John and Jeremy's Final Year of Seminary

Thank you and Good bye

2009-07-30T10:58:00.001-07:00

Everyone:

Thank you for your prayers and support over the years John and I spent in seminary formation.

I am busy learning my new assignment as the Associate Pastor of St. Monica Parish on the Northwest side of Indianapolis, west deanery. It has been a great first month. There are a lot of things going on here and St. Monica is a warm and welcoming parish. It is a wonderful place for my first assignment.

http://www.stmonicaparishindy.org

John is gearing up for his chaplaincy at Cardinal Ritter High School, also west deanery. I think he has already begun to help out as a wide receiver coach on the football team. In addition, he has already begun providing sacramental assistance at St. Malachy in Brownsburg, where he resides.

Thank you again.

This will be my LAST POST, and I believe John's as well.

May Almighty God bless you and keep, and draw you ever closer to himself, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Fr. Jeremy Gries

Benedict XVI Video Update

2009-05-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

This is an update to the video I originally posted below. I usually tinker with my videos for a while until I really like what I've produced. I think this is the final version. At this point it is time for a new project.

So Long

2009-05-07T07:23:00.000-07:00

This final week of our lives in the seminary has been a very strange mixture of emotions. There is the sadness of knowing that I might not ever see some of my classmates again mixed with the joy of my pending ordination and first assignment. There is the strangeness of leaving this place I have called home for the last 5.5 years mixed with the relief of crossing the finish line intact and stronger for having run the race.

Many farewell events are piled into our final week in the seminary. Last night our class had a private dinner with the 10 or 15 core faculty and staff who have been in charge of us for most of these past 5 years. It was a very lovely way to begin moving away from the relationship of teacher - student towards one of collegiality with those who formed us.

In each of our classes this past week, the professors have ended our time together with a goodbye talk and/or exhortation, and they have all been very heartfelt and very moving. As a class, we've also had the chance to thank each other personally and privately for the time we have shared together. Many of us have also been cranking out thank you notes by the truckload to all the hundreds of support staff and underclassmen here who have been so pivotal in forming us.

Saturday marks the formal conclusion to our time here with graduation. We receive a masters degree for our time here. The title is "Masters of Divinity" which always has struck me as a fairly intimidating thing to claim for one's self! After graduation, Jeremy and I both will be moving back in with our parents one last time as we make final preparations for ordination.

It is a very strange feeling to fight and claw and pray my way to the top of this mountain, and now that I receive this degree and complete my formation here at St. Meinrad, it is amazing to look back and see how many hundreds of people pushed me, kicked me, and prayed for me to get up this mountain! I think about Pope John Paul II whose time in seminary essentially involved him taking some instructions from his Archbishop in the cathedral basement hiding from the Nazis, and I become even more humbled by how many opportunities I've been afforded here at St. Meinrad. Jeremy and I both feel very blessed to have been helped so much along our way. Thank you for your prayers!

Pope Benedict Video

2009-04-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

**** SEE NEW VERSION OF VIDEO ABOVE ****

This is a video I made using a song from Matt Maher. I downloaded the videos from beneicttv.com, which is a site which allows you to watch and/or download videos from all the major things that the pope has been up to. It is an awesome site. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the video. Pope Benedict's Papacy just began year five a few weeks ago; may God grant him many more years!

Priesthood Promises

2009-04-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

Last night, the deacon class made priesthood promises in the presence of the Seminary community and guests. The promises were made in the context of mass. These promises are required by canon law prior to ordination and are very similiar to the promises we each made before being ordained to the deaconate. There are three declarations: 1) a declaration of freedom - that we are not being coerced by force or fear to pursue ordination; 2) A profession of Faith - that we believe what the Church teaches and proclaims; 3) an Oath of Fidelity - that we will remain faithful to the Church, our ordination and its duties, the Holy Father and our local ordinary (i.e., bishop or abbot). These declarations are a public witness to the world that we understand what we are undertaking and we are committed, for life, to strive to live out this life of Priesthood for the Church and the world. It is a witness that we, like all people, are free to choose to follow God, per our particular God given vocation. They are a testimony that permenance is still possible, and that great freedom and happiness are possible, only in the context of relationship with God and neighbor.

The text for the Declaration of Freedom:

Declaration to be made prior to the Reception of Sacred Orders According to Canon 1036 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law

I the undersigned Jeremy Michael Gries (John Joseph Hollowell) son of Robert and Kathleen Gries (Joseph and Diane Hollowell) of the Archdioces of Indianapolis having presented my petition to the Archbishop for receiving the Order of Presbyter do now, as Sacred Ordination is at hand, having diligently weighted the matter before God; testify under oath that I am not motivated by any force or fear in receiving this Sacred Order but ask for it of my own free will and choice because I believe that I am truly called by God to do so.

I assert that one and all of the duties flowing from this Sacred Order are fully knowon to me, which duties I willingly accept and propse with God's help to carry out most diligently all the days of my life.

Especially I swear that I clearly understand the implications of the law of celibacy and that I freely embrace it and will keep it faithfully with God's help until the end of my life.

Finally I faithfully swear that, according to the norms of the Sacred Canons, I shall obey most faithfully in all the matters which my superiors command and the discipline of the Church demands and that I am prepared to give a good example in word and deed, relying in hte hope that I may be rewarded by God for receiving this Order.

So I affirm, so profess, so I swear; so help me God and these holy Gospels which I touch with my hand.

Fr. Denis, the President-Rector, preached the Priesthood Promises mass. A copy of his homily can be found on his blog at: http://substancehopedfor.blogspot.com

John and I only have 2 weeks of class left. We will both graduate with our Masters of Divinity (MDiv) on Saturday, 09 May here at Meinrad. That same weekend it is hoped that our assignments will be made public.

God's blessings!
jmg

Notre Dame Continued

2009-04-20T20:43:00.001-07:00

The controversy at Notre Dame continues, and all signs from the university are that they are in no way ashamed of their decision. I include a letter I wrote to some of the board members and sent into the Criterion. Unfortunately, they don't publish the letter of clergy members from our own Archdiocese, just priests like Fr. Daly from outside our Archdiocese. Anyway - here it is:

Notre Dame: The “Titanic” vs. “The Rock”

Despite President Jenkins wishing it to be otherwise, Notre Dame University, like all Catholic universities, is not an institution which stands outside of the umbrella of the local bishop. Is authentic freedom ever to be found apart from being in harmony with the successors of the apostles? The idea that freedom can not be achieved within the realm of adherence to the Magisterium of the Church has been shown, throughout the history of Christianity, to be not only highly erroneous but also highly dangerous. The idea that there must be people allowed to operate outside the auspices of the Magisterium of the Church is an extremely distorted understanding of authentic human freedom, and has throughout history been the position taken up by those on the doorstep of heresy.

At stake in all of this, whether those placed at her helm realize it or not, is the integrity and indeed the very existence of Notre Dame. If President Obama is given an honorary degree of law from Notre Dame, it is very likely that Notre Dame will not suffer any drastic effects immediately. However, it is possible to wreck, in the long haul, even a ship as stalwart and sturdy as Notre Dame. If Notre Dame is the Titanic, the finest ship in the fleet of institutions comprising Catholicism in the United States (and I readily admit that Notre Dame is such an institution), then it will take more than this one event to sink her. However, the Bishops of the world stand in direct succession to the Rock, St. Peter, and they fulfill the charge that Christ first laid at his feet two thousand years ago. One thing I know for certain is that if the “Titanic” and the “Rock” continue to run into one another, it is the Titanic which will sink, and not the other way around. The Rock cannot sink because it has been welded, by the Blood of Christ, to the very foundation of the world. If “the gates of Hell shall not prevail against” the Rock per the promise of Jesus, I doubt Notre Dame will succeed either. Notre Dame is in perilous waters, and its captain seems to be relishing the role of steering the ship on a course such that it is repeatedly smashing into the Rock, and it seems that the breech of the ship’s hull might soon occur. Notre Dame has a long and storied and very Catholic history, and She has done incalculable good for the Catholic Church throughout the United States and indeed the world. However, Christ said “Upon this Rock I will build My Church,” and not “Upon this university I will build My Church.” I pray Notre Dame and her captain and crew always humbly seek to work with the Church, steering a course in truth; a course not guided by the pride which can arise from being in charge of the most impressive ship in the fleet.

If Notre Dame continues to steer a different course, may we (no matter how much we love Notre Dame, and no matter how bad it hurts to leave her) all have the courage to flee for the life boats and abandon ship.

Holy Thursday - Mass of the Lord's Supper

2009-04-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

Hi All:

I know, I'm terrible at posting to this. Thankfully, John is much better and diligent about it or the blog would be blank. My apologies.

I had the opportunity to deacon and preach at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis with the Archbishop last night. It was a beautiful service. I was most touched by the humble nature of service that the Archbishop portrayed as he washed the feet of twelve representatives from the Cathedral's parish. He poured the water over their feet, dried them, and then kissed each one. It was a great witness to the type of priesthood I soon hope to join, one of service to others.

Below is my homily from the mass.

Looking up around the table full of his disciples, his beloved, his hand-picked followers and soon to be messengers to the world, the first priests, Jesus got up, removed his outer garment, and wrapped himself in a towel. Methodically, He worked his way around the table. Moving his basin and pitcher from disciple to disciple, He gently and tenderly took each one’s feet in his sacred hands, caressed them, and bathed them with water. Kneeling there, He lovingly looked into each of their eyes and then washed their feet. These disciples, whom Jesus had called to himself and with whom he had traveled, taught, and taken care of, these men Jesus called friends. And He washed the feet of all 12.

Progressing around that table, Jesus reached Judas. Their eyes met. They could read each other. They could see into each other’s soul. Judas could recall in an instant the past three years: the numerous miracles, the healing of the lame, blind, and mute, the driving out of demons, the walking on water, the calming of a storm with a word, the crowds of followers that seemed constantly to be gathering around to listen to Jesus’ teachings, the multiplication of loaves and fish to feed thousands, the quiet nights around campfires when it was just Jesus and the disciples, the exhilaration of being one of the selected twelve, the feelings of pride and triumph when he had entered Jerusalem with Jesus just a few days before to the cheers of ‘Hosanna in the highest; Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ Judas could see it all right there. He knew who Jesus was; and yet, he could not accept it. It showed in his eyes. Yet, he allowed Jesus to serve him. Judas sat there patiently as the holy Passover meal, what was in fact Jesus’ Last Supper with his beloved twelve, took place, all the while harboring wickedness and evil in his heart. He had the nerve to ask Jesus, “Is it I, Lord?” He allowed those hands which broke the bread of the New Covenant, which would soon bear the marks of nails that Judas would help place, to cleanse the grime from his feet. He looked down on Jesus, not just from his seated position, but from his sinful position of pride. Judas allowed the ‘Lord of all’ to serve him by cleansing his feet.

In our own ways, we are all Judas. Have we not seen the wonders of God in our own lives?!? We have been graced with life… with food, water, and shelter… with family and friends. All we have, all we are, all is gift. Daily, we experience this love, these blessings, the gifts God pours out upon us packed down and flowing over. With our own eyes, we have seen the miracles Jesus has worked in our lives. And yet… singly and as a society, we betray our neighbor. We cheat God. We turn loved ones into enemies. We fight. We argue. We deceive. We take more than we need. We live beyond our means. We allow fear and aggression to flow freely. We place ourselves, our opinions, our wicked desires, above the teachings of love and service to God. We fall short of the lives to which we know we are called, as we continue in sin. Like Judas, we have experienced Christ, the Messiah. We even have the added benefit of knowing ‘how the story ended.’ We know that Jesus rose on the third day and is alive. Yet, we still – one and all – cut our own deals, turn our backs, and sneak around in the shadows. All too often, we are Judas expecting to have our feet washed, expecting to be served, arrogant and prideful.

The devil having already induced Judas to betray the Lord, Jesus also knew what Judas was about. The trajectory was set, and Jesus knew the actions Judas had set in motion. He knew about the 30 pieces of silver weighing Judas down like a mill-stone. He knew of the ironic kiss of peace that would lead to betrayal. Jesus knew. And knowing, He thoughtfully extended his hands and took up Judas’ feet to wash and bathe them. One can imagine that Jesus might have taken just a bit more care with those feet that had walked to the Sanhedrin to cut a deal. One can imagine, perhaps, a tear or two being mixed in with the water that washed the dirt and filth of the dusty Jerusalem streets off those feet. Jesus looked his friend in the eye knowing full-well the imminent doom to be perpetrated, and he served him. Jesus, the Lord, the King, the true Messiah that Judas was indeed looking for in his own ignorant way, attended to Judas’ needs in humble submission, just as he had served every other sinner around that table. Jesus looked with love, concern, and I suspect a bit of disappointment at Judas, but Jesus treated him as one of the twelve. ‘For, Jesus loved his own in the world, and He loved them to the end,’ even when, his own, included the one, who was to be his betrayer, his enemy, the traitor. Jesus, kneeling there on that upper-room floor, poured water over Judas’ feet.

Jesus said, “ I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” This is the wonder of that night in the upper room. Jesus not only gave us the model of our worship, the gathering together for word and table, for the Gospel and the Blessed Sacrament, the institution of the Eucharist. Jesus not only gave us the witness to serve others less fortunate than ourselves. No, the model given here shows that we must allow the love of God and neighbor to overwhelm us, to consume us, to be our all, even to the point of loving, caring for, and sacrificing for the one who wills us the most harm, our most fervent enemy, that person who cannot stand or tolerate us with their whole beings or vice versa. That is the model, the message, the mission we have this evening, for the whole of our lives. Jesus tells Peter, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” It is only when we can wash the feet of even our worst foe in wholehearted authentic love that we too will begin to understand what Jesus has done for us.

I hope everyone has had a prayerful Lent, a holy 'Holy Week', and a blessed Easter.

Pax Christi,
jmg

Meeting with the Archbishop

2009-03-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

Archbishop Buechlein, in a very gracious move, spent three days this past week at St. Meinrad meeting with each individual seminarian for about an hour each. Not many dioceses have a bishop willing to do something like that, so we were really excited about it.

For Jeremy and I, the focus was not so much on our seminary lives (since we have four more weeks at St. Meinrad) as it was on where we might end up as priests. The Archbishop is also very kind in trying to work with his priests in figuring out where everyone will end up each year. Trying to make all those puzzle pieces fit each year is not a task I am envious of!

We should know sometime in the next month or so where we will probably end up as priests. For now, conversation will continue to take place among the decision makers, and Jeremy and I both offer it up to God!

Spring Break!

2009-03-29T05:32:00.000-07:00

Spring Break has begun at St. Meinrad! Spring Break is always a two week break for us, but it actually is a fairly busy time as well.

For at least five days, every seminarian must make a personal and directed retreat at some point before the Chrism Mass (Tuesday before Easter). For the Triduum (Holy Thursday - Good Friday - Easter Vigil) every seminarian is expected to be in their parish serving the liturgies.

The Triduum is the high point of the Church's year, and I invite all of us to try and make it the high point of our own personal year as well. I've found that the more I put into the Triduum, the more I get out of it. It can be an amazing experience if we enter into it with joy and sincerity. God bless all of you during this holiest of weeks which is coming upon us next week!

Notre Dame Scandal

2009-03-29T05:18:00.000-07:00

I have been a fan of Notre Dame since I can remember. I can still see in my mind the first time I got to visit the campus when I was about 9 years old. I knew there was something special about the place even then. I grew up watching Notre Dame football and wanting to play there (until I realized I had no shot!). My mom let my brother Matt and me stay in the car and miss the beginning of 5:30 Mass so that we could listen to the end of the miracle game of 1993 when Notre Dame beat undefeated and number 1 in the country Florida State. My Mom said she felt guilty until she saw the holiest man in the parish - Frank Svarzkopf - walk into Church at the same time Matt and I did! It was the only time we ever were allowed to miss the beginning of Mass.

All of that love for Notre Dame is gone today.

Notre Dame has offered an invitation to President Barak Obama to speak at commencement this May. That, in and of itself, would be a violation of the Bishops' of the U.S., who in 2004 issued a statement denying specifically CATHOLIC COLLEGES from providing platforms for any politician who takes openly hostile approaches to Church teaching. Not only has Notre Dame spat in the face of the Bishops on this issue, what is an even bigger joke is the fact that they are presenting him with an HONORARY LAW DEGREE. The man who is working to rewrite the very rule of law in our country on abortion, the man who is working to see to it that every doctor in the country MUST provide abortion on demand, no matter what their personal stance on the issue is, the man who has cleared the way for federal funding to be used throughout the world on abortions and contraceptives - that man IS GOING TO HAVE A DEGREE OF LAW FROM A CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY HANGING IN THE OVAL OFFICE!!

Seminarians at St. Meinrad and Catholics around the country are letting the university of Notre Dame hear their voices. This is a disgrace, and I will never again offer my support or cheer for or put the slightest interest into anything that occurs on or stems from the University of Notre Dame until this action is either publicly rescinded or, if they go through with it, until a sincere, thorough and public apology is issued to the Catholics of this country.

An online petition is being signed which has over 200,000 names attached. Add your name at www.notredamescandal.com
Or, even better, write president Jenkins a letter. It costs 42 cents, but it is so effective in the fact that it is hand written - and everybody reads notes sent to them by hand.

New Constitution

2009-03-29T04:59:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, the seminarians at St. Meinrad voted to approve a new constitution which will regulate how student representation is handled. Jeremy and myself, along with the other class representatives, helped lead the student body through the process. At the heart of the change was a desire to make the seminary operate more like a parish given that the rector (Fr. Denis Robinson) has offered to meet with student leadership once a month.

Many drafts, revisions, and meetings took place before the document was finally approved. It was an interesting process for both Jeremy and myself, and I think we both learned a lot in the process that will serve us well as priests.

Holy Week

2009-03-01T11:15:00.000-08:00

Jeremy and I know our Holy Week assignments for this year.

For Holy Thursday Jeremy will be one of the deacons at the Cathedral with the Archbishop. Jeremy will also have the honor of giving the homily at that Mass. I will be at Nativity, I believe giving the homily at Nativity. I am very excited about that, as I'm sure Jeremy is as well, because Holy Thursday is the celebration of Christ giving us the Eucharist and also the priesthood. As we will both be about two months away from becoming priests, I think it will be a tremendous privilege to preach about the priesthood.

On Good Friday, we'll both be at Nativity.

For the Easter Vigil, I will be one of the deacons at the Cathedral. I will be chanting the Exultet, which is an ancient Christian hymn which essentially begins the Easter Vigil liturgy, just following the holy fire. Jeremy will be the deacon at Nativity, and will be chanting the Exultet at Nativity.

Both of us should be at one or both of the liturgies on Easter morning at Nativity.

May we all hold one another and Nativity parish in prayer during this wonderful season of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, and may this time allow all of us to strip away habits and hurdles that prevent us from drawing nearer to our Lord!

God bless,
Dcn. John Hollowell

Lent and Waiting For Our Assignments

2009-03-01T11:07:00.000-08:00

Well, it is Lent. Our Holy Father has a fantastic and short reflection to kick off Lent 2009 which I think is definitely worth a read. It can be found at:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/lent/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20081211_lent-2009_en.html

Lent for us here at St. Meinrad is off and running. Since we don't have classes on Wednesday anyways, Ash Wednesday is always converted into a day of prayer for us seminarians such that we all stay here instead of going to our ministry assignments.

This year's Ash Wednesday day of prayer was toned down from past years. In the past, it felt like at times that we were more busy during our "day of prayer" running from one event to the next, but this year was very calm and reflective. It will likely be our last chance for an Ash Wednesday like that for a long time. Ash Wednesday is supposedly the third most well attended day after Easter and Christmas in most Catholic parishes. Anyways, most of us took advantage of the day and grew in prayer.

May your lent be blessed!

Jeremy and I are now awaiting very anxiously and excitedly for our first assignments. Probably in about a month we'll know where we will be assigned for our first year of priesthood. It is very exciting to be sitting here not knowing quite literally where in the world I will be next year. I think I will probably be in one of the Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese, but there is no garauntee on anything with regards to assignments. Please pray for us as we get ready to transition to the next phase of our lives.

A New Paint Job

2009-03-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

First of all, sorry it has been so long! We've been busy with things here at school, but it is good to be posting again!

Two weekends ago, I (John) went to visit a good friend of mine, Father Jonathon Meyer, who is now the pastor of two parishes near Seymour. St. Joseph's and St. Anne's in North Vernon are his two parishes. St. Anne's just finished renovating the interior of their church, and Father asked if I would come and deacon the Masses with him for the weekend.

The Mass at St. Anne's was beautiful, and the parishoners were rightly very proud of their newly renovated interior. Mass was actually celebrated ad orientem, otherwise known as everyone, including the priest and servers, facing east, the direction that Christian prayer has been carried out for the last 2000 years. It was my first time deaconing a Mass facing the altar, but it was very beautiful. I'd often heard the phrase growing up that "before the Second Vatican Council, the priest celebrated Mass with his back to the people." I've been reading Pope Benedict and others on the topic, and I've since realized that in none of the language or documents of the council does it ever say that Mass is to be celebrated with the priest "facing the people" and in fact the sacramentary that we use today says in several places "the priest turns to face the people and says..." Anyway, I hope that the Church continues to examine which changes that have arisen since the council were actually called for and which were simply added in a rush to change things by those not actually at the council.

Anyways, here are some pictures from inside the newly repainted and restored St. Anne's parish.

Meinrad Hoops

2009-01-29T20:04:00.001-08:00

This past weekend marked the end of my six year career on the basketball team for the St. Meinrad Ravens. Yes, that is correct, we have a basketball team. Every year, the Knights of Columbus in Chicago put on a basketball tournament for all of the seminaries in the Midwest. It is really an amazingly great time. I still remember my first year thinking it would be a big joke, but then I saw someone dunk in a game, and I realized that there was some good competition out there.

My first two years, we were pretty much the doormats of the tournament. Then we picked up a few good players from Owensboro my third year, and we went on to win the whole thing in a Hoosiersesque run to the title.

This year, we finished second place. We beat some really good teams on the way to second place. We were winning the championship game at half time, but we couldn't pull out the W.

The best tradition of the whole weekend, though, has always been the spaghetti dinner at my parents' house on the way back to St. Meinrad. This year was no different. My mom fed an army for one last time, although the team is in negotiations to stop by again after next year's tourney, even though I won't be playing anymore.

Anyways, the tourney is probably another one of those things people wouldn't think goes on in the seminary, so I thought I'd share the story with all of you.

God bless,
Dcn. John H

March For Life

2009-01-29T14:38:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, almost all of our seminary traveled out to Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life. The March is an absolutely amazing event and if any of you ever get the chance to go you should definitely join a trip! It is the largest gathering of Catholics, and it really affirms people young and old in their faith. There are Masses all weekend long with Cardinals and Bishops all over town. The night before the March, the Vigil Mass for Life is held in the Basilica Church in Washington D.C. You can watch it on EWTN every year. It is an unbelievably awesome liturgy. There are usually about 5 cardinals present and there are always tons of priests and deacons as well. There is quite literally no room to move, as young people are in the basilica like sardines. The fire chief must take the night off every year!

The day of the March, the Archbishop usually celebrates a Mass in the Basilica's Crypt for all of the youth of the Archdiocese. There were about 700 attendees at this year's Mass. I was fortunate enough to be able to deacon the Mass this year, which was really special.

After Mass, marchers congregate on the National Mall for a few hours as special speakers, senators, congressman etc. speak out against the Roe vs. Wade decision. In the past, President Bush would phone in every year. Not surprisingly, the new administration was not as hospitable towards the pro-life movement. The most impressive part of the rally, though, is the presence of all the women who silently hold signs on the stage and throughout the audience that say "I regret my abortion." It really is an amazing witness.

The March itself is fairly short, lasting only about 1 mile. Mostly the youth pray and carry banners. The March ends on the steps of the Supreme Court. Although it is short, it lasts upwards of about 2 hours because there are so many people marching. The usual turnout is around 500,000 - 750,000 people.

On a related note, the following video is a message about life that aired all day on BET the day our current president was sworn in. The people who put it together are trying to raise enough money to put it on during the Super Bowl. Check out the thirty second spot at www.CatholicVote.org

God bless!
Dcn. John Hollowell

My Nativity Homily

2009-01-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

It was a pleasure to come back to Nativity and preach on vocations. I also really enjoyed talking with the youth at school and also at the religious education classes on Sunday morning. I really wanted to commend the catechists who offer their time and talent to teach the youngsters every week. I also wanted to commend all the youth who show up to learn about their faith every week. It was really inspiring to see so many young people at the religious education classes. Anyway, here is my homily, as best as I can remember. I actually preached off of a fairly sparse outline, so I tried to type it up for Jeremy because he didn't want to repeat anything I said. Once I typed it up, I though I mine as well post it if anyone wants to read it. Thanks again for being such a loving congregation; it was very easy to preach to so many smiling and attentive faces. God bless!

Dcn. John H

The Baptism of the Lord - Vocations Awareness Week

I’m pretty pleased, this morning, I got my homily down to 42 minutes, so I think I’m getting the hang of this preaching thing.

It is a pleasure to be back here at Nativity. This weekend, we begin what is known as vocations awareness week. Probably not a date on most peoples’ calendars, but nonetheless a very important week for our Church universal, and our own parish.

Today’s readings give us a good focus for which to think about vocations awareness. The first reading is from Isaiah’s servant song, a section where Isaiah speaks of the anticipated Christ, and also, we can say then he longs for those who carry out Christ’s ministry today.

The Gospel is the baptism of Jesus, which is from the first chapter of Mark, so in Mark’s Gospel, the Baptism is in a very real way the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, which takes me back to an ordination or a marriage where a person begins to live publicly a life which they have been preparing for for many years.

I was speaking with Sr. Theresa Clare and Sr. Marie Grace a few months ago about how a lot of the orders of sisters are decreasing. I asked them why they thought the numbers were decreasing. They said a lot of the women they speak with feel that now they don’t need to be sisters in order to accomplish work within the church. These women felt that there was no need to be a sister because they can now teach, work in hospitals, etc. I thought how sad that was, but also how that really captures the climate that we are in now today. The idea that what I took away from having the sisters in class was multiplication tables or state capitals is crazy. The things they taught me were definitely important, and I received a great education here at Nativity, but the value of being taught by the sisters was what they represented to us, their living out of their vow in front of our very eyes, that is what was important about having them in class.

There are 2 sacraments of vocation – marriage and holy orders, and I can say from personal experience that it is a great gift to have these two sacraments which hold each other in balance. I know for me, having friends who are getting married and having children now, getting to watch them live out their marriages through sacrifice and recommitment, each morning waking up and recommitting themselves to each other. Sometimes if I’ve had a long day of meetings or classes, and I think I’ve had it tough, I think about the difficulties that my friends are living out in their vocation, and that inspires me to recommit myself to my vows. The interesting thing too is that they don’t ever realize the significance of their marriages and the sign value and the witness that some attach to their marriage. Likewise, my friends tell me that I’m a sign of hope to them as well, and likewise, I don’t walk around during the day thinking about how I’m a witness to others in my vocation. And so, each side, those married and those living out a religious vocation, are really inspired by the other, and there is balance and beauty in that.

Throughout the Bible, individuals and also communities are compared to trees or vines. The good trees are nourished by the gardener, and the bad ones are cut down and burned. I think that is a good analogy for vocations. What kind of marriages and priests and sisters is a community sending out into the world? What fruit are we bearing as a tree?

I have three very short suggestions of things we can do. 1) Pray. I know people think “well, he is supposed to say that.” However, it is Jesus’ only advice about vocations when he says “pray that the master of the harvest will send workers into the harvest.” So at your meal prayers, during the day, or maybe at night before you go to bed, pray a quick prayer that God will send us many holy vocations. 2) If you see someone who would be a good priest, tell them that. That seems to be the one common thread among all of the vocation stories I’ve heard is that when guys start discerning the priesthood, they can always recall times when people told them they should have been a priest. A teenager might think you’re crazy if you say something like that, but, then again, they’re going to think you’re crazy anyways, so you mine as well get a vocations plug in there as well. I can still remember in 5th grade when Kelly Hannigan told me I should be a priest. I don’t remember much from 5th grade, as good a job as Rose Haltom did, so I thought it was strange that I could remember that incident with great detail. Also, when I was at Mass with my aunt, during what she deemed to be an especially bad homily, don’t worry, it wasn’t you Fr. Pat, she leaned over to me and said, “you need to be a priest.”

The third thing I leave you with is the need to be open as a family to the idea of our children becoming sisters and priests. I’ve met a lot of guys in the seminary who come from good Catholic families but nonetheless met a lot of resistance from their families in pursuing the priesthood. I can’t help but think about how truly sad that is. It doesn’t take much. People always ask me what my parents did to trick me into becoming a priest, and I tell them it was very simple. We always gather to plan the weeks travel arrangements for practices, and I recall very clearly, on just a few occasions, my dad saying, “ you know if any of you would ever consider becoming a priest or a religious sister, we’d support you in that.” I pray that we may all be open as families to our own children pursuing the priesthood and religious life.

Nativity is a special place. I try and tell people about it all the time. My best friends are people I went to grade school with here. I’m not sure what makes it so special, maybe it is that we’re still on well water. Whatever it is, I’ve always experienced Nativity as a fruitful and nurturing place. May the Eucharist we are about to receive, and the Eucharist that we receive every Sunday nourish us as individuals and as a parish community, so that Nativity can continue to be that fruitful vine.

We're Coming To Preach

2009-01-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

Jeremy and I are both coming back the next two weekends to give the Sunday homilies at Nativity. This coming Sunday kicks off "Vocations Awareness Week" in the United States. Since Jeremy will be out of town, I am going to be giving the homilies this weekend. Jeremy will be in town next weekend, and will be preaching at all of the Masses that weekend to wrap up the week. Hopefully our time at Nativity will bear fruit in the future. Please pray for us as we prepare for our homilies.

Dcn. John H

Serving Midnight Mass with the Archbishop

2008-12-30T12:36:00.000-08:00

The Archbishop has informed the five of us who are to be ordained priests this June that he will be calling us downtown for some of the major liturgies this year to deacon those Masses. For this year's Christmas Midnight Mass, myself (John) and Deacon Sean Danda served as deacons. It was a beautiful liturgy, and the Archbishop delivered one of his best homilies that I've ever heard from him. The liturgy was really well done.

Although it was an honor to be with the Archbishop, I regret that it knocked me out from being able to serve Christmas Masses at Nativity. I was originally hoping to still make it to Nativity for the Christmas day Mass, but I was too wiped out when I got home, and plus, Christmas morning is still pretty chaotic at the Hollowell house. I figured since I'll be doing 4 or 5 Christmas Masses for the rest of my life, the good Lord wouldn't mind if I just did the Midnight Mass this year.

I do hope to serve the Vigil for Mary, the Mother of God on New Year's Eve, and I hope to also be at the 11 o'clock Mass at Nativity this Sunday before I have to head back to school.

Have a blessed Christmas and a happy new year!

Dcn. John Hollowell

Living at St. John's

2008-12-13T06:45:00.000-08:00

As a 29 year old still getting Christmas breaks, I get the following a lot from friends and family, "So..(with a little embarassment)...what are you...up to these days?" However, I experience absolutely no shame in announcing that I'm on break for the next month.

This is probably the last time in a long time that I will be getting an entire month off, and instead of bemoaning that fact, I'm making the best use of it that I can.

First of all, I'm staying in the rectory at St. John's across from the RCA dome (until it is demolished next Saturday!). I first lived here two summers ago when I was a hospital chaplain at Methodist. I returned last Christmas, and the folks here signed off on me doing it again this year.

St. John's is a wonderful set up. First of all, it is downtown, and there is obviously a lot going on downtown during the holidays. St. John's also has a daily Mass (including Mondays and Saturdays, when most parishes don't have a daily Mass). When I stayed with my parents the first few years of seminary, it was probably a good 20 minute commute on Mondays and Saturdays to go to a daily Mass, and even Nativity was a good 15 minute drive in the morning for Mass. Now, I walk downstairs any day of the week, and I'm ready for Mass. Also, anytime I want to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament, I can just walk into Church and do that. St. John's is also, in my opinion, our most beautiful church in the Archdiocese.

I plan to spend a lot of time reading over the break. For me, that has been the biggest thing that I've grown into as a seminarian. To see my ability and desire to read grow exponentially has been awesome. I still remember my first summer as a seminarian. I stayed at St. Monicas, and I think I watched about two or three hours of TV a day. Now, the TV hardly ever comes on, and I have grown into thoroughly enjoying and drawing life from reading all types of literature, and sometimes some theology as well.

Jeremy and I will be around for Christmas. One or both of us may get called down to the Cathedral to deacon with the Archbishop for some of the Masses, but we hope to have at least one of us at all the Christmas Masses at Nativity. I know I'm looking forward to a blessed holiday season. All the best to you and your family!

St. Nicholas Banquet

2008-12-09T14:23:00.000-08:00

Hi All:

The semester is winding up. Today was the last day of class and finals (for those who have them) are Wednesday and Thursday. None of my classes have a final test. I think John just has his Latin III Final. We both had a few final papers.

Last week was very busy. Not only was it the last full week of class riding right on the heels of Thanksgiving break, but the school also had a 40-hours Eucharistic Devotion starting Tuesday and concluding with evening prayer on Thursday. The Blessed Sacrament was reposed each evening following Compline, which explains why the 40 hours took 3 days. It is the first time we have had such an extended devotion since I've been here at Meinrad. I think it went very well and was well received by the seminarian community. The final thing that made last week busy for John and I, and the whole deacon class, was the St. Nicholas Banquet.

St. Nicks is an annual banquet held every year on the Thursday closest to the Feast of St. Nicholas (December 6th). It serves a liturgical reason to have a Holiday party in the midst of Advent (something that the school and monastary are otherwise watchful of). The banquet is planned and hosted by the Deacon class. Ever year has a slightly different 'theme' around which some entertainment and jovial roasting of the faculty takes place. In my time here, I have seen a Midieval feast, a "Home Alone" theme (when the rector was on sabatical), a Meinrad Orientation year, and a Vontrap Christmas.

Our class decided to have a "Christmas Carol" theme. We began the evening with Evening prayer. After which there was a reception and then banquet. Two of our classmates wrote a five scene script which poked fun at many of the changes that have taken place in the seminary since the inauguration of a new Rector of the seminary this year. We began with a Marley - Fr. Mark O'Keefe - visiting the current Rector Fr. Denis to warn him to change is ways and of the visitation of three ghosts. Fr. Mark was the previous rector and was played by one of our classmates. It was of course very hammed up to make it ammusing. Fr. Denis played himself in the evening's entertainment which shows his willingness to laugh at himself. We then at three differ scences where the three ghosts of Christmas past, present and future came to show Fr. Denis his ways. It ended with the rector making a firm purpose of amendment. The guests all had a good time and laughs were had by all. See the pictures above.

Other than that, the school has now slipped into paper writing and test taking mode. I think everyone is ready for the end of the semester and a much deserved Christmas break.

I will be serving and preaching in and around Indianapolis over the break. I will be preaching at St Pius X on the northside on Dec. 20-21, at Holy Family in New Albany on Jan 3-4 and at Nativity on Jan 17-18 to wrap up vocations week. Hopefully, I too will get a little R&R in there as well.

Happy Advent to all. "For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits, truly my hope is in you." ~ Dcn. Jeremy

Two Videos

2008-12-06T21:02:00.000-08:00

I (John) wanted to pass on two videos I've made in the last year for school. The first is one that myself and a classmate, Deacon Josh McCarty, put together for our class on the Eucharist. We had to make something that we would use to help teach about the Eucharist to a certain age group. We both chose the youth, and we were both interested in working on a video, so we paired up. It was a great experience. We put way more time into it than we needed to, but we learned a lot and had fun doing it. It can be seen by clicking on the video below:

The second video is a video I made based on footage I took at last year's March For Life. The video is to help encourage youth and young adults to consider joining the pilgrimage. Each year the number from our Archdiocese grows. I think last year somewhere around 500 from Indianapolis attended the March For Life. Anyway, that video can be found below:

Funerals

2008-11-25T06:58:00.000-08:00

Last week, I had the distinct honor of being able to be present with two families whom I have known for a long time. Two Saturdays ago, I was able to serve at the funeral Mass for Steve Brackett. About 4 years ago, a good friend of mine, Shannon Mckeand, married Steve. The Mckeands are parishoners at St. Jude, but are very active throughout the south side of Indianapolis. Tom Mckeand owns a construction company, and they did the work on the Hollowell house about 15 years ago which allowed us to triple the size of our house. They are extremely generous people, and they touch the lives of all those whom they come in contact with.

The morning of the Steve's funeral, I was awakened by a call from Nick Oskay, a Roncalli and Nativity classmate. He informed me that Matt Oskay, Nick's cousin, had been found dead at Warren Central. I couldn't really believe what he was saying. I had known Matt since fourth grade. We played Nativity football together. I still remember when I was in seventh grade and Matt was in 8th grade, he had me over to spend the night. That is something that 8th graders just don't do! At Roncalli, we were in the show choir for a year together. As I told someone at the funeral home, once you've sang and danced with a guy while you were both wearing sequens, a bond is forged which will never be broken!

Both funerals were absolutely beautiful. It was such a privilege to be able to be a deacon at both Masses. It was especially touching to be able to deacon Matt's funeral at Nativity because of the fact that the entire parish came to the funeral, and it seemed so sacred and beautiful that Matt was baptized there, and all of us had been to so many Sunday masses in that church, the list of things which made it such a special day could go on forever.

Being able to be present to both families in the midst of their tragedies was such a confirmation for me of why I chose the priesthood. To walk with people in the midst of such horrendous tragedy, and to still be able to see goodness in the middle of all that has been such an honor and a joy for me. May we all keep Matt and Steve in our prayers.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,

And let perpetual light shine upon them.

May the souls of Matt and Steve, and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace.

Amen.

Bishops' Conference Presentation

2008-11-11T16:18:00.000-08:00

I (John) just returned this afternoon from Baltimore. In Baltimore, the Bishops of the United States are gathered for their annual week-long meeting to discuss issues for the upcoming year. Included on their slate are the discussion and approval of the much-rumored new translations for certain parts of Mass, and the second major item is the issue of how to best respond to Catholic politicians who support abortion legislation.

Each year, St. Meinrad hosts a dinner for any bishops interested in stopping in and hearing about what is happening at St. Meinrad. This year, our new rector, Fr. Denis Robinson, thought it would be good to bring a seminarian along as well. So, for two days, I got to hang out in Baltimore on St. Meinrad's tab. It was really wonderful! I got to meet up with my brother Danny who lives in Washington D.C. and his girl friend. We got together Sunday night and watched the Colts scratch out a victory. I was also able to take in a lot of the city. As I walked the city on Monday, it finally started to sink in for me just how powerful a witness the Roman collar is to people of all faiths. Walking down the street I was stopped by a man who said he was thinking about joining the ministry and thanked me for my witness. Twenty seconds later, simply standing at a cross walk, a woman standing next to me said, "I believe there is a God. If not, what are we all here for." I wasn't exactly sure what she was getting at, but she was smiling, and said thanks, so I took it as a positive. There were so many interactions like that; it was truly astounding. It really affirmed for me the committment that I made to myself when I was ordained that I will always wear black for the rest of my life.

Anyway, my little presentation went well. I only spoke for about five minutes. It helped that there were only about 15 bishops there - somehow it didn't seem as intimidating as I thought. I simply told them a few of the things that make St. Meinrad a special seminary, most of which Jeremy or I have already mentioned in this blog.

Let us pray for our bishops, this week and always. They have such a tough job to do, and yet they can never back down in the face of evil. May God grant them the strength they need to carry out their task this day. Amen.

First Homily

2008-11-05T19:01:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow (thurs.) I am scheduled to give my first homily. I am surprisingly not that nervous about it. A few things have led to that calmness. 1) At St. Meinrad, you have the option to take some intro singing lessons and then join the cantor rotation. I did that about four years ago, and have embarassed myself many times through that growth process. I have found, though, that stumbling through that, I realized that the times where I did mess up in Mass never caused the world to collapse! I've also gone on record saying that if you can sing in front of the people you live with, then preaching is no problem at all. 2) Jeremy and I have also had very good preparation here at St. Meinrad. Our school is known as helping guys come a long way in their preaching style. I've been taking a preaching class at least once a year now for four years. The preparation has been very solid.

Although I'm on the calendar for tomorrow, I may get bumped because we just learned that a bishop is flying in to visit his seminarians tomorrow. Anytime a bishop visits, he presides and preaches at Mass - so I'll be in the homiletic bullpen tomorrow in case the bishop's flight is delayed. Anyway, here is the first homily I've written for actual delivery during a Mass.

“There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people” (Lk 15:7).

This Sunday afternoon, all around the country, hundreds of thousands of middle aged men will file into NFL stadiums around the country. A significant number of them will not be in very good athletic shape themselves, yet they will injest a few beers, a few brats,… a few more beers, and then most will spend the day mocking and taunting the athletic abilities of some of the finest athletes in the world.
For us as well, the temptation might be there to sit on the sidelines of life. To sit in the crowd. Out of the spotlight. We might be tempted to mock the brother or sister from our flock whom the Good shepherd had to track down and bring home. Perhaps we might find ourselves thinking in the back of our minds “I can’t believe what that moron did. Why didn’t he play it safe, why did he even risk failure, why didn’t he just lay up, and fly under the radar? Yes, the temptation to mock the sinners in our midst for having put themselves in a position to fall is always there.
Our 26th president has something to say about this. President Theodore Roosevelt, in a way, was addressing those NFL fans, and he was addressing us as well when he said that QUOTE
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again… but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;… who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

May the Eucharist we receive from this altar give us the strength to no longer mill about amidst the company of cold and timid souls, and may it also serve to enkindle in our hearts that fire to enter the great contest that is life…the great adventure that is love. Let us take solace in the fact that if we fall, the Good Shepherd is already on his way to bring us back home."

Deacon Ordination Part 2

2008-11-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

(Picture 1: John being congratulated by Fr. Aaron Jenkins of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis

Picture 2: John and Jeremy giving one another the sign of peace after being vested as deacons

Picture 3: John and Jeremy kneeling as the Archbishop prays over our class)

Thanks to all of those who have been praying for us for so long. After a long and winding road, Jeremy and I were both ordained. It was a glorious day! It rained hard the night before, but we all awoke to a beautiful Fall morning, and we were all glad for that.

My family and a few friends of mine came down the day of the event, and were able to celebrate the day with me. It meant so much to have my family and friends with me for such a big day.

Archbishop Buechlein was the celebrant which was awesome. Most of our classmates are from other dioceses, so it was a privilege for the two of us to be ordained by our own Archbishop. Jeremy and I also were fortunate enough to serve as the deacons of the Mass after our ordination. Typically, two men start out an ordination Mass serving in the role of deacon, and then, after the ordination, two of the men just ordained serve as deacon for the second half of the Mass. This year, Jeremy and I were able to serve in that role after our ordinations, which made the day even more special.

After the ordination, the school and all of our guests joined in a lovely banquet to celebrate the occasion. Something Saint Meinrad does very well is the art of banqueting! It was a fabulous meal.

After the banquet, everyone had a few hours to sit back and relax. At 4 PM, our vice-rector, Father Godfrey Mullen O.S.B. celebrated the anticipation Mass for all those families and friends who couldn't, because of travel, stay for the 10:30 AM Mass the next day. I was fortunate to get to serve as one of the two deacons at that Mass as well.

After the Mass, it was time to party. Tradition here is that the deacon class puts on a hog roast for all of the seminarians and guests. It was a great night of celebration.

Thanks again to all those who have prayed for us and supported us. I know I speak for Jeremy when I say we are both very much looking forward to June, when we will both return to Nativity as priests to celebrate our first Masses. Until then, please continue to pray for us and now of our prayers for you. We will continue to update this blog regularly for those who are curious as to what goes on in the seminary between one's deacon and priesthood ordinations.

Deacon Ordination Pictures

2008-10-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

Jeremy and John lying prostrate (front right, respectively) during the Litany of the Saints.

(Left) Archbishop Daniel laying hands on John to ordain him to the Order of Deacon.

(Right) Archbishop Daniel laying hands on Jeremy to ordain him to the Order of Deacon.

We will add some text and descriptions of the holy day in the next week or so. So, please check back soon. ~ Rev. Mr. Jeremy M. Gries

Rector Inauguration

2008-10-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, our new rector, Fr. Denis Robinson O.S.B., was inaugurated, formalizing the role that he has been performing since the start of the school year.

The weekend was one of pomp and circumstance galore! First of all, our school's board of overseers met here for their fall meeting. The board is a group of lay people, priests, and deacons who help the president-rector in his leadership of the school. Their meeting is normally a two-day event, but this past weekend's meeting was conducted just on Friday, clearing everyone's calendars for the inauguration Mass and convocation.

Archbishop Daniel Beuchlein presided at Mass in the Archabbey Church at 10 in the morning and gave a beautiful homily about St. Meinrad and its history of forming men for the priesthood. Mass was followed by a very nice banquet. The art of "banqueting" is something that St. Meinrad has perfected over the last 150 years!

At 2:00 P.M., everyone filed into Bede Hall (which is the old college theater hall). Five salutations were given. I actually gave the address on behalf of the seminarians since I am the student body president this year. My talk was short (nobody came to hear me). The following is what I shared:

"Fr. Denis,

On behalf of the seminarians of the Saint Meinrad School of Theology, allow me to say “CONGRATULATIONS”
Prior to your appointment as rector, we benefited from your ability to teach with a rare blend of academic precision and humor

We also benefited from your spiritual counsel whether that was in spiritual direction, a conversation in the hallway, or in one of your homilies in the Saint Thomas Aquinas Chapel

When you were elected, we were and continue to be excited by what you bring to the position of president rector.

Fr. Denis, we seminarians are a diverse group. We are a group who has given up our homes, our friends, our careers, our families, and sometimes even our native lands to come to St. Meinrad to study for the priesthood. We are your primary mission as the president rector. I ask you to always remember the sacrifices that the seminarians who come through saint meinrad have made to be here – know that in coming here, a serious commitment has already been made and that the men who come here want to be the best priests they can be

Father, before entering the monastery, you were a diocesan priest. I urge you to bring that experience to your job as president rector, and to let it influence your decisions and your ministry to us.

Prior to that, you were a Southern Baptist. I urge you to continue to bring that fire to your preaching, BUT remember that the ambo in our school’s chapel can only take so many poundings from your fists

Father, as when we initially embraced the call to the priesthood, we come here today to embrace you as our rector. We are your men. Lead us, teach us, and love us.

Know of our love, support, and prayers for you as you begin this journey.

Congratulations once again, and may God pour out His blessings upon your time as rector of the Saint Meinrad School of Theology."

Fr. Denis' acceptance speech is making the rounds among catholic bloggers. It was absolutely amazing, which has become par for the course for Father Denis.

His talk can be accessed by clicking on the following link:

http://www.saintmeinrad.edu/v2/programs/programs_inauguration_inaugural_address.aspx

As you can see, The Saint Meinrad School of Theology is in great hands heading into the future.

Deacon Promises Pics

2008-09-23T17:32:00.001-07:00

You can see here our class, and John and I making our Deacon Promises on Thursday, 18 September 2008 in St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel.

Deacon Promises - One Step Closer

2008-09-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, 18 September, John, I, and our classmates made Deacon promises. These are the formal promises and declarations that must be made according to Canon Law prior to the deaconate ordination of a man.

There are three statements or promises that we made. The first was a declaration of freedom from force or fear. In order to enter into ordination, it is desirable that the man being ordained is not doing so as a result of coercion. We state that we have been informed of the various duties, responsiblities, and expectations of ordination and that we have deliberated upon these matters before God and are moving forward toward ordination of our own free will. In essence, we are providing our consent to procede towards ordination. The second document we proclaim is a Profession of Faith. We proclaim that we believe and hold that the Creed, the Sacred Scriptures and Tradition are true in addition to the teachings of the pope, the bishops, and the Church. We likewise promise in this statement of faith that we will submit our will and intellect to these teachings and will never teach or preach contrary to the Church. The final statement is an oath of fidelity. In this oath, we promise to obey our superiors (in John and my's case, Archbishop Daniel and his successors), and assume chaste celibacy for the rest of our lives.

These promises and statements are read aloud before the entire Church assembly in the context of a mass. We then signed each of the statements in the presence of a witness upon the altar of our chapel. In a way, this symbolizes our offering of our lives along with the gifts that will be offered upon that altar to become the most precious Body and Blood of Christ.

Fr. Denis Robinson, OSB - President-Rector of Saint Meinrad School of Theology preached the mass at our promises. His homily is below:

[This evening, our brothers in Fourth Theology, made promises in anticipation of their ordinations as deacons next month. We continue to pray for them. This is the homily]

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
Brothers and sisters tonight we hear the word of God in a deep and poignant way as we observe our brothers who will soon be transformed by their ordination to the diaconate. Tonight they make promises that they intend to keep for life.

Keeping a promise for life is a rare enough commodity in our world today. Every day we witness, many of us first-hand, the ephemeral nature of families, marriages, religious vocations. We see the struggles our brothers and sisters around us make in keeping commitments. We all know something of both the statistics and the real human toll those statistics take.

But these men are here to make promises, nevertheless. They stand here tonight; they place their hands on the Book of God’s World. They sign their names on the altar. It is an impressive moment, an everlasting moment in a transitory world.

Perhaps they need a warning, or encouragement, or some sort of fervereno. Perhaps they do, but I have no such warnings for them tonight.

What I need to say to them, I have already said to them, so tonight I would like to address some challenges to us, all of us, concerning the act they undertake tonight.

What are these men doing? Tonight they are taking the final definitive step in joining their lives to a greater purpose. For years, they have pursued the sometimes flighty specter of vocation. They have studied, prayed, been formed, talked to spiritual directors and counselors, ministered, they have cried and laughed and relaxed and labored and, well frankly, also complained, fought, grumbled, procrastinated, doubted and shirked responsibilities. They have, in other words, been fully human and yet, tonight, they are proposing to unite that humanity to God’s will in a bond that cannot be broken. They propose to become deacons and then priests and there is no more exalted calling to which they respond because there is no greater need in the world than the need for what they will give in their future ministry. Can they do it on their own? No …

But by the grace of God they are what they are, and his grace to them has not been ineffective.

Look to these men, because, tonight in a public act they are asking us to look to them.

Look to these men and see in them icons of God’s love, his love poured out in the sacrificial offering of Christ. Look at their frail and winsome personalities and see the torn body of our Lord. Look at their embattled spirits and see his life sweated in the blood of Gethsemane.
Look to these men and see in them the possibility of an eternal commitment, of a lasting promise, of a reversal of all the sad history of brokenness and the bitter pain wrought by infidelity.

Look to these men and find in them your inspiration and hope, If you are a seminarian, seek to be what they have become. In their promises, they are pledging to be your guides and mentors, to offer you an example of what is possible. For by the grace of God they are what they are, and his grace to them has not been ineffective.

Look to these men and seek in their faces God’s promise, God’s fidelity, God’s pledge of eternal presence. See in them your own dreams for they are bearers of the dream of all humanity. See in them the joy of Christ instead of the bitterness and rancor of the world. See in them the peace of God rather than the eternal strife of the spirit, see in them love. They want to be ambassadors of love in a hate strewn landscape. They are loving men, we all know that. But united if God’s love they become more than what they might have been.

Look to these men and see the Church, its ancient history and its ancient wounds professed in words that echo down the corridors of time in every human language. I believe in One God.

Look to these men and see all our brothers and sisters who hunger for dignity and bread, who labor under the yoke of tyranny, who are beset by violence, who are besieged by terrorism, who are controlled by addictions, who are torn by every kind of ism. See the worn eyes of the starving mother cradling her child, see the broken hands of the migrant worker unjustly paid, see the tired feet of the fleeing refugee.

See God in them because by their promise tonight, that is what they want to show. That there is something more important in life than the passing flotsam and jetsam of seminary politics. What an amazing vision and so it is good that by the grace of God they are what they are, and his grace to them has not been ineffective.

Tonight these men make promises for life, they are icons for us but I challenge all of us here to also make promises to them. Perhaps our deacon promises should be less about what they do and more about what we do.

Let us make an oath of fidelity to them, an oath to hold them accountable in every way for the promises they make. An oath to scrutinize their actions for any vestiges of half-heartedness or hypocrisy.

Let us make a Profession of Faith with them, faith that they can be what they have been called to be, that they can persevere, that they can be beacons of faith, hope and love in a darkened world. And faith that we will love them, stand by them and support them.

Let us bond their Declaration of Freedom to our own as each of us, in his or her own way, continue to pursue the King of Love, the Prince of Peace, the Spirit of Joy, the God of Wonder with open hearts, clear minds, and grateful spirits

And let us promise to stand with them and

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good

Eucharistia - Give thanks to the Lord for he is good

Brothers and sisters, give thanks to the Lord for he is good, in calling these men, these frail, sinful, amazing, heroic men who stand before us tonight to proclaim with us ...

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective.

Posted by Fr. Denis Robinson, OSB at 7:14 PM 18 Sept 2008

Celibacy Formation Day

2008-09-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Wednesdays at St. Meinrad are days where we do not have class. Instead, our time is used to cover issues that are not considered "academic." The Church has charged every seminary in the world to concentrate on preparing guys to be priests in four specific areas. Those four "pillars of formation" are academic (our classwork), spiritual (prayer, Mass, meeting regularly with a priest spiritual director), pastoral formation (our ministry work), and finally human.

A large part of the seminary's task with regards to human formation is to help us seminarians learn to live out a vow of celibacy in a healthy and life-giving way. St. Meinrad has taken a unique approach to this task. A lot of seminaries approach this issue from a more medical approach such that a lot of the things that are talked about or presented on deal with psychological topics. For example, a presentation might be given one day on how to help oneself or others deal with pornography.

However, St. Meinrad has rolled out a new plan for dealing with celibacy formation which approaches the issue from a positive aspect. St. Meinrad's new program is receiving a lot of attention from bishops and other seminaries, and word is quickly spreading about it. Basically, instead of telling seminarians in presentation after presentation about psychological or sexual pitfalls, St. Meinrad's celibacy formation program has chosen to address issues that can help a seminarian see celibacy not as a cross but as an opportunity to be who God intended him to be.

Example topics that Jeremy and I will hear about this year are "parish friendships" and "how to be a good spiritual director." Last year, we heard about topics such as "being a better communicator" to "how to hire and fire." This new approach is refreshing, because it sees celibacy as something that gets played out in all aspects of our lives as priests. We still get presentations on the more common celibacy topics dealing with psycho-sexual integration, but the Meinrad program has really helped us to see that there are a lot of ways that we live out our lives as celibate men, and those many ways of living out our lives are not just potential areas for us to fall into sin but are also areas for us to excel as human beings.

Today, our year long program of Wednesday meetings got kicked off with a special day of conferences given by a monk of St. Meinrad who teaches at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., Fr. Raymond Studzinski. They were some excellent conferences dealing with issues of celibacy. Fr. Raymond spoke about some of the things that he has found to be helpful in living out his life of celibacy. Some of his main points included being hospitable and also being someone who loves to read. He noted that hospitality, an openness to host people, helps us become more humble, and also invites friendships into our lives. Obviously, I am providing a very short summary here, but it was a good day to get our celibacy formation conferences off and running.

We have a big day tomorrow that I need to prepare for. Jeremy will write about it tomorrow, and hopefully have some pictures as well.

Until the next post, God bless.

John Hollowell

Daily Schedule

2008-09-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

People often ask what seminary is like on a daily basis. When I first came to seminary, my good friends had serious questions like "Do you have phones?" and "Are you allowed to watch TV?" One friend told me all she could picture when she thought about me in the seminary was me living in Harry Potter's Hogwarts Castle, locked in a room studying old latin parchments.

Despite impressions that people have about the seminary, Saint Meinrad is actually a lot like other graduate school programs. Our classes are fairly intense, and must meet national academic standards that all graduate school classes are held to. The major difference between a seminary and other graduate programs is that seminaries have additional activities beyond academic work that make them unique. The major events in our daily schedule that are constant are daily Mass and also prayer with our fellow seminarians both before classes start each morning and also each night before dinner.

The following is a skeleton of our day:
8:00 a.m. - morning prayer as a community
8:30 a.m. - class starts
9:45 a.m. - first class ends
9:45 a.m. - 15 minute break before our second class begins
10:00 a.m. - second class begins
11:15 a.m. - second class ends
11:30 a.m. - Mass as a community
12:15 p.m. - lunch
12:45 p.m. - lunch ends
1:15 p.m. - language class starts (2 days a week - options include Latin, Greek, and Spanish)
2:05 p.m. - language class ends
2:15 p.m. - 2 hour elective begins (2 days a week for most guys)
4:05 p.m. - 2 hour elective ends
5:00 p.m. - evening prayer in common
5:20 p.m. - dinner
6:00 p.m. - dinner ends

There is much to do after dinner or in the afternoons where there are no classes. Activities include exercise, prayer (most guys try and make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament for an hour a day called a holy hour), reading for class (about 4-500 pages a week), meetings and so forth.
We also have special programs that require a lot of our time. The main two programs are our celibacy program and also our ministry program. Jeremy and I will talk more about our celibacy program later. Our ministry program is one that pairs us up with local parishes to minister in nursing homes, schools, CCD programs, hospitals, confirmation programs, adult education programs, etc. The ministry program also involves 3.5 hour seminars each Wednesday afternoon about issues that are involved with ministering to people in our dioceses.

With regards to our schedule, there is a TON going on every day; some of the events are mandatory and others optional, and so we as seminarians are taught to prioritize and manage our time well. The ability to prioritize and manage our time are both skills we will definitely need to have fine tuned by the time we begin ministering as priests.

Day of Prayer

2008-09-02T13:13:00.001-07:00

Hello All:

This past Monday (01-Sept), while everyone was enjoying rest from their Labors, the seminarians were enjoying a dedicated Day of Prayer. As the semester is barely off the ground, we had only had two days of class, we spent an entire day grounding our labor and work here in seminary in prayer.

The day consisted of two conferences by Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of the Archdiocese of Louisville. He spoke on the importance of prayer and formation in our preparation for priesthood. We also had a number of devotional prayer opportunities.

During the first conference the Archbishop focused on three points. The first was our need to empty our self so that God can fill us up with His goodness and blessings. He utilized the biblical example of Zechariah (the father of John the Baptist) being struck dumb so as to be able to more perfectly hear God's will for him. Sometimes we need to be quiet and get out of God's way. When we stop focusing on our own desires, it is easier for God's desires for us can to be realized. The example of St. Paul being blinded during his conversion served as another example of having to let go so that God can help us see correctly. The second point was a challenge to remember and rekindle that initial desire that lead each of us seminarians to enter the seminary in the first place. Returning to those early places is sort of like a married couple reminiscing about the earliest part of their courtship when everything appeared to be roses. We were particullarly given II Timothy 1:6 "For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands." Finally, Archbishop Kurtz spoke on the importance of developing a "Radical Fidelity" to God. He encouraged us to look at those people in our lives, clergy or lay, who are witnessing to a radical fidelity to God as models for our own lives.

The second conference was an expansion on the third point of radical fidelity. He gave four areas for us to attend to in our pursuit. First, be true to who God made you to be. It is impossible to be radically faithful to God if we are not ourselves, not who God so lovingly made us to be. Second, we are to serve others, particularily those to whom we will one day be called to minister to and for. Third, serve with others and make the other look good doing it. Jealousy is a dangerous thing and can only be countered with authentic gratitude founded in God. Finally, allow yourself to be inspired. Accept the daily gifts of God for you for what they are. Accept and utilize the gifts and talents God has bestowed upon each one of us. Keep your eye on Jesus. Referring to St. Peter, Archbishop Kurtz made the comical comment that Peter sank like the rock he was when he took his eyes off Jesus in the midst of the stormy water (Mt 14:22-33).

It was truly a gift to have a day dedicated to prayer. Of course, John and I included a prayer or two for the good people of Nativity parish. We seminarians were particularly aware that so many people, especially along the gulf coast, did not have the ability or opportunity to dedicate time to prayer like we did. It was truly a wonderful gift.

Deacon Retreat

2008-08-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

Canon Law states that any man preparing for ordination must complete a retreat for at least 5 days in the time leading up to his ordination. The tradition at St. Meinrad has been that the deacon class always does their retreat together as a group. Our class chose the beautiful grounds of the Mary the Mother of the Redeemer farm just west of Bloomington, IN. It was truly an awesome place to get away and prepare for the "big leap." Our retreat was given by Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska. He has a reputation as being one of the more conservative Bishops in the country, but we found him to be extremely kind, warm, humble, and down to earth. He did a wonderful job of mixing in poignant quotations with hilarious anecdotes.

The retreat was an awesome way to start out the school year (see photos above). We are now wrapping up working the orientation which helps the new guys get aquainted with St. Meinrad. We have a ton of new guys (42 to be exact) which is awesome. St. Meinrad has slowly been establishing itself as the one of the premier seminaries in the country, and this year's crop of new men makes our total for the year at 109 men. That number makes us the second largest seminary in the country.

School begins tomorrow, so please pray for Jeremy and I as we begin our final year in earnest.

God bless,
John Hollowell

Up and Running

2008-07-28T12:49:00.001-07:00

This is just a test to make sure that this blog has been activated. We hope to start adding news and information about our final year of seminary soon. God bless.

John Hollowell