Requiem and a Nun

Well, briefly, before I get going to the funeral Mass of local Fr. Ed Williams, with whom I was loosely acquainted, I would like to mention to you all (or to y'all, depending on where you're from and where you're reading this) that I met a nun yesterday. A real nun. A nun who, astonishingly enough, believes the teachings of the Church. A nun who embraces her rule and her habit as a way of conforming herself to the cross of Christ. A nun who, even in view of all those other facts, is by no means old. I would place her in her early-to-mid thirties, at the latest. She's from an order called the Sister Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the ones who used to care for John Paul II (santo subito).

Her mother, who lived in Wilkes-Barre, has recently passed away, and I recall the first time I ever spoke to Sr. Mary Joseph. She was calling to inform my rector, who had preached their community's retreat the previous year and had visited Sister's mother several times, that she had died. I remember how trusting, peaceful, and even joyful she sounded. As far as I'm concerned, it's rare to find someone with that attitude toward death, especially the death of a parent, and I was impressed. I pray that her, her family, her congregation, and her class of postulants (she is in charge of postulants) will all be blessed abundantly by Almighty God.

A New Leaf

Well, as unbelievable as it may seem, today was my first day of classes in my junior year of college. It's hard to believe I'm already beginning my third year of studies, and also that classes started so early in the month. However, such are the facts.

I'm looking forward to Logic, my first class of the day. The professor is very passionate, if you can imagine that, about his subject. As he said, "Don't fight the logic. It takes care of itself. I mean, I suppose it's possible...possible...that you might discover some flaw that philosophers have overlooked for 2,500 years, but short of that, just...accept it." That should be fun.

I'm also looking forward to Modern Philosophy, which ought to examine a lot of the assumptions contemporary society makes about politics and epistemology (theories of knowledge), which are the class's two main foci. Also, it appears that the professor is very capable, and that I will be able to learn a lot from him.

Aside from that, I have work to jump into as the editor of the Faith section of the University's newspaper, and I received a request today to co-host a show on the University radio station. We'll see what materializes.

In all, I am expecting this to be a good semester for me...

Aquí Estoy

Mi primera noticia en español: Aquí estoy en la Oficina Hispana de la iglesia Santa Natividad en Scranton, PA, trabajando con nuestro sacerdote, Padre Victor León. Creo que voy a escribir a veces en español porque hay acá una comunidad hispana muy grande, y quiero aprender mejor sus costumbres, cultura, y lenguaje. Por eso, yo voy a trabajar aquí con P. Victor con los hispanos. Espero que ese trabajo vaya a crecer con los Oblatos, que son en los EE.UU. para trabajar con los imigrantes. Vamos a ver.

Danny DeVito

Believe it or not, I had a conversation this evening on the way home from that same family-owned and operated restaurant that I mentioned below. Well, actually, that's not the unbelievable part. What is unbelievable, to this reporter, at least, is that I had a conversation about the future of the Church (go figure, I know), that made me think of Danny DeVito. Take a moment and try to figure it out. When you've given up, join me in the following paragraph:

My pastor and I were talking a bit about change. Change is an oft-discussed topic, with us. It usually seems that the Church will have to change to remain alive in this country. And that's when Danny DeVito came onto the scene. I instantly remembered the line, "If we don't change, we wither and die." As it turns out, after a bit of research, that was not actually the line that Danny DeVito spoke at a certain point in the movie Twins (which you may consider a "Bro. Pat Pick," if you'd like), but the idea was the same. What he said, for the record, was "If we don't negotiate, we wither and die." And so, long story short, perhaps that is a fact. A fact that applies as equally to people as to societies and, yes, even the Church.

I, for one, don't want to see the Church in America wither and die. I'm rather fond of the Church, to be perfectly honest. As I once told our beloved Fr. Victor (whose English, "está mejorando"), the mindset of too many people in these parts, clergy and lay alike, has been, "this is the way things are, because it's the way things always were, and this is the way things will always be." On the other hand, I am reminded of a prayer that we say at our perpetual novena every Wednesday, which says that our Founder, St. Joseph Marello, combined, "faithfulness to the Church with zealous attention to the signs of the times." We would all to well, I think, to imitate such an example.

A Quick Note

Well, the Seminary's Family Day went splendidly on Sunday, though I would not say that it was without a hitch. The good Lord provided, that much is certain. You see, here in NEPA (that's Northeast Pennsylvania, for those of you outside the reach of the dialect) there was some pretty heavy rain Sunday morning, until about 10:20. When the Family Day picnic began (after 11:00 am Mass), the skies were blue and the air was a perfect temperature. Then, as things began to wrap up around 4:00, we started to see some nearly black clouds, soon followed by torrential rain, then hail. Thank goodness most everyone had already left--and for the fact that we had rented a tent. However, between the storms, Family Day went very well.

Also, I'd like to thank the apparently increasing number of you who know me in daily life and also read this blog. You have no idea how reassuring it is to hear that all of the time I spend musing on this thing is at the very least managing to entertain you. So, thanks for the encouragement and the support. God bless.

As Usual

Well, I've been back here at the seminary since Saturday. Today, for those of you not keeping score, is Thursday. As usual, the business has kept me more or less from being able to get on and type up an entry to let you all know that I am alive and well. I am. I'm looking forward to tonight's holy hour for vocations with Bishop John Dougherty, too. It should be an enjoyable evening...