire Passion narrative.  An amazing experience with the three  voices.

Good Friday celebration of the Lord's Passion

Know you are all in our prayers as we enter the joy of the Easter triumph.  Resurrexit, sicut dixit.

Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum with the Pope.

(For more of the last check this out) 

Race to the finish

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5:00 AM.  My alarm clock goes off.  "Ten more minutes," my body says. After a battle of Will vs. Body, I roll out of bed.  Thus begins my first Station Church pilgrimage.  After 5 weeks, my body aches all the more each morning.  Yet a boost of encouragement stimulates my drowsy limbs and drooping eyelids as I find myself accompanied by a small army of pilgrims.

As my companions and I arrive at the station church, I find myself stunned by a reality I've always known yet have never seen this up-close.  Since I was a child I heard many stories about how the apostles first spread the Gospel by preaching and starting small communities and of how many of the first Christians were martyrs for their recently received faith.  And now, I find myself visiting churches that are built on the actual locations where they were martyred, filled with art that tell the stories of their martyrdom.

Depiction of St. Lawrence's martyrdom (sentenced to death by the Roman , AD 258)

Not only has the faith of the Christians in Rome and the stories of heroic saints been beautifully preserved in the art and architecture of the churches, but the actual remains of many Roman saints have been reserved to be venerated in their tombs.

Tombs of Ss. Cecilia, Valerian, Tibertius,
and Popes Ss. Urban  I and Lucius I

Church where the tombs of
the apostles Ss. Philip and James  are venerated

And if the stories-in-art in the churches and the stone of the tombs were not enough to make me feel like I was entering into the lives of ancient Christians, as I walk to and from the various station churches, I encounter the remains of the ancient Roman empire which persecuted our fathers in the faith.

The Roman Forum

The Roman Forum

So what does all this matter to a Catholic back home in Phoenix?  Well, God willing, we won't have to suffer execution for the Faith.  But certainly we have received our Faith in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church thanks to the hundreds of saints who joyfully and bravely witnessed to it in time of persecutions.

So as Lent comes to an end, let us persevere in faith, let us "run so as to win" (1 Cor. 9: 24).

Lent...in pictures

One of the greatest traditions that the NAC has a pleasure to be a part of by virtue of being in Rome is the Station Churches.  This ancient tradition was revitalized in the 70's by the seminarians at the North American College and has been a important part of the lives of Americans, and all English speakers, in Rome ever since.

Everyday of the Lenten 40, we celebrate mass at a different Church in the city of Rome.  We go to some of the oldest and most important were in the city, where martyrs and saints are buried and where Christians have been celebrating the Holy Sacrifice for well over a 1,000 years!

A majority of the seminary participates (in varying degrees).  We leave early from the NAC and walk the street in silent prayer.  It is an amazing witness to be a part of;  it highlights for me the faith that made this city what it is today- a faith that is still alive and renewed.

Each one of us has our homes in prayer as we move from church to church, remembering our parishes at home and the faith there that makes them a true testimony in America.

Many bless to all of you this Lent!

Contemplating the Jump

And with one final step, I come to the edge.

This past Sunday, we celebrated another important step toward the priesthood.  I and 55 of my classmates were instituted as Acolytes.  Acolytes, who can be approximated to the subdeacons of old, are commissioned explicitly to aid the priests and deacons at the service of the altar.  In the ceremony we were handed a paten which holds the bread to be consecrated at mass, one of the scared vessel that hold the body of Christ, as a symbol of being entrusted to care for and serve the holy mysteries. 

While exteriorly it may seem that I have just become a glorified altar server, it takes on a much deeper significance in the place it has on the journey to the priesthood.  The path to becoming a priest is almost literally a movement closer to the altar.  Candidacy, the first step and how we started our blog, is the Church’s welcome and encouragement to take this process with more confidence and grace.  Then Fernando gave you his reflections on his installation as a Lector- the altar of the Word prepares us to approach the altar of Christ’s body and blood.  And now Acolyte. 

The next step is Deacon- the Sacrament of Holy Orders.  At that moment the promises of Chastity, Obedience, and Prayer are made, the commitment consummated.  And priesthood follows closely.

I am fond of the image of a child on a diving board.  I used it just recently in a practice homily I gave in one of our homiletic lessons.  It captures in a fascinating way the excitement and fear that we often get as we come to an edge, come to a final step.   My installation as an acolyte has brought this up anew.  Though my potential ordination to the diaconate is over a year and a half away, having reached the final ceremonial step before it, I find myself at a new edge and see all that is left is the jump.  And what a jump…

The jump is a giving up of control, giving myself completely over to Christ, and giving myself to the arms of the Church waiting to catch me.  Yet the idea of a jump, and the falling that comes after the jump is misleading.  All analogies brake down and this one does right here.  The jump does not bring about a fall, a being dragged down, bound and controlled by the precipitating consequences of one movement. 

No.  The jump brings about a surrender, surely; but the promise of Chastity, Obedience, and Prayer free.  The surrender is what breaks the bonds, bonds of selfishness and pride, that can hold me.  It is the jump that allows flight.

And the ascension of flight has no edge; no final step, save rest in the Father’s heart, in the arms of the Trinity.

New Guys in Red

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On Saturday, February 18th, 22 new Cardinals were made of which there were two American bishops. This was a proud moment for our nation but also for the seminary. The now Timothy Cardinal Dolan and Edwin Cardinal O'Brien are not only US bishops but they were also at one point rectors of the NAC. Needless to say, this was an exciting event for us, particularly as we hosted their reception at the seminary.

This was a tangible way we were able serve two men who have served our seminary for a number of years. As Kevin, I, and the other seminarians were put in charge of serving drinks and snacks to the many friends and family members of the two new Cardinals, we had the neat opportunity to talk to many people who had known the Cardinals for many years and see their own excitement for their election.

I spoke with a a couple of men who had gone to high-school with Cardinal O'Brien. Others who were priests who had been in seminary with him. I also got to talk to some people who had been staff of the first diocese of which Cardinal Dolan had been bishop. There were also many cousins, siblings and other relatives of each, including Cardinal Dolan's mother. All expressed a real joy and excitement for the big honor their dear friends had received. It was neat to see the real, down-to-earth side of the new Cardinals.

Having spent many years at the NAC, both Cardinals celebrated Masses of Thanksgiving here with their friends and family. On the whole, it was awesome to see, by the testimony of so many people, that both of these men have truly spent their lives in generous service as holy and happy priests.

It is no wonder that Pope Benedict XVI entrusted to them the responsibility of Cardinal as he defined below:

The new Cardinals are entrusted with the service of love: love for God, love for his Church, an absolute and unconditional love for his brothers and sisters, even unto shedding their blood, if necessary, as expressed in the words of placing the biretta and as indicated by the colour of their robes. -Excerpt from Pope's reflection during consistory

Let us then pray for these two new Cardinals and thank God for all the priests who have laid down their lives to serve those entrusted to them by God.

A to Z

In the down time between the end of exams and the beginning of the new semester, there have been a number of reasons to celebrate here at NAC.  And though we will share the other major one with you in the next post, the first was the anniversary of Great State of Arizona.  The 100^th birthday of AZ was a unique opportunity for Fernando and me to make our mark on the community here and show that this young, up and coming state has a lot to offer. 

On the eve of the anniversary, we cooked (ok, Fernando cooked and I gave the moral support) some Mexican food, and it was delicious.  Though there are only the two of us official from Arizona, there are a few other seminarians that lived in AZ at some point in there life, so we made sure they were around to celebrate with us.  Then we also thought we’d invite our brother from the bordering states, so we were happy to have seminarians from New Mexico and Utah as well. 

The next day, what came to be know around here as Arizona Day, was simple enough.  We made a giant Arizona style rice crispy treat that seemed well received by the rest of the community, because it did not last long.  Then we put on the movie Tombstone to give them some perspective on Arizona culture.  I think they have a new respect for us....

Though all in all it wasn’t much more than a good excuse to have party, I think it meant a lot to both of us.   It was good for us to reaffirm our connection to our home and think about again the people we will one day return and serve.  Though I know I have said this before, drawing nearer to the people we are going back to, allows us to draw nearer to Christ, the motive and strength of our service.  Ultimately, our whole seminary journey, our whole formation, has an AZ flavor; it is all influenced by our home, from beginning to end, or, if you will, from A to Z.