Some of you may have noticed that my countdown to diaconate ordination decreased by about 50 days since yesterday.  It is the preference of my bishop, Bishop Doran, that seminarians be ordained deacons at their seminaries, and there has been a big push the past couple of years.  Today I received word that Archbishop Carlson, the archbishop of St Louis, has no problems with my Rockford classmate and myself being ordained deacons along with the St Louis seminarians this next spring.  St Louis ordains its transitional deacons on the Saturday before Palm Sunday, so my scheduled ordination date to the diaconate is now 27 March 2010.

It has been about a month since I last posted, so I thought it would be time for an update.  Things are going well for me at the cathedral.  My assignment this summer is certainly more low-key than last summer.  I have been doing various tasks around the parish, such as organizing the diocesan vestments and updating the alumni directory from our parish school with the past ten years worth of graduates.  Today was a bit of a crazy day since there was a special Mass at the cathedral for the vicar of clergy’s 25th anniversary of ordination.  Both Bishop Doran and our former bishop, Bishop O’Neal, were in attendance, which is what really made things more complicated (I was the assistant MC).

My thesis work has been progressing nicely.  I have not started doing research in full, but I have spent my time relearning Latin.  Since it is a Canon Law thesis, I need to be able to read the canons in Latin.  I had taken Latin for two semesters in grad school, but that was over three years ago now, and I had forgotten most of it.  I try to do a chapter in Wheelock’s a day, excepting Thursdays (my day off) and Sundays.  I should be finished with Wheelock’s before the summer is over, at which point I can start reading over the sources I have already found for my thesis.

The summer is really going by quickly.  It is hard to believe that July begins this week.  Before I know it, the summer will be over and I will be back at Kenrick for my Theology III year.

It has been a while since I have posted any updates about seminary, so I thought now would be a good time.

I am now finished with my Theology II year at Kenrick.  The year went very well, and it went very fast.  It was also a bittersweet ending to the school year since two of the priests at the seminary will be moving on to other assignments.  One had been at the seminary for 3 years, and the other had been there for 22 years.  They will be missed very much.

I have had a couple of relaxing weeks off at home between then end of the school year and the beginning of my summer assignment.  This summer I am once again in Rockford, but this time I am at the cathedral.  I moved in last Thursday, and thus far it has been a good experience.  There are three priests living here at the rectory, two are assigned to the cathedral and the other is in residence for he works at the chancery.  Some of my duties include: opening the cathedral in the mornings (5:45 am on weekdays), helping setup for and serve the Masses, and various larger projects (I was organizing vestments yesterday).

One of my personal summer projects is to work on my thesis.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have chosen to write on a Canon Law topic, specifically the concept of formally leaving the Catholic Church.  This summer I need to work on refreshing myself with Latin since I will need to be able to read the Code of Canon Law in its official language.  I also want to work on reading some of the articles and other documents I have gathered in doing research.  If I have time, I would also like to do some more research, especially into the ecclesiastical aspects of my thesis topic.

As usual, I will also be helping with the Rockford vocations camps this summer.  Jeremiah Days, which is for guys grades 7-9, will be July 12-15, and First Call (grades 10+) will be August 2-5.  For both camps I am in charge of the initial setup as well as being the sacristan for the camp.  Offically my assignment at the cathedral ends on July 31, but that following week I will still be in Rockford working at First Call and then attending the seminarian retreat.  I will then have about 1 to 1.5 weeks off before returning to Kenrick to begin my Theology III year.

Well, Jeremiah Days 2008 is now over with, and it was a success. I enjoyed it more than I did last year. The last time I was at this camp the kids were not very well behaved, but this year was better. I even got to give a talk at the camp on tools one can use to grow in holiness. I think the talk went alright, especially considering that I had only a few hours lead time to prepare. My main job at the camp was to be the sacristan. I worked with the supplies they had at the retreat center to try to make the liturgies as nice as possible. The next camp, First Call, takes place in just about two weeks, so I have to be ready to do it all again.

From this afternoon until Wednesday, the Diocese of Rockford will be having its annual Jeremiah Days vocations camp for boys in grades 7-9. Please pray for all the guys on this retreat, and please especially pray for the seminarians who are running it (myself included). Thanks.

I started my summer assignment at St Edward’s Parish in Rockford about two weeks ago. Things have been pretty busy. I help out at the Masses, help in the office, work on computers, etc. Things have been interesting. I never know what any particular day will be like. For example, one day we had an insane person (who I think escaped from a mental ward) in the church. He put medical forms on the altar and refused to take them back. He was pretty much unresponsive when one of the priests asked him questions such as who he was and if he was alright. We ended up calling the police to have him removed because we were worried that he would go completely crazy and hurt someone. However, between the time we left the guy in the church and the time we ended the phone call to the police he had left, taking his medical forms with him. The police searched the building with us, but the guy was not there. I do not know what happened to him. That’s but one example of what can happen in a parish on any particular day.

Today Bishop Doran ordained 7 priests, 2 transitional deacons, and 8 permanent deacons … at one Mass, one two-and-a-half hour long Mass. Besides having all these men ordained at the same Mass, this Mass was also unusual because of Bishop Doran’s broken foot. That meant that he could not walk around too much. He did not process in or out, and we carried in a portable altar and placed it in front of his cathedra. My official duty at the Mass was being one of the lectors, but I also helped carry stools for the ordinandi to sit on during the homily and I helped carry in/out the portable altar.

This evening I attended the first of three first Masses at which I will be in attendance. I was the MC at tonight’s first Mass. Tomorrow I will be serving a first Mass in the morning and then MCing another first Mass in the afternoon. Right now I am exhausted after attending two Masses today totaling 3.75 to 4 hours of time.

Please pray for my bishop, Bishop Thomas Doran. He broke his foot the other day due to a fall.

This past Saturday seven new priests were ordained for the Diocese of Rockford. My role at the Mass was to be the mitre/crosier holder. This meant I got a front-row seat for the ordinations. I think one of the most moving parts of the Mass was at the end when the new priests were giving their first blessings to Bishop Doran. For each one, the Bishop received the blessing and kissed the hands of the priest. Then he would look up at each one, and you could see his joy as he smiled at them.

Today was diaconate ordination day in Rockford, and I was helping serve the Mass (I was a torch-bearer/stool-carrier/vestment-hander-offer). Seven men were ordained deacons. After giving his first blessing, one of them was saying how awe-inspiring it is that this morning he could wake up not being able to give blessings and now he can. God willing, I have just three years to go before diaconate.