Our Blessed Lady

By: Rick James
Seminarian, Third Theology

This month of May belongs to our Blessed Lady, the Mother of risen Savior. All seminarians and priest rely greatly upon her intercession at all times to remain close to her Son.

But what does it mean when we ask for our Blessed Mother’s intercession—or for that matter, any saint’s intercession. We can wonder: why do we go through the trouble of asking the saints to petition God for us? Could we not simply ask God for what we need directly?

Of course we can! However, when we pray to our Blessed Mother and all the saints, we ask them to make our prayers efficacious by their prayers and merits. But why are the prayers of the saints helpful for us? The answer to this requires remembering that the saints are in Heaven. When a person arrives in heaven, they are not in an unchanging or simply rigid and fixed state. In other words, when you arrive in heaven, you’re not just ‘done’. How boring! How could our encounter with the Eternal and Infinite God just be ‘done’, God has much more in store for us!

Heaven understood as it truly is, we are never finished with our communion with God—rather we will constantly grow in perfection. We will continuously grow in the eternal and all-loving Communion of the Blessed Trinity. Therefore, when we ask the saints in heaven to intercede for us, we are not just asking them to ‘put in a good word’ on our behalf. Rather they pray for us, and they apply their gifted state of increasing perfection in heaven to our needs.

We know that we can pray for others here and now, and we have faith that God hears and answers us—and helps those for whom we pray. The saints now in heaven, beholding our Heavenly Father’s face, also pray for us—in a state of grace far surpassing what we are capable of on Earth. Perhaps St. Jerome put its best:

“If , while still in the body, (people) can pray for others, at a time when they must still be anxious for themselves, how much more after their crowns, victories, and triumphs are won!”

So much more does all of this apply to our Blessed Mother, who is Queen of All Saints. She, who was redeemed from the moment of her Immaculate Conception, has been growing in perfection from that moment—and it is through her that the world receives her Son, Jesus Christ—the source of all grace and Eternal Life.

We recall Jesus’ attentiveness to Mary’s requests while they still walked the Earth. How much more is this continued in heaven! She was the first and only completely perfect response to the Father’s will to create, and to bring mankind to Communion with Him: “Be it done unto me according to Thy Word.” Our Lady’s intercession for the world is brought to the Father by the mother of His only Son. She is the mother of God, and the Mother of us all. She loves and cares for us— and she applies her fullness of Grace to our needs— and cares for us in a way that only a mother could.
Mary, Queen of All Saints, we love you. Pray for us!

First Apostolate Assignment

By: Albert Camburn II
Seminarian, Pre-Theology I

Albert Camburn II (center left - with other first year men)

Nearing the end of my first year at St. Charles Seminary, I can think of so many wonderful aspects of life here, the beautiful liturgies, the rich community life and the gift of learning about the faith, but what really stands out is the immensely rewarding experience of having spent each Thursday at my apostolate parish of Holy Infancy in Bethlehem.


Leaving early in the morning, my partner Kevin Lonergan and I would spend the morning at Holy Infancy grade school, where I would teach religion to Kindergarten through Fifth grade. There may be nothing in the world more gratifying than seeing a class full of children light up when you enter the room. Honestly, the smiles on their faces and the welcoming joy in those kids deeply touched my heart and I hope to never forget them. If I am lucky some of what I taught them will remain as they grow and help them to be closer to our Lord.

In the afternoons we would go out with one of two Poor Sisters of St. Joseph, Madre Rosa or Hermana Adelina, and go to the hospital or to the home of someone in need. We would either read the next Sunday’s gospel and reflect on it or recite the rosary, both in Spanish, and though I do not speak Spanish the sisters were able translators. Again, while I thought I was bringing something to them, it was the remarkable faith of people in great suffering that showed me what a Catholic can and should be. I can hardly express how humbling and enriching this experience was and cannot thank the sisters enough.

After dinner with Msgr. Biseck, I would assist with the Youth Group while Kevin taught CCD. Again, to see such strong faith in the hearts of teens struggling to live holy lives in an environment of great temptation and sin did so much to inspire me that I can only hope I had some of the impact on them that they had on me. Overall, the whole staff and parishioners of Holy Infancy were simply fantastic in how they welcomed us and nurtured our vocations.

It is with the ardent hope of being able to serve devoted Catholics one day as a priest, that I am able to find the motivation to study and submit myself to the formation process. By the great gift of Thursdays at Holy Infancy Parish I was given an abundance of such motivation and I can’t thank them enough.

Liturgy Class at St. Charles Seminary (First Year)

By: Daniel Lisella

Seminarian, First College

I want you to imagine that you are on the seashore with Jesus. You are walking along the beach with him. What does the atmosphere feel like on the beach? What are the sounds of the birds and the waves like? What does the water feel like? What do you feel you want to say to Jesus? Take a moment now to express to Jesus what you are feeling right now and tell him anything you want. At this moment, you are with Jesus, what are you desiring from him? What is he saying to you? What does it feel like just to open up and be with Jesus? Many of us have these different things we think, feel, and desire when being with the Lord. For myself personally, I think about how great a place to be at and being with the Lord. I feel at peace and very calm that I never want to leave his side. Also, I desire to be closer with Jesus in my life; to allow him to work in me so that I may do what he wants and just not what I want all the time. God wants us to be open to him and to receive what he has to say to us.

Daniel Lisella with this year's new men, and Frs. Mahoney and Bongard

“Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you!” If some person randomly walked off the street and said this to you, you would probably feel very uncomfortable. In many ways this line can be applied to all of us. The mystery of the Annunciation has very deep meaning in the Liturgy. First, Mary is viewed as being the perfect model of Christian life. You may ask yourself, why is that? Well from the beginning God chose this woman to bear his Son and raise him until the day of his death. Through her “Yes” she started how we are taught to live according to the will of God. We are to always carry Jesus with us and to give that response of “Yes” to God and never denying that he will let us down. “The angel said to her in reply, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.’” Mary had no idea what was going to happen with her life, she was afraid, just like the first people were afraid, just like we are afraid, and so on. However, she did not turn away from the Lord she accepted just as how we are called to accept God’s call in our lives.

Two parts I learned from Liturgy class is the importance of having that deep connection with the Lord during a time of silent reflection which can be seen in the first paragraph. Also, the significance the Annunciation has in not just the Blessed Mother’s life but in our own lives as well. We must be willing to pour ourselves out to the Father just has he gives his total self to us. We have to give our own “Yes” to God to allow him to enter our lives deeply and intimately. Furthermore, this is just a piece of the many things I have learned in Liturgy class as a First Collegian.