Young Men's Discipleship Camp 2010

I just uploaded my photos from the Young Men's Discipleship Camp 2010. Enjoy!

How to build a better priest

Fr. Barron has long been a outspoken preacher of the truth. In an interview entitled How to build a better priest at USCatholic.org, he really presents a powerful vision of the priesthood. Read the entire interview!

Updated Seminarian Information

After a delay caused by my forgetfulness, I have finally posted the Seminarian Information. Please check it out!

Our Newest prayer Calendar

Our newest prayer calendar for priests, pastoral administrators, and seminarians is online. You can download it here.

Epiphany, 2010

Like the magi in today's Gospel, we have come to worship Christ. They followed the light of the star, while we follow the light of Christ. They brought gifts coffers full of gold, frankincense, and myrrh; we bring hearts full of love and praise. The magi left the comforts of home to worship - do we bring Christ home with us?

Vocations Views October Edition

I have just posted the latest (as of today) Vocations Views. Enjoy and pass it on!

New List of Seminarians

We have posted our newest list of Seminarian information. Download it here.

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

What must we do to inherit eternal life? The Question that the rich young man is our question, too. Jesus responds to him to keep the Commandments, and then invites him to discipleship. Keeping the Commandments is important, but only a first step, a minimum step. Christ desires us to be more than minimum - we are to live life to the full, to place our trust in Him alone. So we, too, are asked to leave everything behind and to follow the Lord. When we do, we will find every need meet, and will be given everything in extravagance.

Vatican to Prepare Document on Seminarians

Zenit reports that the Vatican to Prepare Document on Seminarians. Keep them in prayer as they do this - sounds like it will be timely and very much useful!

Two New Seminarians

We are pleased to announce that we have two new candidates for seminary as of today. They are Alex Rabaey of Minneota and James Blaschko of North Mankato. Both will be Freshmen at St. John Vianney College Seminary on the campus of the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul. James is the younger brother of Paul Blaschko, who will be a Junior next year. Please pray for these two fine candidates, for our seminarians, and for many more young men to hear and respond to the call of God to the Priesthood.

Tips toward vocations recruitment

The National Catholic Register posted an article How to Get More Priests by Tom Hoopes. He asked Dioceses that seemed effective 6 questions, and they all were answered yes. The questions were:

1. Is the Eucharist the center of vocation efforts?

2. Is the diocese unabashed about personally inviting men to be priests?

3. Is the seminary faithful to the magisterium of the Church?

4. Are there many strong and faithful families to draw from?

5. Do young men know and interact with priests?

6. Did young people in the area go to World Youth Day?

Prayer for Vocations

The Curé d'Ars Prayer Group has a page with a Vocations Prayer through the intercession of St. John Vianney:

A Prayer for Vocations
Through the intercession of St. John Vianney

O God our Father, You promised "I will appoint shepherds for My sheep who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble: and none shall be missing." (Jer. 23:4-5). Hear the prayers of Your flock. Through the intercession of Your beloved priest, Saint John Vianney, we beg You to call to the sacramental priesthood generous men who will desire nothing more than to serve You in imitation of Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, our High Priest.

And after You call them, we pray that You sustain the doubtful, console the discouraged, and strengthen the weak as they start the long and demanding preparation for the priesthood.

Mary, Mother of priests, and example of faithful, humble, and joyful acceptance of God's will, help all those who are called to the priesthood to open their ears and hearts to the gentle call of the Holy Spirit.

Feast of Corpus Christi

The feast of Corpus Christi allows us the time to remember the importance of the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist. Because we formally celebrate the Institution of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday, a day marked by not only the gift of the Eucharist and the example of love in Jesus' washing of feet, but a day mired in betrayal and denial, the Church gives us this day to remember. In some parts of the world, it is still celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, but in our country, we celebrate it this weekend.

As Pope John Paul II stated, every Mass is a cosmic event, that we gather with the angels and saints of all time and places. Vatican II's document Lumen Gentium, states that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian lives. It is a foretaste of the eternal banquet of the Lord, and therefore also the impetus to live our lives in such a way that we can be there! Every Eucharistic encounter is a call to holiness. We hear Christ calling us, leading us as He did the saints who have gone before us.

Eucharist and Vocations

Just a thought from Ecclesia de Eucharistia:

¶ 31. If the Eucharist is the centre and summit of the Church's life, it is likewise the centre and summit of priestly ministry. For this reason, with a heart filled with gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ, I repeat that the Eucharist “is the principal and central raison d'être of the sacrament of priesthood, which effectively came into being at the moment of the institution of the Eucharist”.

Priests are engaged in a wide variety of pastoral activities. If we also consider the social and cultural conditions of the modern world it is easy to understand how priests face the very real risk of losing their focus amid such a great number of different tasks. The Second Vatican Council saw in pastoral charity the bond which gives unity to the priest's life and work. This, the Council adds, “flows mainly from the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which is therefore the centre and root of the whole priestly life”. We can understand, then, how important it is for the spiritual life of the priest, as well as for the good of the Church and the world, that priests follow the Council's recommendation to celebrate the Eucharist daily: “for even if the faithful are unable to be present, it is an act of Christ and the Church”. In this way priests will be able to counteract the daily tensions which lead to a lack of focus and they will find in the Eucharistic Sacrifice – the true centre of their lives and ministry – the spiritual strength needed to deal with their different pastoral responsibilities. Their daily activity will thus become truly Eucharistic.

The centrality of the Eucharist in the life and ministry of priests is the basis of its centrality in the pastoral promotion of priestly vocations. It is in the Eucharist that prayer for vocations is most closely united to the prayer of Christ the Eternal High Priest. At the same time the diligence of priests in carrying out their Eucharistic ministry, together with the conscious, active and fruitful participation of the faithful in the Eucharist, provides young men with a powerful example and incentive for responding generously to God's call. Often it is the example of a priest's fervent pastoral charity which the Lord uses to sow and to bring to fruition in a young man's heart the seed of a priestly calling.

Year of the New Priest

Tim Drake has written an article for the National Catholic Register entitled Year of the New Priest. It's worth a read, too.

Vocations Views New Edition

I just posted the Vocations Views - Current Edition online. Either Option click to download or click to read online.

New Seminarian List

Our new Summer Edition of Seminarians is up... Click here to load, or Option-Click to download.

Plenary Indulgence Offered for Year for Priests

The Vatican is offering a Plenary Indulgence for Year for Priests, made public on May 12, 2009 by Cardinal Stafford and Bishop Girotti. The indulgence to run from 19 June 2009 to 19 June 2010.
Conditions are:

(A) All truly penitent priests who, on any day, devotedly pray Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle, and ... offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Penance, will be granted Plenary Indulgence, which they can also apply to their deceased confreres, if in accordance with current norms they take Sacramental Confession and the Eucharist and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Priests are furthermore granted Partial Indulgence, also applicable to deceased confreres, every time they devotedly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a saintly life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them.

(B) All truly penitent Christian faithful who, in church or oratory, devotedly attend Holy Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mould them to His Heart, are granted Plenary Indulgence, on the condition that they have expiated their sins through Sacramental Confession and prayed in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. This may be done on the opening and closing days of the Year of Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.
...

Partial Indulgence is offered to all faithful each time they pray five Our Father, Ave Maria and Gloria Patri, or any other duly approved prayer "in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life".

As found in the VIS release of the Decree (PENT/DECREE INDULGENCES/... VIS 090512 (540))

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, and the Father is the vine grower. We are to remain in Christ, but the Father will prune us so that we will bear more fruit. Those who refuse to remain in Christ are cut off and thrown away. When we bear fruit, we give glory to God the Father. As St. Irenaeus (c. 202) wrote, the glory of God is man fully alive - humans bearing the fruits of God. Our lives, surrendered to the Lord, give Him Glory. By living our vocations, we give Him praise.

The Ingredient for Priestly Vocations

Insight Scoop has an article online - The Ingredient for Priestly Vocations, about the necessary ingredient for vocations - priestly inspiration.

In order to fulfill their ideals and challenges, young people are in desperate need of priestly inspiration.

The whole articlewhole article at deserves a read.