Tonight was our senior night festivities at the Seminary. We had the meal planned out, the chefs ready to cook, and the night went off basically without a hitch. It was an absolutely beautiful celebration of our seniors, their impact on us and the seminary community and just the real fraternal and brotherly spirit at Bishop Bruté.
I am constantly amazed and so full of hope for the future of the church in American, when I am with my brothers at Bruté. As someone remarked tonight: “The Quality of our men at Bishop Bruté is some of the best.” Being in seminary, has given me the opportunity to live, pray, study, and labor in the vineyard of the Lord beside 42 men who share the same love for the Lord, for service, and who will the good of everyone. The fraternal spirit and utter love and devotion of each man to the other is something extraordinary and not explainable. I don’t even think anyone can understand it, except for those men who have spent time in seminary.
The quality of friendships, the vulnerability we place ourselves in before our brothers, the trust we place in them, and the desire for them to be holy is utterly amazing. I’ve had great friends throughout the years in high school and such, but no one has ever been a better, or closer friend then the men I am in seminary with. I thank God for letting me be a part of their lives every day.
We say goodbye to a superb group of men in our senior class this year. I have grown close to them all and hold them in such high esteem. From challenging me to continue to stretch myself, listening to me when I’m frustrated, sharing wisdom with me and being just good solid men and brothers in Christ I couldn’t ask for anything better. I will deeply miss them but know that we will keep in touch and one day we will hopefully serve at the Altar of God together.
Tonight we received some sad news about the passing of one of our men’s close family members. News and details are still forthcoming, so I don’t want to say much, especially before the family and such have a time to grieve and get the news out. But after finding out about it from Fr. Bob after we finished our senior dinner and speeches tonight, I was shocked by the drastic change in the feeling of the room and the temperament of all of the men. We instantly felt compassion and such sadness for our brother, all of us feeling as though it was one of our own family members.
Before we cleaned up from the dinner we all headed to the chapel to pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet for our brother, his family, and the deceased. The amount of love which was poured into that chaplet was so powerful and inspiring. It is times like this when I thank God I’m in seminary with such great brothers.
Please join us on this now somewhat somber night to pray for our brother, his family, and the repose of the soul of his family member. May we continue to pray for one another, build each other up, and keep fighting the good fight until we all meet together in that beautiful place of Heaven.
In somewhat modified words of our brother: “Let us give ourselves completely to the will of God. Life is to short to do anything else.”
Eternal Rest grant unto our brother’s family member O Lord…
The following is a video of our Year in Review at Bishop Bruté. Check it out and see some of the glimpses of fraternity and brotherly love that exist within the walls of our seminary:
Walking The Way of Beauty 