.::Firmum Est::. - - My Heart is Steadfast

These pictures are old, but I thought some of the people back at the University of Maryland would enjoy seeing them on this site. Father Bill Byrne, Chaplin of the Catholic Student Center at U of M - and a group of 20 or so, arrived in January and visited the North American College for dinner. 

I’m leaving this morning for my summer assignment in Longastrino. My original thought was “Where is that?” - as it may be yours as well. I guess we will both find out one way or another. I will be there for five weeks - working at Parrochia San Giuliano’s summer camp called “GREST.” When I figure out what it stands for, I will share. In Christ.

Despite scandals in the Catholic Church, intern looks forward to becoming a priest
BY JANUARY HOLMES,The Island Packet - Published Saturday, July 30th, 2005

Michael Cassabon says his happiness is driven by God’s love. And in return for that love, all the 25-year-old wants to do is serve 24 hours a day. So he’s joining the Roman Catholic priesthood. “My goal is to do God’s will — whatever it is,” says Cassabon, who is spending his summer break from seminary in Rome to intern at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church in Bluffton. “It’s my overall goal, my daily goal and also my goal for the next 10 seconds.” The Greenville native feels his calling to the ministry so strongly that he isn’t deterred by past scandals or ongoing accusations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. “They are inexcusable,” he says of the abuse. “But this is still God’s church.” In fact, Cassabon says he and his 150 American seminary classmates in Rome are more determined because of the scandals, feeling that it is their calling to rebuild the honor of their profession. “It has strengthened our resolve to restore trust and be the ministers we are called to be … real witnesses of selfless, giving love,” Cassabon says. “To be real shepherds, not wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing.” Cassabon has been pursuing the priesthood since 1997 when he first felt called to the ministry as a senior in high school. At the time, his relationship with God had just started to flourish, he says. Though he was raised in the Catholic faith, at 17 years old he discovered that God was more than a figurehead, but someone he could relate to on a day-to-day basis. “God was a person,” he says. “I experienced him as that person in love with me. From that moment, I understood who God really is. I finally had the courage and desire to love him in a tremendous way.” Later that same year, the death of Mother Teresa inspired him to take the step into the ministry. For him, the nun personified how life as a Christian should be lived. “She gave up plans of what the world would call the pursuit of happiness,” Cassabon says of her dedication to serve the church and others. “She did the best she could to love God.” Cassabon has attended seminaries and colleges in Ohio, Charleston and Rome. He has three more years of study at the Pontifical North American College in Rome before he can be ordained. But while Cassabon is enthusiastic about his career choice, statistics reveal that not all young Catholic men feel the same. Nationally, there are 43,304 Catholic priests, according to 2004 statistics from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. But that number is down 2,395 from 2000 and 15,605 from 1975 — a year with one of the largest number of American men entering the priesthood. The United States Department of Labor predicts the shortage of Roman Catholic priests will continue through 2012, at the same time it reports that more priests are needed because of the rising number of Catholics — 64 million in the United States. That, coupled with the number of priests retiring, dying or leaving the ministry. Out of 19,026 parishes nationwide, 3,157 lack a resident priest, according to the research center. In South Carolina’s 118 Catholic churches, roughly 30 resident priests are needed, says Joseph Cahill, director of vocation at the Catholic Diocese of Charleston. He says the priest shortage in the state was at its worst three years ago, coinciding with the first reports of alleged sexual abuse by clergy in 2002. “I’m sure the scandals have something to do with it,” Cahill says. But scandal is only one cause of the decline, experts say. Being able to accept the sacrifices of the priesthood is another. “There’s a radical amount of self-sacrifice that a priest must make,” says Stephen Gajdosik, news officer for the Diocese of Charleston. “He must sacrifice himself for the good of the parish and the community.” In fact, going into the priesthood requires giving up many material things. Catholic priests are required to take a vow of celibacy and, if they are going to serve under a religious order such as the Franciscans or Jesuits, they must take a vow of poverty as well. Cassabon knows how it feels to leave his dreams of marriage and worldly success behind. As a teenager, he thought about getting married, having a good job and living comfortably. So did his seminarian classmates in Rome. In fact, one of his classmates was a talented college quarterback, he says. Another was an accomplished lawyer who worked for think tanks in Washington. They gave all of it up to go into the ministry. “They’re very talented young men who could be anything,” he says of his class. “All these guys can’t be delusional (for going into seminary). God must really be calling them.” Recent trends show more Catholic men are starting to answer the call, which is giving new life to the ministry. The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate states that the 2004-05 post-college seminarian enrollment shows a slight increase compared with last year. Today, there are 18 men studying to serve in the South Carolina diocese — up from 10 in 2000. So far, Cassabon is glad to have answered the call as he already has experienced some of the benefits that come with being in the priesthood. He’s watched people’s lives change, met Pope John Paul II twice before his death and has been treated like a member of people’s families. It’s a way of life that hasn’t made him lonely, he says. Being an intern at St. Gregory the Great, Cassabon is getting to know the people at the church, learning how to speak Spanish to help serve the church’s growing Hispanic parishioners, and learning how to cook since he will be on his own when he gets out of school. He believes those who don’t answer the call to the priesthood, or any other calling for that matter, are simply influenced by fear — fear of not being able to get married, have children or choose where to live. Saying “yes” to the call isn’t easy, Cassabon says, but if God is working in you, encouraging you to take a certain path, he won’t give you more than you can handle. Leaning on that biblical wisdom is what has helped Cassabon have the courage to dedicate his life to God, knowing he will get him through any difficulty he may face on his priestly journey. “I trust that he’s there,” he says of God. “He’s saying to me, ‘Do not fear.’ He’s saying that to each one of us.”