East Anglia Seminarians: Candidacy Retreat

Sunday 3 February 2008

Candidacy Retreat

As Henry mentioned in the last post about the football match (commiserations to Wonersh) some of us have just been away on a mini-retreat.

We've had the very pleasant experience of being able to stay overnight at Oulton Abbey, a small community of Benedictine Nuns near Stone in Staffordshire, a short drive from Oscott. They are an extremely hospitable community (I think of only two actual 'Oulton Abbey nuns') who provided us with an abundance of good food, lest we faint along the way.

The purpose of our stay was to spend time reflecting on Candidacy. By this I mean being admitted as a Candidate for Holy Orders, the prospect of which is on the very near horizon for those of us who were on the retreat. Candidacy is an official by the Church that a person has a vocation to Diaconate or Priesthood and the Church asks God's blessing on the person and admonishes him to care for his vocation so that he might be able to receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

We will find out in a few weeks whether we are to be admitted as Candidates and I think the Rite will be celebrated in early April. Suddenly, the six years of seminary formation which faced us in our first year seems to be whizzing past!

Prayers please!!!

Benediction in the main Chapel at Oulton Abbey after our Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament.

2 comments:

marcella said...: I will say a Hail Mary for you immediately boys. Just want you to know that I pray for you regularly now anyway. Thanks for the blog.
Marcella; 5 February 2008 at 16:24
B. said...: Thanks for that picture!; 5 August 2009 at 16:02

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Prayer for Priestly Vocations

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who moved to pity at the sight of the multitudes, scattered like sheep without a shepherd, didst say to Thy disciples: "The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He send labourers into His harvest," deign to turn Thine eyes of pity on this our diocese, and to call to Thy priesthood young men, who will spend themselves and be spent for Thy honour and glory, and for the souls whom Thou has redeemed with Thy Most Precious Blood, Who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer for Seminarians

O Lord Jesus Christ, great High Priest, I pray that You call many worthy souls to Your holy priesthood.

Enlighten the Bishop in the choice of candidates, the Spiritual Director in molding them, and the professors in instructing them.

Lead the seminarians daily in Your unerring footsteps; so that they may become priests who are models of purity, possessors of wisdom and heroes of sacrifice; steeped in humility and aflame with love for God and man; apostles of Your glory and sanctifiers of souls.

Amen.

Prayer for the Pope

V. Let us pray for our Pontiff, Pope Benedict.
R. The Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him to be blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies

Our Father. Hail Mary.

Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, have mercy upon Thy servant, Benedict, our Supreme Pontiff, and direct him, according to Thy loving-kindness, in the way of eternal salvation; that, of thy gift, he may ever desire that which is pleasing unto thee and may accomplish it with all his might. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen

Prayer for the Queen

V. O Lord, save Elizabeth, our Queen.
R. And hear us on the day we call upon you.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come before you.

[V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.]

Let us pray

Almighty God, we pray, that your servant Elizabeth, our Queen, who, by your providence has received the governance of this realm, may continue to grow in every virtue, that, imbued with your heavenly grace, she may be preserved from all that is harmful and evil and, being blessed with your favour may, with her consort and the royal family, come at last into your presence, through Christ who is the way, the truth and the life and who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.