kevinleec Seminary

Promises, Promises

Evan is back from his week long retreat in New York.  He had a wonderful time of prayer, liturgy, contemplation and relaxation.  This retreat — like the others he’s been on — energized him and further confirmed his commitment to the Paulist Community.

St__Paul's_College_(Washington,_D_C_)A few days ago, Michael Hennessy, made a very public commitment to the Paulists.  Michael was the entire novice class in the fall of 2012.  Evan had a chance to get to know him last summer at the 2012 Paulist Plunge.  At a July 27, 2013 Mass at St. Paul’s College in Washington, DC, Michael made his first promise to the Paulists.

The idea of a “first promise” might sound a little strange — particularly to those who are more familiar with the idea of religious vows.  The Wikipedia entry on the Paulists explains:

The Paulists are a Society of Apostolic Life, meaning they do not take the traditional vows of consecrated life; rather, by means of promises they are supposed to pursue their mission through living in community and developing holiness in their lives.

A better explanation shows up on the St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Community (Los Angeles) web page:

As a fully approved congregation in the Catholic Church, the Church looks on the Paulist Community in a very particular way. We belong to a group of congregations called societies of the apostolic life. Only 15 religious congregations have that status today. These communities do not take the three traditional vows that characterize consecrated life, but instead concentrate on their mission. The Church sees three dimensions to a society of the apostolic life.

  • Our primary purpose is our mission
  • We accomplish our mission through living in community
  • We seek holiness through living our mission and common life

The Paulists, therefore, are not like Benedictines or Dominicans or other great Orders whose lives are grounded in the three vows. Rather than taking vows, we take a promise to obey our Paulist Constitution that lays out our mission, our pursuit of holiness, and our living simply, obediently and chastely. Fr. Hecker and the other early Paulist founders felt that taking a promise reflected more directly the way things are done in North American society.

Like a vow, the promises are an important step in the formation of a Paulist.  By making the first promises, Michael Hennessy has stepped away from the title of Novice and is officially a member of the Paulist community and a seminarian.  At various stages of their formation, the seminarians make additional promises until they reach the final promise which is the penultimate step before ordination.

Each of these promises — as momentous as they are — is but a milestone on the journey toward God.  All of us are on that same journey and we each have our own milestones.  For me, one of those milestones was Evan’s revelation that he felt called to the priesthood.  Certainly it was an important part of his journey, but more than that, it caused me to reflect on my own faith — on the promises that I had made at my Confirmation.  Had I lived up to them?  Could I do better?  What role was God expecting me to play in my son’s lives now that they had become adults?

Honestly, I don’t have all of the answers to those questions; I’m not certain I even have complete answers to any of them.  What I can say is that the very act of seriously asking those questions has deepened my faith and brought me closer to God.  I expect that the promises the Paulists make do much the same for them.

–Dad

kevinleec Seminary

Philosophy? Why?

Renee Descarte - Would you wager with this guy?

Here’s a little game I’ve enjoyed playing for the past couple of years.  Whenever talk turned to children and someone asked about my kids, I’d point out that one was a Starbucks CoffeeMaster and the other was a university student.

“Oh?  What’s he studying.”

“Philosophy,” I’d deadpan back.

The usual response was a furrowed brow and a hitch in the other person’s voice.  I could almost see them thinking, Crud!  What am I supposed to say now?

I understood their confusion.  After all, isn’t the formal study of philosophy something of a joke?  Never mind that some very successful people have degrees in philosophy.  Never mind that it can be the gateway to many careers.  Philosophy seems to be the sophisticated equivalent of underwater basket weaving.

It wouldn’t be fair to leave the other person hanging, so I always said, “Go ahead.  You can ask.”

No one — ever — replied “Ask what?”

They all knew “what.”

And they all asked.

And I always told them of his intent to enter the seminary.  It turns out that philosophy is a great background for a priest.

Evan explains it this way:

“Philosophy served as a ground work for theology and it was a good way for me to see if the priesthood was what I wanted to do,” said Cummings, adding that two of his professors at Utah State were Catholic.

You can find that quote (and some other interesting information including a mention of St. Wikipedia) in an article in this week’s Intermountain Catholic.  If you have a minute, click over there and read it.

–Dad

kevinleec Seminary

It’s A Date!

So, now we have a date.  A letter of instructions arrived for our son yesterday and, among other things, it gave August 21, 2013 as the start date for his Novitiate.

(I’m tempted to call that a “report date”, but that seems a little too militaristic for someone entering a religious vocation.)

It’s a little odd to think about him moving across the country in less than two months.  I’m excited for him and proud, but it will be something of an adjustment for all of us.  I imagine that any parent with a child moving far away would feel the same.

He is part of a class of four new novices and the Paulist Vocations office has asked for prayers for all of them.

Almighty and ever faithful God, you spoke your Word to the world in your Son Jesus Christ, and commissioned Saint Paul to bring your word to all nations and to the ends of the earth. Your Spirit led Servant of God Isaac Hecker to proclaim your word in North America using tools of the modern age.

We ask you to call new missionaries in the line of Saint Paul and Father Hecker.

May they burn with passion to give the Gospel a voice so that all may know the mystery of your love. May they follow the Lord Jesus with the zeal of Saint Paul and Father Hecker as they carry on the mission of the Paulist Community.

In the power of your Holy Spirit, we ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

You can learn more about Paulist vocations on their website or by following them on Facebook.

–Dad

KitC Seminary

First notice

“Mom, I’m thinking of changing majors, engineering isn’t right”

“Have you thought of being a priest?”

“Funny you should say that”

Thanksgiving vacation, our son visiting during break of sophomore year, a life changing conversation. This was when our son introduced to us the fact that he was in conversation with the Paulist priests and was contemplating a vocation.

As a catholic mom, you want to keep religious life forward as a possibility but somehow you never really expect it when it happens. Now what? Did he need help from us? What is going through his mind to entice him to this life? Is there anywhere to go to get answers? The answer to the last on is a resounding NO. As vocation is a very personal call, no two calls will be the same. Additionally, I never imagined how it would impact my faith journey personally.

I flirted with the thought of religious life while in college and, in re-exploring those memories, and the new events in our life, have gone on a journey of my own to define my life and the vocations in that life. Two years later, I still don’t have answers but understand a few of the questions better.

–Mom

kevinleec Seminary

Text Message

Bing!

I've been accepted to the
Paulist 2013 novitiate class!!!!!!!!!!

The text message from my son arrived mid-afternoon last Wednesday.  He’d just been called by his vocations director with the news.  For my part, I was meeting with my boss and trying to puzzle out some particularly confusing federal figures.  I’d know the message was coming … one way or another … but I hadn’t known when.

It was latest milestone in a journey that we’d shared with him for over two years.  He’d started his college career in Engineering and had, after a couple of years, begun the discernment process and changed his major to philosophy.

During that time, he found himself drawn to the Paulists and their particular charism.  He’d gone on discernment retreats and worked toward the day he could submit his application.

And now…he’s been accepted.

He’ll be leaving in the late summer to begin his novice year.  My wife and I are very proud (of course) and happy that he will be moving into this next phase of his journey.  We are also curious and apprehensive and thrilled and worried.  All, I suspect normal emotions for parents of children who are taking any big step.

We thought this blog might be a way for us to record and process the experience and, perhaps, hear from other parents who have experienced this particular road.  (If you’re out there reading this, we’d love to meet you in this space.)

— Dad