Volume I, Issue 2
PASTOR B ONUS Newsletter of Immaculate Conception Seminar y School of Theology
THE FIFTH GOSPEL I rejoiced when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.” And now our feet are standing within your gates, Jerusalem. —Psalm 122:1-2 New American Bible The Holy Land: land of Jesus, land of the Bible, land rich with history and faith. Each Sunday, in the Scripture readings at Mass, Catholics hear about the events of our salvation that happened on this hallowed soil. Priests and deacons preach about these events in their homilies. “How important it is, therefore, that every seminarian should have the opportunity to spend some time in this the holiest of places during their formation,” explains Father Pablo Gadenz, associate professor of biblical studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology (ICSST). Through the generosity of benefactors, Immaculate Conception Seminary has a proud tradition of providing an opportunity to experience the Holy Land for each seminarian who participates in our priestly formation program.
Keep always before your eyes the example of the Good Shepherd who came not to be served but to serve, and who came to seek out and save what was lost. — Rite of Ordination
IN THIS ISSUE Pg. 2
Message from Rector/Dean
Pg. 3
Institution of Reader
Pg. 4
The Natural
Pg. 6
The Fifth Gospel
Pg. 9
Spotlight
Pg. 10 Adventure Club Pg. 11 ICS Basketball Pg. 12 Save the Date
During the 2013-2014 Christmas break, 41 seminarians from the Archdiocese of Newark and the Dioceses of Camden, Metuchen, Paterson and Trenton were able to take a 12-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Their trip was led by three ICSST professors: Fathers Chris Ciccarino and Pablo Gadenz, who teach Scripture, and Father John Chadwick, who teaches the Sacraments. After the flight to Tel Aviv, the Jerusalem, the Holy City pilgrimage began by visiting biblical sites along the coast of the Mediterranean, such as Caesarea Maritma and Mount Carmel. Several days were spent in the region of Galilee in the northern part of Israel, visiting places such as Nazareth, Cana, Capernaum, Caesarea Philippi and the Mount of Transfiguration. Mass was celebrated at one of the sites each day, and the deacons among the seminarians often gave the homilies. Second theologian Juan Jose Esteban reflects on his visit to the region of Galilee: “Galilee, being where Jesus lived, was very impactful. It is not marked with majesty in architecture or modernization. Along the coast there are no buildings or development. It is as though you get to see what Jesus saw.” (Continued on page 6)
PASTOR B ONUS A message from the Rector/Dean
Peace in the Risen Lord Jesus! After a long and harsh winter, the freshness and new life of springtime is a welcome guest for us all. This same sentiment fills the Church Universal with the Solemnity of Easter and the Resurrection of the Lord. All throughout the Lenten season, the “soil” of our hearts has been softened by the tender mercy and kindness of our God – and we are filled with joy! Our local Church of Newark is joyfully anticipating the “ordination season” as well. Later in the spring, the men who have been studying and being formed at Immaculate Conception Seminary will be ordained to serve as deacons and priests. While on one hand these occasions mark the fulfillment of a lifetime of dreams and the cooperation with the Lord’s will, at the same time the transition from seminary to service in a parish is a new beginning, rife with the possibilities that only God’s grace can bring about. There is much hope and anticipation.
Monsignor Joseph Reilly Rector/Dean
This second issue of Pastor Bonus gives you a glimpse of some of the inspiring ways the Lord is moving in the hearts and lives of our students and faculty. In addition to these fine individuals, some of whom you will see and read about, we are twice-blessed because of your ongoing prayers and support. Please be assured of the prayerful remembrance of the Seminary School of Theology community. May the Risen Christ fill you and all of your loved ones with His love and peace.
“ Faith in the resurrection of Jesus says that there is a future for every human being; the cry for unending life which is a part of the person is indeed answered.”
—Pope Benedict XVI
This stained glass window, formerly in the Church of Queen of Angels Parish of Newark, was carefully removed and restored as part of our renovations to the Chapel of Christ the Good Shepherd. The depiction of the Resurrection of Christ is the central mystery of our Christian faith.
Resurrection stained glass window 2
Newsletter of Immaculate Conception Seminar y School of Theology
INSTITUTION OF READER On Sunday, February 23, sixteen seminarians, including ten first theologians from Immaculate Conception Seminary, were instituted as Lectors in the chapel of Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Kearny, New Jersey. Newark Coadjutor Archbishop Bernard Hebda was the principal celebrant at the Rite. Each of the seminarians is handed a Lectionary, the book of the readings for Mass, signifying they are entrusted in handing on the Word of God. Instituted lectors proclaim the non-Gospel passages and psalms at Mass. They are also prepared for instructing children and adults in the faith and preparing them to receive the sacraments. Carlos Herrera, one of the ICS seminarians who received the ministry, reflected on the special day: “I felt very blessed, after being at ICS for two and a half years, to have received the ministry of Lector. I remember thinking how far I was from receiving this ministry when I first entered the seminary. Now it has arrived. It is definitely a step closer to the priesthood, which I hope to be part of. “It was great to stand along with my classmates and to receive the Lectionary from the hands of Archbishop Hebda and receive his special blessing to proclaim the Word of God and instruct others in it.” Carlos and all of our instituted lectors now look forward to receiving the ministry of acolyte within the next year.
Frater Jose Arrendondo, O.A.R.
Jesse Mazzola
Thomas Barry
Philip Joseph Micele Jr.
Michael A. Gentile Jr.
Patrick J. Seo
Carlos Miguel Herrera
Patrick Serna (RM)
Silvano Jeong
Brother Demetrius M. Thomas, O.S.B.
Joseph Todd Lucia
Sebastian Valencia Obando
Jason Mantich (RM)
Frater Jorge Valdivia, O.A.R.
Juan Carlos Munoz Montoya
Brother Joseph A. Voltaggio, O.S.B. 3
PASTOR B ONUS THE NATURAL If you had approached Joseph Furnaguera as a high school senior and asked him where he would be in 2014, it is doubtful he would have answered correctly. By Joe’s own admission, “I was living my life surrounded by baseball!” This year, Joe has been selected to study and complete the remainder of his formation in Rome, a distinction reserved for those who show unique all-around promise in not only their academic and spiritual studies but in their personal maturity, social awareness and pastoral promise. If you are familiar with Joe, this recognition comes as no surprise given his amazing history of personal achievement and drive. Nonetheless, the path he has taken to get to this moment in time could certainly be described as “a road less traveled.”
Joseph Furnaguera
By age 18, Joe had distinguished himself as an outstanding ball player and was selected as one of New Jersey’s top high school baseball players. As team captain, he led Jonathan Dayton High School to the Union County Championship game and earned the distinction as 1st Team All County, All-Conference and 2nd Team All-State honors. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
—Philippians 4:13
Following high school graduation, Joe enrolled in Rutgers University-Newark as a double major studying philosophy and criminal justice with his eyes set on post-graduate studies in law. While in college he continued his baseball career, starting as third baseman with the Scarlet Raiders. By his senior year at Rutgers, Joe had garnered a remarkable batting average of .381 and a career batting average of .320 with 28 home runs and 126 RBIs. He ended his college career as an Academic All-American. The All-American student-athlete designation is reserved for those students who achieve a high level of academic achievement and who “effectively balance their significant commitment of time, effort and energy in athletic endeavor with their highly challenging academic responsibilities.” During his Rutgers career, Joe even worked in baseball. He was an instructor in Union Counties Frozen Ropes Program. Joe quickly became a nationally certified Frozen Ropes instructor and was extremely effective training players of all ages. He was recognized as an “outstanding communicator, role model and teacher of the game to players of all ages.” To many, Joe had the world, particularly the baseball world, by the tail. Many presumed he would embark on a career in professional baseball. However, Joe’s college experience had awakened in him a much higher calling.
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Newsletter of Immaculate Conception Seminar y School of Theology
Joe grew up in Springfield, New Jersey, with his parents and an older brother. Joe’s spiritual life, while very important, was not practiced to its full extent. Amazingly, when Joe first heard his calling to serve the Lord, he had yet to receive all of his sacraments of initiation. Joe can tell you exactly when he first heard his calling: “I was presenting the premise of a paper to my philosophy class. I wanted to draw a contrast between the different philosophies we studied and my own. I made the statement, ‘there is no doubt that all that we see comes from the divine presence of God.’ “One of my classmates immediately identified with what I said and waited to see me after class. He was very active in his faith life and introduced me to Sister Faustina at Emmaus House. With one semester to go to complete my double major, I started to really catch fire with love of Jesus.” Joe joined the RCIA program on campus and received the sacraments of initiation. “I had graduated from Rutgers and was waiting for my acceptance to Law School when I entered my discernment at Emmaus House,” he said. Now Joe is preparing to study at the Pontifical North American College in Rome—something that young Joe on the high school ball field could not ever have guessed. We pray the Lord continues to fuel his fire and love of Jesus during his formation in Rome and look forward to the day he returns to serve the local church of Newark.
Photo courtesy of Rutgers Athletics
Senior Day, Rutgers Newark Baseball
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PASTOR B ONUS THE FIFTH GOSPEL (Continued from page 1)
Site of Jesus’ birth - Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem
Ruins of Caesarea Maritima by the Mediterranean Sea
Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee Ruins of the Synagogue - Capernaum
Baptism site at the Jordan River 6
Mass in the Cave Chapel - Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem
Newsletter of Immaculate Conception Seminar y School of Theology
Mosaic in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem
At the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem
Site of Jesus’ Resurrection Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem
Pilgrimage leaders (from L to R): Father Chadwick, Father Gadenz and Father Ciccarino
Stations of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem
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PASTOR B ONUS THE FIFTH GOSPEL A highlight during this first part of the trip was the boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, where the group read Scripture, sang hymns and prayed together, as they recalled how Jesus had called His first disciples from among fishermen at the Sea of Galilee. While the focus of the pilgrimage was certainly the sites of historical significance to our Christian faith, there was some unstructured fun to be had. On the way to Jerusalem in the southern part of the country, the group stopped to take a swim, or rather a float, in the Dead Sea. The group also renewed their baptismal promises at the Jordan River, visited the place of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and spent several days in Jerusalem praying at the sites associated with Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. For the seminarians, the prayerful and informative experience of walking where Jesus walked is an important part of their overall training to be priests. The Holy Land has often been called “The Fifth Gospel” because like the Four Gospels, it helps us discover the life of Jesus. Other sites visited included Qumran (the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered), the Western or Wailing Wall at the ruins of the Temple in Jerusalem and the Holocaust museum in the modern part of Jerusalem. Father Gadenz shared, “Visiting these sites helps our seminarians understand the Jewish roots of the Christian faith as well as the importance of Jewish-Christian relations today. “For many, the pilgrimage to the Holy Land was also their first interaction with Muslims. In Jerusalem, you hear the Muslim call to prayer multiple times a day. With Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Holy Land, it is a reminder that people of all different faiths must live and work together in peace.” Second theologian Danny Rodrigues commented on the presence of people of different faiths: “Especially in the four quarters of Jerusalem, there is a certain amount of respect — a reverence in particular for those in prayer.” His classmate Vincent D’Agostino shared, “The call to prayer was particularly apparent when we were preparing for Mass. It was a reminder of the need for peace in the world.” Though this pilgrimage is concluded, its importance to our community of seminarians remains, and we renew our commitment to provide this experience in the future. We thank the many benefactors who make this trip a possibility through their support of the Seminary. To view a video account of this pilgrimage experience, visit theology.edu.shu
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Seminarians at the Church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor
Newsletter of Immaculate Conception Seminar y School of Theology
SPOTLIGHT ON FATHER PABLO GADENZ Reverend Pablo T. Gadenz, a priest from the Diocese of Trenton, ordained in 1996, has been on the faculty of ICSST since 2008. He is currently an associate professor of biblical studies and also serves in the preparation of the seminarians for priesthood on the Formation Faculty of Immaculate Conception Seminary. He received his licentiate in Scripture (S.S.L.) from the Pontifical Biblical Institute (2005) and his doctorate in biblical theology (S.T.D.) from the Pontifical Gregorian University (2008). During his tenure he has been instrumental in the formation of over 100 priests and influenced the theological and biblical studies of many of our lay students.
Father Pablo Gadenz
Because of his expertise on the Holy Land and the biblical events of the New Testament, Father Gadenz was interviewed by Fox News Chief of Religion Correspondent Lauren Green for the national Fox News Channel’s Christmas special, “The Nativity: Facts, Fiction & Faith,” to provide a Scriptural and scholarly account of the Nativity. This issue’s feature article chronicles his role in leading the Seminary’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Next fall, Father Gadenz will be taking a sabbatical to write a commentary on the Gospel of Luke.“Visiting the places of Jesus’ life during our trip provided additional reflections and ideas for the book. I hope to use my published book as a text for my course on the Synoptic Gospels in the future.” Father Gadenz has been named a visiting scholar at Princeton Theological Seminary. This prestigious institution of higher learning will provide him with an excellent atmosphere and ample resources to undertake his research and writing. Moreover, they will benefit from his scholarly prescence and priestly witness while there during his sabbatical. Our prayer is that the Lord will continue to provide him guidance and inspiration in completing his endeavors.
The Byzantine Era church ruins at Masada by the Dead Sea 9
PASTOR B ONUS JOHN PAUL II ADVENTURE CLUB “Life in the classroom and chapel are great gifts, but life needs to be balanced…”
–Daniel R. Peterson, Second Year Theology
For a man in formation, the day starts and ends with assembly for prayer. Daily class schedules include about five academic hours of philosophy, theology and Church history or doctrine. There is time spent writing papers and studying for exams, in addition to pastoral assignments. Like internships, pastoral assignments provide the invaluable experience of the life of service these men are preparing to lead.
Seminarians skiing in Colorado
Beyond study and prayer, seminarians at Immaculate Conception Seminary are encouraged to keep contact with family and continue to look after personal interests — both essential to develop the whole person for life as a priest. Seminarians are encouraged to make use of the facilities provided on the campus of Seton Hall University. They participate in intramural sports, make regular use of basketball courts in the Richie Regan Athletic Center, ride bikes, jog and use the athletic fields on campus. Recently, an ambitious group of seminarians, together with seminarians from St. Andrew’s College Seminary, formed the John Paul II Adventure Club. Daniel Peterson, the founder of the club, explains, “The primary purpose of the club is to have fun and get outdoors. Our group enjoys fraternity while we challenge ourselves through exercise and physical adventures — most often hiking or skiing.” Recent trips included hiking in the Delaware Water Gap and the Catskill Mountains. A later trip involved a smaller group that spent time skiing in Colorado. Daniel went on to explain: “Life in the classroom and chapel are great gifts, but life needs to be balanced. The scripture is filled with descriptions of God’s Creation. God stamps his essence on creation. We find it to be inspiring, prayerful and fun at the same time. We named it after John Paul II (canonized Saint John Paul II on April 27th in Rome), because of his love of the mountains and the countryside. He often took young adults to the mountains and taught them about the spiritual life.” Daniel hopes the group will continue to grow with each new adventure: “We welcome everyone to join us. To attract more participation, we have plans to expand our adventures to include other outdoor activities like canoeing, fishing and watersports.”
Hiking in the Catskills 10
Newsletter of Immaculate Conception Seminar y School of Theology
ICS GOES UNDEFEATED The Seminary Intramural basketball team, ‘ICS’, completed their regular season undefeated with a record of 11 wins, 0 losses. Play continued in the Seton Hall University intramural league championship, where ICS lost in the tournament’s final game. Congratulations to team members: Tom Barry
Philip Klaas, St. Andrew’s College Seminary
Juan Jose Esteban
Jesse Mazzola
Joseph Furnaguera
Danny Peterson Gino de la Rama John Schiedermayer, St. Andrew’s College Seminary Patrick Seo
BRESLIN GOLF CLASSIC Please join us June 19 for our 34th Annual Judge Roger W. Breslin Cornerstone Golf Classic. The Breslin Fund for Seminarian Aid was established in 1980 and bears the name of its founder, the late Honorable Roger W. Breslin Sr., in recognition of his many years of service to the seminary. The fund offers non-academic financial assistance to resident seminarians who experience financial need as they prepare for the priesthood at Immaculate Conception Seminary. Over the past 34 years, the outing and dinner have raised in excess of one million dollars enabling the Breslin Fund to provide for the needs of hundreds of seminarians. Needs such as clothing, medical costs, emergency travel and more. We are privileged to have the continued participation of the Breslin Family in making this a sucessful event. This year’s honorees are Theresa and Kevin Coughlin and Sr. Phyllis Kapuscinski, N.D.S., Ph.D. For reservations and ticket information please call Michael Burt, Sr. Director of Seminary Advancement, at 973-275-2479 or visit www.shu.edu/go/breslin.
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PASTOR B ONUS Newsletter of Immaculate Conception Seminar y School of Theology
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS • May18: Newark Diaconal Ordination– Cathedral Basilica • May 24: Newark Priesthood Ordination –Cathedral Basilica • June 13: Seton Hall’s “Many Are One” Dinner • June 19: Breslin Cornerstone Golf Classic and Dinner
SAVE THE DATE...
June 19, 2014 Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology Seton Hall University
34th Annual Judge Breslin Cornerstone Golf Classic
Honorees: Theresa & Kevin Coughlin and Sister Phylis Kapuscinski Reservations and information call (973) 275-2479