Some good news

Well, it's almost a month into the year and I am getting settled.  I am getting used to the routine and tuning my study habits.   I have received grades in most of my classes now from quizzes, papers and presentations.  I am doing about as well as I had hoped and that is good news to me.

I can still learn new things.  I have room for improvement.  My study habits could be a bit better, but all in all, I am finding that I can do this. 

Father's homily this morning also reminded me: It's all about love.  You can be an amazing learned man, but if you do not love your fellow man, or your parishioners, it does not mean much.  I pray for God to open my heart and fill it with His love every day.

and perhaps I spoke too quickly

Our seminary brother is back after a 2 day hiatus.  He is continuing his discernment here rather than at home.  Thanks to all you were praying for him and us.

and we lose another classmate

We're a little over 3 weeks into the first semester and we're down 2 classmates from our starting number of 16.

We lost our first man the first week during orientation.  We barely got to know him, so it was a bit jarring, but we seemed to get over it quickly.

This classmate however, has been with us longer.  Bonds of friendship were forming and this is much more of a shock.  He and I were talking a lot and getting to be good friends.  I knew he was frustrated with our hectic schedule, but not this frustrated. I will miss him.

If you ever wondered about praying for us here, let this be your answer.  We need your prayers. 

Illness and Response

Yes, the rumors are true.  On Wednesday at 1:30, I had a very bad vertigo attack,  I was sitting om the classroom waiting for class to begin and started sweating, got very white and felt that I could not move or I would get very dizzy and fall down.

One of our infirmarians (typically a physician who has an out of state license and is the first level of medical support) came to check on me.  They wheeled me to my room.  I lost my lunch.  One of the priests gave me the anointing of the sick and then I went to the ER.

They gave me a series of medications to resolve the vertigo, but none were really working as expected, so they did a CAT scan, X-Ray and EKG to check for other problems.  They found none, but wanted to keep me to be sure.  They admitted me to Newton-Wellesley hospital.  I felt much better the next morning and was released around noon.  I have some medication that makes me very sleepy (not good for class), but are helping me to stay vertical. 

The most amazing part of the experience is this.  One of my brother seminarians was with me every minute of my hospital stay.  They even split the overnight into shifts to stay and nap or pray.  Then they formed a team to drive me to Maine and back so I could sign the paperwork on the condominium that my family is moving into to keep that process moving forward.

God is good!  All the time!

Monday's Schedule

  6:00 Rise and Shine
  7:40 Morning Prayer
  8:00 Breakfast
  8:40 Patristics
  9:40 OPEN
10:40 Church History
11:40 Church History (continues)
12:35 Lunch
  1-4  OPEN (study, exercise, read)
  4:30 Mass with Evening Prayer
  6:00 Dinner
  6:30 Speech Class (2 hours)
10:00 Night Prayer (in private)

Sunday's Schedule

  7:00 Rise and Shine
  8:00 Pick up Breakfast (enough to keep you until 10:30 if you need something)
  8:30 Morning Prayer (in private or small group)
  9:30 Mass (Open to the public)
10:30 Brunch (Open to the Mass attendees)
 12-5  OPEN (study, exercise, read)
  5:30 Evening Prayer (in private or small group)
  6:00 Dinner
  7-10 OPEN (study, exercise, read)
10:00 Night Prayer (in private or small group)

The Cardinal's Blog

Cardinal Seans blog this week reports on his visit to Blessed John Seminary last week.   Those with really sharp eyes may be able to see the back of my head in the picture of the entire assembly.  Let me help a bit, look on the left side.  I am next to one of the Monks (they wear white).

That is my assigned seat for the year.  It is close enough to the organ that I can step out to play it when I am called upon.

Saturday's Schedule

I am going to attempt to post daily this week with each day's schedule.  I hope it gives you some idea of what the days are like here.

  6:00 Rise and Shine
  7:40 Morning Prayer
  8:00 Breakfast
  8:40 Old Testament
  9:40 Patristics
10:40 OPEN (study, exercise, read)
11:45 Mass 
12:35 Lunch
  1-5  OPEN (study, exercise, read)
  5:30 Evening Prayer (in private or in small group)
  6:00 Dinner
 7-10 OPEN (study, exercise, read)
10:00 Night Prayer (in private)

Friday's Schedule

I am going to attempt to post daily this week with each day's schedule.  I hope it gives you some idea of what the days are like here.

  6:00 Rise and Shine
  7:40 Morning Prayer
  8:00 Breakfast
  8:40 Philosophy
  9:40 Patristics
10:40 Human Spiritual Formation
11:45 Mass 
12:35 Lunch
  1-5  OPEN (study, exercise, read)
  5:00 Adoration/Evening Prayer
  6:00 Dinner
 7-10 OPEN (study, exercise, read)
10:00 Night Prayer (in private)

Thursday's Schedule

 I am going to attempt to post daily this week with each day's schedule.  I hope it gives you some idea of what the days are like here.

Thursday is our day off

  7:00 Rise and Shine
  8:00 Mass (not required to attend at Blessed John, can attend elsewhere)
  Morning and Evening prayer in private
  Meals are available at the regular times

  Today I will be going to my doctors to get my 2nd Hepatitis B shot
  Then I should be signing the paperwork to close on my house.
  Then I will be getting a much needed haircut.
  Finally, I'll be having dinner with friends before I drive back to the seminary

Wednesday's Schedule

I am going to attempt to post daily this week with each day's schedule.  I hope it gives you some idea of what the days are like here.

  6:00 Rise and Shine
  7:40 Morning Prayer
  8:00 Breakfast
  8:40 Church History
  9:40 Old Testament
10:40 Old Testament (continues)
11:45 Mass (I'm playing the organ, substituting for the music director)
12:35 Lunch
  1:15 House Committee Meetings
  2-3  OPEN (study, exercise, read)
  3:30 Faculty Adviser meeting (not every week)
  5:15 Evening Prayer (in private, some flex on time)
  6-9  Dinner with Boston Seminarians
10:00 Night Prayer (in private)

Tuesday's Schedule

I am going to attempt to post daily this week with each day's schedule.  I hope it gives you some idea of what the days are like here.

  6:00 Rise and Shine
  7:00 Mass with Morning Prayer embedded
  7:50 Breakfast
  8:30 Introduction to Philosophy
  9:30 Introduction to Philosophy (continues)
10:40 Patristics
11:30 OPEN
12:35 Lunch
  1:15-4:30 RCAB Child Protection Seminar (This week only)
  5:15  Evening Prayer
  6:00  Dinner
 7-10  OPEN (studying, exercise, reading)
10:00 Night Prayer (in private)

This semester's classes and books

Introduction to Patristic Theology

Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church
Early Christian Fathers
The Christological Controversy
On the Apostolic Preaching, St. Iranaeus
Origen: An Exortation to Martyrdom
Christology of the Later Fathers
On the Holy Spirit, St. Basil the Great
The Confessions, Chadwick
The Awe-Inspiring Rites of Initiation
On the Church: Selected Treatise, St. Cyprian

Old Testament

The Catholic Study Bible
The Consuming Fire: A Catholic Introduction to the Old Testament

Introduction to Philosophy

Plato's Republic
Augustine's Confession, Sheed

Church History

A Concise History of the Catholic Church
plus four books from the Patristics course

Introduction to Human and Spiritual  Formation

Catechism of the Catholic Church
Praying with the Jesuits: Finding God in all Things

Speech Class

No Books required