This has conclusively been the case within my own relationships with the parishioners of St. Thomas Aquinas. Each time I return home whether it is only for a single Mass, or whether I am there for a more extended period, I am motivated and inspired to become a better seminarian, a better future priest, and a better Christian. The support and affirmation I receive through the parish and the relationships I have with the faithful reinvigorate my desire to serve Christ, and his beloved bride the Church by becoming a priest. I count such experiences as great gifts from the Lord, and I am thankful for so many of the faithful, who have participated in my formation by simply inviting me to share in their journey of life whether in big or small ways. I hope that have been a fitting reflection of Christ\u2019s love in my interactions with you.<\/p>\n
All said then; I recognize that the Christmas break was a very busy time. This time stands in marked contrast to the past week of retreat, which was silent, and without much outward activity. At the beginning of every silent retreat until this one, I was anxious about the silence. This anxiety was based on my more extroverted nature. Silence, for silence\u2019s sake is ludicrous; as human beings we are called to be in communion with other, so much so that it is written into the very shape of our bodies in the natural complementarity of the sexes. It is natural to express this desire for communion with others through speech and other forms of communication. This communal nature is essential to our understanding of the faith. Why then do the Church and so many of her renowned saints recommend silence as an important part of the spiritual life?<\/p>\n
The answer, I am slowly beginning to discover is that in silence, communion is able to be nurtured and grown. Silence is a tool for the Christian that makes possible to reflect more deeply on how well he is following the Master\u2019s call to abide with Him, and to imitate Him by taking up the Cross. Far from destroying communion with others silence makes it more fruitful because, in it, we can grow in fellowship with the Lord.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Ethiopian-Eunuch-VALENCIENNES-149x190.jpg?resize=149%2C190\")
The Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:26-40)<\/p><\/div>\n
Our communion with others (Christian or not), should be radically informed by our communion with the Father as members of the Mystical Body of Christ. This communion, into which we were born by the waters of Baptism, stands as an invitation to participate in the inner life of the Trinity; through it, the Christian can abide in Christ. Moreover, it is the source of every genuine coming together of people; it is the hidden seed which, nurtured by prayer and the Sacraments, germinates and makes possible the mode of our relationships with others. Abiding in Christ changes our perspective on the world. It especially changes the way the we view others. For the Christian, another person is not merely a means to an end (whether that end is good or bad), or to be judged merely on their outward appearance, but a person made in the image and likeness of God. The Christian then, if he is indeed living out of a place of deep communion with the Lord, ought to reflect the charity, mercy, forgiveness, long-suffering, and joy of Christ of whose body he is a member. Because of this, he is able to see the deep communion he has with his brothers and sisters. This communion overcomes all the differences he may have with his fellow man. Silence allows us the time to be reminded of the primary communion we ought to have with Our Lord so that we are more able to see the communion that we have with our fellow man. United by the pursuit of the communion for which we all ultimately long most \u2013 a deep and abiding communion with the Lord, a resting in the heart of the Father \u2013 through silence we grow together in holiness. The silence aids the times of speaking, and the times of speaking aid the times of silence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"John](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/John-154-fullscreen-550x413.png?resize=550%2C413\")
John 15:4<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Christmas break was a joyous time to be with family and friends back home. Extroverted as I am, I tend to gravitate towards filling my \u201cbreak\u201d times with many activities and reunions with friends, in addition to helping out back at my home parish of St. Thomas Aquinas. I do so because I wish… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":194,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-201925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-blog","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":308041,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/10\/the-song-and-the-priesthood\/","url_meta":{"origin":201925,"position":0},"title":"The Song and the Priesthood","author":"William Rooney","date":"October 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently, thanks to my Old Testament Writings class, I have spent a lot of time reading, meditating on, and writing about the Song of Songs. It is a marvelous book which I highly encourage you to read. In some ways, the Song is a remarkable book to find in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ACNM"","block_context":{"text":"ACNM","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adam and Eve and the desire for something other than God","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Adam-and-Eve-reaching-for-apple.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":124952,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/parish-spotlight-st-peter-catholic-student-center-at-baylor-university\/","url_meta":{"origin":201925,"position":1},"title":"Parish Spotlight: St. Peter Catholic Student Center at Baylor University","author":"Elizabeth","date":"October 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This is another installment in the series called Parish Spotlight, which is dedicated to featuring the different parishes in the Austin Diocese. Today we will be featuring St. Peter Catholic Student Center at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. St. Peter's Catholic Student Center is where I found myself during the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Parish Spotlight"","block_context":{"text":"Parish Spotlight","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/series\/parish-spotlight\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"St.Peter-Waco","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/St.Peter-Waco-550x550.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/St.Peter-Waco-550x550.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/St.Peter-Waco-550x550.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1148124,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/judas-and-peter-mary-and-the-children-in-the-church-abuse-crisis\/","url_meta":{"origin":201925,"position":2},"title":"Judas and Peter, Mary and the Children in the Church Abuse Crisis","author":"Norine Shaivitz","date":"September 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Amid the violent chaos of the impending crucifixion of Jesus were at least a few children. The eighth station shows they were in the crowd with their mothers, maybe the same ones who once asked the indignant Apostles whether Jesus could bless them. Jesus, who once said the meek were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25307,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/10\/catholic-services-appeal\/","url_meta":{"origin":201925,"position":3},"title":"Catholic Services Appeal","author":"Scott Whitaker","date":"October 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"During November, parishes across the Diocese of Austin participate in the Catholic Services Appeal (CSA).\u00a0 Now in its 35th year, the CSA has provided over $66 million of support to the ministries of the diocese.\u00a0 This year\u2019s Appeal will help support many diocesan \u00a0ministries, including a quality education for 46\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/CSAlogofinal-copy-147x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":33704,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/01\/texas-catholic-pro-life-day-saturday-january-26th\/","url_meta":{"origin":201925,"position":4},"title":"Texas Catholic Pro-Life Day – Saturday January 26th","author":"Jason Elizondo","date":"January 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"With the 40th anniversary of Roe vs Wade this week and all the things happening this weekend to celebrate life. I thought I would use my time this week to highlight a few of them. Saturday\u00a0January\u00a026th is Texas Catholic Pro-life Day. A day full of events to celebrate life capped\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"TXLIFE","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/TXLIFE-300x217.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":48606,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2014\/06\/newpriest2014\/","url_meta":{"origin":201925,"position":5},"title":"New Priest for the Diocese of Austin in 2014","author":"Rita Suva","date":"June 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Just last Saturday, June 7, 2014, a wonderful young man, Craig DeYoung, was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Austin.\u00a0His love for God, his servants heart and his joy for life is evident from the moment you meet Craig and is splashed across his face when you see\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2014 Priestly Ordination Photo Credit: Gwen Bartlett","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/priest-text-1-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/194"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201925\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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