The approach to Christmas and the Christmas season is busy for all of us - we all find ourselves with many December and early-January tasks.
It was just yesterday that Deacon Tyler reminded us of all the weight of being a "student" in seminary, but being a seminarian is much more than classroom responsibilities and papers. We do, of course, have responsibiilities with parishes, families, friends, and our home-diocese.
Here's a taste: after finals were done, I stayed at the seminary until Saturday of last week - spending some relaxing, fun time with several other seminarians who have become the greatest of friends. We enjoyed some much-needed "hang out" time.
Over the weekend and the past two days, I have been running to keep up with family obligations, gatherings, tasks, and catch-up conversations. I have not yet seen Grandma, but that will change on 25 December.
Wednesday, 24 December: I need to be at my teaching parish (and early). The day will be filled with various tasks with volunteers, working with members of the parish, and helping out in any way that I can. There will be two Masses - spaced just far enough apart for Father, the Deacon, and I to greet the congregation after the first Mass, eat a quick dinner, and then run back out of the rectory into the Church to greet the incoming congregation for the "late-night" Mass, as Father calls it.
The night will end with a much more relaxed Father sleepily saying his Compline prayers with me, 
the exhausted seminarian. Happily, I will be staying in the spare room in the rectory for the evening so I don't have far to go for the 8am Christmas-morning Mass.
The sleep between 24 and 25 December will be short. After the "late-night" Mass, I need to get as much sleep as posible because I need to make a Holy Hour and all the morning prayers at 6am - if I am to have any hope of getting these done. Then, we have the two Christmas morning Masses. After that, I'll be with Father for a short while and then it's off to see Grandma and the extended family for the afternoon.
BUT THAT'S NOT ALL: a good friend of mine from college is getting married on 27 December. 
As a seminarian, I was asked to be an acolyte for the wedding. This means I need to get up early in the morning on 26 December, make an eight-hour car ride to make it to the rehearsal on time and the wedding is the following day. I'll be heading back to the seminary on Sunday, 28 December for some much needed rest.
THEN, my diocese has inserted four (that's right, FOUR) events for their seminarians during the remaining days of the Christmas break.
I'll keep everyone up-to-date as these adventures roll out over the next weeks. I hope that this break does not work out to be more tiring than the semester. I must say, though, it is a busy schedule but it is a good-busy. Being involved with all of these Church-activities is exciting; it's something that I've always wanted to do.
'Tis good, Lord, to be here.
Take care, -Jeremy
