Seminarian, PreTheology II
On December 8, the seminary community gathered together to celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. This is also the patronal feast of the chapel in the Theologate. We began the celebration of Our Blessed Mother’s conception with Evening Prayer on the vigil in the Immaculate Conception Chapel. Later in the evening, we gathered together in order to pray the Office of Readings. After this, many of our seminarians made the consecration of St. Louis de Monfort to Our Lord through Our Blessed Mother.It has been somewhat of a tradition for the past few years to celebrate mass at midnight on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. We processed in candlelight into the chapel at the beginning of mass. It was extremely peaceful and prayerful as the entire Penitential Rite was prayed in the soft glow of candlelight. Fr. Frank Guiffre gave an excellent homily on the importance Mary holds in the life of a priest and in the lives of, God-willing, future priests.
Following the mass, we had our annual Christmas party. It was a great way to unwind, especially after the unofficial close of paper-writing season. All the seminarians gathered in the basement of the Theologate, listened to some Christmas carols, and ate the traditional menu of tomato pie and meatballs. At the conclusion of the party, we all went back to our rooms, where we were finally able to sleep in, for nothing was scheduled the next morning.
The feast day ended with Solemn Evening Prayer and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on the Solemnity itself. Once again, the entire seminary gathered in the Immaculate Conception Chapel for prayer. After the close of Evening Prayer, many of us were able to go out and grab a bite to eat off campus. All of our festivities were a great way to mark and honor the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Mother.
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