Greetings again after a great summer! I paused with these newsletters as I was home for the summer, but now I am back in Washington, D.C. to finish my final year in college seminary. God willing, I will be going on to major seminary to continue my priestly formation in the years that follow.
This summer was relatively busy for me. As some may know, I continued to work at my father’s business of flipping homes and general contracting. I was also able to stay at the new Corpus Christi rectory with the three priests and Deacon Eric Arts for the summer. Life in the rectory was a formative experience for me. In addition to working, I also did other events. I helped run both the VBS at Ascension and the Cor Christi Institute at the University of Mary. It was a great experience for me to serve the Church in the way of teaching catechism to young people. There were also the usual events that seminarians go to during the summer. This included the diaconate and priestly ordinations, the Seminarian Golf Tournament, the Big Smoke, and our seminarian retreat. I found it a great joy to meet many people of the diocese through these different events.
At the beginning of orientation week at the seminary, we have many conferences to get us ready for the upcoming year. In some of these, the priests at the seminary have encouraged us to form a relationship with Mary who is a mother to all of us (John 19:26-27). Throughout my life, but especially in the seminary, my own relationship with Mary has developed. I have not only come to see, intellectually, that she is my mother, but I have also experienced her motherly presence in my life. She has been a constant intercessor for me and she has often consoled my heart with her gentle presence. I encourage all of you to form a relationship with Our Holy Mother. Our Lord grants an abundance of graces through her if we simply go to her with our needs. I would encourage praying the Rosary, or a decade of the Rosary daily, or simply start with three Hail Marys at the end of the day, asking her to bring you close to her Immaculate Heart and ultimately to a deeper relationship to Our Lord who never rejects her mother’s requests.
Know of my prayers for all of you as I start this new year of formation.