Cincinnati Seminarian Blog

I heard the call to enter formation for the priesthood while I was a law student at Notre Dame. The three years I spent at Our Lady’s university–the last two while living on campus as an “assistant rector” in a mens residence hall–were a joyous, blessed, wonderful period in my life.

Many of the highlights of my time at ND were rooted in the Catholicism that could be such a central, life-giving aspect of the university. Serving at the majestic Basilica all three years; the friendship and mentorship of the Holy Cross fathers–whose order I considered entering before responding to the call to my home diocese; the deep and incredible faith of my fellow students, who inspired and encouraged me; and so much more.

Knowing how incredible Notre Dame is capable of being makes the really dumb things that all-too-frequently occur all the more distressing. When I was a student, it was the incessant, yearly production of the “V-Monologues” on campus–which organizers finally gave up on this year, without the school actually taking a stand. The award and commencement addressed offered to President Obama this year are, unfortunately, consistent with a lot of the larger decisions and worldviews that are still operative on campus… but I am hopeful that good can come out of the principled responses of Bishop D’Arcy, Mary Ann Glendon, and many others, including Archbishop Pilarczyk.

But this is not why I’m posting today.

While I was still a student, a group of dedicated students helped re-introduce to campus a glorious event, the Eucharistic Procession. This had been a staple of campus devotion in years prior… but the 2005 Procession was the first since the reforms of Vatican II.

Apparently, the Procession has been growing and growing ever since. A personal blog posted a thorough account, full of great pictures, of this year’s Eucharistic Procession, which occurred last Saturday. I recognize many familiar faces, including good friends in formation for Holy Cross.

I love the pictures on the original blog’s post, which give a nice look at who shows up at events like this. Everyone. Young, old, lay, religious, the curious and the devoted. The first year of the procession, we literally interrupted frisbee games on the quad with our procession from altar to altar. It was a teaching moment and an opportunity for evangelization, in addition to being a celebration of Jesus Christ as the heart and soul of our university community.

So, when people bash Notre Dame as a whole and wonder if anything good can come from under the “tarnished” golden dome… I continue to hope and pray that the university remain faithful to all that she is called to be. It is a good place; not perfect, but still able to be (as Fr. Sorin envisioned) “one of the most powerful means of doing good in this country.”

And, of course, Eucharistic Processions are incredible.

Update: An individual had sent me the link to the blog coverage of this year’s Eucharistic Procession, but I think we owe a hat-tip to The Curt Jester.