Blog

[Update: I have posted pictures from the competition.]

Yesterday, the Cardinal Glennon College seminarians particiated in the annual 'international' festivities by competing and enjoying food prepared by the Italians. Needless to say, the stakes were high (especially with the Germans gloating about 'their Pope' and all that...), and the games were tough (Volleyball with a large inflatable, a spoon race, a relay race and a trivia quiz (one of the questions was, "Which of the seven dwarves in Snow White is drawn with only one tooth?" Answer: Dopey)), but the 'Italians/Other' team (the team I, a Dutchman/Irishman/German... with a little French thrown in the mix, was on) prevailed in the end.

Last night, George Weigel delivered the eleventh annual Peter Richard Kenrick Lecture. His speech was entitled "01 Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Future: A Global View." Weigel is well-known for his many Catholic writings, especially his biographical work on Pope John Paul II, Witness to Hope. He spoke about many issues facing Pope Benedict XVI and our Church today, especially problems facing Europe (such as the rapidly declining birth rate and a lack of religious fervor), and presented ways we can work to overcome these problems.

I have been working on a few different things on my websites, and on updating some pictures on the Cardinal Glennon College website. You probably noticed the new navigation bar at the top of this page - I hope that it will serve to unify the websites under the "Life is a Prayer" umbrella better than my past attempts. In the next month, I will try to place that bar at the top of all the different websites I maintain.

An excellent article on CatholicExchange.com addresses the great grace-giving gifts we have during this Lenten season of prayer and fasting. Indeed, these two spiritual weapons are two of the greatest in a Catholic's arsenal against sin and the Devil. From the article:

Through fasting we can gain that freedom and a deeper spirituality, a greater hunger for God. It is a tool that helps us obtain a closer walk with God. Through God’s grace it has the power to break the effect of concupiscence — the tendency to sin — and brings our flesh under submission. Prayer and fasting are largely overlooked as weapons to conquer addictions. But if you are struggling with persistent sins such as lust or gluttony, fasting is an effective way to help you rid these sins from your life.

Today is the solemnity of St. Joseph (husband of Mary, foster-father of Jesus). Since he is not only a great example for Catholic priesthood (he was probably the most devoted man (besides Jesus) ever to Jesus and to Mary!), but also one of my patron saints, I thought I'd offer his biography to anyone interested, as well as a picture:

I've returned to the seminary, and I have a few blog items to report: