A Cascade Catholic

Another Step Completed

Greetings and Blessings!

I wanted to blog something in light of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, about this last Sunday’s event regarding the spiritual journey I’m on. I want to look back years from now, and remember the warmth and closeness I experienced, as I shared this moment with my friends and family. It was so cool to hear each of the names called, and the returned, “present” before the Archbishop of Seattle. I felt so incredibly blessed to be in their company. In many ways, we fall under the grace of our Blessed Mother’s “fiat” as it was announced to her she would be with child, our Lord Jesus.

The Rite, while really not one at all, is meant to signify our own “fiat,” resolution and commitment to undergo and complete our formation. Our own answer to God’s call. Those two words, are significant to me, because we shouldn’t  ask for admittance, if we are not serious about getting it done. The Admittance is really a canonical procedure. Canon Law says that we must request, in writing to be admitted to Candidacy. Once the Bishop reads the letter, he decides if we are admitted and the Archdiocese notifies the Aspirant he’s been accepted.

So what’s up with that?

Well, First. The classes get tougher as the expectation rises. Second, we are now public with our intentions, so the public will hold us accountable and in many ways, help to form and shape us as we grow in our ministry. And third, we have both jobs and volunteer community ministry, and we have to balance these with our family responsibilities. Sometimes, it can be a real bear. Getting class assignments done, theological reflections, outside ministry are just a few of the many things a person can be expected to deal with and is why they term it “rigors of formation” and further asks us if  are we resolved to undergo and complete them.

I was glad for this brief liturgy and public proclamation. It made it more real than just mailing a letter. It makes us accountable and it acknowledges what we’ve accomplished thus far, and what we’ll need to in the future. It also imparts a blessing from the Archbishop to “complete the works that God has begun in us…”

Many thanks to those at the Archdioceses, our family and friends for taking the time to brave the cold to support our vocational call. My own family being there, coupled with the family and friends of my fellow candidates, really inspired me to “take it to the next level” in terms of my drive and focus.

I give thanks to our Heavenly Father through His Beloved Son for sending his spirit to form and guide us on this path. We’ve truly been Graced with his blessings.

Peace and Blessings,

December 09 2009 | canon law and celebrations | No Comments »

Introduction to Canon Law

Just finished my reading assignment for my class on “The Rights and Responsibilities for Deacon as Minister”. It was from a book titled, “Introduction to Canon Law” which I found interesting. The history of how this important part of the ordering of the Church in terms of right conduct and behavior was fascinating. How it evolved, how the Church evolved.

I am now embarking on another part of the required reading from the Commentary, which is far more in terms of the amount of material that needs to be read. This is to prepare us for our first intellectual formation weekend of the year. This topic is new for me as I have never had or was inclined to learn anything about the norms of our Church. I was surprised how much Church history was made available in this book.

One thing I noticed was the striking similarity in which the Canon was in fact the right ordering of the Church, and how that compares to an earlier reading assignment on the Pentateuch where it was described as the story of how God took a chaotic pre-existent world and so put order to it. The genealogy narratives were to show us the ordering of relationships and orderly forming of societies from a disordered existence as nomadic tribes. It demonstrates the necessity for us as human to have right order and structure, which require rules to which we must follow.

Back to the commentary..

August 29 2009 | canon law and formation | No Comments »