Back to School! (with 2 more Knights)

From left to right: Br. Fidelis, Br. Francesco, Br. Juan, Br. Laurence, Br. Michael, and Br. Gregory.

We're back at Holy Apostles, Cromwell, CT to begin another year of seminary formation! This time we have 2 more knights with us, making a total of six Knight seminarians! Our new seminarians are Br. Laurence Mary and Br. Maria "Juan." We are very excited to have two more members beginning studies at Holy Apostles.

Our first week of studies went very well. We began the year with an opening Mass at which Fr. Douglas Mosey, our rector led a procession and blessed the grounds of the College and Seminary. We look forward to a new year of blessings and graces. We'll keep you posted on what we're up to as the semester goes on...

Br. Laurence and Br. Juan offer some reflections on what the priesthood means to them.

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Mt 16:24)

What does the holy priesthood mean to me? First, it means to come after Jesus by humbly listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Second, to deny one's very self and all that he holds dear in this world. Then, to daily take up the Cross of the Lord with love and humility. Finally, and most importantly, to follow and emulate Christ in his priestly life by continually and lovingly sacrificing and offering it’s joys and sorrows through the humble recognition of his weaknesses and failings. As a priest he must say with St. Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Gal 2:19b-20), and elsewhere, “This is my earnest longing and my hope…that this body of mine will do Christ honor.” (Phil 1:20) This is what it means to be priest-victim under the Great High Priest-Victim, Jesus Christ.

-Br. Laurence

To me the priesthood means to follow Christ in perfect imitation of His life, through the Sacramental life of the Church, for the salvation of souls. The vocation of the priesthood comes from the grace of the Holy Sacraments, to the individual souls who are called to the imitation and intimate union with Christ. With this call in mind, the priests are to totally give themselves to the sacred privilege of administering the Sacraments to Christ’s faithful, the Church.

In ministering to the needs of the lay-faithful; the priest must always bear in mind that he, in reflecting Christ’s love is also reflecting Christ’s bride the Church. In this way, the priest truly lays down his own life for the sake of the Church….

Striving to lead souls to Christ, the priest must mirror and reveal the purity and blamelessness of Christ; and, as Christ suffered and laid down His life for the Church: so must the priest, with his whole heart, do the same. For the priest to truly understand his vocation, as an alter Christus, he must remain loyal, first and foremost, to the Holy Eucharist but also, to a daily prayer-life.

-Br. Maria "Juan"