Life is a Prayer.com

Most of the remainder of this summer, I will be in Omaha, Nebraska, participating in the Institute for Priestly Formation. This is the first time in eight years that I won't be able to participate in Kenrick-Glennon Days, and I also won't be producing a video for it (though I hear someone else back in St. Louis will be!). The weather is comfortable here in Omaha, and we are about to begin our eight day silent retreat. I will be checking in from time to time, and I still can receive emails (though not during the next eight days!).

One thing that amazes me is how beautiful and immaculate the university's soccer field is; I walked by it yesterday, and it was like looking at a sea of soft green grass, with perfect lines, just waiting for me to run around on the field. I wish the Seminary had a field like that! Here's a picture of the very nice St. John's Church, located on-campus, just across from the dormitory I'm staying in:

Interestingly, the Church is located next to one of the weirdest fountains I have ever seen; one that makes no sense to me. Apparently, there used to be a very nice Mary statue in front a while back, but in the 1970's, someone decided a swirly piece of metal with a bunch of jets of water around it would be more spiritually uplifting. Ah, well... it seems Creighton and SLU are of the same vein when it comes to the selections of art on campus.

I have posted my pictures from the 2008 Saint Louis Archdiocesan Priesthood Ordination that was held at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis earlier today. Here's the final group shot of all the nine new priests:

You can find all the pictures here, but not all were taken by me. Some were taken by my brother seminarian, Ray (same first name as the Archbishop!). The Mass progressed from the opening prayers and the Liturgy of the Word to the Rite of Ordination, which took a little longer than usual, due to the very large number of men to be ordained; this group is the largest for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis since 1988!

I am glad to have been able to take pictures of the Mass, for many reasons; not only did I get to see many of my friends become Holy Priests of God, I was able to do so using a Nikon D3 and a 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens! It was a joy using that camera, and I only wish the price tag had a few thousand less dollars on it... alas, it was only a rental. But who knows? Someday I might be able to hold a camera of that caliber again!