Blog Entries

Summer Ministry Experience

Kurt Rothermel, a seminarian in pre-theology, offers the following reflection on the first days of his summer ministry assignment.

As the seminary faded in my rearview mirror, I was looking forward to spending the summer working as a day camp counselor at the Catholic Club and living at the Historic Church of Saint Patrick, both in downtown Toledo. As I reflect on the firstweek at my summer assignment, I realize that things have gotten off to a great start!

Here are a few hi [...]

God's Billboards

As I drove the thirty minute commute from the office home this week, I was especially struck by the number of billboards along the expressway. At one point, I found myself literally "ping ponging" from one side of the road to the other reading the excessive messages ranging from health care to car sales to restaurants to....

All of this caused me to reflect on the environmentin which these billboards are located. Behind each were trees and fields and a beautiful blue sky. [...]

Afraid to Ask?

In today's Gospel reading, we note an interesting response of the apostles to Jesus after His teaching about His upcoming suffering and death:

"But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him" (Mk 9: 32).

Reflecting on this reading caused me to wonder how often I have a similar response to Jesus' teachingsand to what He specifically communicates to me. How often do I not understand but fail to ask for clarification? I believe, at time [...]

Where Has the Time Gone?

The following reflection is offered by Deacon Chris Bohnsack, seminarian at Mount St. Mary Seminary in Cincinnati:

It was on April 26th 2008 that I was ordained a transitional deacon with nine other men. It was truly a wonderful day made even more special being surrounded by family and friends. That moment made me realize that I only have one more year of seminarylife. I have just completed my fifth year as a seminarian and while some individual years may have seemed long, whe [...]

A Month Never to be Forgotten

by Deacon Jason Kahle, IV Theologian at Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the Wes

Last summer of 2007, I had the privilege of traveling to the Holy Land in Israel as well as South Africa and Mozambique in Africa. Both were great experiences for me that I will never forget. One allowed me to walk and pray in the very footsteps of Christ while the other provided me with an opportunityto work with Habitat for Humanity in a culture that was completely new and exotic to me, but one that [...]

Called to Serve

I had the privilege on Saturday of being present at the Cathedral in Cincinnati for the ordination of three of our seminarians to the diaconate. They, along with seven seminarians from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati took this next step toward priesthood ordination as they promised celibacy, prayer and obedience.

After several years of formation, these men believe God is gracing them with a call to diocesan priesthood and they are responding with a full and generous "yes." It w [...]

Christ-Our Hope

Jerry Schetter, a seminarian of the Diocese of Toledo, shares his experience of seeing Pope Benedict...

Wow!!!

I thought I would write you a few notes on my experience at meeting the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI duringhis visit to America and, in particular, New York.

I awoke early Saturday morning to the birds chirping loudly outs [...]

A Place Just for Me

In today's Scripture from the Gospel of John, Jesus promises:

"I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be" (Jn 14: 2-3).

Of course, I realize that the richness of this promise is found in being with Jesus for all eternity. It did cause me to wonder, however, just how Jesus is going to prepare my place. I'm thinking daffodils and other sp [...]

Intimate Dialogue with the Lord

Following Pope Benedict's address to the Bishops of the United States yesterday, one of the Bishops asked a question about the current number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. I appreciated the Holy Father's response, especially his emphasis on the need for prayer.

"The discernment of a vocation is above all the fruit of an intimate dialogue between the Lord and his disciples."

Time and again, I am reminded that a life of prayer and communion wit [...]

Shepherd, shepherd and sheep

During this particular segment of the Easter season, the Church places before us some wonderful readings from the Gospel of John that focus on the image of the shepherd. The complete gift of life and love given by the shepherd for his sheep is a mere fraction of Jesus' gift of self for us.

I find it striking that during th [...]

In good hands

Today's reading from the Gospel of John could serve as the perfect cure for anxiety. Jesus says:

"Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that i should not lose anythingof what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day" (Jn 6: 37-39).

What a blessing it is [...]

The Smiling Saint

Today is the anniversary of the death of St. Julie Billiart, foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. While this is not the community to which I belong, we do claim St. Julie as our spiritual mother and so consider ourselves "cousins." Our own foundress was deeply influenced by the spirituality of St. Julie and so I am most grateful for th [...]

Holy Week Retreat with the Monks

The following reflection is offered by Chris Mileski, a seminarian for the Diocese of Toledo who celebrated Holy Week with the monks at St. Meinrad Monastery.

The Octave of Easter may be over, but the Easter season has just begun! Last week, my brother seminarian Michael gave a wonderful account of what Holy Week was like in the Diocese of Toledo, but my experience was a little different. Scott and I spent the time preparing for the Pasch on retreat with the monastic community at Saint [...]

For all that will be -- YES!

When I was in high school, we once presented a program for some of the Sisters based on the phrase: "For all that has been - Thanks! For all that will be - Yes!" I was reminded of this saying today as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation.

In some ways, when Mary said her yes at the Annunciation, it was like signing a blank check. She did not know what bringing Jesus intothe world would entail. She did not know what would be asked of her. She did not know the blessing [...]

A Seminarian's Easter Reflections

The following reflection was written by seminarian Mike Roemmele who is in his second year of Theology at Mount St. Mary Seminary in Cincinnati.

Happy Easter! Today we continue to celebrate Our Lord's Resurrection during the octave of Easter. For many of us seminarians we are returning to our studies after a busy Holy Week of not only spiritually preparing for Easter, but alsophysically preparing vis-à-vis helping out in our parishes. Throughout the week the Church's litu [...]

The Celebration Continues

Where does one begin to capture in words the power and beauty of the liturgical celebrations of the Holy Week/Easter triduum? I find myself "distracted" these days with memories of the various rituals and symbols that marked these days.

I had the privilege of celebrating these sacred days with the parish community at St. Thomas More University Parish in Bowling Green and with thetwo sisters with whom I live. We began our celebration on Thursday with a seder meal for whi [...]

Pilgrimage to France

The following was submitted by seminarian Matt Frisbee, a junior at St. Joseph College Seminary at Loyola University in Chicago.

Two weeks ago, I went on a once in a lifetime pilgrimage to France with the rest of the community from St. Joseph College Seminary. We visited many holy sites in a short time span (9 sites in 7 full days)-the chapel where Jesus revealed His SacredHeart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the chapel where St. Bernadette's body remains incorrupt, and St. Th [...]

Remarkable Love

During my prayer time this morning, I reflected on the beginning of a small book by Hans Urs Von Balthasar entitled "The Way of the Cross." He begins by placing before us the remarkable truth that we exist. Yes, the simple, yet remarkable, truth is that we are!

Not only does God care enough to create us to be the unique and never-to-be-repeated person that we are, but He blessesour creation with the ultimate gift of free will. I was especially struck by this today as I r [...]

Passion Sunday

When I was growing up, "Passion Sunday" (the fifth Sunday of Lent) always served as a sort of wake up call. It was as if the Church wanted to issue a clear signal that the end of Lent was quickly approaching.

My most vivid recollection of this Sunday was the practice of covering all statues and crucifixes in the Church with purple cloth. The sanctuary crucifix in my home parishChurch of St. Mary, Leipsic is huge, and so covering it with purple cloth couldn't be missed.&nb [...]

Weather Watch

Most of us in Northwest Ohio have reached the point of saying, "Enough already with winter! We're ready for spring!" This seems to be especially true with the multiple winter storms we've been having lately.

I've been struck by how much attention we give to winter storms. We follow with great attention the forecasters' reports as soon as there is even a hint of a storm. We watch/listen to various reports as the amounts of precipitation and timing of the storm [...]