Pope Saint Pius V

Much confusion reigned over the house today because it is unusual for us to celebrate an Optional Memoria unless the Saint has significance in the seminary, diocese or country. It is also a liturgical rule that the proper readings are only used on Feasts and Solemnities unless it is a New Testament Saint. Therefore when at Mass this morning we celebrated St Pius and had his readings we realised something revolutionary has happened and the rumours are rife!

St George's Day

Orthfully Catholic would like to wish all their English readers a very Happy Patronal Feast!

It has been unusual for as long as we have been here to celebrate St George with much pomp at the Seminary but this year it was rather different - though we are not sure how much of an inspiration our visiting French Seminarians have been for this change.

We celebrated the Mass of St George twice, once yesterday evening while we were all awake and had time to celebrate a full Solemn Mass and again this morning with less pomp and ceremony because we only had a 30 minute slot and apparently are obliged to celebrate the Saint despite having already celebrated his vigil.

After last night's Mass we had a Festal Supper of Roast Beef with all the trimmings and Sticky Toffee Pudding! Could we have done our Patron Saint any more justice if we had tried? We doubt it!

Once again Happy St George's Day to one and all.

Keep praying for the conversion of England!

God Bless,

The Seminarians

More Vocational Prayers

Dear Readers,

Please keep in your prayers the thirteen men who are staying in our seminary this weekend as part of the selection process for priestly formation.

Thank you all and God Bless,

The Seminarians

Vocations Sunday

Please keep all Seminarians in your prayers today. Please also pray for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

A number of our brethren are out in parishes today in order to encourage vocations in young men. If you have a visiting Seminarian make him feel welcome and assure him of your prayers. If you feel you have a vocation to the priesthood let him know and he will help you to take the first step. If you are a young man who thinks he may have a vocation to the priesthood and a Seminarian is not at your parish today speak to your parish priest who should put you in touch with your Vocations Director. If you know of someone who has hinted to you that he may like to be a priest let us know and we will try to find out who his Vocations Director is.

A couple of us were in Westminster Cathedral yesterday for various reasons and as soon as you walk in you see a sign by the Holy Water stoop saying, 'It costs £50 a day to train a priest, please help in any way you can'. We felt horribly guilty and hoped no one in the cathedral knew we were Seminarians, then we came to realise just how much the Diocese invests in us because £50 a day will only pay for our tuition fees, with grants and extra expenses it is so much more than that. Every Diocese in England and Wales, and no doubt in other Sees, needs donations for priestly training, please give generously to the Ecclesiastical Education Fund at Mass today.

But whatever you do prayer is the most important thing.

God Bless you all and thank you for your support,

The Seminarians

Poor Dorcas and the Selfish Miracle

Yesterday's homily was on the first reading and we felt we should share it with you as Father pointed out a rather amusing point in Acts that we had never noticed before.

Tabitha, or Dorcas in Greek, was a woman disciple living in Jaffa 'who never tired of of doing good or giving in charity'. She was therefore, undoubtedly, a good and holy woman. So when she 'got ill and died' she must have been ushered in to the Pearly Gates by whoever was guarding them before St Peter's own death and have received her eternal reward.

Apparently this wasn't good enough for those who 'washed her and laid her out in a room upstairs' they had to call Peter over from Lydda with an urgent message. Peter comes immediately and upon being told about how good Dorcas was he promptly brings her back from the dead! After spending some time in Heaven, enjoying the Beatific vision at last, she has to spend many more years making tunics and clothes for the disciples only to get ill and die all over again! While this may have brought many people to the Church they could have found another way. Poor Dorcas!

Does Our Lady support Liverpool FC?

Last night there were two crucial matches (probably for the Seminarians rather than for the FA) so both televisions were taken up by them. On the terrestrial television was the Liverpool Arsenal match, the most popular of the two. Among the crowd were two students for one diocese each supporting an opposing team. After thirty minutes the Liverpool supporter had to leave in order to spend some time with Our Lord and as he did so he told his Arsenal supporting brother that he would pray a Rosary that Liverpool might win. At the moment of leaving the match was drawn at 1-1.

The match and the Seminarian's Adoration ended simultaneously so he went back to see what the final score was - 4-2!

Is there any better evidence for the power of the Holy Rosary?

The Mail on Vocations Sunday

My choice of newspaper on the train is the Daily Mail because its easy to read and cheap so I can finish it on a short journey and throw it away afterwards, I don't necessarily agree with some of its ideology. So when I was on my way back to the Seminary after a two week holiday I bought the Mail on Sunday and as there were delays I read all the bumf that comes with it, including the women's mag 'You'. On page 25 of said mag was a column by Joanna Moorhead on 'Things you don't know about ... being a Nun'. She then lists 10 things the general public wouldn't know about the life of a Nun:

1. You don't have to be a virgin to become a Nun - unless you join a Benedictine congregation apparently.

2. Nuns are popular subjects for medical trials - particularly one American trial, the 'Nun Study', which is 'an examination of Alzheimer's disease and ageing in 700 nuns which began in 1986.'

3. Nuns are an endangered species - 'In 2005 there were only 13 new recruits to British convents.' Get Praying!

4. There are thousands of religious orders around the world, mostly founded hundreds of years ago - 'But new orders are still springing up.' Thank God!

5. Nuns are net-savvy - 'visit anunslife.org.' I have a had quick glimpse at this, it is run by Sr Julie, IHM and judging by the self-portrait of her in casual clothes and the post on how nuns deal with sexual urges its probably not something that will be seen in the left-hand bar of Orthfully Catholic.

6. Not all nuns are Catholics - 'There are Buddhist and Anglican nuns too.'

7. Some nuns live in mixed communities with monks.

8. Unlike priests, who are usually financially supported by their parishes, nuns have to earn their own living - such as making altar breads and, as one Franciscan community in New York, run a chocolate factory called 'NunBetter'.

9. Nuns have no career path, and prospects are often limited.

10. Nuns love their hobbies.

So there we go, anyone interested?

Next Sunday is Vocations Sunday, a very busy day for Seminarians who are often asked to go to parishes and speak to the people about priestly vocations. If a Seminarian comes to your parish make him feel welcome and let him know you are praying for him, those are the greatest words in a Seminarians ear, 'We think you're doing a marvellous job and we're all praying for you.'

Please pray for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life everyday.

God Bless,

The Seminarians

New Blogger

John Paul has asked us to plug his blog Mad Trad, and as he has referred to us as 'Awesome Seminarians' in his blogroll how could we possibly refuse?

God Bless John Paul, you're in our prayers!