Soooo it's been nearly 3 months since my last blog post, and I feel very badly about not being in better touch. Life in the seminary, as I have found to be with life, gets busier and busier. I'm not saying that I haven't had any free time; I definitely have. But what I've found to be the case is that even in my free time, I need to be exceptionally productive because the reality is that the 'free time' could really just be translated as being study time, prayer time, laundry time, exercise time, etc. Given the essential parameters of life, I've found that I need to have a balance in my own life: if I'm not eating well, sleeping well, praying well (by 'praying well,' I simply mean that I am making time for the Lord every day outside of the required prayer times that the seminary imposes on all the seminarians--this outside prayer is not a requirement; rather, it is an opportunity to spend time with my Beloved.), exercising well, studying well, playing well...in other words, LIVING well.
My Uncle Xie (yep, just like it looks: EX-EE, short for his name, Francis Xavier, is a Franciscan priest in Chicago) has given me a good deal of advice over his years of living a holy life and his wisdom is appropriate here. I've tried to incorporate it into living well, that is, living a balanced life. He says it's essential, in order to live a good and balanced (note the 2 go together) life, one must be disciplined in living balance: eating, sleeping, praying, working, exercising, and playing (Playing could be socializing, or whatever you want it to be, as long as it's a holy type of leisure). Of course, generosity plays a role, too, and a role that we mustn't ignore or forget: sometimes I must choose to love my neighbor or my God out of generosity rather than go to bed on time. This is a heroic suffering! Who cares about getting an extra half hour or hour of sleep when you can be there for your brother seminarian who needs to talk (or your children who need a parent…or your friend-since-forever calls you up unexpectedly and you talk the night away) and you're the only person who will do…who can do? Heroic generosity!!
The Bible is very clear that the entire reason Jesus came to Earth, i.e., became man, was to bridge the gap between God and man created by original sin, and to spread the message of the Kingdom of God. I could be alone in this, but I happen to think that Jesus, the God-made-flesh, the Creator of the universe, had a plan when He selected His 12 apostles and that it was not by happenchance that He picked those 12 rather simple, fisherman-y, country bumpkins. His message, and His mission, was carried out by the 12 apostles and other disciples, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church is clear that Jesus' Church exists in order to evangelize. This is page one! No, it's LINE ONE! It's the very first sentence. And I quote: "Guarding the deposit of faith is the mission which the Lord entrusted to His Church, and which She fulfills in every age."
Why do I bring this up? What does it have to do with balance/"living well?" Funny you should ask! Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI says that to evangelize is "to teach the art of living." You can't teach something if you have not first learned it yourself!
In other words, I implore you, my friends, to love as Jesus loves: to know the Father intimately, to be led by the Holy Spirit, to be a person who prays and lives your prayer. Dr. Scott Hahn has quoted his own father (but I'll paraphrase here), who once told him when Scott was just a teenager: "Scott, your faith doesn't mean a thing if it doesn't affect how you treat people." Learn the love of the Father by spending time with His Son, asking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Love God by loving His mother, our Mother!
Ryan--I solemnly swear to post more frequently and with better material than this (I just had to let y'all know that I hadn't COMPLETELY forgotten about my blog…)-Welch
Mater Mea. Fiducia Mea.
(My Mother. My Confidence.)
During World War I, more than 100 seminarians were forced into the Italian military. The seminarians placed themselves under the special care of Our Lady of Confidence, and every single one returned home safely! Among the seminarians was the young Angelo Roncalli, the future St. Pope John XXIII.
Here's a picture of the statue of Our Lady of Confidence from our chapel:
