WELCOME NEW SEMINARIANS

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1 WELCOME NEW SEMINARIANS William Bennett Stephen Eschenfelder Nicholas Henneberry Kenneth Keenan Inside this Issue: Animus Seminarian Perspectives..3 Around the Diocese5 Vocation News..6 Alejandro Posada Fredy Medina Calendar...7 Our Seminarians...7 September 2017 Volume XXIV:IX

2 The weather is still scorching and will be for about another month so the words summer is over pretty much falls on deaf ears. But for us in the Office of Vocations, summer is over! Our seminarians have returned to their seminaries and with the opening school year of all our high schools, colleges, and universities we are back to work with another year of school and parish visits, vocation programs, and come and see trips. Even though vocation promotion is a twelve month a year endeavor, the academic year is when we focus the most of our attention. It is the time when young men and women begin to formally think of what their future holds; college or university, join the military, trade school or enter the work force. All of these options have great merit and could be the right choice for a particular person. But often times when a young person is thinking, looking, and questioning what is the best plan or track for them, they fail to ask the person that knows them the best and loves them the most; God. Our work in the Office of Vocations is focused on Diocesan priesthood and in particularly for the Diocese of St. Petersburg. However, when we speak in schools, colleges, universities, or parishes it is not about recruiting a person to priesthood or religious life, yes we are promoting those ways of life as I said above. But more importantly, our talks and visits, I hope, help young people bring God into their choices. In other words, help them discern where God is calling them. Often times when I speak to high school students I ask them: how many have prayed about where to apply to college. It is amazing that the vast majority of students say they have not prayed about that decision, the single biggest decision that many of them will make up to this point in their lives and they don t bring God into that decision. That is not their fault. That is our fault for not teaching them the importance of prayer and that God loves them beyond their imagination and that God does care where one goes to college, or joins the military, or begins work. As I tell the young people God calls us to different ways of life not just priesthood or religious life. Take college, I tell them, it may be at a particular college where one meets their future spouse. If one did not go to that college then one may not have met that person and that is the person God has called him or her to be with, marry and have a family. May be it is at a particular college where one encounters a professor that ANIMUS opens their heart to the path that God is calling that person to follow. Maybe they never knew they had a particular talent that God wants to use through you and it is in a class that this talent surfaces. Not at that school not going to surface. These scenarios are endless and can be applied to all of us. That is why is so important to help or young people bring God into their decision making. Promoting vocations to priesthood or religious life begins with helping a young person ask God: are you calling me to this life? That question can only be asked if we know God cares and He calling us to something and that is the real work of the Office of Vocations. As the summer closes and schools begin please keep all of our young people in prayer as well as this office as we begin the real work of the year! God Bless you all, Fr. Carl Melchior Director of Vocations September Volume XXIV:IX

3 Ralph D Elia Pontifical North American College LOVE S TIDE STRONGER FLOWS. We ve all heard the old cliché, distance makes the heart grow fonder. In fact, one of the earliest written expressions of this sentiment can be traced back to the ancient Roman poet, Propertius, who eloquently penned, Always toward absent lovers love's tide stronger flows. While the expression has perhaps lost the beauty of Propertius lyrical prose, the truth behind it remains as true as it was in the time of Ancient Rome. I ve had the opportunity to verify this claim over the past two years as I ve been separated from my home, from the Church in the Diocese of St. Petersburg and the people I have been called to one day serve as a priest. After returning to the Diocese, following two years away in Rome, I found myself swept away by the strong currents of love s enveloping tide. One of the blessings of being formed for the priesthood in Rome has been the opportunity to grow in appreciation for the Universal Church. I have been enriched by my broadened experience of the Church and universality of the faith so evident in the rich history and culture that make up the foundation upon which the Church in Rome has been constructed. Ultimately, however, without reference to a particular, the universal remains vague and ambiguous. Each Sunday we proclaim our belief in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, but our experience of that Church is largely informed by an encounter with our local Church, the Church in the Diocese of St. Petersburg. As a diocesan seminarian, this is all the more meaningful because it is this particular Church that I have been called to serve. Therefore, my time away from the Diocese, while formative and entirely worthwhile, has at times been challenging. However, upon returning home for the summer I quickly found new meaning in that old cliché. As I was reunited with the Diocese and encountered once again the particular face of our local Church, I was able to appreciate the value of my time away. After two years outside of the Diocese, I found great contentment and profound joy in simply being back, in engaging with the people of my parish assignment, and in becoming reacquainted with the sights and sounds of this particular Church that Christ has called me to love as He loves. My time away, then, has not only allowed me to better appreciate and understand the universal dimension of the Church, but it has afforded me the opportunity to fall more deeply in love with the Church in the Diocese of St. Petersburg. As I embark on my third year of formation in Rome, I know that I can count on that ancient Roman maxim to remain as true today as it was 2,000 years ago. And as I move one year closer to my ordination to the priesthood, I can embrace all the more this journey on these uncharted waters, carried along by love s tide s stronger flow. SEMINARIAN PERSPECTIVES Christian Galvan St. John Vianney College Seminary Greetings from New Student Experience (we affectionately call it NSE ) at St. John Vianney College Seminary! This time last year, I was entering my first year of seminary and going through NSE amid a period of rapid transition from a career in engineering and construction to living life as a seminarian discerning a call to priestly ministry. Now, I write this reflection while on the leadership team of NSE, introducing our newest seminarians to seminary life and walking with them as they begin their own discernment journeys. I am truly humbled and filled with joy that Christ is using me as a vessel of his grace by ministering to the new men, as I was ministered to last year. The incoming class is full of energy; the men are excited to embrace formation in seminary. They are living examples that Christ is indeed working in the hearts of young men and that discernment of vocations to the priesthood is alive and well. Please join me in continuing to pray for a generous outpouring of response to Christ s call for laborers in the vineyard! Though our NSE schedule is busy, there has been ample time to pause and reflect on my own year-long journey in seminary. In our opening Mass, our rector Fr. Ferdinand Santos quoted St. Augustine who said God loves you as though there is no one else to love. Fr. Santos went on to explain that our main purpose in seminary is to fall in love with Christ to enter into an intimate relationship with him. With Christ at the center of our hearts, all else will follow. Though the past year has been filled with many ups and downs, consolations and desolations, affirmations and doubts, the one constant in my heart has been Christ. He has called me into an intimate relationship with him, inviting me to place him at the center of my life, the firm foundation upon which all else is built. Christ has taught me that by trusting in the Father s will for me, and in the divine providence that led me to seminary, my heart can rest in the Lord. His is a plan for goodness and prosperity, not for woe. By being immersed in the ocean of Christ s love, I have come to enjoy seminary and I am excited to continue my journey in formation. Last year was a groundbreaking in the construction of the foundation of Christ s love in my heart. As I enter my second and final year at St. John Vianney College Seminary, I pray that this foundation in Christ be hardened and cured so that I may continue to joyfully discern my call to the priesthood of Jesus Christ. September Volume XXIV:IX

4 SEMINARIAN PERSPECTIVES - CONTINUED Connor Penn Pastoral Year (Christ the King Parish) Twenty-one years. I have spent 21 of my 24 years on this earth in school. And I am ready for a break. As last semester concluded, I felt incredibly burnt out. I had been playing the game for so long that I simply could not continue: how many pages do I have to write for this essay? How much do I have to study this material to make an A? And will that be on the test? I greatly appreciate the wisdom of our priestly formation program here in the Diocese of St. Petersburg. At my juncture of formation, having just completed my second year of theology studies at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, I will now take a pastoral year at Christ the King. This upcoming year functions a bit as a cross between an internship and an apprenticeship, offering valuable experience in a parish setting but also with the opportunity to learn and gain wisdom under a veteran pastor. This pastoral year, for me, comes at the perfect time. After so much time in school, I am excited to begin work in the vineyard. I look forward to getting my hands dirty and interacting daily with God s people. At times, the seminary can feel isolated and distant from our Diocese particularly because, geographically speaking, it is! This upcoming year will allow me to begin to give back in generosity to all of those faithful followers of Jesus in our region who have supported me in my formation. This year, truly, I will have the opportunity to smell like the sheep as Pope Francis has mandated. God seemed to write one particular verse from Scripture on my heart during this past semester of seminary: Do not lay hands too readily on anyone. (1 Tim 5:22) As I saw classmates and colleagues receive ordination not only to the diaconate but also to the priesthood, I said to myself: aren t I ready for this, too? Why can t I just be ordained right now with the rest of this class? When I brought this to prayer, God seemed to direct me to this verse. Gently, God responded: I have not finished preparing you quite yet. God truly has not finished molding me more closely into the image of Jesus as priest and I look forward to the lessons that this upcoming year will bring! Drew Woodke Pastoral Year (St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish) My oh my where has the time gone? This past month, Facebook has been sending me anniversary pictures of when I was just entering seminary. It seems so close, yet so far away. It seems like yesterday I was taking philosophy classes learning about Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas. Things were new, and I was nervously trying to figure out what it meant to be a seminarian. I remember looking at my brother seminarians who were in theology, particularly the ones who were on pastoral year and above and thinking, wow, they are the real deal, they ve made it! Well here I am entering pastoral year This past year has been one of the most beneficial years in seminary. Theology two is not for the faint hearted. I noticed an uptick in the course requirements this year as well as a higher expectation from the formation team. Days grew longer, as I found myself occupied from well before sun up to well after sun down. I began to appreciate what working families go through on a constant basis, minus the diapers and constant screaming. This year was about managing the work so that I could still find time for quiet prayer and reflection. This year was about preparing myself for parish life. After the year was over, I packed my bags and moved my stuff back north to the Diocese for the year, but first I needed to go south. This summer the seminary and the diocese sent me to Guatemala for six weeks para aprender español. It was an incredible summer filled with many extraordinary blessings. Not only was I being immersed in a new language and culture, but I was surrounded by God s natural beauty. Those natural beauties included three volcanos, but that s an aside. Once you get passed the constantly erupting volcanoes and the earthquakes, Guatemala is a peaceful place. Starting in September, I began my pastoral year at St. Ignatius of Antioch in Tarpon Springs. I can t wait to see what God has in store for me there. At the very least, I m sure I will have good Greek food! It s been four years since I ve entered seminary, and three years to go. My oh my where has the time gone? My seminarian brothers always told me it would be fast, but I somehow didn t believe them. As I look back at my time in the seminary, there are plenty of great things that I will treasure, but I m ready for the parish. There s only so much school one brain can take before it s time to get out and start using some of that knowledge. I have much left to learn, and I hope parish life helps with that learning curve. Time will tell, and in my experience, time flies. September Volume XXIV:IX

5 VOCATIONS AROUND THE DIOCESE Changes in the Office of Vocations As some of you have probably already heard, there have been a few changes in the Office of Vocations. Please read below. Most Reverend Gregory L. Parkes, Bishop of St. Petersburg, is pleased to announce the following clergy appointments, effective August 15, 2017: Holy Hour for Vocations Cathedral of St. Jude Sponsored by the Serra Club Every 4th Wednesday of the month (with a couple of exceptions) the Serra Club hosts the Holy Hour for Vocations from 7:00 pm until 8:00 pm at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle. Please consider attending one of these holy hours to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Rev. Carl J. Melchior, as Priest Secretary for Bishop Parkes, while continuing as diocesan Director of Vocations and all other assignments. Rev. Justin Paskert, as Associate Director of Vocations, while continuing his assignment as Parochial Vicar of Corpus Christi Parish, Temple Terrace and as Campus Minister at the University of South Florida. Rev. Kyle Smith, as Associate Director of Vocations, while continuing as Campus Minister at Saint Leo University. Rev. Anthony Ustick, as Associate Director of Vocations, while continuing as Chaplain of St. Petersburg Catholic High School. PLEASE NOTE: Mrs. Heidi Varley will continue in the position of Assistant Director of Vocations. Any inquiries or communication pertaining to the Vocations Office will continue to be referred to either Father Melchior or Heidi. We are happy to have Fr. Justin, Fr. Kyle and Fr. Anthony join us. Their primary responsibilities will be vocation promotion and awareness in our parishes and school. We look forward to an exciting year! Upcoming dates are as follows: September 27, 2017 October 25, 2017 November 29, 2017 National Vocation Awareness Week November 5-11, 2017 Resources for National Vocation Awareness Week will be available on the vocations website ( Other resources are available through Vianney Vocations. Their website is Upcoming Events November 10-12, 2017 Vocation Awareness Weekend St. John Vianney College Seminary, Miami February 3, 2018 Annual Vocation Promotion Workshop Bethany Center (8am-2pm) February 20-21, 2018 Focus 11 (9am-1:30pm) St. Lawrence, Higgins Hall, Tampa April 15, 2018 Altar Server Appreciation Mass (3pm) (reception to follow) More information on all of the above events will be forthcoming on the vocations website or by contacting the Office of Vocations at (727) September Volume XXIV:IX

6 Calendar of Upcoming Events September 2017 September 27, 2017 (7:00 pm-8:00 pm) Diocesan Holy Hour (Sponsored by SERRA Club) October 2017 October 20, 2017 (6:30pm-8:30pm) St. Andrew Dinner October 25, 2017 (7:00 pm-8:00 pm) Diocesan Holy Hour (Sponsored by SERRA Club) November 2017 November 10-12, 2017 Vocation Awareness Weekend St. John Vianney College Seminary, Miami November 29, 2017 (7:00 pm-8:00 pm) Diocesan Holy Hour (Sponsored by SERRA Club) Our Seminarians St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary Donald Amodeo 1st Theology Anthony Astrab Zachary Brasseur 1st Theology Deacon Kyle Bell 4th Theology Joshua Hare Israel Hernandez 2nd Theology Reinaldo Jara 1st Theology Fredy Medina Michael Orajaka 1st Theology Deacon Louis Turcotte 4th Theology Deacon Timothy Williford 4th Theology Pastoral Year William Augensen St. Paul, St. Petersburg Jose Klever Cathedral of St. Jude Connor Penn Christ the King Mark Drew Woodke St. Ignatius of Antioch Pontifical North American College-Rome Joshua Bertrand 2nd Theology Ralph D Elia St. John Vianney College Seminary William Bennett Freshman Year Mark DeSio Sophomore Year Stephen Eschenfelder Freshman Year Christian Galvan Pre-Theology II Nicholas Henneberry Junior Year Kenneth Keenan Pre-Theology I Christopher Marte Sophomore Year Alejandro Posada Pre-Theology I Khalil Selim Pre-Theology II Contact Us: Fr. Carl Melchior, Director of Vocations ( spvocation@dosp.org) Heidi Varley, Assistant Director ( hlv@dosp.org) P.O. Box 40200, St. Petersburg, FL (727) Website: September Volume XXIV:IX

7 2017/2018 Diocese of St. Petersburg Seminarians September Volume XXIV:IX