Dear Parish Family,
This week, I will be back at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, where I served on the faculty for the last four years just before coming here in late June. I am returning there to finish the very last component of a pontifical degree called the Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.). While helping form and prepare our seminarians for the priesthood from 2010 to 2014, I concurrently was working on this specialized degree with a focus on the new evangelization. The degree will be issued by the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome, more commonly known as the Angelicum, though my coursework was through the pontifical faculty at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
This summer, I completed my 80-page thesis, which simply leaves my lectio coram. The lectio coram is a magisterial lecture on a specific theological issue, lasting one and a half hours (a 45 minute lecture and a 45 minute defense). The candidate must be able to lecture on ten different propositions and submit a bibliography for each from which a panel of professors will ask questions. Seventy-two hours before the actual beginning of the lectio coram, the ten are limited to three possible lectures. The candidate then presents one of the theological issues.
My lectio coram will be this Friday. Thus, I will be one happy man on the afternoon of September 5, should I pass. So please say a prayer for me!
Pope Francis’ Busy Week
Finally, if you appreciate the work and leadership of Pope Francis, and you had Fr. Kurian at Mass last Sunday, then I think you’ll enjoy the homily I gave last week. Have a listen on our website at www.stjohnjackson.org. It’s also a good link to send to any of your family and friends who have wondered about the biblical basis for the authority of the pope.
Yours in Christ