tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74467034857623607582011-12-08T17:40:42.335+01:00One Seminarian's thoughts and general diary. May God be given all the glory!Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.comBlogger251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-31618554492566951852011-12-08T17:35:00.001+01:002011-12-08T17:40:42.342+01:00

(Este homilie fue por un clase di predicación en el seminario--lo siento por la grammatica)  For my English friends, this is a different homily than my English one, so if you read Spanish, enjoy! <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> /* Style

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-64374691962750945392011-12-08T17:14:00.001+01:002011-12-08T17:34:31.568+01:00

(I gave this homily in class, based on the readings for today's feast--I hope you enjoy it!) "Death through Eve, Life through Mary" Today the whole Church celebrates the mystery of Mary, the mother of God, who was born without the effects of original sin by a unique act of grace by God.  This dogma was declared infallibly in 1854 by Pope Pius IX, but had been believed since the earliest days

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-12908930747345098332011-10-16T14:48:00.000+02:002011-10-16T14:48:14.197+02:00

Dear Friends and Family,     After a considerable period of "radio silence", I am happy to offer you another "Marky update" as some are wont to call it...but first, a picture of me juggling in the private papal gardens at Castel Gandalfo, a feat which may make me the first seminarian/juggler in history to do so!     Life has been busy, crazy, wonderful, at times frustrating, at all times very

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-50265164511792759252011-10-14T08:57:00.002+02:002011-10-14T08:57:36.186+02:00

Dear Friends and Family,    You may have noticed that the Blog looks different...I am no longer in Belgium, so I thought it would be appropriate to update things to reflect where I am now, namely, the Eternal City of Rome.  I will try to update more often, and it is a goal to give a more extended reflection at least monthly this year.  Please continue to pray for me on the road to Deaconate,

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-62192392334060510502010-12-24T01:00:00.000+01:002010-12-24T01:03:36.514+01:00

Dear Friends and Family, A Blessed Advent and Christmas to one and all! As I look back, it’s amazing how quickly time flies—and how much change can happen in one year. For those of you who don’t have the time to read everything, I’ll give the short version followed by the long one. Short Version In short, this year I am currently doing a “Pastoral year” in Astoria, Oregon.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-47865840949313169742010-11-23T18:56:00.001+01:002010-11-23T19:11:39.210+01:00

Dear friends in Christ, If you have been following the Catholic "blogosphere," you may have noticed a rather shocking piece of news: The American College of Louvain--my seminary--is closing. This is sadly true. The seminary will be closing at the end of this academic year. As a result, I will not be returning to Belgium next year to finish my theology studies. If you wish to read the letter

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-14569026218622958882010-10-01T06:06:00.000+02:002010-10-01T07:00:26.349+02:00

Sorry this one took so long to post gang, the summer/beginning of the year has been a whirlwind to say the least. I put up some pictures of my 6 week stint in Mexico--which was a balance of great things as well as suffering, but overall a tremendous blessing. As many of you know, I went to Queretaro, Mexico to study Spanish and do a cultural immersion. I was excited initially but realized when

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-44230235797442278152010-06-30T19:09:00.000+02:002010-06-30T19:40:35.144+02:00

Dear friends in Christ, As time goes by, it seems I get worse and worse at communicating. I plan on being more consistent this next year. I wanted to give all of you the brief update on my formation and life, but in short--it's simply breathtaking! After a very hectic exam schedule and no time to pack afterwards, I came home on the 16th of June from Belgium. I received confirmation that I

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-69103488298669373602010-04-21T21:22:00.000+02:002010-04-22T09:03:56.980+02:00

Dear Friends in Christ,Today, your prayers have borne fruit in this icon. The transformation over the last two weeks has simply been incredible! Not only is the icon done, but finished on a very special day for me: the anniversary of my Confirmation, and the anniversary of my Marian Consecration 5 years ago!This image was written originally by Br. Claude of Mt. Angel at the request of my former

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-82935402396136198612010-04-19T11:15:00.000+02:002010-04-19T11:20:14.886+02:00

Dear Friends, It is almost finished! All that remains is touch-up work and the varnish. A heartfelt "thank you" to all of you for your prayers--The grace that got me through this last week was truly unbelievable. The Holy Spirit was very palpable during several of the phases. Glory be to God for all His mercy, most especially the gift of Mary, His Mother. I will post a full reflection of

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-36307520838547926942010-04-15T21:52:00.000+02:002010-04-15T21:57:36.167+02:00

Halos are always challenging for me...Fr. Paul helped me a lot on these. Notice also the cool halo effect caused by scratching the gold with a cotton ball. The other picture is an example of "puddling", a technique which first applies water, then dabs of paint which form "puddles" and diffuse through the water to make unique patterns. (the holy card is of John Vianney, and the small medallion

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-35246084437682420762010-04-14T21:44:00.001+02:002010-04-14T21:45:03.874+02:00

Day 3 picture

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-9261039184183705482010-04-13T23:19:00.000+02:002010-04-13T23:25:36.788+02:00

After another day of work, prayer, and iconography, here's the results: keep the prayers coming! Blessings to you all and Peace,Markp.s. look at the pictures from the bottom up to see the progression, ditto on the previous post--blogger is not being cooperative...

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-65699429040534497442010-04-13T16:35:00.001+02:002010-04-13T16:42:09.036+02:00

Dear Friends, Thank you for your continued prayers! This week is the final push for me to get the icon done, and I'll be posting the pictures of the progress. Here are pictures from yesterday. There's been a lot of progress today, so stay tuned and keep praying for me! The date I'm aiming to be done by is the 21st of April: the anniversary of my confirmation and my Marian consecration.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-35060655224242845572010-03-08T12:01:00.001+01:002010-03-08T12:17:03.430+01:00

Dear friends in Christ, Many blessings and peace to you during this holy Lent! I pray that you are all experiencing the love of Christ in a new and powerful way through your penances, prayer, and alms-giving during these 40 days. As usual, many great things have transpired since the last post, so I hope to share a few of them with you.Firstly, I completed my second bachelor's in Theology (with

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-40472104057060230432009-12-30T06:27:00.000+01:002009-12-30T06:33:47.778+01:00

A Blessed Christmas and New Year to all of you! I am currently home for one more day before heading back to Leuven to start Exams. You have all been in my thoughts and prayers during these days of feasting and family time. Please continue to pray for me, especially during the month of January as I take exams and write papers. Until next time,Mark

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-76659094358328062062009-11-02T15:57:00.000+01:002009-11-02T16:55:54.265+01:00

Dear Friends in Christ, It has been quite a while since my last update. I wish that I was more consistent with blogging, but it has taken the "back-burner" as of late. I promised pictures of the whole process of my last icon, so here they are in reverse order:I also started a new icon which is going to be far more difficult than the last one, but hopefully even more rewarding. It is an

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-67434275387067452002009-08-14T20:36:00.000+02:002009-08-14T20:50:32.578+02:00

<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if !mso]> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } <![endif]--> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan;

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-46136202220803574242009-04-23T09:15:00.000+02:002009-04-23T09:41:23.025+02:00

Dear Friends and family,Thank you so much for your prayers and support. I know I haven't been writing much, but I wanted to share a moment of joy with you. Through your prayers and God's mercy, I was able to finish my icon of "Our Lady of Kazaan" on April 22nd, the Memorial of St. Anselm and the anniversary of my own Confirmation. By providence, it is also the anniversary of my Marian

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-50292564204159433252009-02-20T23:59:00.001+01:002009-02-21T00:11:56.980+01:00

Hey Everybody,I know its been a while, but I thought I'd post a picture of the icon and how its going...Also, if you were wondering and/or praying for my exams, I wanted to say thank you because I passed all my classes and did very well in many of them. They grade on a scale of 1-20 over here, with 10 being a passing grade and rarely giving scores above 17. Please continue to pray for me, as

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-56791594664752027312009-01-05T11:09:00.000+01:002009-01-05T11:39:24.153+01:00

Blessings and grace to all of you from Belgium! It is the first day of our "Study block," it snowed 2 inches last night, and I am procrastinating yet again to give you a small update on happenings "across the pond." I was graced to spend Christmas vacation in Rome with both brothers from Leuven, as well as former brothers from Steubenville and my diocesan brothers studying in Rome. Our itinerary

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-24585389688222804132008-11-04T18:24:00.000+01:002008-11-04T18:36:20.163+01:00

It's been a while since I last wrote, and many things have happened, both good and mediocre. One of the real blessings has been the opportunity to write an Icon. An icon is not technically a work of art, but rather a prayer form of the Eastern Church, which has its roots steeped in an artistic tradition that is highly symbolic. Simply put, an icon is not about artistic talent, but obedience to a

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-39420937632231903592008-09-21T14:49:00.000+02:002008-09-21T15:43:20.959+02:00

(pictures of the retreat house)Grace and Peace to you and your loved ones!My friends, God is good to us, more so than we deserve. Last week, I was priviledged to spend a week in Silent retreat at a Jesuit retreat house in Dronghen. The Grounds were beautiful and the time was so necessary to come to terms with the new life that I am living. I realize that nothing is familiar to me here except my

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-53202503169286216472008-09-04T16:34:00.000+02:002008-09-04T17:16:36.009+02:00

It has been a wild ride these last few days! Thanks to all for the birthday greetings. I can honestly say that it was one of the most wonderful birthdays I've had, beginning with the airlines upgrading my seat for free--business class is really nice! When I arrived, my luggage was still in London, so I was stuck with the clothes on my back and my computer. Thanks be to God for answered prayer! (

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7446703485762360758.post-76206342580507487902008-08-11T23:35:00.000+02:002008-08-12T02:06:46.930+02:00

Peace be with You!My World Youth Day experience was quite interesting. My cousin Ali, her boyfriend Kyle, and I went to Australia with a group called ICPE (Institute for World Mission) who train missionaries from all over the world to do Catholic evangelism. Here is a picture of our sleeping accommodations the first night at the airport.Our first two days were at a charismatic youth conference

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295367374085896916noreply@blogger.com1