Back to School

Even though the semester ended last week, this has been a busy week for the seminary community. On Monday and Tuesday, we visited Elementary and High Schools and on Wednesday and Thursday we participated in a Priests Symposium as part of the Church’s Year for Priests. While each event this past week provided positive experiences, Tuesday topped them all.

On Tuesday, I “officially” returned to St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School for one of the Vocation presentations. Words cannot express what a great day it was for me to return to a community that has done so much for me. The day was a great one for a lot of reasons:

First, I was uncertain what it would feel like to go back to SJB, especially in this new role. The second I walked in the door I felt like I had never left. The warm welcome, excited response and great words of support reminded me of how fortunate I am to be a part of this great community.

Second, I asked John Kwon, a fellow seminarian, to share the presentation with me. I think he was a little reluctant to speak before hundreds of kids in a Catholic high school (not to mention giving up valuable time off in the midst of a busy week). John is from the Diocese of Daejeon, South Korea and it is only his second year speaking English and living on the mainland of America. Whatever his reluctance may have been, he worked right through it as he gave the students at St. John’s a great personal reflection about making the sacrifice to enter the seminary and his hopes and dreams for priesthood.

Two things that stand out from John’s talk were summed up by one of the Religious Studies teachers who e-mailed yesterday. First, he spoke about the influence of a parish priest in South Korea who helped his family through a difficult time. His presence inspired John to want to make the same difference in the lives of others. Second, John talked about the absence that can be felt in relationships. He had a powerful statement, “I thirst to be loved” and said he has only had that thirst satisfied in his relationship with God. What a powerful witness he offered (and offers) on Tuesday.

I have written before about the benefit of working together with other seminarians, particularly through the parish visits and other projects we’ve been involved in. Spending the day working with John was a good thing for me and for the students we spoke to on Tuesday. First, it was great to show him an American high school and a little bit about my "former" life. Second, John is a great person to share life with here at the Seminary. He’s a good witness to me about keeping focused on what is important both inside and outside of the seminary. I realized that more as I listened and worked with him throughout the day. I suspect he impacted the community at St. John the Baptist in the same way he has done for me.

Well tonight is my last night at the Seminary for this year. On Sunday, I leave for a three week Spanish institute. More to come soon!

Have a great week!

Soon to be Father John Ryan - A Character and a Man of Character

It’s hard to believe the first “year” of seminary life is drawing to a close! Life at the end of the year here has prevented me from posting these last few weeks. But, now, classes are finished and we have about a week left of seminary and outside activities. I’ll write about those next week.

Today as part of the closing ritual for the school year, the seminarians in third year offer testament to the seminarians preparing to be ordained this June. I was asked to offer a reflection about Deacon John Ryan. John is from Our Lady of Lourdes, has become a great friend and a true guide through this first year of seminary life. Here’s the text of my talk:

Many gathered here can tell colorful and lively stories of priestly “characters”. Our churches and parishes are filled with them. The stories we sometimes are even embarrassed to tell or can’t get through without laughing about men called to serve God as priests. I think many today would agree that John Ryan is well on the path to becoming one of the “characters”.

It is not since I started living here this past year that I realized what a true character he is. There have been times when he has said something and I said to myself, “Did he really just say that?” …the various imitations and comedy bits and testimonials he’s been part of (and I’ve only been here a year!)…knowing exactly what button to push (in a good way)…being able to reach out to many segments of our seminary community. Yet he offers me and, I think, all of us here a challenge – that we, too, might be characters.

You see, people who are characters are often some of the most authentic people we will ever meet. It is not that they don’t care what other people think. It is that they have come to know themselves so well they are not easily swayed or influenced by the words or ideas of another. For they have done the difficult work of self-reflection and discernment. Yes, John Ryan is surely a character, but I propose and I think you’d agree, he is a man of character. He is a man who knows who he is and who he is not.

I hope this is not a formation issue, but truth be told, John Ryan is part of the reason I finally came to the Seminary. I'll probably have to talk to Msgr. Swiader about this later. More than once, we would talk during one of his visits to Our Lady of Lourdes or even over this past summer about seminary life and priesthood. In my own anxiety and doubt, he would encourage often with a line like, “Hey, I’m making it there. If I can do it, trust me, you’re going to be fine” or in the midst of the first weeks here at the Seminary, the quick check ins to make sure I was OK or the invitations to go for a walk and sort through a new and life changing experience. I don’t think I would have been and know I cannot be that open and vulnerable with just anyone but I can with a person of authenticity- a character and a person of character like John Ryan.

As many of you may know, John and I have a lot in common - the beautiful red hair, the common hometown of West Islip, strong connections to the same parish. We also both have backgrounds in catering and restaurant work. John and I have often talked that some our best formational experiences, in addition to the seminary, have been our experiences in deli and restaurant work and catering. As you know, John, like most of us, left a lot to come here. He could be running a business or working in restaurant management. I’d even suggest he could be on the concert circuit singing “Bridge Over Troubled Water” with Paul Simon. But that’s another talk. The idea of serving or waiting on others involves emptying, humility, discouragement, joy and frustration. It builds character and comes from people of character. It helps one to realize it is not all about them – but rather bringing something great to others. Good servants, good waiters get out of the way so people can get to the meal, so they can come to the table. Priests of good character do the same with the Meal and the Table.

John Ryan is going to be a great priest because he is man of great character. His humility, gentleness and good humor – all qualities of a good waiter – will call those he serves not to focus on him or themselves. Rather, he will get out of the way and lead them to the Table – to discover the presence of God in their own lives. That’s the kind of priestly character I think we will be talking about for years and years to come when we talk about Father John Ryan.

A Regular Sunday

This weekend is our first “regular” Sunday since the beginning of the semester. As I recognized this for myself, I realized I haven’t written about a typical Sunday is about for the community here.

Sunday in the life of the Christian should be a day set apart. We celebrate the Lord’s Day on Sunday. Catholic attend Mass and should set aside the whole day for Sabbath – for rest, family, prayer and fellowship. The reality of our lives of late is that this is harder and harder for many of us to do. That’s a topic for another post.

The Seminary community sets Sunday aside too. It has a different rhythm so that this day may be different than the others; that this day may be a time to pray, reflect, renew and grow away from the weekly schedule of classes, meetings, etc.

Here’s an overview of our Sundays….
9:00 A.M. – Morning Prayer. We pray Morning Prayer every morning we are here. On
Sundays, we start a little later.
10/10:30 A.M. – Conference. Each Sunday, the Rector, Vice Rector or Spiritual Director hold a conference. Today, for example, Fr. Peter led the final Rector’s Conference for the Spring Semester. One of the ideas, I think, is to listen to that and with the time built into the day reflect on the main ideas of the conference. Fr. Peter spoke about charity and love today and gave us much to think about.
11:30 A.M. – Mass. This community Mass is different from our regular daily liturgy. First, only seminarians attend the Sunday liturgy. There is more singing, the homily is directed primarily to the seminarians and we work to plan and minister throughout the Liturgy. We also dress in cassock and surplice for Sunday liturgy.
12:30 P.M. – Lunch – enough said!
1:00 – 5:00 P.M. – Free time. This is a time to catch up on school work, enjoy the outdoors, catch up with some friends, or take a break for a few hours. Today, for example, I did some school work outside as the weather was wonderful. The picture above shows my outdoor view today.
5:00 P.M. – Evening Prayer. Evening Prayer on Sundays is more formal. We process in with the Paschal Candle and sing all of the psalms and canticles. A seminarian preaches at Sunday Evening Prayer which is also a great opportunity for both the seminarian and the community. Tonight, Dwayne Davis preached about the promise of hope and how we must seek that out in our lives.
5:30 P.M. – Social. After Evening Prayer, we gather in the Faculty Lounge for a Sunday Social. This is a chance to catch up with one another, talk about our weekends and even look forward to the week ahead.
6:00 P.M. – Dinner. We gather for a formal dinner on Sunday nights. An “alley” sets up and serves the meal. Tonight, my alley, 3-B, set up and serve. The dinner is a little fancier, tablecloths, etc. but the community is still the same. These last two events can seem out of place at times, I admit that. Yet, it helps to highlight the significance of Sunday dinner and also is probably good preparation for many a parish social and/or dinner in the future.
7:00 P.M - ???. Free Time. Here again is some time to catch up, finish up some class work, take a walk, or even updates one’s blog (:)) as I’m doing right now.

So the Sunday pace is different and I realized missed a bit. Between speaking in parishes, guests here for Palm Sunday and our breaks, this is our first “regular” Sunday since early February. It is good to have some of that rhythm back.

Have a great week!