Supervisor's dinner

Our seminarians go out to parishes, nursing homes, hospitals and other locations for pastoral assignments.  We invite the supervisors in for a festive dinner to thank them for their support.  Since I was on the committee, I was asked to take a role.  I took the role of witness speaker.  The topic assigned was "Preparing for the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Vatican II".   Here is the text of my talk.


I am a child of Vatican II.  When Vatican II convened, I was 6 years old.  When it adjourned, I was 9 years old.  My life in the Church, for all practical purposes, has been entirety post Vatican II.  I remember learning my “Prayers at the Foot of the Altar” for Altar boy class in English.  I was in the first class to learn them in English rather than Latin.  So while Latin is the official language of the Church, to me it is a foreign language, not an old familiar friend.  What Mass and parish life was like before Vatican II, I know only from history books and stories.  Some of you are likely shaking your heads at my simplistic views, while others may be remembering your similar stories.

Even with these incomplete credentials of mine, I can suggest that without Vatican II, I would not be standing here before you tonight.  I would probably not be discerning a vocation to the priesthood.   One thing that I know for certain about Vatican II is that it put out a welcome mat to wider participation by the laity in new ways.  You can see that here in tonight's audience.  75% of the seminarians are still laity (although we may forget that on occasion).  Over 60%  of the invited supervisors are members of the laity.  The members of the laity serve a much bigger role in the Church today than they did 50 years ago.

My journey towards the seminary has taken a longer, more indirect path. When I was an altar boy, my parents had friends who loved organ music and soon I was taking organ lessons.  In Junior High School, I left the altar boy ranks and became an organist.  This led to a 42 year avocation (so far) of playing the organ in church.  That regular weekly rehearsal and Sunday Mass kept me in close contact with several churches and their priests as my job moved me around the country.  It has been the backbone of my volunteer Church life and has helped to keep me connected to my parish.

I branched out to teaching religious education for children, confirmation classes, RCIA and my favorite, adult education in the faith.  Later came liturgy committees, parish councils and special committees.  Finally I started volunteering at several prisons and even helped start annual 3 day retreats at those prisons for the inmates.  I am not sure that all of those roles would have been possible before Vatican II and its new focus on the role of the laity.  It certainly provided me with great experiences and insights into parish life since I was involved in so much of it.

When my wife died 2 years ago, God made it clear to me that it was time to spend some serious time on my discernment process.  As I complete my first year here at Blessed John Seminary, I can look back and thank the Holy Spirit for inspiring that new focus on the laity in Vatican II.