Seminarians' Pilgrimage

Yesterday Micahel and I arrived safely in Poland. We met our World Youth Day group shortly after taxing to our host parish. We are all staying with different families for a few days within the town of Sopot.

Being in Europe for over a month has proven helpful as the rest of our group is jet-legged. My host family has been incredibly gracious, and the group as a whole seems to be very excited for the days to come.

The first day was spent mostly relaxing on the beach. We had an early morning Mass followed by coffee and desserts. From the parish we went on a small hike that ended up on the beach. Many members went for a swim and others simply sat back and enjoyed the sun.

I spent most of my time talking with the two religious sisters who have joined our group. Through a weird series of events, two sisters from Nebraska have joined our pilgrimage. When I was talking with them it was evident that they love their vocation and that they are filled with joy. It is a blessing to have them as part of our group.

In the upcoming days we are headed to meet other members from our diocese, and pilgrims from around the world. We will join groups first in the city of Gdansk, before traveling to Krakow for the main events.

– Luke

Two days ago we left Fatima on a bus headed to Lisbon. We decided to come to the city a day before our flight from here to Poland, so that we could explore the city a bit.

Monday morning was spent walking the Fatima stations of the cross, which are located outside the village, and near the apparition sites of the angel. We had joined the Te Deum Foundation pilgrimage for this last devotional, culminating in the celebration of Holy Mass at the Calvary Chapel. All of the stations and chapel were donated by Hungarians in thanksgiving for Portugal sheltering Hungarian children refugees during WWII. It made for a slow and thoughtful morning before a bus to Lisbon. Once in the ancient city (it was founded sometime before Rome!) We decided to walk to our hostel from the bus station. It was only 5kms away… and we had walked much more than that on the Camino! The walk, however, tired us out and we spent the evening resting at the hostel before making a camino style dinner. We were even lucky enough to receive a pot of freshly cooked rice from another traveler.

Like the Camino, hostels also form little fluid communities as people come and go, staying for different durations. The building itself is old yet recently renovated with modern furniture. The walls retain their tiled flower paterns, reminiscent of Ro.an style from its time of rule in the Iberian peninsula, and all together ito makes for a fresh yet old feel.

On Tuesday we left the cool comfort of our hostel, and filled by a breakfast buffet better than any breakfast on the Camino, we set out to explore the city. Our first destination was the Parc do Comercio, a beautiful square situated between the water and the heart of the new city. We made our way from there to the Cathedral, an ancient and noble structure, stumbling upon the birth place of St. Anthony on the way. After venerating his relics, and visiting the Cathedral, we made our way up the hill to the Castelo do sao Jorge. The ancient moorsish castel provides a 360 view of the city. It was really cool to walk upon the walls and take in the view of the old and new city. Lisbon was build close to the water on an very hilly span of land, and this makes both for a lot of difficult walking and some really rewarding views.

After the castle, we made our way down the valley and up again to the ruins of an old Carmel that was partly destroyed in the 1755 earthquake. It now stands roofless after attempts to rebuild it were unsuccessful. The earthquake devistated the city not only by the shaking earth, but also by the following tidal wave and consuming fires. It is still very much in the memory of the city. It was such a large disaster that it destroyed most of the city and crippled the then elite Portuguese Empire.

Finally we made our way up to the ornate Church and museum  of St. Roque before lunch on the hill with a view of the hilltop castle. We were fortunate enough to meet up with our Campus ministry friend, Molly, who happened to be in the city for a day before going to Fatima. The rest of the day was spent in relaxation and prayer.

Today, we woke up early and made our way to the airport. Now, we are waiting to board our flight that will take us to Poland to meet up with our World Youth Day group from Madison. Please pray for us as we make our way on this new and final leg of our Eurpean pilgrimage.

-Michael Wanta

The few days we have spent in Fatima have been truly amazing. There are so many different aspect that have made Fatima special for me. The shrine itself is incredibly beautiful, but it is nothing compared to what actually happened here. Being able to spend several hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament has been very beneficial for me.

I wish to share just a few thoughts that have arisen from my prayer here in Fatima. Trusting in the Lord is everything. No matter if it’s big life decisions or small daily tasks we all desire and think we know what is best for us, or at least I do. There are times in prayer, however, when the Lord asks us to leave our own desires and follow His will. Many times on this pilgrimage I have experienced just this, and it has been difficult to follow him when I couldn’t see the reason why. Here in Fatima I have been able to reflect back and see the fruit of these small sacrifices.

When we conform our wills to God’s will, we are flooded with his mercy. Forgiveness and mercy have played a large part of this pilgrimage for me. Although I did not come here seeking forgiveness or looking to amend some great problem in my life, I have felt God’s love on a profound level. I can’t quite put this into words, other than saying that I know I am a beloved son.

These reflections are extremely brief, but each is a well of knowledge and grace. My hope is that this post will not only give you a small glimpse into our lives but also providesome material for your own thoughts and prayers.

– Luke

Yesterday, during our first full day here, I went to The Basilica to pray morning prayer and look around the Shrine a bit. I expected a very normal start to my day but it was a very powerful experience. As I read through the little brochure explaining some of the basic history behind the apparitions, I was struck by the message of our Lady and by its importance for the world. I realized that it is very good for me to be here.

There’s much to say about Fatima so I will try to keep it to a few thoughts. Today we accompanied the pilgrimage group from America which is sponsored by the Te Deum Foundation which is dedicated to the material and spiritual support of seminarians. Their main project is the building of a seminary in the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina but they also sponsor this pilgrimage to Fatima which is comprised both lay faithful and seminarians… technically also lay faithful, but just studying to be priests. Luke and I were fortunate enough to have dinner with the president of the organization, who was also on the pilgrimage and to learn a little bit more about the orgsnization.

This morning we went to visit the home of Lucia as well as her cousins blessed Francisco and Jacinta. Not only that, but we visited also the sites where the angel appeared to these three young Shepherds. On these occasions the angel taught them how to pray, especially to love God in the Eucharist, and to make acts of love and reparation for sinners. Here is one of those prayers: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love thee, I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love thee.” The children would pray this for hours, meditating on it and drawing closer to God and loving him more through its simplicity. I was struck by the childrens’ responses to this apparition and the others. They were so willing to pray and to do penance and really to make of their whole lives an offering to God. It is interesting that God would choose three children so young, innocent, and unlearned  in the things of the world to communicate to the world such an important message of peace through sacrifices,  through penance, and through prayer.

Today I was also struck by how much the devotionals that surround Fatima correspond with Doctrine and the essentials of the spiritual life. The prayers and actions of the children more often so simple and they contained in them the seeds of deep theological reflection. I think that we can all take this as comforting. Our prayers do not need to be long or eloquent but they need to be sincere. Fatima serves as another reminder that to enter Heaven we must all be like little children.

I hope to be able to share some for the reflections later but I encourage you all to learn a little more about Fatima, or maybe to try the prayer I quoted above.

During World War I, the Blessed Mother appeared to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francesco at a time of great strife and violence for Portugal and for the world. Mary told them to pray for peace and to make reparation for sins. If you look at just about any Marian apparition, she comes at a time when there is much violence in the world or persecution of the church. We are currently experiencing a lot of violence right now, it might not be too bad of an idea to look to Our Lady of Fatima to learn how to respond.

-Michael

PS: Here is a link to more information about Fatima: World Apostolate of Fatima

The first time I felt called to the priesthood, I firmly rejected the idea for all the stereotypical reasons. I wasn’t holy enough, I desired a family, I was too young, and outside of the sacraments I didn’t know what a priest did. I began to pray that these thoughts of the priesthood would go away, but they never did. Knowing that this calling was from God, I began praying for answers to these questions and for the strength to say yes to the priestly vocation. The most profound moments of peace and consolation came while praying the rosary. I had no great Marian devotion prior to discerning the priesthood, but soon Mary became the driving force in my discernment. Before telling my friends and family that I was even thinking about becoming a priest, I went to my parish and knelt before a statue of Mary. There I humbled myself and asked for guidance in accepting this call. At that time it was evident that Mary would continue to guide me throughout my discernment.

I have been in the seminary for three years now, and I can honestly say that Mary has helped me the entire way. In our first year of formation we were asked to read St. Louis De Montfort’s True Devotion, and consecrate ourselves to Jesus through Mary. Knowing that the Blessed Mother is guiding my formation has given me considerable comfort. The seminary has been an intense time of prayer, study, and fraternity. Although there are moments of stress and anxiety, especially around midterms and finals, there is an underlying joy of being in the seminary. I attribute this happiness to listening to God’s will and staying faithful to my devotion to Mary.

Mary should be at the heart of every Catholics prayer life. Seminarians and priest should have a particular love for the Mother of God as nobody knows our Lord better than her. If the priest is another Christ, then it is essential that all priests have recourse to Mary just as Christ did. I recommend to anyone discerning a priestly vocation to foster a love of Mary. Finally, I leave you with this quote from St. Louis De Montfort, taken from True Devotion, “She is so full of love that no one who asks for her intercession is rejected, no matter how sinful he may be. The saints say that it has never been known since the world began that anyone had recourse to our Blessed Lady, with trust and perseverance, and was rejected.”

– Luke