An extraordinary blessing

      In reflecting upon my High School years in the seminary program for the Diocese of Greensburg I am very aware of how blessed I was to spend those years in an academic program that had such a gifted faculty.  In the years from the Fall of 1961 through my graduation in 1965 I was taught by a great group of teachers at Saint Vincent Preparatory School.  Most of them were Benedictine priests and monks from the Archabbey along with a number of lay men who supplemented the faculty.

     Looking back, there are some subjects that I remember, some teachers that stand out for me, and unfortunately some areas in which my memory needs reinforcement.

     I remember our freshman English grammer professor, Father Camillus Long, who was brilliant if not a bit eccentric.  He never found a textbook on English grammar that he found adequate.  So, he wrote his own!  He ran off the pages on heavier stock paper, had them bound, and used them to teach us.  Another of our English professors was Father Bryant Halloran who taught us English literature and gave me a great love of reading and appreciation for literature.  If I had had my choice in major in college (we had to major in Philosophy) I would have chosen English Lit.  I can still recite a number of quotes from Shakespeare that we were required to memorize.

     Our other involvements, sports, plays, glee club and so forth helped round our training.  I personally enjoyed the work with the forensic competitions between neighboring schools where we competed in areas such as debate, extemporaneous speech and public speaking.  It set the stage for what I have been doing in ministry for nearly fifty years.

     Latin was a major part of our curriculum, with Father Herman Ubinger laying the foundation in the first two years.  He involved us in the "Junior Classical League" where I remember journeying to an event at the Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh.  We also had Father Leopold Krul (later Archabbot) and Father Augustine Schuetz.  It was during a Latin Test being given by Father Augustine on November 22, 1963, that we received word of the shooting and death of President Kennedy.  It was one of those "where were you" moments.

     Modern languages were limited to French or German (the Benedictine community was originally from Bavaria).  I took French and had two years with Father Julian Smith, who had a great wit and nicknames for some of us (Jared Baker he called "boulanger" [a baker] and he called me "fourneau-iak" [a stove is a fourneau].

     Father Emeric Pfiester developed our artistic abilities and the annual "art show" found a number of my creations among the exhibits.

     I remember Father Arthur Holtz teaching us civics and Pennsylvania history.  He also led the music program.

     There was math, the sciences, history, religion and the usual gamut of classes.

    The thing that set this group of teachers apart for me is their academic background and dedication of profession.  In the Benedictine tradition they were committed to excellence in higher education.  The fact that many, if not most of these men, were also on the faculty of the Seminary and the College, with advanced degrees in multiple fields, made what the offered a valuable gift - one that I only began to realize later on in life.

     How have I been blessed?  Let me count the ways - but let it include these years of formation.  The Benedictine Community at Saint Vincent has by gratitude.

The first step

     I am not sure of the actual date in 1961, but in those days the school year usually began just before or after Labor Day - so it probably was the beginning of September of 1961, when Mom and Dad, my sister Janie and I drove from our home in Uniontown to Saint Vincent Prep School in Latrobe, PA.  It was a trip of just over an hour, but for someone who rarely if ever strayed far from home it was a major journey.   Add to that the fact that I was to stay on campus, having never been away from the security of my home and family, and the prospects were daunting.

     My recollections are my own and may not be as accurate as they should be.  In fact, watching all of the advertisements for "memory aids", maybe I should make a trip to the pharmacy.

     I remember driving up the road that leads from Route 30 to the Archabbey complex, seeing the buildings on the horizon, and wondering what I was getting into.  It was my first time at Saint Vincent.  We pulled to the entrance of the Prep building (Benedict Hall) to which we had directions and entered the main entrance.  It was a portico in the center of a long brick building.  To the right, at the end of the hall, was a small stained glass window.  To the left, at the end of the hall was a large crucifix that was lighted.  The headmaster's office was to the left.  We met with Father Louis Sedlacko, the headmaster, introduced ourselves, were welcomed and oriented, and then directed to a tour of the building.  Beyond that I remember only the departure of my family, and the strange experienced of "being left behind".

     I have been trying to recall that first year and find that there are only a few memories.  Maybe it was the excitement of a new experience, or the fear of the unknown, or the busy schedule that filled the days, but there are only scattered memories. Here are some of those memories:  living in community - our study hall and rec room were on the second floor ... we lived on the top floor, with locker room, washroom, lavatory and dorm room.  All of our class of twenty-one slept in one large room, single beds ... what an experience.  Praying the Stations of the Cross during Lent in the huge and impressive Abbey Basilica Church.  I remember Saturday evening movies in the college auditorium for the students.  We were involved in many intermural sports programs and were introduced to soccer, which was brought to the school and the local community by Father Vernon Holtz, who is still an active member of the Benedictine community.

    The Saint Vincent Preparatory School began the year after Saint Vincent was founded.  From 1847 until the early 1970's it served the college community as a Prep School.  Until the Fall of 1961 it served the Scholasticate (the Benedictine students of high school age) and served as a regular Prep School for outside students, most residential with a few "day hops" (locals who lived at home and attended class on campus).  With our freshman class we were the "beginning of the end" of the Prep, for we were all students for the priesthood - Scholastic and Diocesan students.   The other Prep students treated us well, sometimes with "kid gloves" for we were "in a special category".  I made a number of friends among the Prep guys.

     The year went by quickly and we looked forward to our summer vacation, for the next year would involve a new living arrangement.   

The Journey - the beginning

         With the approach of the school year I have been thinking back to the beginning of my journey toward priesthood as I entered the seminary program for the Diocese of Greensburg.  Remember that this was a long time ago, in another age of the Church and in a different world.  I entered in my High School years (those that did so are called "lifers" - four years of High School, four of undergraduate college work and four of theological studies).   I entered at the ripe old age of thirteen way back in the Fall of 1961 - 61 years ago this Fall.

     I always wanted to be a priest.  From my earliest years family would tell me that that was my goal.  I was encouraged by the Religious Sisters who taught me, supported by my family and friends and inspired by our parish priests, in particular two who served us during my grade school years - our pastor Father Charles Kobylarz and one of our assistants, Father (later Bishop) Norbert Gaughan.  Father Charles was a young pastor, personable, and a good leader and Father Norbert was smart and a great preacher.   At my first Mass I acknowledged Father Charles as my inspiration.

     During my eighth-grade year I took the entrance exam with a few other boys from my class from Saint Joseph Parish School at Greensburg Central Catholic High School.  Having been accepted in the program, I remember attending a "gathering of the new class of students for the program" at Immaculate Conception Parish in Irwin (twelve years later I would serve there as an Associate Pastor).  Father Len Sanesi, the vocation director and Associate Pastor at IC at the time, arranged our meeting with Bishop William Connare.  One thing I remember about that meeting was the bishop saying (statistically) that we will be lucky to have one ordained from the group of about twenty-one young men.  We actually had two ordained priests: myself and another who was ordained later and subsequently resigned active ministry; and we would have two ordained as Deacons (one in California and the other, Deacon Bill Hisker, ministering in our own Diocese). 

     All of this led to our acceptance for the Diocese in the seminary program of formation that would begin at Saint Vincent Archabbey Preparatory School in Latrobe.  It was the beginning of an experience that I will share a little more with you the next post.  All of that began sixty-one years ago this Fall.

CATCHING UP

      They talk of the "hazy, lazy days of summer", and that is never truer than when you are in retirement - at least for me.  A month and a half have gone by since my last post, and while there have been thoughts and events that have come to mind, I have failed to put them in written form.  Let me give it a try again, with apologies.

     This past Sunday, the 20th of Summer Ordinary Time, we hear a reading from the Gospel of Luke, the 12th chapter.  In verse 49 Jesus says: "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!"

     He goes on to say that he has come to shake up the complacent ... to challenge the status quo ... to call forth a passion within the hearts of people - a passion for God and a passion for the things of heaven - a passion that will transform lives.

     Fire is the key word here.  What does fire do?

     Fire destroys ... it can devastate a landscape, wipe out communities, bring death and destruction. ... as evidenced in the wildfires out West.  It is often seen as a punishment: the fire called down upon Sodom and Gomorrah or our describing hell in terms of punishing fire.

     Fire also purifies, taking the impurities from something - we see this in the refining fires of a forge or oven or blast furnace or kiln.

     Does Jesus not show us that the refining fire of his love will purify the heart of the repentant sinner and make them strong and worthy of his abiding grace?   That it will take away all division, hatred, hostility and selfishness.

     When the fire of his love stirs the pot, stirs our hearts so that that which is unworthy of God finds no place within us, then we will find the ability to live, to share his life with others, to create a kingdom that will last forever.

     There is a third kind of "fire", one that I believe Jesus is referring to here.  It is the fire of "PASSION" ... the fire that excites the heart and moves us to action.  It was seen in the "tongues of fire" at Pentecost that stirred the Apostles to leave the upper room and go first into the city and then to the ends of the earth proclaiming the Good News.  It is the "fire" burning within the hearts of the Emmaus travelers as they walk with him and broke bread.

     Ask for the fire of his passionate love in your heart, that we may together bear witness to his love.