End of the School Year

I hope this finds you all well as the hot summer weather settles in to stay. It has been a busy past 2 months with classes finishing up. We had our last day of class on the 20th of May. The semester went quite well and I am learning a great deal. My favorite class this semester was Trinity in which we delved into the mystery that is the One and Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I will save you the details, but it was/is awesome! With classes to an end we moved into exam period which goes until the end of June. I have had one exam thus far which went well and have 4 to go with my last one on the 23rd of June. I am looking forward to when vacation will officially begin!

Other than working to wrap up the school year these last months included the Clericus Cup. The Cup is a soccer tournament put on in the city that features priests and seminarians from the various colleges. The purpose is really to help people to see that men who are dedicating themselves to the Lord and His Church and still go out there and play hard- while living out their Christian values. I played midfield for the North American Martyrs and was able to be with the team as we made it all the way to the Championship game. Unfortunately we ended up losing 1-0 to the seminary Redemptoris Mater run by the Neo-Catechumenal Way, a charismatic movement in the Church. The final was quite a spectacle with a ton of fans out to watch including about 10 guys from the college who dressed up in superhero costumes! Hopefully next year we can get back to the championship and bring home the cup!

We also had our last travel weekend of the year a few weeks ago and myself and 3 other guys headed up to Leuven Belgium- the home of Stella Artois- where there is another american seminary that we can stay at for free. It was a great trip and with the car we rented we were able to go to Aachen Germany to see the seat of Charlemagne's empire, and also to Cologne, Germany with its massive gothic Cathedral, the burial place of Saint Albert the Great- the teacher of my hero Saint Thomas Aquinas, and most of all a Dunkin' Doughnuts! (I had my first doughnuts in 10 months! it was wonderful!) It was a great time and a joy to spend a few days away with some of my closest friends from school.

Last weekend for the feast of Corpus Christi was also a real blessing... but you will have to wait another day or two for a post on that.... some beautiful pictures included!

On Friday is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the closing of the Year from Priest's which will conclude with a mass in Saint Peter's square with Pope Benedict. I will be at that and will hopefully have some pictures to share.

Know of my constant prayers for everyone at home. Keep an eye out for another post soon about Orvieto and the end of the Year for Priests! God bless! Live Jesus!