Letters from Home

I have been busy in my seminarian routine. The order of the day is full. There is Morning Prayer, Mass, personal prayer, chores, time to relax with my brother seminarians, and of course homework. In all of this routine and busy-ness, a tiny bit of homesickness crept in.

I have been known to call myself "homeless" from time to time, but that's never really true. North Dakota as a whole is my home. I know it well, and though I have difficulty ascribing any one village, town, city, or parish as my life-long "home," I know I have friends and family scattered across that beautiful state.

I am a thousand miles from my home, by way of the Interstates. And being that far away from what I know, it is easy to get wrapped up in my internal affairs; to focus on my vocational discernment, the difficulty of my classes, tomorrow's schedule, and so on. Doing that can be troublesome. It is all to easy to forget why I'm here.

I haven't been a member of Christ the King parish long. But the parishioners have welcomed me with open arms, making me feel at home and appreciated with their letters of support. Three of these encouraging letters arrived just today.

The parish has adopted me in their prayers and concerns. Even though I don't yet know them personally, I feel like I do have a "home" in Mandan. Those parishioners and the parishioners in all of the Bismarck diocese are the reason I am here. They are the ones supporting me and offering me this opportunity to explore my vocation.

For all this, I am extremely grateful to them and to God.