Coming to a Parish Newsletter Near You...

Sorry for not posting in a while folks. The last semester of seminary at HTS was a difficult one that kept me on my toes most of the time. After several requests I have decided to recommit myself to updating this blog on a more frequent basis. There are several experiences from the past year that I hope to share with you this summer. I will spend my summer at the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, NE. It is a ten week course in prayer and spirituality. I look forward to the laid back environment and the freedom to spend a significant amount of time in prayer with our Lord.

For now, I will leave you with this article that I wrote for our parish newsletter. It may or may not be published soon.

Pax Tecum,
Tom

“Come. Follow Me.”

These are the first words Jesus spoke to his disciples. The words are an invitation to each disciple to leave behind his old way of life and accompany Jesus on His mission. It is an invitation that is extended to each of us everyday in various ways.

In April of 2006, I heard these words as Jesus’ invitation to consider becoming a Catholic Priest. I wish that I could say that I responded as quickly or as generously as did the disciples. My response came in the form of two years of prayer, reading, spiritual direction, and retreats whereby I tried to discern if Jesus was in fact inviting me to follow him as a priest. Eventually, in August of 2008, I began my studies as a seminarian at Holy Trinity Seminary (HTS) in Irving, TX.

The seminary is a place where young men live, pray, study, and work together to discern what God is asking them to do with their lives. The daily schedule varies from seminary to seminary. A typical day for us at HTS is to gather for Morning Prayer and Mass at 6:30 AM followed by breakfast. The rest of our day is spent attending classes, attending various meetings, studying, and recreating. At 5:15 PM we gather in the chapel for Evening Prayer followed by a time of mediation. The evening concludes with dinner as a community. Once a week we are asked to go out to various ministry assignments including: teaching RCIA, hospital chaplaincy, nursing home visits, and working at the local Catholic Radio Station. The weekends are mostly free for study and relaxation.

During the first few years of seminary, the goal of formation is to focus on our universal call to holiness. The program is designed to form each seminarian in four areas: Spirituality, Pastoral Skills, Human Formation, and Intellectual formation. The program is not focused primarily on teaching seminarians how to do the things a priest does but is instead focused on teaching us to become priestly people. The program helps us realize that we are called not only to be holy but to be whole as well.

To be honest, this is perhaps the most difficult and yet most grace-filled part of seminary. Each seminarian is afforded the unique opportunity to spend time in prayer encountering himself and identifying the areas in his life in which God is asking him to grow. It is in these areas where I find myself drawn closest to God. It is also a time to identify our strengths and to give thanks to God for the gifts He has given us. Admittedly, it is a difficult process but one that bears much fruit.

I have taken great comfort in re-reading the journey of the disciples as they follow Jesus. There are times when they got it right and other times where they denied our Lord. Each time I reflect on their lives, I find myself encouraged by the end of John’s Gospel as Peter stands on the shore with Jesus. Despite his previous successes and failings, Peter is able to confidently tell the Risen Lord, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” To which, Jesus ends the conversation with the words by which the whole journey began, “Follow me.” (Jn 21:17b,19b).

As I continue in my journey to respond to the Lord’s invitation to follow Him, I know not where it will lead. I pray that in five years I will be ordained a Catholic Priest. As I transition from HTS to St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston, TX this fall, I ask for your continued prayers and support for me, for my brother seminarian Greg Gerhart, and all seminarians. I also encourage all of us, especially the young men and women, to listen attentively to God’s invitation to follow Him according to His will for your life. For as the psalmist says, “To do your will, O Lord, is my delight.”