No More Networking

With seminary drawing closer, it is almost time for me to get rid of all of my online networking sites. That means I won't have a facebook, twitter, skype, myspace, xanga, or anything else you could ever think of. THIS BLOG however will stay in existence until I'm told it's no longer allowed. So I'll have this, my phone, and my email to stay in touch.

That being said, again it's been way too long since I last posted. There's no way I could make a post long enough to encompass my 21st birthday, a new Bishop, a 2 week road trip, a week long retreat, and preparation for school...

I guess I'll do an abridged version.

I turned 21 on July 14, 2010. My first drink was a Guinness Draught I shared with my dad and my good friend Joe Konopa. I'm really happy I waited until I was 21 to drink. It made it an almost sacred experience. The next day I went to an Irish Pub with a priest and 5 other seminarians. They took good care of me and made sure I didn't drink more than I could handle, then got me lots of water so that I wouldn't get dehydrated. I was blessed to be taken care of like that for my 21st birthday.

Bishop Timothy Doherty was ordained a bishop on July 15, 2010. What an experience to see a man offer himself up to God and then be placed into the line of apostles. Because one can only become a Bishop through another Bishop, you can trace the line of Apostles ALL THE WAY back to the 12 apostles Jesus hand picked! Bishop Doherty was choked up and it was evident that the Holy Spirit was present and providing us with a new shepherd for our diocese.

I left for my road trip that same night. We travelled from Fishers to St. Louis -- took route 66 all the way to the Grand Canyon -- travelled to Las Vegas -- moved on to L.A. -- drove up California 1 to San Francisco -- continued up California 1 to Oregon and Crater Lake -- followed East to Yellowstone -- drove from Yellowstone to Mt. Rushmore -- Mt. Rushmore to Chicago -- then back to Fishers. What a truly life changing experience. Look for pictures on Corey Rudell's facebook and wait for a novel to come out written by Andrew Neylon. My favorite area was Northern California. Giant rocks with waves crashing around them...fog and 60 degree weather. Beautiful. I'll probably retire there.

My retreat was also awesome. It built on the fraternity between myself and my seminarian brothers. I got to know them well and it made me look forward to school -- which brings me, in fact, to looking forward to school. I've spent the last however long scheduling classes, setting up emails, looking up financial aid, writing for scholarships, etc. The reward will be the peace and formation I get when I finally get there. I'm eager to be in an environment where I will be ENCOURAGED to intentionally make my faith the center of my life and my formation my day to day work.

Til then I'll just be sitting around meeting with people and working at the Eagle. I hope to have another post sometime soon. Pacem brothers and sisters.