"Have Jesus Christ for your one and only treasure" (St. Angela Merici).
Today we celebrate with the Ursuline Sisters here in Toledo as they celebrate
the 153rd anniversary of their foundation day. These Sisters have been and continue to be an amazing presence for our Diocese as they respond to the needs of so many people. Founded in the spirit of St. Angela Merici, their directional statement indicates their passion for serving the people of God:
As Ursulines of Toledo we will strive to live in holy relationship with all peoples through a contemplative presence, promoting unity, welcoming diversity, and encouraging new expressions of Ursuline life. Our recognition of our own need for reconciliation calls us to be peacemakers among the powerful and the powerless in our Church and in our world.
The lives of many people are blessed by the witness and ministry of these Sisters as they continue to choose a life of commitment and love for Jesus. Let us pray for blessings for them in a special way today.
This reflection is offered by Seminarian Joseph Tumasian
As the fall semester of my first year in seminary finally winds down to an end, I'm left with a few brief moments of reflection of these past few months. One of the most significant points that keeps crossing my mind is how much Christ has been active in my life without my perceiving it- while it has been happening. I lookback on the "road less traveled" and remember a time during discernment when I thought that there was no possible way God could take me, a sinner and transform me into a contemplative soul.
Of course discernment is not over yet and I still have many years of formation, but I'm not afraid of the unknown anymore. The amazing thing is, God has provided! He has provided friendships that firstly do not exist outside of community life, secondly He has provided an atmosphere that promotes and cultivates vocations (whether it be married or priesthood), and finally He has provided me with a great sense of peace.
Now I must admit I was a skeptic to some extent of the many blessings Christ allows any one person. I thought surly a man must possess most of the qualities necessary to accomplish the formative goals of seminary life. While I can assure you, that is not the case. There is no failure the Lord's love cannot reverse, no humiliation he cannot exchange for blessing, no anger he cannot dissolve, and no routine he cannot transfigure. All is swallowed up in victory. He has nothing but gifts to offer. It remains only for us to find how even the cross can be borne as a gift. (Holy Cross Constitution 8:118).
Although a contemplative life is something to strive towards and not something that is ever really achieved, I am fearless with Christ in the lead, showing me how to bear my cross as a gift.
I am so grateful that Pope Benedict has chosen the beginning of Advent to publish his latest reflection "Spes Salve." It has become apparent to me as I began reading it this week that it is a document I will return to time and again.
One can hardly miss the great need for hope in our world today. The evening news, the desparation of so many people we pass each day, the longing in our own hearts all speak to our innate desire for something more. Our grasp, (albeit misdirected at times), is always for something beyond us.
In his discussion regarding where we find this hope, Pope Benedict has a wonderful section on redemption.
When someone has the experience of a great love in his life, this is a moment of "redemption" which gives a new meaning to his life. But soon he will also realize that the love bestowed upon him cannot by itself resolve the question of his life. It is a love that remains fragile. It can be destroyed by death. The human being needs unconditional love. ....If this absolute love exists, with its absolute certainty, then -- only then -- is man "redeemed", whatever should happen to him in his particular circumstances (26).
How blessed we are as Catholics to celebrate this season of Advent during which we focus on the unconditional love of our God who, rather than remaining distant, chooses to be in relationship with us. This, then, is the foundation of our hope.
Do I truly believe in the unconditional love God has for me?
Today, we celebrate the feast of Saint Andrew, the apostle. Somehow, I
have always liked Andrew as he seems to be a very simple follower, yet did some amazing things to bring others to Jesus.
Today's Gospel reading for the feast reminds us thatwhen Andrew heard the call of Jesus, he immediately left his boat, his nets, his "everything" to follow Him. This response of leaving all was more than a once-for-all renunciation. I imagine that there were many times in Andrew's life when he was called to leave everything. The "everything" in his life may have changed based on the people and situations that were most important at the time.
We, also, hear the call to leave everything each and every day. Each day we are called to give Jesus top priority in our lives. We have the choice to focus on what we are giving up and leaving, or to focus on the life of Jesus that is able to fill the space created by our selflessness. Emptiness for the sake of emptiness is deadening, whereas emptiness filled with Jesus enables us to share His life with others.
Andrew's example of leaving everything, growing in a relationship with Jesus, and then drawing others into a similar relationship stands before us today. What is the "everything" we need to leave behind today?
One of the differences for me between Advent and Lent is that I often find myself eagerly anticipating Advent while I find I count down the days to the start of Lent for a very different reason!
With the beginning of Advent this Sunday, I find that my spirit is hungry for the silence, solitude and hope that mark the days of this liturgical season. I don't want to miss one minuteof this sacred time.
A favorite spiritual classic I have picked up this year to read once again for Advent is Caryll Houselander's The Reed of God. If you have never read this work, I highly recommend you pick it up this Advent. She encourages us to approach the season with a willingness to be emptied, not for the mere sake of emptiness, but in order to be filled. In the opening pages, she poses the following:
"Our own effort will consist in sifting and sorting out everything that is not essential and that fills up space and silence in us and in discovering what sort of shape this emptiness in us, is. From this we shall learn what sort of purpose God has for us. In what way are we to fulfil the work of giving Christ life in us?
Are we reed pipes? Is He waiting to live lyrically through us?
Are we chalices? Does He ask to be sacrificed in us?
Are we nests? Does He desire of us a warm, sweet abiding in domestic life at home?
As we approach this season, let us come with a deep desire for openness that we might be filled with the life and love of Jesus.
Each day in the What's Current? section of this web site, I will be posting a short Scripture reflection. I invite you to "retreat" with Jesus and Mary into the beauty of this season, asking to know and experience the fullness that marked their lives.
To give thanks. This is what our celebration of Thanksgiving calls us to -- to give thanks for all the blessings that are ours each and every day. I find that I can at times be very selective in my giving thanks.
I'm good at giving thanks for spectacular sunsets, for friends who are a joy to be around, for times of prayer marked by great peace and consolation. It's easy to give thanks when we plan an event that's well attended, when I encounter only light traffic while driving to work in the morning, when I'm able to accomplish everything on my to-do list according to my schedule.
What isn't quite so easy is giving thanks when the line in the grocery check-out goes on forever, when an unexpected downpour catches me without my umbrella, when a long anticipated gathering with friends is unexpectedly canceled.
I'm reminded of a popular Praise and Worship song Blessed Be the Lord. Select lyrics of this song remind me:
Blessed be the Lord when the sun's shining down on me, when the world's all as it should be. Blessed be the Lord.
Blessed be the Lord when the road's marked with suffering, when there's pain in the offering. Blessed be the Lord.
Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise. When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say: Blessed be the name of the Lord, Blessed be his glorious name.
The challenge to be grateful for all the blessings in my life stretches me at times to see with God's eyes and to take in the world through God's perspective. It also calls me to trust that God really does have my best interest at heart and that He sees the entire picture more clearly than I ever will.
Let us join in thanksgiving for all the blessings we receive from our good and gracious God. Happy Thanksgiving!
Ask, knock, seek -- last evening found a group of eleven young women doing just that. These women joined the Sisters of Notre Dame for dinner, prayer and some discussion about consecrated life. These women took the risk to find out more about a lifestyle available to women in our Church.
It only makes sense if a person is interested in following a way of life or pursuing a particular activitythat she would talk to those who have lived this life. Going to the source invites one to consider the facts about the life rather than merely the media or culture's sometimes skewed representation.
As Catholics we have the responsibility to be knowledgeable of each vocation in order to be truly open to God's call to us. I encourage you to avail yourself of the opportunities you have to know as much as you can about marriage, consecrated life/priesthood, and the single life. God does not ask or expect us to make a life commitment blindly but to do all we can to be informed and ready to respond to His call.
There is much information available on this web site as well as many other sites from various dioceses and religious communities. Many priests and sisters are also available to answer your questions, based on their own personal experiences. All of this fact finding, integrated with prayer and an ever-deepening relationship with Jesus, keeps one pliable and active in response to God's plan.
The following is a reflection from seminarian, Eric Mueller.
My name is Eric Mueller and I'm a seminarian for the diocese in Theology
III at Saint Meinrad School of Theology in southern Indiana. I'm in my fifth year as a seminarian overall. I've been greatly blessed throughout my time of discernment and formation for the priesthood.
Sunday, November 4th was a big day for me - I became a candidate for holy orders. In previous years I had watched classes ahead of me become candidates, and it always seemed so far away. Yet my time came much faster than I could have expected. Candidacy is a major step in the journey of becoming a priest and is celebrated when it is clear that the seminarian is committed to the completion of his formation. It is similar to an engagement - both the seminarian and diocese make a firmer commitment to the other. My classmates and I made a public expression of our intention to receive holy orders. A bishop always comes to the seminary to preside at Mass and accept this intention, and I was very blessed to have Bishop Blair be the one to do so. Bishop Blair read the following words after his homily:
"Christ gave this command: "Ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest." Our brothers know the Lord's concern for his flock, they see the needs of the Church and they feel ready to respond generously to the Lord in the words of the prophet: "Here I am, send me forth." They put their hope in the Lord, trusting that they may answer his call faithfully.
This call from the Lord should be recognized and understood from the daily signs which reveal God's will to men of discernment. When God chooses men to share in the ordained priesthood of Christ, he moves and helps them by his grace. At the same time, he entrusts us with the task of calling suitable and approved candidates and of consecrating them by a special seal of the Holy Spirit to the ministry of God and of the Church. By the sacrament of holy orders they will be appointed to share in the ministry of salvation that Christ accomplished in the world. When the time comes, they will be given a part in our ministry of service to the Church and build up by word and sacrament the Christian communities to which they will be sent."
While hearing these words I was very moved - my eyes welled up with tears of joy. I thought of the people that I have been so blessed to minister to during my formation, especially those I served during my pastoral internship at Findlay St. Michael. I also thought of the people of our diocese that I hope to serve in the future as a priest. I realized how good God has been to me in calling me to follow Him in this path. His grace has helped me grow more than I could imagine. I was ready to say, "yes, Lord, send me".
Bishop Blair also addressed the following questions to us during the rite of candidacy:
"In response to the Lord's call are you resolved to complete your preparation so that in due time you will be ready to be ordained for the ministry of the Church?"
"Are you resolved to prepare yourselves in mind and spirit to give faithful service to Christ the Lord and his body, the Church?"
I found myself answering these questions with a firm and loud "I am". I couldn't have answered these questions in the same way a few years ago, as I didn't enter the seminary with certainty that God was calling me to the priesthood. Yet I was very happy to declare my intention and take this step closer to ordination. Please pray for me as I continue my path.
The following reflection is shared by seminarian Alan Rooney, currently studying at Theological College/Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
Hello! My name is Alan Rooney and I am a third-year college seminarian studying at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. It is amazing how the time flies by! Here in Washington, there are a great many opportunities forreflection and prayer. Around Catholic University, the area was once called the "little Vatican" for the number of religious houses and seminaries that populated the area.
Today, there are still quite a few seminaries and other houses of formation or convents around the National Shrine. Recently, we celebrated the great solemnities of All Saints' and All Souls' Day.
Many of the seminarians from our seminary went to a liturgy at the nearby Dominican House of Studies, where they have a famous All Saints' Day vigil, which draws crowds from all around Washington, DC and into Virginia and Baltimore. The dark lights and slow melodic chants bring one very directly into contact with almighty God and the saints as they look down upon us from heaven. The beautiful vestments, dark oak paneling, and fragrant incense transport one beyond ones' self into the mystery of heaven itself. The Church celebrates this dual feast during November to remind us of a twofold truth of our faith: the existence of the Church Triumphant in heaven and that of the Church Suffering in Purgatory. As for us on earth, our own way is not done. And so, we look for the aid of those in heaven during such a season of grace. And then, our charity springs forth, unconstrained by even death, to help our brothers and sisters gone before. I prayed, along with many in the Church, the Office for the Dead on the following All Souls', asking God to have mercy on all those who are in need of purification before seeing God for eternity. I stood before the case that the friars have of the relics of the saints - the bones of the Apostles and martyrs. I recalled all their lives and thought about what zeal impelled those heroes of Christ to give their lives for the salvation of all of us still on earth. As one in seminary, my own example - I realized - ought to be exactly as theirs was. We as priests are called to lay down our lives for our flocks and for the faith. If I should be called to give my blood for Christ, I ask that I may not fail in doing so. But I tend to think, with St. Jane de Chantal (the foundress of the Visitation, whose sisters are in Toledo) that the "white" martyrdom we all bear in accepting daily sufferings from Our Lord are an even greater crown. For those considering priesthood or a life of religious consecration, we are called to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. We are called to both the spiritual and corporeal works of mercy today, even. We are called to pray and do good to those who hate us (as the Gospel said yesterday).
The great mystery of the Church in this communion through Christ our Head with those on earth, those in heaven, and those awaiting Paradise is a great and awesome thing for us to meditate upon. Let us pray that during this season we may imitate the saints who laid down their lives and accepted their vocation of holiness.
And for those who still need our prayers:
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
When was the last time you saw six college age men (and one girlfriend) playing cards at the convent? It happened this past Saturday night when the men from the Catholic Student Household at Bowling Green joined two of us sisters for an evening of card playing.
It gave us a chance to get to know them a bit better and for them to see us in a different venue as well. The night was marked bylots of laughter, teasing, and even some good-spirited competition. Time will tell if "Cards at the Convent" becomes a monthly event!
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