About Me

Greetings! Please join me on my adventures.  I'm a seminarian and pilot studying in Rome at the Pontifical North American College for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Venice in Florida, ordained a deacon in the Fall of 2017, and counting down the days until this summer, when God willing, I will be ordained a priest of Jesus Christ.

Please join me here on this personal blog, for thoughts on life, faith, and other adventures!

Wishing you many blessings in the Lord!  God Love You!

Sincerely,

Seminarian Shawn

+An Introduction to My Blog:

As my life has changed over the years, so has this blog! It has been updated haphazardly over the past years with most posts consisting simply of copies of interesting articles I'd found on the web. After a major overhaul and new content, it is back up and running! It's focus is on my life and experiences as a seminarian and loyal son of the Church. Look for updates to appear on seminary breaks as I continue my course of studies...

By the Grace of God, my decision to follow the Lord's call to the priesthood coincided with the Year of the Priest (2009).  Also, it looks like my ordination to the diaconate will fall within the special Year of Mercy, as recently declared by Pope Francis.

As I look with thanksgiving to the guiding hand of Divine Providence in the past, now I look with hope to a future filled with following God's plan.

As I step forward to become a new man in Christ, I continue this new spiritual pilgrimage, casting aside old habits and distractions. As I look upwards to the Son, my heart is deeply cognizant of those who have gone before me to make this journey possible, and in a special way, my own dear family.

So many sacrifices have been made over the years in order for me to arrive at this point and for that I am forever grateful! What deeds or words can repay this sacred patrimony? My response, indeed, my very life's purpose is thus: To become a sacrifice for many, I will lay down my life that others may live, in imitation of the Greatest Love the universe has ever known..."For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting." John 3:16

The road ahead is not easy, neither for me, for you, or Holy Mother Church, and yet as the life of our dear Lord Jesus attests, out of suffering is born new life!

Amidst the despair and anxiety of modern life, mankind yearns more than ever for the hope that only God can bring! The Church, ever ancient, ever new, for over 2,000 years offers the light of Truth: that each of us is loved intimately into being and sustained by not a distant cold God, but one who has suffered, sweated, and bled beside us in order to whisper in our hearts that we are a gift, unique in all creation, special, indispensable, and have a specific purpose to change the world for the better!

It is always darkest before the dawn, and yet signs of a new springtime in the Church continue to advance! I pray that I may be a small part of this movement and renew the face of the earth.

For in the words of Saint Augustine, "To fall in love with God is the greatest of romances, to seek Him the greatest adventure, to find Him the greatest human achievement."

May God Bless You Always & Tenderly Hold You in the Palm of His Hand!

Your Brother in Christ,

Seminarian Shawn

P.S.- Why "The Flying Seminarian"? - I'm a FAA licensed pilot and love aviation!  Let us soar to new heights together!