January 1st, 2014

I hope that this post reads more positive than last year's January 1st post.

As I reflect on today, January 1st, 2014; I have completed more than half of my journey to priesthood. In less than 18 months, God willing, I will be ordained a priest.

Completed:
Fall 2011 - Entered Seminary - Instituted as Acolyte
Spring 2012 - Completed First Year
Summer 2012 - Milton Assignment
Fall 2012 - Instituted as Reader - Franklin Assignment
Spring 2013 - Continue Franklin Assignment - Complete Second Year
Summer 2013 - Summer Assignment - Hull
Fall 2013 - Begin Third Year - Pastoral Assignment - Cape Ann

Coming Up:
Spring 2014 - Continue Pastoral Assignment 2 Cape Ann & Complete Third Year
Summer 2014 - Summer Assignment TBD
Fall 2014 - Begin Fourth Year - Pastoral Assignment TBD

*January 2015 - Deacon Ordination in Boston
Spring 2015 - Continue Pastoral Assignment - Complete Fourth Year
May 2015 - Ordination as Priest

If the seminary is a flight of stairs with eight steps on it, I am on the 5th step. I have 3 steps to go. It feels like a lot left.  Fortunately, I feel like I have a lot to learn still, so I guess that is a good match.

 * I know that some of you heard the same rumor that I did.  The one that said Boston was moving the Deacon ordination date to the summer of 3rd year like almost every other diocese in the U.S.  It was discussed, our seminary was ready to do it, the other seminaries in Boston were not ready to do it.

Semester is wrapping up

Classes are over, the papers are complete and delivered.  I have two oral finals left to complete the semester (Saturday and Monday).  A snow event is blowing into town tonight, should make tomorrow a real quiet day.  It has been a different sort of semester, lots of demands on my time, lots of running around.  I will need to look at mitigating that next semester. 

On Tuesday, I am treating myself to a 5 day, 4 night vacation at Disney World.  I will have the pleasure of a fellow seminarian for company.  This will be his first trip to Disney ever.  I'll be back in Maine for Christmas and New Years. 

We start anew in 2014 on January 8th for semester 6 of the 8 required.  I can see the priestly ordination about 18 months out there, God willing.

Wedding Homily - Liturgical Preaching Class

This was the final homily for the class.  Again, no text, I had an outline, but no written text

First Sunday of Advent - Liturgical Preaching Class

How I rejoiced when I heard them say, let us go to Mass and pray

Christ is coming, Christ is here, Christ will come again

As a baby, as a King, You do not know the day

You know not the time, wake from your sleep, put on Christ the Lord

Night is advanced, the day is at hand, soon is the hour.

Children or adult, man or woman, one will be left behind

One will be taken, one to see the Lord, let me be the one

Make your house ready, ready for the king, you do not know when

Not the house you live in, the house within, make it free of sin

Daughter says to mother, fewer gifts this year, give our gifts to God

Son says to father, fewer gifts this year, give our gifts to the poor

Baby Jesus coming, God is near, make straight His paths

God is with us, Emmanuel, (make ready) the way of the Lord.

Christ the King Homily - Liturgical Preaching Class

From our Liturgical Preaching class.
Sorry, there is no text this week, I gave the homily extemporaneously

Funeral Homily - Liturgical Preaching Class

Funeral Homily for John Jones

On behalf of the Pastor, the staff and all of us here at St. Julia's, please accept our deepest condolences on the loss of your husband, your father and your friend. It is always a sad time to say goodbye and we have missed and will miss John’s familiar presence in our liturgies here.

Carol, Michael and William, John’s immediate family, gather with the rest of us to acknowledge a hole in our lives where John used to be. This Mass is for John but it is also about us.  We miss John, we know that he has died and will not be here with us again.  But, we are Christians and we have hope.

There are three symbols here today that remind us of John’s baptism.  In Baptism, the Pascal candle was lit, a white garment was placed on John and holy water was poured over him three times.  In that baptism, John joined with Christ as part of the family of God.  Today, we placed a white cloth over John once again and we sprinkled Holy water on him in memory of that Baptism.

Behind me today is the third symbol, the Paschal candle, burning brightly once again with the light of Christ. It is a reminder to us of the suffering, death and most importantly, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have in Christ, a God who suffered. We have in Christ, the light of the world, an image for us of the first fruits from death. We believe that Christ rose from the dead and He promised us everlasting life with Him. This is our hope. This is our strength to go on. There is more to our existence than these few years here on this earth.

Through our faith, we have confidence in life after death. Through God's mercy, we hope and pray that John is even now on his way to his eternal reward, completely sound of mind and body. We know that John believed, so we know that he will have eternal life. He may have died to this existence, but he lives on in the life of Christ.

Our belief in eternal life will comfort us, perhaps not today, but in time.  Today's first reading reminds us that “The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces.” Nobody expects today to be a time without tears, but the time will come when the tears will subside. Not because we love John less, but because we have come to accept our loss and realize that he is likely waiting for us to be reunited with him in the place God has prepared for us all. I am sure that with some time, today's loss and pain will be replaced with your best memories of the man you all loved. 

We pray for John, now beyond this mortal world, that he may be reunited with his God.

We pray for those of us left behind in this mortal world.  May we console each other in our grief, allow the tears to flow and bring all of our grief, pain and suffering to our God who can help us bear it all.

Video of same homily

 

Cape Ann Parish Assignment

Each year and each summer, we are assigned to a parish to help develop our pastoral skills.  This year I am assigned to a pastor in Cape Ann, Massachusetts.  FR. J. is the pastor of two parishes (but not an official collaborative of the Archdiocese of Boston (yet)).   As a third year student, we are supposed to be at our assignment for 6 hours including travel time.

I leave early Sunday morning.  It is a 45 minute drive to the first parish and the 8:30 Mass.  I greet the parishioners as they arrive and have some short conversations with them.  I read or serve as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, or just participate in the Mass with the assembly.  After Mass, I move over to the rectory and help with the RCIA program. 

Once RCIA is over, I drive to the other parish and join the Mass already in progress there.  I greet the parishioners as they exit Mass and then move over to the rectory there to assist with a confirmation class.  Once that is finished, I meet the pastor for lunch and discussion before I head back to the seminary.

I get to talk to a lot of people, help with some adult and teen faith formation and get to pick the pastors brain about the vocation that I will be doing in about 18 months.  It is a good assignment.