By Cameron Ryan
As our very first semester of life at Corpus Christi College draws to a close, we first year seminarians reflect on and give thanks for the time we have enjoyed getting to know each other and our first-year formator, Fr Jake Mudge, and getting accustomed to seminary life over the past six months. A significant part of this process was our outings on Saturdays, where we set out far and wide to enjoy ourselves, and to build the spirit of fraternity between us.
Our outings began with a tour through Melbourne’s history as we visited the Immigration Museum, as well as ArtVo, an interactive art installation in Docklands. An authority on the best cuisine around Melbourne, Xavier brought us to a delightfully unassuming Korean restaurant for lunch in the city. Back at the seminary, we watched ‘Kim Ji-young, Born 1982’, a longtime favourite film of Xavier’s, which quickly became a favourite of our year group too.
The next Saturday we drove out to Warburton, a favourite spot of mine in the Yarra Valley, joined by the Rector of the College, Fr Denis Stanley. A sunny autumn day provided the perfect conditions for a walk through the trees along the old railway trail. After stopping to peruse the local market in Millgrove, we headed to the Alpine Hotel for some hard-earned refreshments and a good old-fashioned pub meal.
To celebrate the priestly ordination of Fr Jackson Saunders on the 23rd of March, the seminary community made tracks to Sacred Heart Cathedral in Bendigo. This was also the perfect opportunity for Fr Jake (proudly born and bred in Bendigo) to give the first years a tour of his hometown, enjoy the local cafés, and introduce us to his folks.
New to Melbourne, and keen to experience the great outdoors, Renjith Joseph (Syro-Malabar) brought us to Churchill National Park in Lysterfield for a day’s hike. Braving the cold and some unexpected storms, we soldiered on and were treated to plenty of spectacles of native wildlife, including kangaroos and wallabies.
Fr Jake with Xavier, Cameron and Renjith
As we take this first step in our journey of formation towards sacred priesthood, we give thanks to God for our brothers and formators in the seminary, for all of the support of the Church, and for all the opportunities we have to grow in fraternity in the service of God. We ask for your continued prayers for us and all of the seminarians, as we are praying for you.