"You have been selected..." (so excited)

Got a call from Chaplain Joel DeGraeve today. He informed me that the Navy selected me to be a Navy Chaplain! I had a great feeling of excitement for the future at his words.

I will stay at the parish until July 1st (the next regular rotation of priests.) Then I will head out for training in August. 5 weeks Officer Development School (ODS) in Newport followed by 7 weeks of Chaplain School at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.

In the next months, I will get all my ducks in a row and double my efforts to be in shape -- the best shape of my life. In the words of Chaplain Joe Coffey, "you can get a little fat over Christmas, but in January, hit the gym!"

Stay tuned, my friends....now the Journey starts to get interesting!

Waiting for the Call...

Last Thursday I was down in Arlington, VA at the Pentagon for the final interview with the Chaplain CARE board. There were 6 candidates and I was the #5 interview. As we waiting, Captain Jack Lea, Chaplain and in charge of Manpower for Chaplains, sat down with us and described what he does currently and relayed some great stories of his time as a Navy Chaplain. Clearly after many years, this Chaplain still has passion for the Chaplaincy. It was good for us candidates to see that.

I went into the interview, where 7 officers greeting me. They were 6 chaplains and a line officer from the Marines. I was surprised to see that 5 were women. I believe they were Lieutenant Commander or Commanders and the guy in charge is the Executive Assistant to (two star) Admiral Mark Tidd, Chief of Chaplains.

Each officer asked me a question. I was expecting a bunch of questions about my experience and about my vocation story. I was surprised to be asked a bunch of tough questions. The blank faces, not indicating how I was doing, added to the intimidation. I realized that it has been a long time since my last job interview (1997)!!

I tried to answer the questions honestly and to end on a positive note. At the end, the officers asked if I had questions. I asked, "assuming I am selected, what can I be doing to prepare given that I won't be available to enter until July?"  Each officer gave me some great advice on things to work on: take a CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) course, read some Navy professional development reading, develop a network of chaplains I could reach out to for support in the future. Very helpful stuff.

So now I wait for the call...

Chaplain Joel DeGraeve, my recruiter, will call me sometime in the next two weeks to let me know the results. In the words of Tom Petty, "the waiting is the hardest part..." Pray for me.

On an up note: I ran 2 miles in 16:43, so an 8:22 mile! That is great for me!

Tomorrow Final Interview

Today I am driving down to Arlington, Virgina. I will meet up with two Navy Chaplain Recruiters and they will help prepare me for my interview with the Chaplain CARE board tomorrow at the Pentagon. The Chaplains will show me what to emphasize from my experience during the interview and generally get me ready. Pray for me tomorrow and stay tuned...

Interview Time!

I just received word from Chaplain Joel DeGraeves that I am invited to the December 6 CARE board (Chaplain Accession Retention Evaluation) for an interview!!!

This great news, because this is the board that will decide whether or not I enter the Navy! Chaplain DeGraeves will sent me the details soon, but this is the deal so far:

Drive down to D.C. on Wednesday, December 5 for dinner and to meet my Chaplain sponsor who will guide me through the interview process. After dinner - some prep work and then the interview on Thursday.

This is very exciting news, since I have been waiting for this opportunity since June!

Pray for me!

Great 5k Run and Need to Redo Part of Application

A Great Run

Yesterday, I participated in the 2nd Annual Spartan Classic 5k Run/Walk which supported St. Joseph Grade School in my parish. It was my first official 5k. I was a bit nervous running, because I hadn't run too much in September with all the craziness of school starting. I ran about a mile on Friday just to get the cobwebs out. (really I had run 3 miles last week and back on Labor day I ran 4 miles, but I had planned to be running more.)

It was a beautiful day (compared to the Monsoon last year for the 1st Annual Spartan Classic): blue skies, a slight breeze and cool. It got warmer after the 1 mile fun run, but still very nice. I went up to the starting line, of course behind all the fast people, and I started chatting with a couple that were wearing Navy shirts. I remembered talking to Tracie and her husband last year. They have a son in the grade school. Before we knew it, we heard "Ready, Set Go!" and we were on our way.

Since my watch had broken last week, I did not have a pace or time, so I hung out with this crew for most of the race. Tracie's husband soon went ahead and I moved ahead of her and we scattered a bit. But it was quite nice that I basically stayed with the same folks. At all the turns there were teachers and helpers, many of who said, "Oh that's Fr. Pat. Keep Going, Fr. Pat, Good Job!" This was a great help. There were scouts and grade school kids handing out water also yelling support. I felt pretty good as I completed the first loop and the crowd cheered.

The second loop was harder. The hills in this Toms River neighborhood seemed to grow and I began dreading the last hill up Marian St and left up Terrace Ave. But I stayed behind a couple of ladies who had set a good pace and I was spurred on by all the cheers.

As I turned the corner to head up that last hill, I heard, "Come on, Fr. Pat, you're in the Home Stretch!" I gained my second (or third) wind and strided up the hill, passing Fr. Scott, the pastor and a nice group doing the walk. I made it up the hill and turned onto school property to a bunch of kids with water cheering and then the rest of the crowd. We turned onto the track for the final sprint to the finish. I kicked and sped up, stretching out my stride. As I rounded the last turn I saw the time in the range of 26 minutes and I said to myself ,"Holy crap!" I couldn't believe it because I usually run about a 10 minute mile. I crossed the line at 26:45 --well under a 9 minute mile! This was my best time ever. Thanks to the pacesetters around me and all the cheers!

Grade School runners, Drake and Ray, high five me as I cross the finish

I went inside the cafeteria for some water and snacks and chatted with families. It turns out I came in second place in men 30-39! Not too shabby!

Redo the Bishop's Endorsement

I got word last week that I did not fill out the endorsement (permission from my bishop) correctly. I'll have to do that part over. Basically, the process is to fill out an application through the Archdiocese of Military Services web site, and I have a few more things to get together to be sent to Archbishop Broglio. Since I already met with the Archbishop, that part is taken care of. 

Not a problem, I have plenty of time since I wont be released by my diocese until July. Please continue your prayers for this ministry!

Bikefest 2012 and an Update on the Navy

School has started so things have been quite busy. A few masses, including the opening high school mass and Eucharistic procession, bible blessings, sports…lots going on.

Bikefest 2012

This past weekend, I went with some of the Knight of Columbus Motorcycle Ministry down to Bikefest at Ocean City, Maryland. We stayed in Chincoteague, Virginia.  I left Friday after the high school mass and flew down the parkway just in time to take the ferry out of Cape May. There had to be 50 bikes aboard. It was beautiful: sunny, yet cool, weather. We had a great time. We had some great dinner at Don’s seafood restaurant, which we walked to from the hotel.

We had mass at the hotel Saturday morning and a bunch went to a buffet breakfast. Then we rode through Chincoteague wildlife preserve and almost got eaten alive by Mosquitoes when we stopped.

A group rode up to Bikefest (see below) and had fun checking out the tons of bikes and some vendors.

Bikes and Vendor at Bikefest in Ocean City, MD

Sunday morning the group headed to mass at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church. The place was packed. We showed up on the bikes and sat in the back pew (like good Catholics) with our KofC MM vests on. Boz went over to the choir and asked to sing with them. They were delighted. As mass went on, each of us offered our seat to other massgoers. The kindness was mentioned in the homily, which was about putting faith into action.

We left after mass and rode inland until we reached Dover, Delaware, where we stopped at a diner. Then we got on route 1 and headed over the Delaware memorial bridge. I got off 295 onto route 70. We said our goodbyes and three of us headed on 70 East. I finally got home about 630pm on Sunday.

In all, I did about 450 miles (and a ferry ride). Great roads, great people, great weather. Thank you, God!

Navy Update

I received an email update from my recruiter letting me know that my application to the Navy is complete and is being reviewed.  The next step is to be invited to the Chaplain Review Board in Washington. So, I am still waiting for that. At least, I know that my application is being looked at. I hope to hear something soon.

Some insight gained while out in the woods...

http://www.intothewildweekend.com/

I went with two parishoners, Mark and Mike, on an outdoor men's retreat called "Into The Wild" (http://www.intothewildweekend.com/) run by The King's Men (http://www.thekingsmen.org/) out of Philadelphia. What a great experience! Picture 100 men, out in the woods, in cabins, celebrating mass, praying, fishing, digging holes and tramping through the woods together in the spirit of faith.
 
The whole weekend is structured to teach three elements of Masculinity: leader, provider, and protector. For example, we had a presentation to teach us basic Orienteering. We were broken into groups - guys we didn't know. We learned to use a map and a compass to determine the direction to head. I had done this before, but this way was better. Then we walked 100 meters and counted paces to determine our pace "factor" or the distance we walk in each pace. After learning this, of course we could determine from a map direction and distance to go and then count out the paces.

Okay, so then we are sent into the woods to find markers that matched points which we copied onto our map. The first thing we found out was that often you can't just go in a straight line and count the paces because there is an obstacle in the way. So we had to learn to read other symbols on the map, such as a foot path or contour lines to tell us to go uphill or downhill or symbols that showed there is heavy vegetation.

My team of 4 (myself, Ted, Harry and his son Mark) split into two sub teams. Ted and I calculated the distance and direction from the map, compared it and then sent Harry off into the woods. Then the rest of us would catch up and spread out to look for the orange pole with a red, yellow or green band (for number of points) with the name of a saint and a code we had to write down to get the points.

After two hours of scrambling through the forest we had found 6 markers worth 26 points. We were pretty proud of ourselves. (until we heard that others had 40 something points and higher. ;)  This whole exercise was to get us thinking about leadership. And to learn that to be a leader, you have to know the direction you want to lead and be able to work with people to get there. As Christians, we men lead based on Gospel values.

Harry and I talked a lot that night and he helped me talk out some things I was struggling with. Thanks, Harry! Later that evening and every night we sat around a huge bonfire and guys would get up and share how the weekend and their faith journey was going. Very inspiring stories.

On Saturday, we broken up into three teams: fishing, outdoor chapel building, and outdoor cooking. The fishing guys got up very early and headed out to a beautiful lake. The chapel building guys worked all day to build a chapel in the woods: benches made from logs, a stone and wood altar and lectern and some other decor such as a main cross (with two stone crosses on a hill to represent the two thieves) and a little grotto for Mary. We had mass in this outdoor Cathedral on Sunday morning. Awesome.

I was on the outdoor cooking team. The team dug a 2 foot by 6 foot by about 2 foot deep hole out of incredibly rocky ground. In it we placed volcanic rock that had been heated in the fire and  a burlap wrapped pig. We covered it with the rock and dirt and let it cook in the earth oven for 10 hours. We dug two more holes for logs in which we cut notches for the spits with 12 chickens (stuffed with garlic and rosemary.) We also cut up little potatoesand some veggies: red bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash and fennel (which John, our chef, grilled later.) John also baked some brisket. At night we had a big Ol' feast for a bunch of hungry, tired guys. It was delicioso!

That night we had the hugest bonfire I had ever seen. More guys got up and shared their story. I was inspired to share even though I wasn't planning on it. I shared a bit of my struggle to discover what a real man is (versus a macho Rambo type or the Sex addict or the dopey husband portrayed on TV.) I realized how much, as a man and a priest, that I needed the witness of these faith filled Catholic men. I need them to bring their wives and children to mass. I need them to support me in preaching the Truth to a culture that does not welcome it. I need them to have the courage to stand up against evil and promote Christian values in our community. And sometimes, I need someone like Harry, to tell me when I am being prideful and need to learn humility.

Overall, it was a great retreat, despite the sleeping on plywood and the bug bites (even with spray) and the lack of sleep. I definitely feel fired up and had some good insight into the direction my parish's men's group should go.

I highly recommend checking out the Kings Men and possibly attending one of these retreat weekend (maybe with your son!)

Jesus, a Mama's Boy and the Wait Continues..

August 22 - The Queenship of Mary. Today is an interesting feast day, because it reveals what kind of man Jesus is.....a mama's boy. In the Glorious mysteries of the Rosary we have a mystery called the Coronation, where it celebrates the crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of heaven and earth. This can be related to the image of the woman "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head" in Revelation 12 and the queen arrayed in gold of Psalm 45. The Church has revered Mary as Mother and Queen since the beginning but it was only declared in 1954.

The Coronation from earlychurchfathers.org

This feast, along with the Assuption (August 15) shows Jesus' affection for his mom. We can picture Him wanting to honor her and elevate her to a high position and so Jesus, in union with the Father and the Spirit, crowns her as Queen. As Christ is the King, she is his queen. Her job is simply to point people to her Son.
--
People have been asking me, "Father, I heard you were going into the military, is that true?"  I usually reply that I have applied to be a Navy Chaplain but I haven't been accepted yet. Most people
think this is an awesome thing (with the occasionally, "I wouldn't let my kid go into the military.") So, I usually feel pretty good about it.

I am still is wait mode. I hope I will be invited to Washington to meet the Chaplain Board soon.  I just want to be accepted. Then, of course, I will still have to wait until July, but at least I will know for sure I am going.

Pray for me. I am off to a retreat called "Into the Wild." It is about 100 guys at a state park doing spiriutal and outdoorsy things. Should be great. For info:  http://www.intothewildweekend.com/

Status Update: "More Info Needed" AND My Homily from Sunday

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/highbloodpressure.html

Well, I received a letter from Navy Recruiting. I need to send in some more information.

 

Apparently, the results of a drug test were left out of the report when I went for a physical. So I had them fax it. I also needed to go get an "Ophthalmology evaluation." I guess since I wear glasses, that might be a good idea. I have to go to my doctor twice a day for three consecutive days to get blood pressure readings. My blood pressure must have been high when I went for my physical. I wonder why (he says sarcastically) since I drove up to Edison to a clinic and was informed when I got there that they wouldn't be able to see me! Then I had to wait 45 minutes or so as a nurse came back from break and spoke to my recruiter and worked everything out. Ugh. Maybe that is why my blood pressure was up?!?

 

So no problem. If something is worth it, you have to work for it. Today is the last day of going to the doc for blood pressure readings. They are fairly normal. Certainly not high.

 

The good news is that the Navy must have started to look through my application. (Yeah!)  I will send the additional information to my recruiter and he will send it on to Washington.

 

Yesterday, August 7 was supposed to be another Navy Chaplain review board meeting. I missed another one. Hopefully, I will hear back from the Navy by the end of August and have an appointment for the final review soon. Keep your fingers crossed.

FYI -- here's my homily from this Sunday. I also had mass in Spanish this weekend. I will be doing the Spanish mass for the next few weeks.

Homily for 18th week in Ordinary Time Year B 

We spend much of our time doing things that help support our life here on earth.

• We work to support our family:   so we can have a roof over our heads, so we can feed our children, and so we can pay the bills. Maybe we will have a little money left over to have some fun.
• We may spend time cleaning, improving or fixing our house.
• We spend time with family and friends.
• We raise our children, send them to school, teach them to know good from bad.
• We maintain our car (I had to take my car for inspection this week!) and we take care of our other possessions.
• We manage our finances and try to save for future expenses and maybe prepare for retirement.

These are all good things and we should do them.

In the Gospel today, however, Jesus tells us not to “work for food that will perish” – the possessions, rewards and admiration in this life. He tells us rather to “work for food that endures for eternal life.”

How do we work for this eternal food. What is this eternal food?

Jesus himself is this food. He says, “I am the bread of life.”

So Jesus is commanding us to work to receive Jesus into our minds and hearts!  (Recall the gesture we make right before the Gospel… We make a cross on our forehead, lips and chest signifying “May the Lord be in my thoughts, my words and my desires. This is what he meant.)

How do we do this?

We know the basics. Practice our faith. Pray. Come to Mass. Teach your children, not only right from wrong, but teach them to know, love and serve Jesus. We do this by example.

Pray every day with your family. Perhaps pray the rosary as a family. Or if your children are very little, pray one decade of the rosary or do a shorter version – something they are able to do. But teach them the prayers. Teach them about Jesus. Teach them about Mary, Our Mother.

We need to open ourselves to how Jesus wants to feed us. So we need to remove sinful behavior from our lives. Run away from inappropriate entertainment and get help with fighting addictions. Make sure your marriage is in good standing, maybe an annulment is needed. Use some of your free time to serve the people around you. In serving, we imitate Christ.

Focus more of your day on the fact that God is present. Offer each day to God. Offer everything that you do for His glory! If you are going to work, offer that to God. If you playing with your kids, offer that to God. If you are sitting and talking with your spouse, offer that time to God. Be grateful for what you have and avoid always desiring what other people have.

St. Paul instructs us to “pray without ceasing.” So basically, you make your whole day a prayer - by reminding yourself and others. We do this with building habits of praying, for example praying before meals. We have statues and symbols around our house and in our car. I make time to pray the rosary whenever I am taking a long trip. As soon as I get off the highway, I take the rosary from around the rear view mirror and I start to pray before I forget.

Work for food that will endure for eternal life! Work to let Jesus into your hearts and minds!

What is Our Country Founded On?

You gotta love what people send you in email. I received this video link from a teacher at the high school in our parish. It is a little walk through Washington, D.C. mall area, visiting monuments and noticing the faith of our founders. I like it a lot.

Is our nation a "Christian nation?" Does it have to be composed of Christians ONLY to be called that? Or, was there a conscious attempt by the founding fathers to create a Christian nation - to base our nation on a value system and set of principles derived from Christianity?

I think of the Declaration of Independence as I ponder this question. (See http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html )

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. ...

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ...

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."


I think there is a clear acknowledgement of the power of and our dependence on God. However, to be fair, this doesn't show Christian faith yet. The video also shows that various Presidents spoke of God. One mentions "our religion,"  but that is still not clear that it refers to Christianity - I would have to know more context.

So, I guess the search continues. Maybe it's time to hit the library and see if there is more evidence of the intent of Our great Country's founders.

A question first:  if the foundation of Our Country is NOT Christianity or its values and principles -- then WHAT is? And more importantly, what determines the direction we are going in?

Meeting Archbishop Broglio and Learning More About Being a Priest in the Military

This past Saturday, Bishop O’Connell took me to Washington DC to meet with Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. (See www.milarch.org)

Archbishop Timothy Broglio

What a down-to-earth guy! I was expecting the 20 questions routine and some scrutiny about why I want to join the military. But there was none of that. We had a nice breakfast and chatted with Bishop O’Connell and Fr. Al, Bishop O’Connell’s secretary. Archbishop Broglio said that this meeting “counted” as the interview I was to have with him. Nice. Thank you Bishop O’Connell for taking me to meet Archbishop Broglio!

This was an important meeting. I realized how important the conversation between my diocesan bishop and Archbishop Broglio is. As a chaplain, the priest still belongs to his home diocese, however he is loaned on special assignment to the Military Archdiocese. So their agreement is key.

I asked about how a priest chaplain keeps in touch with his home diocese. I was told that priest chaplains send quarterly reports to Archbishop Broglio. But a priest must be proactive in staying connected to his home diocese. Also, the archbishop recommended getting in touch with the local deanery of the diocese that I would be stationed in.

This seems a bit confusing:  dealing with three different dioceses. I guess I will have to plan to be proactive, making sure to keep connected with Bishop O’Connell and communicating with my brother priests in the Diocese of Trenton and trying to visit for the Chrism Mass, etc. Also, I will send those reports to Archbishop Broglio and figure out how the priests in the military relate to each other. Thirdly, I will plan to reach out to the local priests of whatever diocese I find myself in, whether it be in San Francisco or Djibouti. Deployment is a whole other situation. Priest chaplains are usually the only priest around. So, reaching out to other priests in port seems very important.

Priests need other priests: for confession, for counsel and for support and fraternity. This will be a challenge. I definitely can take for granted the fact that I have many priests around me. Fr. Joe Sheehan is a retired priest in my parish. He comes to daily mass and I often go to him for confession. There are two priests that are assigned to the parish I am currently in. There are at least 10 priests at the parishes in Toms River and the immediate area and many more within 15 minutes. I belong to a priests group which meets monthly and we communicate regularly. Not to mention other priests I know (e.g. I visited a classmate and a priest of my diocese while I was down in DC.)

Overall, I found the conversation exciting. Asking some more questions helped me visualize more of what a navy chaplain’s life looks like. I pray that the Lord keeps opening this door that I may serve him as a chaplain is the United States Navy.

[written July 13, 2012]

Today I am starting a 33-day spiritual journey called, “Preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary.” It is a process created by St. Louis de Monfort, a French priest in the late 17^th-early 18^th centuries. I invited the core team of the parish’s “Veritas” men’s group to join me. Basically, it is a set of prayers to do in steps leading to an Act of Total Consecration through Mary to Christ usually done on a feast day of Mary.

Statue of St. Louis de Montfort from Montfortpublications.com

I have done this preparation a number of times as it is a way for me to "kick it up a notch" in my daily prayers for a time. For example, Day One's theme is “Do not conform yourself to the spirit of the world” from Romans 12, “…but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

St. Louis sees the Christian life as a participation is the life of Christ. He basically was recognizing the vocation of each Christian as a call to holiness, which is what the Second Vatican Council talked about (but he did it a couple hundred years before.)

To live this life, we are to follow very close to Jesus Christ; we are to imitate Christ by our thoughts, words and actions.

St. Louis sees the key to this in the Incarnation, when the Son became man. Since the Son chose to come to the world through Mary, then the most perfect way to get close to him is through Mary also.

I found the whole relationship to Mary to be quite troubling, especially seeing the “over the top” way (in my estimation) that some people revere Mary. Some of the first things I read about Mary used such a high language about her and her importance that I found myself thinking and sometimes saying, “You are putting Mary in front of Jesus!!!”

I struggled with this quite a bit. It wasn’t until I read St. Louis de Montfort’s book, True Devotion to Mary that I started to understand our proper relationship to the Holy Mother of God. St. Louis clearly states from the beginning of the book – and this is SO important – that Mary is NOT GOD. God is Father, Son and Spirit. Mary is simply a creature. One needs to understand this first before being able to start to grasp Mary’s role.

Second, Mary is important to God only because GOD CHOSE HER. The Trinity decided to use Mary as an instrument in His plan of salvation. The Son was to be born of a woman, and that chosen woman is Mary.

Therefore, any honor we give to Mary gives honor to God, because God created her and chose her for HIS plan.

Also, so important is:  what is Mary’s role? Mary’s whole job is to point us to her Son!! That’s it. Mary’s few words in Scripture have to do with opening up to God’s will as “the handmaid of the Lord” (Luke 1:37), or she is about glorifying God (Luke 1:46-55), once she is upset that Jesus was lost (Luke 2:48-50) and finally at the Wedding in Cana in John chapter 2, Mary nudges her Son into action by telling the waiters, “do whatever he tells you.” Mary never takes the focus on to herself. She focuses on God, God’s will and follows her Son faithful to the very end (the Cross) and became the Mother of the early Church (cf. John, 19:26-27; and Acts  1:14).

Statue of the Pieta from gardenofpraise.com



So this Total Consecration is about surrendering oneself more and more to the will of God and to imitation of Christ’s virtues. St. Louis teaches that we need Mary’s motherly care and guidance to do this well.

Think about the tender connection Jesus and Mary must have had. I think about the scene from the move, the Passion of the Christ, where Jesus, carrying the Cross, falls, and Mary runs up to him to pick him up, as we see flash backs to her picking him up and cradling him when he feel and skinned his knees as a child (it gives me tears and chills thinking of this reality.)

There are 4 stages to the Preparation: 12 days of Renouncing the World’s values which are self-centered, then after emptying oneself, being filled up with Christ over three one week periods: growing in knowledge of one’s self (how broken we are), knowledge of Mary (her motherly care for us and example), and knowledge of Jesus Christ (our Lord and Savior who we are to follow closely.)

For me, this 33 day journey has been very powerful. I usually do this leading up to December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. But I felt the need to ramp up my prayer this summer, especially as I deal with the death of my dad back in May.

May Christ’s mom lead us to a very intimate relationship with her beloved Son!

When I am weak, then I am strong.

Let me share the homily I gave this Sunday for the 14^th Sunday in Ordinary time...

My Dad and I used to wrestle ever since I was little. Unlike David and Goliath, I was no match. However, when I was a sophomore in high school, I was about as tall as Dad since I had just gone through a growth spurt, but I was as thin as a rail, about 105 pounds. I had been wrestling with friends and had developed a mean headlock. I thought I may actually have a chance.

As we were fighting, I think my dad realized that I was stronger than before. He played along for a little bit. But eventually he leaned all his weight on me – an extra 100 pounds – and I wound up on the floor barely able to breathe. He had won again.

I had underestimated my dad. And I had overestimated my strength. And I had lost….again.

I find this similar to what happened in the Gospel today. Jesus returns to his hometown. And the people underestimate him. And they overestimate their troubles. These are people that had known him probably his whole life. They should have known him best. And they wonder how this familiar Jesus, the carpenter’s son and son of Mary, could do all the miraculous things they had heard about him. At this point in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus was already well known for his preaching and for healing many people. But the people of his town, with a few exceptions underestimated Jesus. They would not have faith in him. And therefore, they wouldn’t allow Him to heal them.

Doesn’t this sound like our faith lives sometimes? We see how BIG our troubles are. Our sickness…our sins…our misery…and we wonder how can this carpenter’s son and son of Mary do anything to help ME? When we fail to have faith in Jesus and don’t place our trust in him…we don’t allow him to heal us.

A better attitude to bring to Jesus is what St. Paul talks about in the second reading today. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” See, St. Paul was complaining about a “thorn in the flesh” he was given. Something that distracted and pained him badly. “Why wouldn’t the Lord take this from me,” he wondered. From this, St. Paul learned that we must acknowledge our weakness to allow the Lord to fill us with HIS strength. We must acknowledge our brokenness to be repaired by Christ.

St. Paul says, “for when I am weak, then I am strong.” Because it is never OUR strength that will accomplish the great things God has in store for us. It is only by accepting our weakness, and allowing Christ to fill us with His power, that we are made truly strong.

If we approach Christ in humility and place our trust in him, we can cry out,  “I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength!” (Phil 4:13)

Still Waiting...

My Recruiter said that it is unlikely that I will go to the Chaplain board next Wednesday. Ugh. Patience is a virtue.

Last week I went with my nephew Brandon to visit the Battleship New Jersey (BB-62) at the waterfront in Camden. Very Cool. We took the Firepower tour. We got to climb all over the ship:  along the bow where the anchor chains lay, some members of the tour climbed into a bunk, we toured the bridge, we even got to crawl into the turret of the huge 16 inch guns. Everywhere we went the docent told us to “watch your head” or “watch your shins.”  It is very cool to be in something so metal and strong and to picture the sailors going about their daily jobs especially in war times.

Big 16 inch guns of the Battleship New Jersey

It made me think of the few days I spend aboard the USS Vicksburg (CG-69) guided missile cruiser out of Mayport, Florida when I was an engineer. I had supported the install of an upgrade to the Aegis Weapon System. We steamed from Mayport to off the coast of Virginia for some exercises. Two days travel, five days on station and two days back. It was really hard work; I worked 16 hour days and fought to keep my part of the program running as we did some exercises as part of the John F. Kennedy (CV-67) battle group. I remembered sitting at an operator’s computer, typing away on the keyboard as the ship fired the 5 inch gun and the ship rattled. I also remember being on the side of the ship with earplugs in waiting for the Phalanx Close In Weapon System (CIWS) to shoot a target. I was called back inside just as the Gatling gun was fired making a quick roar as it fired 3000 rounds per minute!!

As I walked through the Battleship New Jersey’s hallways and stepped through its bulkhead doors, I smiled as I thought of the possibility of being aboard a ship again….this time as a chaplain. I thought that the sailors would be my family – my brothers and sisters – that I was assigned to care for and work with side-by-side. As we toured the officers quarters, I pictured having a room here as an officer and living aboard for however long we were underway.

List of Chaplains for BB-62

But for now, I wait. Listening for God to lead me step by step…

My Story (so far)

I am one of four kids. I have three sisters: Jill, Christine and Kelly. I studied Mechanical Engineering and worked as an Engineer for 8 years.  I was working as a Systems Engineer on the Navy’s Aegis Weapon System at Lockheed Martin in Moorestown, NJ and studying for a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. I had my plan: successful career, find a good wife, raise a family…pretty much what most guys were eventually looking for.

Then, I started volunteering as a Youth Minister at Sacred Heart Church in Mount Holly. One day in March 2001, a permanent deacon, Jim Casa, came up to me and said, “Pat, I think you should consider studying for the priesthood.” I was stunned and I asked him why he would say that. Jim said, “The Holy Spirit told me to tell you that.” After that I was dazed. I walked around my apartment complex crying and asking God if that was really what he wanted of me, because I already had my own plan.

When I calmed down a few months later, I began to consider the idea of becoming a priest. I joined a discernment group with the Diocese of Trenton and met with priests, heard their stories and met other men who were considering a vocation. By the end of the year, I felt ready for another step (but NOT leaving work and NOT entering seminary) so the Vocations Director, Fr. Mick Lambeth, invited me to live with him at Sacred Heart Church in Trenton and meanwhile I could continue working.  [Check it out the diocese’s vocations site:  www.godiscallingyou.com.]

I finished my master’s degree in May 2002 (I had taken a pause from dating until that was complete) and then moved into the parish. I lived there for a year with Fr. Mick and some men,  helping at masses, directing the RCIA program for people becoming Catholic and attending the monthly discernment group sessions while still working at Lockheed. Eventually, I was ready to leave work and apply to seminary. I remember a Thursday night and, after struggling to decide to fill out the application for the diocese for over a year, weighing the pros and cons and possible consequences,  I asked  myself a simple question: “do I trust Jesus?” When I answered, “Yes” I was able to fill out the application for the diocese and contemplate leaving work.

I entered Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in August 2003. My family helped me move into my 9’ x 12’ room with a shared bathroom and then they left.  I was left alone in the hallway wondering, “Ok, God, I left my apartment, dating and my career….it’s up to you now.”

I spent five years at Seton Hall and it was a great experience. Not easy, but it definitely changed me. I learned about myself, my God and my faith. I remember being interviewed by the Vice Rector (the #2 guy at the seminary) when I was about to start seminary and he asked, “So you think you want to be a priest?” I answered, “I don’t know, I think God is calling me to seminary, but I am not sure where this will go…” I took each year one at a time, trying to follow God’s will. And on May 17, 2008 I was ordained a priest. People said I was beaming and could not stop smiling during the whole ordination mass.

Fast forward 3 ½ years and I was sitting in a chair watching TV in early October 2011. I had received another advertisement for Air Force Chaplains and had put it on my dresser for later consideration. A graduate of the high school in my parish (where I am chaplain) had come back to the school to recruit for the Marines. I met him, another Toms River graduate Marine and their recruiter. We had talked about their experience so far and I had mentioned to the recruiter that I had thought about being a chaplain when I was in seminary. He had invited me to a Marines “Come and See” weekend for teachers. That night, sitting in the chair in front of the TV, I thought, “Wow, I’ve been ordained 3 ½ years. I can actually consider this again.” So, I went upstairs to my dresser and picked up the Air Force Chaplain brochure and started to read through it. [Air Force Chaplain site: www.airforce.com/chaplain/ ]

Back when I was in Seminary, I had talked to the Air Force recruiter who came to the seminary each year. The first year, I introduced myself and told him I had worked with the Navy’s Aegis program. He had asked if I was interested in chaplaincy, but I wasn’t really. I thought that I am more connected to the Navy anyway. The next year he came, I think I only said hello. The third year he came, however, I was sitting at the lunch table chatting with him and I asked him, “who are the people you minister to?” He replied that they were mostly 19 to 25 years olds. I thought to myself, “Holy crap, this is young adult ministry! These are the young adults that I DON’T see at Mass!” At that moment, I was filled with unexpected excitement. We chatted some more and he invited me to a 2 week “Come and See” type of program  for seminarians over the summer. I said I would think about it. I did not know where this excitement was coming from; it had caught me off guard.

I thought about it on and off for a little while and finally called up the recruiter and said I would like to go to the Come and See Program. The recruiter replied, “Pat, you are too late. It is January and you should have applied back in October/November.” God had closed a door that I thought he was guiding me too. At that point, I knew I would have to put the thought of chaplaincy on hold, because the following summer I would be a deacon and would not have the freedom to go to a two week chaplaincy program.

So now I was ordained 3 ½ years and I thought I could actually consider looking into the military chaplaincy.  I prayed about it. Then I went on the internet and read about chaplains. In November 2011, I emailed the Air Force and started getting some information about the “Come and Be with Us” tour. I was told that the next tour would be 30 Jan - 3 Feb 2012 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. I looked into the date and it was during Catholic Schools Week. Ugh. I am a high school chaplain, how could I take off during Catholic Schools Week? So I told the recruiter that I could not make that one. He told me there would be two more tours in Colorado Springs, CO, but didn’t have the dates yet. I thought that was odd and it seemed a long time to wait. I emailed some questions to start learning the details.

- What training is involved?

- What is the start up timeframe?
- What is the committment for the reserves?
- What is the typical active service length?
- Is active service like a diocese, where the bishop assigns you to places
based on need?
- Is there a regular length of time at a base?
- How do deployments work (notification, length of deployment, where)?
- What other questions do I need to be asking :) ?

In the mean time I was still thinking Navy. I had worked with the Navy. My dad was in the Navy in Vietnam. I learned when I visited the cemetery that his dad was in the Navy. But I kept pursuing the Air Force. I called and talked to a recruiter. I learned a bunch a things including that you could be assigned to any base in the world as your home base. I had thought that you stayed in the United States unless you were deployed. As I talked to him, I realized, I was excited about the chaplaincy and had always been interested in military things, however, I was not really excited about the Air Force specifically or the thought of being basically a parish priest on a base somewhere.

On November 11, I emailed my new bishop, Most Rev. David M. O’Connell, to ask if he was open to the possibility of releasing one of his diocese’s priests into the military. To be a military chaplain, one’s  bishop must endorse the priest and release him to the military. I was very happy to hear him say that he thought he should be generous and would be willing to send one priest to the military and I would be that priest. I told him I would be praying about it and asked for his guidance.

I also had visited a priest that I was in seminary with, Fr. Oscar Fonseca. Fr. Oscar had been in the Air Force before seminary and loved it. He was still in the reserves. And I found out he was just beginning to prepare to go into active duty.  We talked a while about chaplaincy and I felt very encouraged.

On November 22, I decided to go check out the Navy to compare.  Without a contact, I went to the Navy’s website and read a bit and found out the Navy Chaplains had a facebook page. So I went there and posted “Hello. Where can I find information about becoming a navy chaplain as a Catholic Priest? I am looking at navy.com/chaplain but this is generic. Thank you!” A chaplain recommended I email a chaplain recruiter, Fr. Joe Coffey. I emailed Fr. Joe and started a conversation asking him all kinds of questions over the next couple months. He gave me the names of other priest chaplains and I contacted them and heard their stories and asked a bunch more questions. (Maybe I will tell you about those conversations other time.) [Navy Chaplain Site: navy.com/chaplain Navy Facebook page: www.facebook.com/navychaplain ]

I was all very anxious about this path. I met with my spiritual director, Sr. Marcy Springer, and she helped me decide to take time to pray about this. So I decided to pray and discern and set up Ash Wednesday (February 22) to make a decision. I prayed using style discernment of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

My basic prayer was that all I wanted to do with my life was to be directed to the praise and glory of God. So if the Chaplaincy would accomplish that purpose, I would pursue it. If not entering the Chaplaincy would do it, then so be it. In reality, when you focus on God, really you can serve him in many ways, so then it is a matter of listening to your heart for which good path to choose.  I felt drawn to the chaplaincy and was excited and yet peaceful. I met with my bishop on Feb 16 and he gave me permission to pursue the chaplaincy.

Fr. Joe gave me an east coast Chaplain recruiter’s name (since Fr. Joe handles the west coast), Fr. Mike Mueller. Fr. Mike started the paperwork and found a local recruiter out of Philly, Lt. Mike Maher, to help me put together the application. On March 29, I met with Lt Mike to start the application. We have been working on it for 3 months.

So here I am. Application package almost complete. Gonna wait to be invited to the Chaplain review board in July. Pray for me!

Check out this video from the Navy Chaplain FB: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0tbdcPzBa4

Listening often includes a period of waiting

On Thursday, June 21, I received word that I will not be invited to the Chaplain review board (actually the Chaplain Accession Retention Evaluation (CARE) Board) next Thursday in Washington, D.C. I would have to wait until next month at least. My recruiter, Lt. Mike Maher, and I have been working together since February to get the application information together (transcripts, resume, references, recommendations, etc.) He has been very helpful.

This is not so bad. I just wanted to get this done and hear whether I am accepted or not. This is always the thing with trying to follow God’s will – you have to be patient with the unknowing. Thus far in my journey with God, when I think I start to hear Him calling me to something,  I begin to pursue it and then I encounter periods of waiting… waiting to be accepted into seminary, for example. I take a step in a certain direction not knowing if this direction will pan out or if it will end at a closed door.

I know that when one door closes, it is because God has something better in store, but come on, sometimes I just want to be able to see what will happen in the future!

Right now, I am in this period of applying to the Navy and planning to wait another year until my bishop releases me to the Navy  (or more correctly to the Archdiocese of Military Services (AMS) www.milarch.org )  in July 2013.  Then I will go off for five weeks of Officer Development School (ODS) in Newport, RI to learn how to be a Naval Officer and then it’s off to 7 weeks of Navy Chaplain School at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. That’s the plan in my head right now. Of course, I once thought I’d be married by age 25. ;)

I assume that I will be accepted by the Navy. I think I am a good candidate. My recruiter actually said that he thought I am an excellent candidate. However, I never like to get my expectations up too high in case something goes wrong.

At this point, you may be asking, “Why do you want to be a Navy Chaplain? You are already a priest!”

Well, maybe I should tell you my story so far…

Purpose of this blog

The purpose of this blog, "A Road to the Sea," is to chronicle my journey to become a Navy Chaplain, the year I will wait to be released to the Navy, and then to record training and eventually the activities of me as a Navy Chaplain.

I plan to blog once a week or so, to keep you posted on how I am doing in this process. Wish me luck!

Pat