A Weekend at the Seminary

Its hard to believe that two weeks have come and gone already. Time sure flies when you're having fun! A couple of weeks ago my brothers, Justin, Joe and I went to the Remnant Basketball camp at the Cousin's Center in St. Francis, WI. The Cousin's Center is a former minor seminary that was once filled with high school students working their way up to St. Francis De Sales Major Seminary next door. A lot of time has passed since then and the Cousin's Center now stands nearly vacant with the exception of a few Archdiocesan offices; so it was great that our camp was held there, bringing some life to the building.

The Remnant Basketball camp was created and led by several seminarians with whom I have become good friends. The weekend involved: staying overnight Friday and Saturday, going on morning runs, lots of opportunities for pick-up games of basketball, working on skills, listening to spirituality talks by guest speakers and also included time for Adoration and Benediction. For me, the highlights of the weekend had to be the talks on spirituality by seminarians Ryan Pruess, Kurt Krause and Archbishop Listecki. They have so much wisdom and knowledge that I really took to heart.

In one of the talks, Kurt Krause talked about how,"people always tell us that we are the future of the church. We are called to be active members in the church. What we fail to realize, though, is that we are no longer the church of tomorrow, but the church of NOW! We are called to be active in the church NOW! The church doesn't needs wishy-washy Catholics, but instead strong active members, fighting for the faith." This talk really struck me, and invited me to continue being an active participant in my church and in the various groups that stand up for the faith.

Archbishop Listecki's talk also inspired me both as a ballplayer and as one who is discerning a vocation to be a priest when he said, "The same skills that you use in basketball, the team building and motivating your teammates; use those skills in your day to day life." In the different aspects of life, we need these skills in all that we do, whether it be as a student in the classroom, an accountant in a business office or a priest in a parish. This talk with the Archbishop was a great way for me to look at life and how we all should live it.

After camp my family and I attended the St. Francis De Sales Seminary Open House. It was beautiful to see so many youth in attendance! The seminary itself was bursting with excitement. That weekend was truly an awesome experience. I loved every minute of it. I would like to offer an word of thanks to everyone at St. Francis De Sales Seminary for inspiring me and other teens, inviting us to deepen our relationship in God. I would like to thank seminarians Ryan Pruess, Kurt Krause and the Vocations Office at St. Francis for creating a wonderful camp that not only helped my basketball skills, but also taught me that these same skills can be used to help others and build the kingdom of heaven. Thank you for all the wonderful things that you do!