THE HEART OF A SEMINARIAN

A Roman Catholic Seminarian opens up his Heart and shares the Faith he Loves.

PRAYER LIST

Every week, I will try to put out a PRAYER LIST posting. If you have any request that you would like everyone to pray for, then put it down in the comments. 

 

1) The health and comfort of all children who are suffering from a disease such as:

Kelsey Bohnestieh (stomach cancer/2yrs), Jared Kiefer (Bone marrow/7yrs), Trey Parker (leukemia/5yrs), McKinzie (Hodkin’s Lymphoma/6yrs).

2) The Souls of the Faithful departed that they may be received in the Heavenly Banquet, especially my graandmother.

3) The November election that life will be protected and officials will be elected to protect human life.

4) Peace in Iraq and in our schools.

5) All of my Godchildren that God will fill their lives with grace.

6) The woman considering abortion that they may realize a better way.

7) The victims of cancer, especially children that they may have the strength and faith to persevere.

8) The soldiers in the military.

9) The vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

10) The marriages of those who are going through difficult times.

posted by: muniz at 13:52 | link | comments (7) |
prayer

MY PERSONAL GOALS  

Every year, I set goals for myself in different areas such as physical, spiritual, and mental.  This year, I will do the same but I will also use you as my accountability partners.  I will list to you my goals and periodically throughout the week I will update you on my progress.  These goals will not be easy, so I ask you to pray for me that I may accomplish them.  Also, feel free to comment, question, or advise me along this journey. 

* Click on the comments button below to see how I am doing.

Spiritual

1) Rosary – I will normally wake up at 5am and start my day walking while praying the Rosary.  This will get my blood flowing early in the morning, do something active, and finally keep me awake throughout the rosary.  I call this my warm-up for the Holy Hour.  Anyway, I want to make sure I have Mary with me as enter into my Holy Hour.

2) Holy Hour – This will normally take place at 6-7am in which I will write my intentions in my prayer notebook and mediate over scripture.

3) Read at least 1 chapter of the Bible – While I do this, I will be using a colored pencil to be marking the verses that I learn from and also star the verse that I learned the most from.  You can see this verse in my Bible posts.

4) Liturgy of the Hours – This is the prayer of the Church that all ordained vow to pray.  It consists of 5 prayers: Office, Morning, Afternoon, Evening, and Night.

5) Fast 1 day a week – This will usually happen on Tuesdays.

6) Go to confession at least every 2 weeks.

Physical

1) Lifting Weights – I will lift by using 40 lbs dumbbells.  I will do as many reps as possible for 1 set for the exercises of bench, triceps, biceps, back, and shoulders.  Also, I will do 100 crunches each day and stretch each day.

2) Cardio – I will do something active each day either it be running or sports for at least a ½ hour.

3) Diet – My meals will be no larger than that which can fit inside of a coffee mug. Plus, one of my 3 meals will consist of my protein shake.  Finally, I will take vitamins daily.

4) Eating Out – I will concentrate on portion size and the types of food that I eat.  Every time I go out to eat, I will cut the meal in half and put the other half in a to-go box.

5) Water – I will drink 2 liters of water each day, plus an extra liter for when I exercise.

6) Soda – If I drink soda, I will only drink diet.

* For all of these goals, Sundays are free days from that obligation.

Mental

1) Studying – I will spend at least 10 hours studying a week for my classes.

2) Thesis – I will work on my Master’s Thesis at least 2 hrs/week.

3) Book – I will read a book for 3 hrs/week.

4) Spanish – I will attempt to teach myself Spanish by translating written work and speaking it once a week at our Spanish table at lunch.

5) Liturgy – I will read documents on Liturgy and learn more about correct liturgy.

6) First Things – I will read at least one article from this magazine.

Evangelization

1) Pro-Life – I will go down to the Hope Clinic in Granite City, IL to pray and witness for life every week

2) Blogging – I will keep up with at least posting every week.

3) Column – I will continue to write my column for my diocesan newspaper Catholic Times every 2 weeks.

4) Website – I will develop a website to better evangelize and spread information.

posted by: muniz at 21:38 | link | comments (4) |
goals

MY  COLUMN IN THE “CATHOLIC TIMES”

In the diocesan newspaper “Catholic Times” for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, I write a column entitled “Heart of a Seminarian”.  Here is my latest column with all of my previous columns.

 

13        Sidewalk protest: Confronting reality of abortion (9/24/06)

12            Teachings, like Cardinal souvenirs, not always easy to sell (9/10/06)

11            Secret to evangelization is willingness to share faith (8/13/06)

10            Challenge for families: Make prayer a priority (6/18/06)

9              What values and qualities characterize us to others (6/04/06)

8              Every child needs someone who thinks he’s special (4/02/06)

7              In faith as in life, we take things one step at a time (3/12/06)

6              Seminarians ask for support, not second guessing (2/12/06)

5              Order soda with long conversation on the side (1/08/06)

4              On anniversary, seminarian remembers how God called him (12/18/05)

3              When game is on the line, who’s willing to take the last shot? (11/27/05)

2              When life becomes too much to bear, who will listen? (11/06/05)

1              Seminarian considers giving high-fives to everyone he meets (10/23/05)

Articles about me

A.            Diocesan seminarian showcased on national publication (9/17/06)

posted by: muniz at 13:42 | link | comments (3) |
catholic times

NEWS AND NOTES

·        Ordination: My ordination date for my deaconate is May 26, 2007.  Mark your calanders.

·        Mass Confusion:  I just finished this book by James Akin.  It went through the Mass and reference different Church documents to explain the proper way to celebrate Mass.  It was a good read and I learned a lot from it.

·        Scott Hahn: Last Saturday, he gave a talk to the seminarians.  Following the talk, I even got the opportunity to sit with him for lunch.  He is amazing.

·        Vocation Day: Last Sunday, I went to Mt. Zion, IL for there youth group meeting to talk to the youth.  Before it, we played volleyball.  It was a great afternoon.

·        Pro-Life Rally: Back on September 30^th, our diocese had a Pro-Life rally in Granite City.  We started with a Mass, then we prayed the Rosary as we walked down to the Hope Clinic, and then finished with a speaker Dr. Reardon.

·        Next Sunday’s scripture.  Just click it.

·        What else?  Any questions or comments?

posted by: muniz at 21:08 | link | comments |

MY PERSONAL GOALS – STRUGGLES

Lest anyone be confused, my goals are only goals that I wish and strive to obtain.  This does not mean that I perfectly accomplish them all.  Lately, I have faced some struggles in my pursuit of my goals.  The last 3 weeks have been larger assignment as in 2 papers and a test, but these are all on top of my other assignments.  It is a bit stressful sometimes when I try to do it all.  Plus, on top of that are the engagements that I have already scheduled in my calendar.  A lot of times, I feel that I have totally failed in my goals, but looking back I did alright.  So here my assessment of the last 3 weeks:

Spiritual

Rosary and Holy Hour are about 70%.  It is hard to wake up at 5am when you are staying up to midnight working.  Liturgy of the Hours was about 95%, Bible was 30%, Fasting and Confession every week.

Physical

Lifting was 33%, Cardio was 40%, Eating out was a failure. Water was around 1-2 liters daily, Soda was all diet but a lot of it.

Mental

Study was a lot, thesis was zero, book was about a hour a week, Spanish once, liturgy none.

Evangelization

Pro-Life was perfect, blogging was sparse as you can tell, no column, website is coming along.

Here is the bottom line, if you start to see that my blogging is slow, then pray for me because I am really busy.  As a result, I need to look at my schedule and make sure that I don’t overbook myself, because I will eventually need to work on my thesis.  Pray for me.

posted by: muniz at 11:08 | link | comments (1) |
goals

MY PERSONAL GOALS - Revised

Every year, I set goals for myself in different areas such as physical, spiritual, and mental.  This year, I will do the same but I will also use you as my accountability partners.  I will list to you my goals and periodically throughout the week I will update you on my progress.  These goals will not be easy, so I ask you to pray for me that I may accomplish them.  Also, feel free to comment, question, or advise me along this journey. 

* Click on the comments button below to see how I am doing.

Spiritual

1) Rosary – I will normally wake up at 5am and start my day walking while praying the Rosary.  This will get my blood flowing early in the morning, do something active, and finally keep me awake throughout the rosary.  I call this my warm-up for the Holy Hour.  Anyway, I want to make sure I have Mary with me as enter into my Holy Hour.

2) Holy Hour – This will normally take place at 6-7am in which I will write my intentions in my prayer notebook and mediate over scripture.

3) Read at least 1 chapter of the Bible – While I do this, I will be using a colored pencil to be marking the verses that I learn from and also star the verse that I learned the most from.  You can see this verse in my Bible posts.

4) Liturgy of the Hours – This is the prayer of the Church that all ordained vow to pray.  It consists of 5 prayers: Office, Morning, Afternoon, Evening, and Night.

5) Fast 1 day a week – This will usually happen on Tuesdays.

6) Go to confession at least every 2 weeks.

Physical

1) Lifting Weights – I will lift by using 40 lbs dumbbells.  I will do as many reps as possible for 1 set for the exercises of bench, triceps, biceps, back, and shoulders.  Also, I will do 100 crunches each day and stretch each day.

2) Cardio – I will do something active each day either it be running or sports for at least a ½ hour.

3) Diet – My meals will be no larger than that which can fit inside of a coffee mug. Plus, one of my 3 meals will consist of my protein shake.  Finally, I will take vitamins daily.

4) Eating Out – I will concentrate on portion size and the types of food that I eat.  Every time I go out to eat, I will cut the meal in half and put the other half in a to-go box.

5) Water – I will drink 2 liters of water each day, plus an extra liter for when I exercise.

6) Soda – If I drink soda, I will only drink diet.

* For all of these goals, Sundays are free days from that obligation.

Mental

1) Studying – I will spend at least 10 hours studying a week for my classes.

2) Thesis – I will work on my Master’s Thesis at least 2 hrs/week.

3) Book – I will read a book for 3 hrs/week.

4) Spanish – I will attempt to teach myself Spanish by translating written work and speaking it once a week at our Spanish table at lunch.

5) Liturgy – I will read documents on Liturgy and learn more about correct liturgy.

6) First Things – I will read at least one article from this magazine.

Evangelization

1) Pro-Life – I will go down to the Hope Clinic in Granite City, IL to pray and witness for life every week

2) Blogging – I will keep up with at least posting every week.

3) Column – I will continue to write my column for my diocesan newspaper Catholic Times every 2 weeks.

4) Website – I will develop a website to better evangelize and spread information.

posted by: muniz at 10:45 | link | comments |
goals

BIBLE: JUDGES 7

In my daily Bible reading, this is the verse that I learned the most from.  In this chapter, what is yours? All verses are from the New American Bible translation.

 

Judges 7:2   The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many soldiers with you for me to deliver Midian into their power, lest Israel vaunt itself against me and say, 'My own power brought me the victory.'

 

Thoughts

In this chapter, Gideon gets set to fight, but God then tells him to get rid of almost all of the men.  With doubt, Gideon obeyed and God ended up leading them to victory.  It amazes me that the things that I feel the most adequate for are the things that I end up falling below expectations.  But the things that I feel inadequate for are the things that I end up succeeding in.  Right now, I feel that way with my writings on this blog and my column.  I never would have guessed that it would end up this successful since I never wrote before.  With God, you never know what he can do with so little if you let him.

posted by: muniz at 22:03 | link | comments |
bible

MY PERSONAL GOALS - Revised

Every year, I set goals for myself in different areas such as physical, spiritual, and mental.  This year, I will do the same but I will also use you as my accountability partners.  I will list to you my goals and periodically throughout the week I will update you on my progress.  These goals will not be easy, so I ask you to pray for me that I may accomplish them.  Also, feel free to comment, question, or advise me along this journey. 

* Click on the comments button below to see how I am doing.

Spiritual

1) Rosary – I will normally wake up at 5am and start my day walking while praying the Rosary.  This will get my blood flowing early in the morning, do something active, and finally keep me awake throughout the rosary.  I call this my warm-up for the Holy Hour.  Anyway, I want to make sure I have Mary with me as enter into my Holy Hour.

2) Holy Hour – This will normally take place at 6-7am in which I will write my intentions in my prayer notebook and mediate over scripture.

3) Read at least 1 chapter of the Bible – While I do this, I will be using a colored pencil to be marking the verses that I learn from and also star the verse that I learned the most from.  You can see this verse in my Bible posts.

4) Liturgy of the Hours – This is the prayer of the Church that all ordained vow to pray.  It consists of 5 prayers: Office, Morning, Afternoon, Evening, and Night.

5) Fast 1 day a week – This will usually happen on Tuesdays.

6) Go to confession at least every 2 weeks.

Physical

1) Lifting Weights – I will lift by using 40 lbs dumbbells.  I will do as many reps as possible for 1 set for the exercises of bench, triceps, biceps, back, and shoulders.  Also, I will do 100 crunches each day and stretch each day.

2) Cardio – I will do something active each day either it be running or sports for at least a ½ hour.

3) Diet – My meals will be no larger than that which can fit inside of a coffee mug. Plus, one of my 3 meals will consist of my protein shake.  Finally, I will take vitamins daily.

4) Eating Out – I will concentrate on portion size and the types of food that I eat.  Every time I go out to eat, I will cut the meal in half and put the other half in a to-go box.

5) Water – I will drink 2 liters of water each day, plus an extra liter for when I exercise.

6) Soda – If I drink soda, I will only drink diet.

* For all of these goals, Sundays are free days from that obligation.

Mental

1) Studying – I will spend at least 10 hours studying a week for my classes.

2) Thesis – I will work on my Master’s Thesis at least 2 hrs/week.

3) Book – I will read a book for 3 hrs/week.

4) Spanish – I will attempt to teach myself Spanish by translating written work and speaking it once a week at our Spanish table at lunch.

5) Liturgy – I will read documents on Liturgy and learn more about correct liturgy.

Evangelization

1) Pro-Life – I will go down to the Hope Clinic in Granite City, IL to pray and witness for life every week

2) Blogging – I will keep up with at least posting every week.

3) Column – I will continue to write my column for my diocesan newspaper Catholic Times every 2 weeks.

4) Website – I will develop a website to better evangelize and spread information.

posted by: muniz at 22:00 | link | comments (2) |
goals

NEWS AND NOTES

·        Ordination Date:  Good News, I found out the date of my deacon ordination.  Mark your calendars for May 26, 2007 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield, IL.  My deacon ordination will coincide with the priest ordination of Deacon Tyler Miller.

·        Masters: On October 3, the 9^th annual Masters miniature golf tournament was played.  This year’s winner was Nick Doelling, which is his second title.  I on the other hand finished 5^th.

·        100^th Anniversary: This past Sunday, I was present at the 100^th anniversary of the Knights of Columbus Councils in Morrisonville and Farmersville, IL.  What a great celebration and great time to see everyone again.

·        Greenville Youth: This past Saturday, I was able to travel over to Greenville, IL for the finale of their youth ministry’s Community Work Weekend where they worked on around 15 homes in their community.  They capped the weekend off with food and music.  It was a great time and some great work by those kids.

·        Next Sunday’s scripture.  Just click it.

·        What else?  Any questions or comments?

posted by: muniz at 13:11 | link | comments (3) |
news and notes

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