Feast of Paul Miki and Companions

My confirmation Saint is the little known Paul Miki. He was a Jesuit in Japan who, along with his companions was martyred by crucifixion. My fascination with Paul Miki began when I was a child and we would read from the Lives of the Saints at the dinner table every night.

Several years later, when it came time for me to pick a confirmation saint I picked St. Paul Miki.

Now, as my faith has matured I have an even greater fascination with this great saint. At the time of his murder, Christianity was outlawed in the Japan. More than two hundred years later when Missionaries were allowed back into the country, they found people who still professed faith in Jesus Christ. For two hundred years they maintained this faith without the sacraments! What a strong faith St. Paul Miki and his companions must have instilled in these Japanese men and women.

The reason I bring this up is because his feast day is this Saturday, February 6th. Here are St. Paul Miki’s last words, delivered as he was being crucified for his faith.

The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason that I die. I believe that I am telling the truth before I die. I know you believe me and I want to say to you all once again: Ask Christ to help you become happy. I obey Christ. After Christ’s example, I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain.

Saint Paul Miki, pray for us.

March For Life testimonies

On the way back from the March for Life in Washington D.C. All of the pilgrims, including seminarians had the opportunity to reflect upon and share their experiences with those on their buses. Thanks to the hard work of Jay Nies, editor of the Catholic Missourian. Transcripts of these testimonies have been made available.

Here are the testimonies given by some of the seminarians:

Nicholas J. Reid, Theology III, Theological College at the Catholic University of America

(Why is this important?)

The pro-life movement and this march is important because it shows that there are so many people concerned about DOING something to promote our cause when it seems that we’re stagnant. It’s beautiful for me to see so many Midwestern faces and all the people who make the EFFORT to come out to D.C.

For many people in Missouri, the federal government seems so distant. 12 or 14 hours away. So it’s great to see so many people from Jeff. City come out.

(What should we pray for?)

An end to abortion and for people’s hearts to be opened to not only giving birth and being open to life but to supporting life in making the small decisions to support life, as well. The many ‘yesses.’

Colin Franklin, Theology II, Theological College at the Catholic University of America

I’m just impressed with the diversity of the groups that are here and just the sheer numbers. It’s great to see it. Particularly given that abortion is legal as it is, someone who believes that abortion is wrong but doesn’t say anything only helps them maintain the status quo. So the more voices we can get out there and the more presence we can get out there, the better we’ll do.

(What was your impression of the Mass?)

It’s very moving. For one thing, it’s much longer than a normal Mass is. But during the whole thing, there was a very prayerful attitude. And to see that many people come together after traveling, after being exhausted, and they’re willing to stand in a group like that, and just to pray that long and just with that many of our fellow Catholics was just a very great, moving experience.

Geoff Brooke, College III, Conception Seminary College

I went to the University of Missouri for the last two years. So I’m with the St. Thomas More Newman Center in Columbia.

This was my first opportunity to ever attend the march.

I heard about it but never had a chance to go. So when the time came, I sent in my sign-up form as soon as I could.

Two weeks ago, I was in a pretty nasty car wreck. I wasn’t sure I was going to go. And some people thought I shouldn’t go, some thought I should.

Well, thanks be to God, I was okay and I was able to make it out and come here, and I was very grateful for that opportunity.

I have lived in a lot of places. I have family that lives all over the country. So I randomly happen to know a lot of people. And one of the most beautiful experiences for me when I go to things like this and to NCYC is to experience the universality if the Church. Getting to run into friends I haven’t seen for months from New Orleans or for years from St. Louis, all of them standing there marching.

There was a group that came up praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet behind me, and I heard a voice I kind of recognized, and I turned around and saw a friend I hadn’t seen for over a year.

The opportunity like that to grow as a community, as the Body of Christ, as we marched together and stood up for something that we all believe in was a very powerful experience for me.

Also, the Mass the night before. I’ve had many friends say they’ve been to the Mass and it was a very overwhelming experience spiritually. I thought that was a beautiful way to begin the trip, to remember that in the celebration of the Sacrifice of the Mass, that we use that to begin this pilgrimage, not only in Jefferson City but also as we got to Washington, D.C. before we took off to march.

I did a retreat in high school for eighth grade confirmation students. The theme of the retreat was talk the talk and Walk the walk. And I believe our prayers offered up during the Sacrifice of the Mass the night before, we were able to get the strength, even though we were tired and exhausted, to get the strength from the receiving of the Body of Christ in the Eucharist to walk the walk the next day. And I’m very grateful for that opportunity.

And I’m very grateful to have met a lot of you, because I haven’t lived year-round in the diocese very long. So it’s very nice to get to meet more and more people when I go to things like this.

David Bauer, College III, Conception Seminary College

This is the third march for Life that I’ve been on. And I used to … before this school year, I used to work at a pregnancy resource center in Rolla.

I saw how young people were who came in there who were expecting it to be a place where they can get an abortion. And I saw the young people who came in there without the knowledge of what they had inside of them.

And I just want to say that this trip always really gives me hope about the future because I’m able to see the wide variety of age groups that are here at the march, especially the young people, to see that they’re here fighting for what they believe in, and they’re doing it in such a way that they are suffering. They have physical pains and they’re tired and they want some sleep. But they have a smile on their face because they know what they’re fighting for.

It’s really hopeful to see what our future is, with the people at the parish.

Chris Aubuchon, College IV, Conception Seminary College

These experiences are always very profound for me.

The pro-life march, when you hear that, what thought comes to your mind?

I always think of God’s children. When I think of pro-life, I think of God’s children and what a blessing they are for each of us, and how much God loves each of His children, each of us — the unborn and each of those who are unborn.

And all of those who die. And how unfathomable his love is for each of us. And how we need to be an advocate of that love by partaking in events such as the pro-life march.

At school, we have a pro-life committee that a student from the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese started. This is the third year of it. And I got involved fairly quickly in that. I had a leadership position that I handed over because it’s my last year there.

And I was part of the pro-life prayer group. And one of the profound experiences we would have is, once a month on Saturday, we would go to Planned Parenthood and pray a full rosary, once a month on Saturdays.

We’d get up at 4:30 in the morning. We’d drive to Kansas City, about two hours and get there at about 6:30. It was still fairly dark. And we start praying the rosary. There’s usually about 10 of us that go. There are two shifts. The second shift is usually about 5:30 when they leave.

But when we get there, it’s amazing the number of people that pour in there on Saturday morning. A lot of the appointments are at like 7 or 8. And people are getting there very early in the morning. And it’s a lot of young people.

And it hits you right in the heart, how they think this is their only option. Or they think that this is what’s best for them. Or more times than not, they’re pressured into it, or they’re scared.

And you just see people go in there. And while we’re standing there praying, it can bring tears to your eyes, just how powerful that experience is, seeing that, and they look, at times, they’ll look over us if they’re brave, and they have to question in their hearts why people would be praying outside this place.

Why is that? We don’t see people outside Walmart praying like that, or other places. Why are they here, praying outside this place?

And there are also people there, adults, that give out information, pro-life information while we’re standing there praying. Or they try to. They reach out and every once in a while, someone will take that and they will read that.

And by the grace of God, every now and then, they will turn around and won’t go in.

That doesn’t happen super-often. They take the stuff more than they turn around. But at least that much is happening. But that experience is always very profound. And it’s kind of like the pro-life march. It’s somewhat sacrificial. This is more sacrificial. It’s longer and more involved and things. But it’s always a very profound experience to imagine what we’re doing, and to think how important this really is — the impact we can make on lives.

Another big thing for me is, when we’re marching, how huge the number of people who are there. 400 or 500,000 people.

Sometimes you feel alone in this battle. I know at school a lot of times, especially in the pro-life group, we feel alone at times in the battle, like we’re the only ones praying for this.

We obviously know that’s not true, but it feels like that sometimes.

But when you go there and you see 400 or 500 thousand people standing up for this cause, especially the young people, how amazing that truly is to see that impact. It’s a beautiful gift from God, and people recognize that.

People talk about how priests touch people’s lives, seminarians touch people’s lives. Well you all touch our lives just as much if not more. Any priest and any seminarian will tell you that. You have remember that you all give back to us. And that’s what keeps us going, that’s what keeps fueling us.

A good friend of mine sent this to me and I loved it, hope everyone enjoys it.

Song of the Mystic

I walk down the Valley of Silence –
Down the dim, voiceless valley — alone!
And I hear not the fall of a footstep
Around me, save God’s and my own;
And the hush of my heart is as holy
As hovers where angels have flown!

Long ago was I weary of voices
Whose music my heart could not win;
Long ago was I weary of noises
That fretted my soul with their din;
Long ago was I weary of places
Where I met but the human — and sin.

I walked in the world with the worldly;
I craved what the world never gave;
And I said: “In the world each Ideal,
That shines like a star on life’s wave,
Is wrecked on the shores of the Real.
And sleeps like a dream in a grave.”

And still did I pine for the Perfect,
And still found the False with the True.
I sought ‘mid the Human for Heaven,
But caught a mere glimpse of its Blue:
And I wept when the clouds of the Mortal
Veiled even that glimpse from my view.

And I toiled on, heart-tired, of the Human,
And I moaned ‘mid the mazes of men,
Till I knelt, long ago, at an altar
And I heard a voice call me. Since then
I walk down the Valley of Silence
That lies far beyond mortal ken.

Do you ask what I found in the Valley?
‘Tis my Trysting Place with the Divine.
And I fell at the feet of the Holy,
And above me a voice said: “Be mine.”
And there arose from the depths of my spirit.
An echo — “My heart shall be Thine.”

Do you ask how I live in the Valley?
I weep — and I dream — and I pray.
But my tears are as sweet as the dewdrops
That fall on the roses in May;
And my prayer, like a perfume from censers,
Ascendeth to God night and day.

In the hush of the Valley of Silence
I dream all the songs that I sing;
And the music floats down the dim Valley,
Till each finds a word for a wing,
That to hearts, like the Dove of the Deluge,
A message of Peace they may bring.

But far on the deep there are billows
That never shall break on the beach;
And I have heard songs in the Silence
That never shall float into speech;
And I have had dreams in the Valley
Too lofty for language to reach.

And I have seen Thoughts in the Valley –
Ah! me, how my spirit was stirred!
And they wear holy veils on their faces,
Their footsteps can scarcely be heard;
They pass through the Valley like virgins,
Too pure for the touch of a word!

Do you ask me the place of the Valley,
Ye hearts that are harrowed by Care?
It lieth afar between mountains,
And God and His angels are there:
And one is the dark mount of Sorrow,
And one the bright mountain of Prayer.

(Father Abram Ryan, “Priest-Poet of the South)

born 15 August, 1839; died 22 April, 1886

Mass at the Shrine

After spending 22 hours on a bus from Jefferson City, Mo. to Washington D.C. and unloading our bags at our gracious host parish we headed to Mass at the National Shrine. We arrived around 4 pm for Mass that was scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm. When we arrived two and a half hours early, the entire Basilica was packed. I’m not sure there were any seats left in the main upper church, I know that many of our pilgrims got seats in the crypt church below where they were able to watch the Mass on a television screen.

All of the seminarians were told to vest and gather in one particular area of the crypt church. It was really wonderful to meet some new seminarians from all over the country as well as catch up with old friends who now study at different seminaries.

Eventually we formed a line and then began the procession, the seminarians alone took 21 minutes to process, the overall procession time was around 45 minutes. As one of the first seminarians seated, I was afforded the luxury of watching all of the other seminarians, deacons, priests, bishops and cardinals process in to participate in the Mass. What a beautiful testament of faith to watch as all these men of faith approached the altar.

As mentioned, the Shrine was packed which made for a very intense experience of the Mass. Every time there was a song to sing there were so many people joining the already amazing choir which led to the entire Shrine being filled with a very powerful sense of spirit and worship. The Mass was celebrated by Cardinal DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, I really enjoyed his homily as it touched on the important issues of Life while still being coherent and enjoyable to such a young crowd. While I may be biased, I particularly enjoyed his baseball analogies.

During the Mass I remember looking around, amazed at all the people, just like on NCYC, these people, both young and young at heart, from the East Coast, West Coast, North, South, City, Country were all united as ONE that evening. United in worship of the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Mass, united and preparing to fight for something they believe, the right to Life!

Another reflection I had on the Mass was that it was the perfect way to start the activities in Washington D.C. Here were somewhere between 10,000 to 20,000 people celebrating and recognizing that Jesus Christ, our Lord, gave up HIS LIFE for OUR LIVES… How beautiful was it that we, as the Body of Christ were preparing to stand up and March for the Right to Life that next morning. Just as Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper the night before he was Crucified on the Cross for our sins, we participated in this meal before we marched for those who have unjustly lost their lives.

Do we have any other choice than to stand up for the lives of others? From conception to natural death we have no choice but to stand up because if we want to honor our baptismal call to be a part of the Body of Christ, we must act as Christ acted.

March For Life Pilgrimage coverage

As previously mentioned, a few of the seminarians from Conception were able to join the diocesan pilgrimage to Washington D.C. for the March For Life. Much like NCYC in November the experience was full of many opportunities to grow closer to Christ though very real and powerful experiences.

There were so many thoughts that went through my head during the trip and in my reflections since then that they will have to be split into a few posts. In the meantime be sure to check out the photos I took throughout the March.

March for Life Pilgrimage

Some of the seminarians joined the diocesan pilgrimage for the March for Life. Here are some photos I took during the trip.

Look for more coverage of the March for Life in the next few days

Faith and Love

This morning, as we do every morning the seminary body gathered for Office of Readings and Morning Prayer. These prayers are part of the Liturgy of the Hours, which serves as the prayer of the church.

The Office of Readings contains two readings every day. Typically the first is from scripture and the second is from the writings of the saints.

This morning’s second reading was a from a letter to the Ephesians from St. Ignatius of Antioch. The following is a passage from that reading that struck me in a very profound manner. I hope that you too may find some meaning and inspiration in the quote.

“None of this will escape you if you have perfect faith and love toward Jesus Christ. These are the beginning and the end of life: faith the beginning, love the end. When these two are found together, there is God and everything else concerning right living follows from them.”

Please pray for the whole church that she as a whole may grow in that perfect faith and love toward Jesus Christ.

Getting settled

For the guys at Conception, the new semester has already arrived. After coming back earlier in the week, we are now getting settled into our new classes etc. However, next week it will all be thrown off again when some of us leave to join the diocesan pilgrimage to Washington D.C. for the March For Life.

We are looking forward to the opportunity to attend the pilgrimage with parishioners from our diocese for such a powerful experience. Of course, then we will come back and have to get settled into classes all over again, but it will definitely be worth it.

Please keep all of those participating in the pilgrimage in your prayers.

Road trip

On my way to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve I received a phone call from one of my best friends, and former roommate at Mizzou. He explained that through a variety of circumstances he had a plane ticket he couldn’t use because he was back in Texas and not in Missouri, he asked if he could switch the ticket and come visit the Northeast. I grew up in St. Louis and then moved to New Jersey. I lived here for a while before returning to Missouri to attend Mizzou.

So my friend came up for New Year’s and the following weekend. He had never been to this part of the country so we did a quick tour. We went to Philadelphia, Boston and New York.

While they were a busy couple of days…they were certainly a lot of fun with some great memories.

I hope that everyone else was able to have an enjoyable, relaxing Christmas break as well.

Click here to see some of the photos I took from our adventures…

Editing some videos…

In addition to writing/blogging/online journalism one of my other hobbies is video making and taking photographs. While on break I have snapped quite a few photos on my trip through the Northeast, I’ve also been working on a video.

While the video is still in progress I’ll hope you all will get the chance to see it sometime soon. As I was working on this video I couldn’t help but laugh and remember that two years ago during my winter break I made another video which was shown at the Bishop’s Campus Ministry Forum. At the time I was a leader at the St. Thomas More Newman Center, and put together the video to show Bishop Gaydos during our meeting with him to review how things are going in campus ministry.

It’s nice to think about all that has changed in the past two years and all that hasn’t changed. That day was the first time I met Bishop Gaydos, and was one of the first times I got to meet folks from our diocese outside of Columbia. Two years later I’m a seminarian for this diocese, and very happy, proud, and grateful to be where I am now, and where I’ve been the last two years.

Here’s that video I was talking about…needless to say, I think I’ve improved some since then.

I’m not the only seminarian who enjoys making videos, Eric Martin is also a big fan of video editing…be sure to check out this awesome NCYC video he made in November: