Catholic Ragemonkey

More Notes from the Retreat

So, the afternoon has slowed to a crawl with a list of things to do which are on hold because of the interference of others. Also, I am conducting some marriage preparation in my office (the couple is doing a relationship inventory) so I am pinned down until they finish. Lastly, I am sweating bullets and swearing at myself under my breath because I forgot to jot down some ideas for tomorrow's broadcast on Relevant Radio. Yeah, I am a twit; we'll blame it on the Nyquil.

Another fun feature of the most recent retreat was the accidental collision with my own personal history. While on retreat several men I went to seminary with, either were passing through or attending the retreat as well. First, we have to mention Fr. David Davis of the Diocese of Lincoln, NE. He was three years ahead of me in seminary at St. Charles. For those who have seen it, he is the one responsible for the picture of Be'lanna Torres, but that's another story. Second, Fr. Chuck Colozzi of the Diocese of Camden, NJ was also lurking around the retreat house. He wasn't taking part in our retreat but he was taking part in some sort of spiritual exercises. Fr. C was a classmate of mine at St. Charles and was a good friend when I was there. He would consistently give me a hard time about my poor housekeeping skills. The pantomimed hand grenade toss was a subtle reminder that it was time to straighten things up. I hate to admit it but I just don't notice those things. Third, Br. Maximilian Stelmochowski, C.F.R. knows the real scoop on this alpha ragemonkey as he was in the seminary with me in the early days -- Conception Seminary College. Br. Max (and might I add that is still fun and funny to say as I know him by a totally different name) is in charge of keeping the books straight for the order. As he said, he is the CFO for the C.F.R.s.

Moments like this when you run afowl of folks you used to know and socialize with remind you to be both patient and humble with just a splash of contrition thrown in for good measure. Seeing these guys reminded me of the good times we shared and of the stupid, unthinking things we do when we are growing up, both naturally and supernaturally. Unpleasant? Yes. Necessary? Yes. I remember another choice encounter I had with a former classmate who is now a priest for the Diocese of Wichita, KS. I wanted to apologize for all the times I acted like a conceited jackass while we were in seminary, but would be quite a little list. He came back with the classic line, "We were all conceited then."

I know, or at least suspect, that many folks from my days in Philly read or browse this site from time to time. For what it's worth, and that's probably not much, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry for all the dumb things I did when I was there. I see Fr. Hamilton's class and envy the bond they share. Granted being halfway around the world improves that bonding process, it doesn't excuse me from all the things that I failed to do to build those relationships in my own class.

Okay, my engaged couple can be put off no longer. Will post more later.