A Seminarians' Oktoberfest

"Ties, be our light...!" "Boooooooo!!!" [Sound of a necktie being tossed into a fire] And so progressed one of the more interesting evenings I've ever had in my whole life, with each each Deacon, or soon-to-be-Deacon, making his own little speech before tossing a necktie into the Oktoberfest flames.

The Oktoberfest is an annual tradition here at Mundelein Seminary. It's a great fall celebration complete with Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, Beer (yes, my German friends, we even had Späten), and the quintessential element of any truly masculine right of passage: open flames. The excitement and the angst were palpable. In each man, one could see plainly the happiness of achievement and arrival while at the same time the normal concern for just how everything was going to work out in the end.

As I watched this ritual going on, I was struck most by the men who had already been ordained right after the end of the previous spring quarter or at some point during the summer. They burned their ties too, but the difference between them and the others was noticeable. For them, it was clear that this even was more about sharing in the tradition with the classmates than anything else. I felt myself becoming somewhat disappointed that I to will experience the tie-burning Oktoberfest rituals only after I will have been ordained. Yet at the same time, I felt a little relieved. It funny how these emotions, seemingly contrary, exist side by side--not only in the participants, but also in an onlooker. I suppose that's how life is, though.

Obviously, this post is more than 'late.' So, unfortunately, that's all I'm going to be able to write on this topic for now. However, I'm home for a little while on Christmas break, and I promise I'll get at least two or three new posts up. New Year's resolution: blog bi-weekly!

~J

A Visit to the East

After mid-term week, it was time to decompress. So, with fellow seminarians Robert, Guthrie, and Mark, I went on a little off-campus excursion to Annunciation of the Mother of God Byzantine Catholic Parish in Homer Glen, Illinois. (I highly suggest checking out their website which has some pictures of the church, albeit a bit dated--they have since added some icons-- http://www.byzantinecatholic.com/index.htm).

Now, those of you who have known me for a while are quite familiar with my love of Byzantine Christian spirituality, theology, and liturgy. I must say that in the five years or so that I've been studying the East and frequenting their parishes, this parish had--by far--the most beautiful liturgy I've seen yet. First of all, their choir is phenomenal. (You can listen to extensive recordings of their choir on the parish website.) Second, they're not afraid to by Byzantine; that means the church is packed full of icons and their liturgy definitely runs on Cheiros time, not Kronos time. To be honest, I'm not really sure when it started or when it ended... I left praying for the rest of the day.

The homily focused on Respect Life Sunday. The priest identified abortion and euthanasia, especially abortion, as the "sacraments of the Culture of Death," without which this culture would unravel, just as the sacraments of the Church are the sacraments of the Culture of Life without which our culture would collapse. I find it to be a very poignant analogy.

We in the Latin traditions of Christianity have so much of our heritage to rediscover in the Christian East. I value the philosophical precisions of our theology, I think that they satisfy very natural human desires which are only thwarted at great peril. However, the poetic expression of truth more common to the East does a better job at preserving the sense of mystery that one must have when beholding all things divine. Also, the East has preserved, I think, a clearer presentation of the Eucharistic liturgy as a foretaste of the divine liturgy in which we all hope to partake in the Kingdom. And while I think Latin church organization and administration tends to be far more organized and efficient, these are not the primary aims of orthodox ecclesiology which has as its focus the preservation of the Apostolic Tradition and the unity of the Mystical Body of Christ. That being said...

As beautiful as this particular liturgy was, as much as I love the eastern churches... I belong right where I am. There really is no doubt about that. Why does God call whom he calls and why does he call them to where he calls them when he calls them??? The answers to to these questions are not for us to know in this life. All we can do is hear the voice of our Good Shepherd and follow where he will lead knowing that he himself is the path to salvation. On that note, I leave you with this image of the one who knows what fruits trust in God has to bear.