Sunday, November 1, 2015

Day Nine: Walk the Razor's Edge

An army marches on its stomach. The seminarians are like an army in training. In order to do what they must, they require sustenance.

The seminary kitchen is a big responsibility. As I was told earlier (and I am paraphrasing), the kitchen must be clean at all times, and free of any contaminants. This includes kicking people out of the kitchen if they are not following basic standards of cleanliness, by force, if necessary, if they refuse to leave when asked.

I am reminded of George McFly from the film, Back to the Future:

"I'm afraid I'm just not very good at  confrontations."

I think physical confrontations are a last resort, and should be avoided in this religious setting. I hope I never have to see someone physically escorted out of the kitchen again.

With today being a feast day, the kitchen was up and running for all meals. Breakfast consisted of pancakes, homemade bread, sweet potato syrup and hard boiled eggs. Lunch was a hearty beef and vegetable soup with salad and an apple, celery and ginger smoothie for dessert. The seminarians had pasta and sauce for dinner.

The Mass was late today. It began around 6pm. There was a small reception after the Mass, with cupcakes, chips and sodas for all. The seminarians headed back to the seminary building after Mass, while the congregation had their desserts in the priory.


They are told not to interact with the laity, at least for the first few months of the year. Father has his reasons for this rule, which I believe is newly added this year.

That isn't the only change from previous years. There are many more changes, and more changes on the way, which I hope to highlight soon. 

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