Rector's Ruminations, November 20, 2017

Rector’s Ruminations

November 20, 2017

Dear Seminary Community,

As we head into the Thanksgiving break, I want to let you know how thankful I am to God for the blessing of being here at the Mount. I pray that the Holy Spirit will fill us with the wisdom to see just how God has blessed each of us and how much we are a blessing to each other. May the few days of rest be a time of renewal and joy for you.

Over the past several weeks the fourth theologians have been involved in their Penance practicum. It will continue over the next few weeks. Several priests are taking the role of the penitent with some specific sins and scenarios to relate to the fourth theologians who are taking the role of the priest. I must say that I am enjoying being a penitent to these future priests!

Last Tuesday the Mount sponsored a breakfast at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops General Assembly meeting. We welcomed 15 – 20 bishop to our breakfast and Archbishop Lori and I had an opportunity to highlight the great things happening here.

We congratulate the third theologians who were admitted to Candidacy by Bishop Hartmayer, Bishop of Savannah, this past Friday. As I announced last week, next year we will invite all first, second, and third theologians to petition for Candidacy and the following year the Mount will regularly invite first theologians to Candidacy. I believe this change better reflects the understanding of the Rite of Candidacy as envisioned by the new Ratio Fundamentalis which sees Candidacy as a sign that “the Church chooses him and calls him so that he may prepare to receive Holy Orders in the future” and it is “an invitation for him to continue with his formation, in configuring himself to Christ the Shepherd, through a formal recognition on the part of the Church” (67).

While the seminarians were participating in the Day of Renewal on Friday, the entire faculty was engaged in an In-Service day conducted by Cameron Thompson. Cameron provided us with insights on virtuous leadership and how this approach can be incorporated into the human formation program at the Seminary.

The “Go Forth” Mission for the Poor, conducted this past Saturday, was a great success. 99 bags of Thanksgiving food were delivered to over 250 people by 47 deliverers including many seminarians and faculty as well as some Mount University students. We are grateful to Jim Bors and his core committee for the great work in accomplishing this wonderful work of charity.

Last night we had a wonderful Vietnamese dinner sponsored by a local Knights of Columbus Council. Keep in mind that, for those who will be at the Mount during the Thanksgiving break, the Adamczk family and the Knights of Columbus from Germantown, MD, will graciously host both breakfast and dinner. We are grateful to both of these Councils for their kindness and generosity.

After Thanksgiving we will have a very special visit from one of our partner bishops – Bishop Paul Hinder, OFM, Cap., from the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia. This apostolic vicariate encompasses the countries of United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen. He has accepted our invitation to speak to the seminarians about his episcopal ministry in a predominately Muslim area of the world on Thursday, December 7 at 4:15 pm in OLH. My regularly scheduled Rector’s Conference will be canceled and Bishop Hinder’s talk will take its place. All seminarians are obliged to attend and I encourage the faculty and staff to join us.

Don’t forget about Mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the Christmas dinner, and the Talent Show which will take place on December 8. Believe it or not, Advent is just around the corner with the Nativity of Our Lord to soon follow.

In Christ,

   Msgr. Andrew Baker