Experience at the Navy Chaplain School

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ARMED FORCES BRANCH: Navy

RANK: Chaplain Candidate/LTJG

COLLEGE(S) / UNIVERSITY(IES) / SEMINARY(IES) ATTENDED (DEGREES AWARDED): Boston College (BC), Chestnut Hill, MA; St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, MA

HIGH SCHOOL(S) ATTENDED: Boston College High School, Boston, MA

HOBBIES: Running, sports, reading, cooking, and just being outdoors with friends and solo.

TEAM SPORTS: Cross Country, Track, Baseball

WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME YOU THOUGHT YOU MIGHT HAVE A VOCATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD? Thoughts became more of a reality late into my junior year when a priest asked me. I was right out of the confessional, praying a novena to St. Jude, when I least expected it! But the peace and joy which came with that invitation remained, even after witnessing some of the challenges priests faced, then and now. God has a way of giving us a mission, a purpose to live and die for, when we least feel worthy. He also gives us the right people, in heaven and in our daily life, to make our wills joined to His. The Navy Chaplaincy did not cross my mind until exactly a year later when my youngest brother got accepted into the Naval Academy, on the feast day of the brothers Cyril and Methodius.

32 WHO OR WHAT EVENTS INFLUENCED YOUR DISCERNMENT JOURNEY? Spiritual retreats, visiting the Naval Academy to see my hard-working brother Stephen, and without question the witness of faith-filled priests. Monsignor John McLaughlin and Father Bill Devine continue to motivate me to configure myself to Christ.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SCRIPTURE PASSAGE, WHY? The passage late in St. John’s Gospel as Jesus was being crucified: “When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother ‘Woman, Behold your Son!” Then he said to the disciple “Behold your Mother!” And from that hour forward the disciple took her to his own home” (Jn 19:26-27). From His side every grace will be found, every prayer answered, every hope for mercy fulfilled. There’s so much packed into that one passage that it never ceases to amaze me how much God loves us.

HOW DID YOU COME TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST PERSONALLY? Personal prayer with Him in Adoration, praying with the Bible and Rosary, and encountering Him in the poor, “the least ones of His”.

WHAT SAINTS OR CHURCH LEADERS INSPIRED YOUR DISCERNMENT JOURNEY? Saints Padre Pio, John Vianney, John Paul II, Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko, and Servant of God Vincent Capodanno have all been outstanding witnesses of the priesthood, “the love of the heart of Jesus” (John Vianney). Saints Therese, Faustina, and Rafqa for their generous fiat to God’s Will.

WHAT WAS YOUR PROFESSIONAL AND/OR ACADEMIC AND/ OR MILITARY BACKGROUND BEFORE APPLYING TO BE A SEMINARIAN APPLICANT? After graduating, I worked full-time as an energy consultant, and part-time in catering. Both taught valuable lessons for which I am grateful.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SPIRITUAL BOOK? Split between True Devotion to Mary and He Leadeth Me.

WHO ARE YOUR HEROES OR PEOPLE YOU SIGNIFICANTLY ADMIRE? Those men and women who make sacrifices daily to love Jesus and bring others to Him in their state of life. I especially admire the men and women who have served this great country and strive to build it up in a time of much discouragement. Finally, my family, mentors, and parishioners who give me strength to keep running the race.

New! AMS Private-Label Donor Advised Fund and AMS Charitable Gift Annuity BY MARY LAVIN

On 12 November 2019, Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund (KCCF), in collaboration with the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), launched the first-ever KCCF diocesan private-label donor-advised fund (DAF), the first for both organizations.

A DAF is a philanthropic vehicle established at a public charity and allows donors to make a charitable contribution, receive an immediate tax deduction, and then recommend grants from thefundover time. Donor-advised funds are the fastest-growing segment of charitable giving vehicles and make it easy to donate assets that might otherwise not be contributed to charity. They also make it easy to distribute funds in a thoughtful and impactful manner. KCCF’s private-label donor-advised fund is a turnkey solution that provides a customized platform for the AMS, without significant financial, legal and administrative costs often associated with building and maintaining a proprietary program. Other public charities like Vanguard, Fidelity Charitable, or Schwab Charitable, require a minimum contribution to establish a DAF; there is no minimum amount to establish an AMS DAF, making it available to all who may be interested.

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., expressed his appreciation for being the first archdiocese to partner with the Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund in its new private-label donor advised fund initiative. Archbishop Broglio said, “The new AMS Donor Advised Fund will provide an important new philanthropic giving vehicle to benefit the global mission and ministry of this Archdiocese, and other organizations whose missions are in line with Catholic teachings. I am deeply grateful to the Knights, who have been a steadfast supporter

of the AMS for many years, for introducing yet another way for the faithful to support pastoral care for the Catholic men and women who serve our nation in uniform, and their families.”

A few days following the launch of the new AMS DAF, the Archdiocese also established a new partnership with National Catholic Community Foundation (NCCF) to provide Charitable Gift Annuities. A Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) is a philanthropic vehicle by which those who wish to support the AMS - while providing themselves a guaranteed income for life – can do so, usually at above-market rates based on a donor’s age and guidelines established by the American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA). CGAs are easy to create and may be funded with a gift of $10,000 or more. By offering Charitable Gift Annuities that will be issued, administered, and pooled with National Catholic Community Foundation annuities, the new Charitable Gift Annuity Program will benefit the AMS for years to come.

For more information about Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund, visit www.knightscharitable.org. To establish a DAF with the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, please visit: www.milarch.org/new-donor-advised-fund, or contact the Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors at (833) 877-0728 or charitablefund@kofc.org.

For more information about National Catholic Community Foundation, visit www.nccfcommunity.org. To establish a Charitable Gift Annuity, please visit www.milarch.org/catholicgift-annuity or contact Mary Lavin, Executive Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving at mlavin@milarch.org or (440) 223-6482. V

Co-Sponsored Seminarians Celebrate Labor Day Weekend in Nation’s Capital BY TAYLOR HENRY

Thirty-eight prospective Catholic military chaplains gathered in the nation’s capital over the Labor Day weekend for a three-day celebration of prayer, reflection, and fraternity sponsored by the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS). The group comprised seminarians from all over the United States participating in the Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program (CSP), a vocations partnership between the AMS and cooperating dioceses and religious communities.

The chaplain candidates took part in a full weekend schedule, including a Friday night riverboat dinner cruise along the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers, Saturday and Sunday morning Masses celebrated by his Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Services, and a Saturday afternoon barbeque served by the Knights of Columbus (K of C) James Cardinal Hickey Assembly #2534 at the Edwin Cardinal O’Brien Pastoral Center, the AMS’s home base.

For the seminarians—all in various stages of preparation to become chaplains, many of them with previous military experience—it was an opportunity to get to know each other better and learn more about the vocation within a vocation they share: “serving those who serve” the nation in uniform. The AMS is counting on the co-sponsored seminarians to help fill a desperate shortage of Catholic priests on active-duty. The shortage comes as more and more priests reach military retirement faster than they can be replaced.

Thanks in large part to a proactive AMS Vocations Office, along with the support of U.S. bishops and religious superiors and increased awareness and discernment opportunities for prospective chaplains, the number of co-sponsored seminarians has risen from 7 in 2008 to 47 this year. They come from 27 U.S. dioceses and one religious community and are enrolled in 18 seminaries.

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CO-SPONSORED SEMINARIANS ATTENDING MASS IN THE CRYPT CHURCH OF THE BASILICA OF THE NATIONAL SHIRE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.

In 2019, five co-sponsored seminarians were ordained priests, nine were ordained transitional deacons on track for priestly ordination in 2020, and two more are scheduled to be ordained transitional deacons in October. Six priests went on active-duty in 2019. Several more priests are set to transition to active-duty over the next three years. Meanwhile, the AMS Vocations office is processing the applications of more prospective co-sponsored seminarians.

For more information on the CSP, visit milarch.org/co-sponsoredseminarian-program/. Young men interested in discerning a priestly vocation, and the vocation within a vocation to “serve those who serve” in the U.S. military, can find more information at www.milarch.org/vocations, or may contact Vocations Director Father Aidan Logan, O.C.S.O., by email: amsvocations@milarch.org . V

FATHER CHRIS ARMSTRONG, AMS JUDICIAL VICAR, TALKS TO AMS CO-SPONSORED SEMINARIANS AS THEY ENJOY AN EVENING RIVERBOAT CRUISE ALONG THE ANACOSTIA AND POTOMAC RIVERS.

The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA

Pathway of Honor

Show your support for service members, veterans, chaplains, military families, and all who have served or continue to serve by reserving a commemorative brick today. Your brick will join hundreds of others lining the pathways of the Edwin Cardinal O’Brien Pastoral Center in Washington, D.C.

A suggested donation of $150 will ensure that your loved one’s brick will be placed on the Pathway of Honor.

To order a brick please visit https://www.milarch.org/bricks/ You can donate online or print a donation form.

Please contact the Advancement Office, (202)719-3622 or support@milarch.org if you have any questions.

U.S. Military Personnel Invited to Apply for Warriors to Lourdes Spiritual Journey BY TAYLOR HENRY

U.S. Military personnel, including the wounded, ill, and injured, are invited to apply for an all-expenses-paid, round-trip journey to the Marian grotto and spring baths at Lourdes, France, during the 62nd annual Pèlerinage Militaire International (PMI)—or “International Military Pilgrimage.” The PMI will be held next year from 12 to 19 May 2020, drawing thousands of troops, veterans, and others from around the world to the famous site where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.

The “Warriors to Lourdes” excursion amounts to a week-long retreat in which pilgrims take part in an opening ceremony, special Masses, visits to the baths at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, and a candlelight vigil. U.S. servicemen or women currently on active-duty, recently retired, or honorably discharged—including those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), moral injury, or illness—are encouraged to submit an application to the Knights of Columbus (K of C), which co-sponsors Warriors to Lourdes along with the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS).

All pilgrims will arrive at Lourdes in time for the Warriors to Lourdes Opening Mass on Thursday, 14 May, at 2:30 p.m. (local time). Knights of Columbus Charities, Inc., will cover expenses for approved non-wounded, wounded, ill, or injured warriors, and their designated caregivers. Preference will be given to post-9/11 era warriors. Acceptance and full coverage for pre-9/11 era wounded, ill, or injured veterans will be determined on a caseby-case basis. Companions and volunteers are invited to apply at specially priced rates.

Each pilgrim package includes lodging, meals, PMI credentials, and roundtrip fare from Washington, DC; Atlanta; Raleigh-Durham, NC; New York City; Houston, TX; Seattle-Tacoma, WA; or Los Angele, CA; or bus service from Ramstein-Miesenbach Air Base in Germany. The K of C will book flights from the nearest local airport to the seven departure cities for all pilgrims starting their journey from outside those areas. Barring exceptions, pilgrims will be responsible for transportation to and from the originating airport or bus terminal. Since all pilgrims will lodge in a hotel, the wounded,

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disabled, or sick warriors must be able to perform their “activities of daily living” either alone or with the assistance of their designated caregivers.

The PMI traces its historical roots back to World War II. During the War, members of the French military visited the site of St. Bernadette’s apparitions, offering prayers for peace. In December of 1944, U.S. military personnel joined British, Belgian, French, and Russian military representatives for a Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary. After the War, French soldiers and their chaplains invited German soldiers and their chaplains to gather to pray together.

To apply for the 2020 Warriors to Lourdes journey, and for more information, visit: warriorstoloudes.com.

BISHOP COFFEY (FIRST BEHIND COLOR GUARD) PARTICIPATING WITH THE U.S.A. PILGRIMS AT THE PMI.