MY
We might as well be Franciscans with the number of animals on this campus.
You can scarcely look out at any large patch of grass on campus and not see a deer. They'll be eating or sleeping or just roaming. They're also very, very tame. The housekeeping staff has been feeding them for the past couple years. You can get within a couple feet of them before they run away. The deer are fun to have on campus. The geese... could clean up after themselves. A couple times during class, we'll in a ground floor classroom, trying to focus on a lecture when we'll hear "quack quack quack" from the window. Every head turns to see a gaggle strutting along, walking around in a circle for no apparent reason. They've also livened up my quarantine with their occasional visits to the corner my window overlooks. When I was being driven to my COVID test, we followed out the main road out in front of the campus. In the middle of the road was a gaggle of about 20 geese, completely oblivious to the two-ton vehicle hot on their tails (pun intentional). We drive closer, assuming they'll part ways. 50 feet. We accelerate a little and drive closer. 30 feet. They haven't even turned to look at us. 20 feet. We hit the brakes. 15 feet. A couple of them casually turn their heads back to look at us and decide that it's time to move. 10 feet. Instead of just walking off the road and onto the grass, out of the path of the vehicle, the geese decide to marching the same direction we're traveling. Maybe they thought they could outrun us. 5 feet. They slowly, and I mean slowly, guide themselves out of our path. We drive through the group, geese still following on either side. They clearly wanted that road, because the moment we left, they took it over again and still laid claim to their territory by the time we came back. There are many squirrels that scamper up and down the trees, and I do believe I gave a bunny a heart attack when I was on an evening stroll. He recovered fast. We have fish in our pond, and some seminarians and priests like to spend their evenings in lawn chairs trying to catch something. Some guys talk about taking up crossbows and "stocking the kitchen," but nobody actually does. Everyone knows our furry (and feathered) companions bring some joy and unpredictability to our often monastic routines. Totus Tuus! P.S. Also if it wasn't clear, the title was a reference to my last post. Did you catch it? P.P.S. COVID update. I tested positive and I am the only guy in my building to be quarantined right now. God willing, I might be let out this weekend. God has had a plan for this and I know he's done some good work in me over this week and a half in solitude. Thank you again for your prayers.
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One thing I did not expect about seminary life is all of the singing. Every morning at 6:45, our first order of business is Lauds (morning prayer) as a community. Everybody stumbles over to St. Turibius (the main chapel) and attempts to get the bleary out of their eyes before the bell rings, and the Deacon begins to chant, "God, come to my assistance."
When I first arrived here, I was given a crash course in the Liturgy of the Hours and how to use a breviary. Soon after, all of the new guys meet with the choir director who talks to us about 'tones,' or the different melodies to which the Liturgy of the Hours is sung. There are quite a few. Different tones are used for different psalms, and each tone conveys a different emotion to match the psalm it accompanies. For example, our Sunday psalms are usually joyful, soaring hymns of praise to the Father. On Fridays, we typically sing sadder, more somber psalms. Each psalm is first broken into paragraphs and alternately sung by the two sides of the church. Each line is its own simple melody. Only the last words of the line involve any change in pitch - this is the same way the Priest chants during mass. We are often accompanied by the organ (picture included,) which helps us keep pitch and tempo and cues the next note we sing. The hints help us distinguish between all the different tones and make it significantly easier for the half-asleep. There's something very special about the way sound echoes in a big stone chapel. When the voices of 50 men join together and align just right, you can feel it. We don't just sing in the morning... and admittedly most of us aren't angelically voiced when we wake. We chant evening prayer (Vespers) communally. We sing hymns during mass. I'm part of a group has been preparing to lead praise-and-worship Holy Hours. If you get a chance, I recommend looking up videos on YouTube of the ways that Liturgy of the Hours is traditionally sung. My choir director said that the tradition of singing the Liturgy of the Hours stretches so far back that the way we sing the psalms today are the same ways Jesus would have sung the psalms with his disciples. We have evidence of this from rabbis today who carry the Hebrew tradition of chant. My favorite psalm to chant is the Canticle from Daniel 3:57. The cantor intones "Bless the Lord all you works of the Lord!" The whole church exclaims "Praiseworthy and exalted above all forever!" The psalmist and the lector call to every part of Heaven and Earth, one part at a time, and the whole church proclaims to each, "Bless the Lord!" Or, in Biblical Hebrew, we say "Hallelujah!" While frequently used as an exclamation of our praise to God, the original meaning of Hallelujah was actually a command, where you are encouraging someone to praise God. I digress, Daniel 3 is a beautiful Canticle and I encourage you to give it a read. On a more serious note (haha note... music... okay back to serious) COVID has entered the campus. We have three guys on campus who have tested positive. Unfortunately, I got exposed to one of them and am currently quarantined in my room. Please pray for me. Totus Tuus! I get asked this question a lot. What distinguishes a 'Pontifical Seminary' from every other seminary? The short answer is that a Pontifical Seminary is directly tied to the Vatican while any other seminary is part of a diocese. Effectively, our president is an Apostolic Nuncio (a Cardinal representing the Pope). This arrangement requires special permission from the Vatican and in fact, the Josephinum is the only Pontifical Seminary outside of Italy... in Columbus of all places!
I won't bore you with a history lesson, but if you're interested, Aleteia has a great article about us. https://aleteia.org/2018/03/04/this-seminary-in-ohio-has-direct-ties-to-the-vatican/ A unique part of our lives here is that our formal dress code is a Pontifical Cassock, also known as a House Cassock. We were officially invested with them last weekend, during Evening Prayer (Vespers). They are a symbol of our unity with the Vatican, our fellowship as brothers, and the special privilege we have as a Pontifical Seminary. I included some photos from the investiture. Every Pontifical Seminary has their own version of a Pontifical Cassock, meaning you can distinguish between houses (hence the term House Cassock). First, our names were called and we responded with "present" as we were called to stand in front of the altar. The cassocks are blessed. We prayed this prayer before we vested: "We ask for God's merciful love and for the grace of serving him humbly and giving him witness by being vested with the Pontifical Cassock." Totus Tuus! It's been a wild ride as I've settled in here at the Pontifical College Josephinum.
I arrived here (for the first time) two weeks ago. The first thing I saw while driving up the highway was this beautiful spire peeking up above the trees. Two turns later the campus buildings greeted me. They are an awe-inspiring sight. I know it sounds cheesy, but I was immediately hit with a feeling of arriving home. Which was good, because I've never been here before this and was worried that I wouldn't settle in well. But I have. The first weekend was a whirlwind. I was able to spend some time with my family praying and saying goodbyes before they left to head back to Steubenville. After a couple tears, my personal adventure officially began and I got to work on my first goal: explore! These are beautiful buildings. They're a striking blend of old stone walls and floors, modern sections and systems, and art. You can scarcely turn a corner without seeing a painting or picture. I enjoyed getting lost as I found my way through long, beautiful, labyrinthine hallways, before closing the day with mass, adoration, dinner, night prayer, and a crash onto my bed. Day two kicked it into high-gear. We had mass in the main chapel, St. Turibius. I included some photos in the slideshow. It's probably one of the most beautiful chapels I've ever seen - particularly the ornate wall behind the altar (close-up photo included). Everything is centered around the main chapel - architecturally and spiritually. There are other, smaller chapels everywhere else, including one just down the hall from me, 20 feet away. Over these last weeks, I survived orientation, my first classes (and quizzes), made new friends, discovered a couple secret rooms and tunnels (and a coffin...) spent hours and hours in adoration, lamented the lack of air conditioning in many rooms (including mine) and became comfortable in living on-campus. I've also been able to spend some good bonding time with my new brothers: exploring the campus, visiting around the area, and having a spectacular Nerf gun fight in the gymnasium. This weekend is a special one. I'll be officially invested with the Pontifical Cassock. You can see a picture of it in the slideshow, from the fitting. I'll talk more about what a Pontifical Cassock and a Pontifical College are next time. Long story short, this is the only Pontifical College in America and in the world (outside of Italy) and we're under the special authorization and governance of the Holy See. I'm writing all of this during my weekend-long silent retreat. Over this weekend, we will have 40 consecutive hours worth of adoration before Jesus exposed in the monstrance. Please keep me in prayer as I will keep you and your intentions in prayer during my holy hours. Totus Tuus! |
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July 2023
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