Long Time No See

I've been told that I should update my blog.
I've been told that I should start journaling again.

So I'll combine the two and give you something inane to read.

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About three years ago I submitted an application to the Archdiocese of Boston for sponsorship to seminary. My application was turned down with concerns of my experience of the Church being limited, and with their fear that I was being forced into applying. At the request, and the recommendation of His Excellency, Archbishop Seán O’Malley, I spent a propædeutic year at Madonna House in Combermere, Ontario, Canada.

I was reluctant at first to go; I would be leaving my family, and friends, and not just to go away to school, but to be almost entirely isolated from them for a period of nigh on seven months. My spiritual director and then-pastor Fr. Bill Sullivan accompanied me to the Lay Apostolate in the heart of Ontario, and spent three days with my new family and me. He left Madonna House on my 20^th birthday, a day of endings and new beginnings.

Madonna House is, canonically, an “Apostolic Association of Lay Faithful.” Their central dictum is enclosed in a short “poem” that they call The Little Mandate which the Baroness Catherine de’Hueck Doherty (“The B”) believed she received from Christ over the years in her meditations. The B was the founder of the community. She was raised Russian Orthodox, and then at the time of the revolution she fled the country for England, and then the United States, and finally Canada. During her migration she fell in love with the Catholic Church, and converted. She still held very close ties to the Eastern traditions, and eventually her community in Combermere became unofficially bi-ritual.

When I first arrived at Madonna House, I had quite a closed mind about the Eastern Church. It was my incorrect belief that if one wanted to be in full communion with Rome, that one should celebrate as Rome, and no other way. Over the months I spent there, as an altar server and a member of the small choir, I learned not only to accept and appreciate the Eastern Liturgy and Tradition, but to love it as well. I still have many questions about the theology behind some of the liturgy, but my acceptance of that is as simple as surrendering to the teachings of the Holy Father.

In the months at Madonna House, I not only grew more and more to love the Eastern traditions, but grew closer to our Western Tradition and traditions. We celebrated many feast days with more then the usual, cursory observance. For example, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe we processed from our main building to our Island Chapel with Our Lady leading the way. We sang hymns to Our Lady in swath of languages. We had members sing in English, Latin, French, Korean, Ukrainian, Spanish and others. We celebrated with vigour the feasts of Sts. Lucia, John Climacus, and various other “minor” Saints’ feast days.

In addition to my growing in love for the liturgy, my spiritual director, Fr. Bob Sharkey, OP led me on the path to a deeper and more fruitful prayer life. Before I spent time at Madonna House, I had hardly ever prayed to the Holy Spirit. I would often, and most usually, pray to God as Lord, and sometimes Father, less frequently Son, and hardly ever as Holy Spirit. He taught me this prayer: “Heavenly King, Consoler, Spirit of Truth, present in all places and filling all things, treasury of blessings and giver of life; come and dwell in us and cleanse us from all stain and save our souls O’ Good One.” Fr. Sharkey, also encouraged my personal prayer time in addition to the communal prayer time. We always said Morning Prayer together and Lectio Divina after lunch, and had daily Mass, and Rosary as well. Father encouraged my evening prayer, and night prayer for my personal peace and sanctity.

As part of the programme that I was in I, with two other young men my age, attended four hours of class a week. Throughout the time I spent there, we studied liturgical prayer in the book God Acts, We React by Msgr. Tom Rowland. It is my understanding that this book is used in many, seminaries in North America. Our course was taught by Msgr. Rowland himself. We also studied Pastores Dabo Vobis, Redemptoris Mater, Redemptionis Sacramentum, and briefly looked at Fides et Ratio and Veritatis Splendor. We watched the video series by Dr. Scott Hahn Our Father’s Plan, and read his books Rome Sweet Home, and A Father Who Keeps His Promises.

As a member of the community it was part of my responsibility to help keep the community running, and in shape. As a short recap of some of the tasks we (my brothers and I) helped with throughout the year; we helped harvest the crops, clean, transport and prepare them for eating. We shoveled snow, cleaned stables, received, sorted, packaged, transported and distributed donations; we sorted boxes, destroyed boxes, helped in the slaughter and many other things. We learned another dictum which really helped us with the monotony and the toil; “Do little things well, for love of God.” And Blessed Mother Theresa’s saying “There are no great deeds, only little deeds done with great love” helped as well.

Overall, my experience of being denied sponsorship, and then being sent to Madonna House and finally to the seminary couldn’t have been anything less than a blessing, and a gift. I can recognize now that I was not ready for seminary, and I am aware that never will I be worthy of it. However with God’s grace, and my desire to love and serve Him, I am sure that whatever mountain that He puts in front of me, I’ll make it up as long as I trust in Him.

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We must all trust in Him and His way for us.