Happy Feast Day!

Posted on March 19, 2013 by jomijosh

First of all, yes, I realize that it has been five months since my last post.  Since then, I finished the semester up at SLU and started at Truman State University.  I just recently decided to start posting again.  I will eventually switch everything to not be Seminary-oriented on this blog.  Also, expect a post soon about how my time at Truman has been so far.  Thanks for your support!

Today, on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Pope Francis was officially inaugurated as the 266th Pontiff of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. In his homily, Pope Francis implored the faithful to “never forget that authentic power is service, and that the Pope too, when exercising power, must enter ever more fully into that service.” He said that today, amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope. “[Joseph] was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying: ‘Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord’” (St. Bernardine of Siena). Just as Joseph was a faithful father to Jesus, so too may Pope Francis be that faithful and loving Holy Father to us all. Happy feast day everyone!!!

Posted in Post-Seminary | Leave a comment

Time to Say “Vale”

Posted on October 20, 2012 by jomijosh

Family, friends, blog followers and subscribers,
The following is the email [with few revisions] that I sent out to the Kenrick-Glennon Seminary community earlier this evening stating my departure from the Seminary:

“After much internal struggle, prayer, and spiritual direction, I have decided that I will not be returning to Kenrick-Glennon Seminary after fall break this weekend.  I have loved my time here at Glennon, but I have discerned with the help of God that this is not the place for me to be right now in time.  With divine providence, I know that I will continue my discernment in life.

Mimicking what another departing seminarian said, I believe that saying goodbye to people who have been so good to me is one of the most difficult things about leaving the Seminary.  Leaving people and things that I care for has always been hard for me.  I will continue to take classes at both SLU and the Seminary for the remainder of this semester, so I should get time to say goodbye to each of you individually.

One of the greatest gifts I have received is a deeper understanding of who I am, who God is, and what our relationship is to one another.  I have grown so much this past year and a quarter that it is impossible to put into words.  I express my immense thanks to all of my formators, teachers, and especially my classmates—you all have affected my life at a level I knew not possible for a 19-year old college student.

Though I will not reside at the Seminary any longer, I will be around for classes, so I hope to see everyone around still.  Also, while I assume I will keep this email ‘til semester’s end, my home email address is jomijosh@yahoo.com.  As I continue to pray for you all during your time of discernment, please keep me in your prayers as I enter a different phase in my life.

In Pax Christi,
Joe Shaver”

So, it is time to say vale, which is Latin for “goodbye.”

I may or may not continue to periodically post thoughts about my continued discernment.

Posted in 3rd Semester | Leave a comment

Silence is a Gift

Posted on August 25, 2012 by jomijosh

This past week, starting on Sunday the 19th, Cardinal Glennon College had its orientation week.  While it was something of a hectic week due to all of the meetings and running around, it was nice to get back into the swing of things.  I also got to meet our eleven new college seminarians (one junior from Belleville, IL; two sophomores, one each from Louisville, KY, and Kansas City, KS; and eight freshmen, five from St. Louis and one each from Knoxville, TN, Kansas City, KS, and Springfield-Cape Girardeau), and it was great to see the other fourteen returners.  We ended orientation week today with a Day of Recollection at St. Joseph Parish in Josephville.  I had never been there before, but it was a really nice small country parish and school surrounded by corn fields.

The Day of Recollection included Holy Mass and Morning Prayer before we departed the Seminary.  Once we arrived at St. Joseph, everyone was silent.  It was great!  We started with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and a gospel reading and meditation by Fr. David Skillman, who will be the new Vice-Rector of Cardinal Glennon College come second semester.  Then, between 11am and 3pm, we had Eucharistic Adoration, the Holy Rosary, and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.  Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament followed, and then we departed for the Seminary to finish the Day of Recollection with Evening Prayer.

For the Days of Recollection in the college, the tone is always silence.  While I’ve always enjoyed quiet time, my tenure at the Seminary has brought me to truly appreciate the fact that silence is a gift.  My main prayer is silence.  While I have found great meaning in community prayer, I have always felt most at peace in quiet meditation and silent prayer.  I take time for that at the Seminary daily, especially taking advantage of getting to chapel about 15 to 20 minutes before 6am morning meditation on weekdays.  One reason why I greatly enjoy Eucharistic Adoration is because of the silent meditation and reflection that coincides with adoring Our Lord in the form of the Holy Eucharist in the monstrance.

Happy Feast of St. Louis IX, King of France!  I’m glad to be back!

Posted in Orientation Week | Leave a comment