Seminarian gathering and CANDISC

This morning I had the privilege of serving as acolyte for the ten o'clock Mass with Fr. Phillips. I asked to do so because this is my last Sunday at Christ the King before I return to Saint Louis for my fall semester of seminary studies. As you may recall, I have been living in the Christ the King rectory this summer while I worked at a summer job.

After I quit my summer job about two weeks ago, I drove to Williston for the annual summer seminarian gathering. Fr. Tom Richter, the Bismarck diocesan vocation director, schedules this gathering each year so that us Bismarck seminarians can enjoy a few days of prayer and relaxation together before school resumes. The three-day event is also so that young men considering seminary can spend some time getting to know us seminarians. Two years ago I was the only non-seminarian at the gathering. This year, I think there were four or five. It is inspiring to see these young men work to discern God's will and to follow it.

We enjoyed an hour of adoration each day, Mass, delicious food, and other activities such as golf. Golf, I have decided, is a ridiculous sport. It's expensive, frustrating, and hitting the ball is so incredibly difficult to do. Maybe I just need practice. I'm very thankful that being a skilled golfer is not a prerequisite of ordination.

After the seminarian gathering I drove to Garrison for the annual CANDISC bicycle tour. The tour is a week long bicycle ride that makes a 400-mile loop around the highways of western North Dakota. I've done this tour about six or seven times over the last ten years. The people who come back year after year for the ride have become friends, in a sense, even though I don't see them for a year at a time. There were about 430 riders this year from 30 different states and several countries. The route took us from Garrison, on the shore of Lake Sakakawea, to the International Peace Gardens on the Canadian border, and back. Each morning I awoke at sunrise and rode to the next town, pitched my tent, and relaxed.

Pictured above is myself (on the left, standing in North Dakota), my friend Justin (standing atop the Canadian border), and his wife Nichole (standing in Canada). The picture was taken a few days ago at the International Peace Gardens.

I love this time of year in North Dakota. Being out on the road for hours each day allowed me to appreciate the beauty of a wheat field ready for harvest, to marvel at the sunflowers covering fields as far as the eye can see, and to reflect on the history of the land I was pedaling through. And I can't fail to mention the hospitality these small towns show to the cyclists. The people here are so kind and generous. The bike tour reminded me of why I like to ride bicycle and why I love to call North Dakota my home.

Now I will finish out my summer and resume my studies. Thank you for your prayers. And thank you to the parishioners of Christ the King for providing me with a place to live (the Christ the King rectory) for the summer.