I hope your Thanksgiving was enjoyable. Luckily I was able to make it home for a few days. I was even able to enjoy Mass at Christ the King on the vigil of the solemnity of Christ the King last Saturday evening.

Beginning tomorrow (Tuesday, November 28th), Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting a Muslim nation for the first time. This visit comes at a time when there is growing tension between the Muslim world and the West. This tension is nothing new, but recent increase in this tension has the potential to devastate peace worldwide in the coming years.

Our Pope is working to heal division and foster peace between these cultures. This trip to Turkey is an important part of it. Please pray for Pope Benedict. His mission is important for us all.

I also want to point out that the November 27th issue of Time magazine featured a good article entitled "The Passion of the Pope" which details the importance of the upcoming visit. In addition, the article gives a brief overview of the history of this tension between the Muslim world and the West. I encourage you to read it. It can be read by clicking here.

After you read that, you might want to peruse the two opposing commentaries that followed in the same issue of Time:
"What the Pope Gets Right..." by Richard John Neuhaus
"...And Where He's Still in the Dark " by Tariq Ramadan

I should mention that the second commentary does not appear to stand up to scrutiny for a philosophy student such as myself. There are numerous problems with the assertions put forth by Tariq Ramadan.

God Bless

The seminary has been treating me well. Course work is manageable, fellow seminarians are good company, and life is pretty good.

But this weekend I find myself thinking about the things I miss back in North Dakota. I even came up with a list:

• Friends
• Family
• Bicycle riding
• Motorcycle riding
• Open space
• A lack of blaring sirens
• My comfortable desk chair
• Peace and quiet (the hallways are noisy here)
• My massive, comfortable, queen-sized bed
• Time for geocaching
• Movies at the Grand Theaters
• Freedom to wear blue jeans
• Familiarity with my surroundings. I need directions to get anywhere here.
• Pleasure reading
• Highways 1804, 1806, and 43
• Bismarck paved bike/walking paths
• Mountain bike trails overlooking Pioneer Park

Through my life, but especially in the last five or six years, I have traveled all over the country and even the world. But I've never been away from North Dakota for this long a period of time. It sure is home, and I'll be happy to get there. I am flying to Fargo on Tuesday for Turkey Day. Our family is meeting in Fargo at the home of my grandparents, and I will be very happy to see them.

As has become an occasional tradition, I'm posting 12 pictures on the 12th of the month. This was/is a fad among bloggers. Maybe nobody does it anymore, but I feel as if I haven't really given you a sense of what it's like to be in my shoes. So here you go, a Sunday in the life of a seminarian at Kenrick.

My alarm sounded at 5:45 a.m. On Sundays, Kenrick students leave the seminary to serve in various capacities in local parishes. That means getting up early for a commute to my parish, 30 miles or so to the west of the seminary.

After showering and getting ready, I head down these steps on my way to the parking lot.

Before Brian and I go out to our parish assignment, he had to scrape frost off his windshield. That is a first this season in St. Louis.

On our commute westward, we cross over the Missouri River. It reminds me of home.

St. Gianna Parish is a newly-formed parish in a rapidly growing part of the St. Louis area. This office/warehouse has been partly converted into a nice temporary church for the new parish. In several years, they will construct their own church. Brian and I have the privilege of serving here at the founding of the parish.

Before the 8:00 a.m. Mass, we make sure everything is prepared and set up. This is a picture in the sacristy.

Sorry, no pictures of the Mass. It's tough to take pictures when I'm serving near the altar. On the Sundays I have been here, I have started to know some of the people. Generally, this is an enjoyable time. Between the 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Masses the church is quiet and empty. I took time, pictured above, to pray the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer.

After prayer I spent some time in the office, studying for a test I have this week.

The second Mass went well and was followed by the first Baptism performed in the Church, according to the deacon assigned there. Brian and I commuted back to the seminary. We had a special guest speaking at the seminary today, but before the 4:00 meeting I took advantage of the nice weather to go for a short walk on the path nearby, pictured above.

Our special guest was Cardinal Francis Arinze, the Roman Catholic Church's chief liturgist and Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments. That lengthy title would need to be longer yet to illustrate this man's importance in shaping how Catholics worship around the globe. We were very fortunate to have several opportunities this week to speak with him and to listen to him speak. He was asked several times to discuss the use of Latin in the Mass and the (no longer permitted) practice of allowing lay people to purify (clean) chalices used during Mass. Both current points of discussion in the Church these days.

After the first conference with Cardinal Arinze, he led Solemn Vespers (Evening Prayer) in the main chapel. It was beautifully done. Our choir can be quite impressive at times (probably because I'm not in it).

After Vespers, a delicious catered dinner was served. This is the table I sat at. There were many priests visiting to listen to the Cardinal's speeches. Being one of the seminarians, I waited tables and served the priests who were visiting.

After dinner we all attended yet another talk by Cardinal Arinze. After all this activity, I was able to relax in front of my computer and post this blog.

Happy Halloween. Well, I'm a little bit late I suppose. You are probably thinking that, being in the seminary, Halloween would be a boring affair. You're wrong. On October 31st, each class at the seminary was invited to perform a skit on stage at the "All Hallows Eve" party. My class, consisting of six people, acted out a ridiculous Monty Python skit. Unfortunately, our performance was not video taped. John Cleese's performance in the original is probably better anyway. Click play below to watch the original. I'm the guy who gets killed by the 16-ton weight.

The fun didn't stop there, either. There were costumes as well. As seminarians, we have to keep it clean and non-satanic, obviously. My class dressed as obnoxious tourists and "crashed" the party. It doesn't sound that funny until you see it. Being the obnoxious photographer tourist (yeah, not much acting required there), I took a lot of pictures. People came dressed as X-Men, pirates, hunters, Vulans (from Star Trek). St. Thomas Aquinas was there. And the rector of the seminary dressed as a hippy. Oh, and I can't forget - there were Aztec human sacrifices. It's a long story. Click the image below to go to the photo gallery of the 2006 Kenrick-Glennon All Hallows Eve Gaud:

One more quick note before I sign off for the night. I've upgraded the blog software on this site so that you can now comment on my blogs without creating an account. In the past that used to be possible, but spam in the comments forced me to turn that feature off. Now I think it is fixed. So comment away!

Today is All Saints Day, the day when we remember all of those who lived holy lives and now enjoy their eternal reward in heaven. I started my day early in the chapel. Today my class was learning about "discursive meditation," a method of prayer supposedly used by Jesuit novices for more than a century. The idea is simple: use your imagination and intellect to ponder a particular concept, place, or event. The technique was interesting and enjoyable. Here I will share with you the story that came to mind today.

The sun ascends over the Roman skyline as I pass between the massive columns of Saint Peter's Square. Sunshine strikes the facade of the Basilica and sets the columns alight with a warm glow. The air is pleasantly cool. The sunshine provides the perfect amount of warmth as it strikes face. My mind is perfectly at peace.

The place is nearly empty and almost completely silent. A few pigeons take flight as I step onto the cobblestones of the square and walk toward the Basilica. A single man at the center of the square shouts praise to God. His voice carries through the square. The immensity of the space softens his sincere cries, which reverberate quietly against the columns.

As I near the Basilica the square begins to fill with people. There are poor people dressed in rags, kings and queens richly attired, and everyone in between. Soon the square is filled to capacity. I see familiar faces. To my delight Mary, Joseph, Thomas Aquinas, and Therese of Lisieux stand beside me.

The five of us stand together, waiting. I turn to Mary and ask "What is it like to be the Mother of Jesus?" She responds, saying "I have always been the best mother I could be, even though it was often not easy." As she spoke, I thought of her sorrow at the foot of the cross and of her concern while searching for the young Jesus before finding him in the temple.

Joseph speaks up, saying "I have always been there for Jesus and Mary even though other people, at times, looked suspiciously at our family. I was the best parent I could be."

Next I turn to my patron saint, Thomas Aquinas. The man is tall and large with an intimidating disposition. His personality is not particularly warm, but his presence evokes a sense of respect and admiration. I humbly ask him, "How did you accomplish so much for the good of the Church?" He replies, "I worked as hard as I could to comprehend, explain, and defend the faith. I was the best philosopher and theologian I could be." Indeed, he was.

Finally, I turn to Saint Therese of Lisieux. I almost didn't notice her standing there, so quiet and humble. "How could you have such simple, complete faith in a God you could not always see or sense?" I ask her. She explains "Christ expressed his love to me. I always remembered that and returned the favor as best I could - even when it was not easy and doubts surfaced. I was the most faithful spouse I could be."

As Therese finishes her sentence the crowd stirs with excitement. All eyes turn toward the Basilica, where we see Christ descending the massive steps and entering the crowd. The saints are excited but untroubled as Christ nears, but I strain to get a good view. I think he's somewhere over to the left, by the fountain. No, wait. Where is he? Ah, there he is. A wave of excitement washes over me as I realize my fortunate position. He will pass near me, right where I stand.

And soon he does. I wave as he is passing. To my surprise he stops and approaches me. I ask Christ, "How can I best live this day?" He answers me, "All people should live their vocation to the fullest. Today, be the most humble, most perfect seminarian you can be," and he continued on through the crowd.

And so I will. Happy Feast Day!