Nearing publication

You may remember some time ago Word Among Us Press contacted me requesting permission to use my vocation story for publication in a book being published in honor of the Year for Priests, A Priest's Life: The Calling, the Cost, the Joy.

Yesterday I received word that the book has gone to press and will be available 1 March 2010. You can place an order for the book now and it will be shipped to you when it is available.

About what do you speak most?

t doThis evening I attended a gathering of Quincy University alumni which was very enjoyable. It was a good opportunity to see a few parishioners who are alumni, as well as people newly associated with the University.

I owe much of my intellectual and spiritual formation to the Franciscan Friars who were present during my studies there. Through my study of history I was taught to think critically and analytically, and through my study of philosophy and theology I was very well prepared to enter the seminary. For all that Quincy University has done for me, I shall be ever grateful and I shall seek to repay it in time. Who knows? Perhaps, God willing, I shall one day there (that is one of my dreams [I seem to have a lot of those, but if you’re going to dream you might as well dream big]).

But this isn’t the point of this post.

After the “official” portion of the evening concluded I found myself engaged in conversation with several people about Pope Benedict XVI and my take of him. Frequent readers of this blog – and hearers of my homilies – will of course know of my deep and profound love of the Holy Father, not only of the office but especially of this particular man who is Pope.

There are some who perhaps devoted to Pope Blessed John XVIII or the Servant of God Pope John Paul II. While I respect each of these greatly, I am devoted to Pope Benedict XVI, whom I am confident will one day be numbered among the Saints of God.

I’ve tried before to describe the reasons why I have such deep affection for Pope Benedict. I’m not sure that I can even describe what this affection toward the Holy Father is, let alone the reasons for it, but I shall try (without, of course, trying to elevate myself to his stature).

When I see Pope Benedict XVI I see a man very much like myself. I think it fair to say that the affection I feel toward the Holy Father is the love of a son.

He is a man quite at home amongst his books and amongst a few close friends. He is a retiring man who prefers to work “behind the scenes.” He is quiet, humble and sincere. He is a man who knows the greatness of the task set before him and his own unworthiness of it. He is a devoted teacher who sets out to demonstrate not his own ideas or innovations but the truth, nothing more and nothing less. He is a man who knows himself and who will not be swayed with the blowing of a new wind. He is a man who doesn’t smile a great deal, but when he does it is genuine and lights the room.

With Pope Benedict, what you see is what you get. There is no pretense, no arrogance. He is a simple man who has accepted the will of the Lord for his life, a man who has resigned himself to the fact that he cannot return to his home.

As I’ve said before, at the heart of Pope Benedict XVI lies the heart of a poet, a poet who loves Christ Jesus above all else and has devoted his life and service to him.

These are only some of the reasons why I have such a deep affection for this man.

When I see Pope Benedict XVI I really do see a father. I see a man very much like myself and with whom I can relate. Everything that I have heard him say and that he has written (that I have read) I agree with completely (something I’m not sure I can say about another author). Everything he says resonates within me.

There is something about Pope Benedict that reaches straight to my heart, calling me to imitate him as he imitates Christ. The only other person to whom I feel such a bond of the spirit is St. Francis of Assisi. I simply am drawn to him and through him I am encounter Jesus Christ.

Why I started blogging

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii has tagged for the new carnival meme that originated at Don't Try This at Home involving a series of eight questions. I'm not entirely sure what the carnival part means, but here goes.

1. How did you start blogging?

I started while I was in the seminary (on the 8th of January 2005, in fact) as a way to keep in touch with family and friends. I had been sending out an e-mail newsletter of sorts (The Seminarian Gazette) but each issue was getting lengthier and I couldn't always remember the good stories that long. I began the blog to replace the e-mail but very few followed me over.

2. Did you intend to have a blog with a big following? If so, how did you go about getting it?

Not at all, really. I had hoped that fifty or so from the e-mail list of nearly two hundred would come but they didn't. Over the past several months, however, I have noticed a steady increase of visitors. I attribute the beginning of the growth to the Roving Medievalist who, I think, first brought my blog to the attention of the blogosphere. After his link others began linking and it grew and grew.

When I first signed up with Site Meter, my blog had 406 visits for the month of January 2007. In May, 2,404 people visited my blog. As of right now, 1,527 people have visited my blog. I'm now averaging around 100 visits per day, which I consider large.

I'm not really sure why people keep coming. I suppose I keep offering something they like. So long as they keep visiting I'll keep blogging.

3. What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog? Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?

I simply hope to explore the mystery of the Christian Faith through my shared homilies and other bits that I post. I also hope to help people see that priests have individual personalities and are just as human as they are. This blog is a way to share my loves with other bloggers. I think I've been successful at this, judging from the range of people reading my blog.

4. Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?

Not really. It has expanded, but it hasn't changed.

5. What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?

That the posts I hoped would trigger big discussions wouldn't; instead it would be the posts I thought odd and silly that would trigger the largest discussions. Even so, I don't think this is a bad thing.

6. Do you make money with your blog?

No, but there is that "It never hurts to ask" section at the bottom of the side bar...

7. Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why?

They do, but I don't think they read it. If they do they are anonymous. I suppose they here enough of me already :)

8. What two pieces of advice would give to a new blogger?

First, my answer to question 5. Second, that you just never know who will stumble upon your blog, and that you might actually meet some of the people who read your blog (Thanks, Esther!).

I do hereby tag Thom of Ad Dominum and Jeffrey of the Roving Medievalist.