Mass of the Holy Spirit with Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity
Photo by Valaurian Waller
The school year began with celebration of Mass and the installation of new Sacred Heart faculty members .
Editorial Team
On Tuesday , September 6 , the Sacred Heart Major Seminary community gathered to celebrate Mass marking the beginning of this new school year and the installation of new faculty members Dr . Kevin Clarke , Father Jeremy Davis , and Mr . John Lajiness . Father Stephen Burr invited those gathered to look ahead to the new year with hope for what God might do , challenging them with the question , “ What will be the gift God has in store for each of us ? Together in this inaugural liturgy , we anticipate the good .”
At the Mass , students , faculty , and staff celebrated in anticipation of all that ’ s to come in the new academic year , and , from their varied perspectives , anticipated the good that ’ s to come . First year theology student , Karl Finkbeiner , who attended the Mass remarked “ I ’ m looking forward to just being immersed deeper in learning about the faith and growing in it with my brothers here at the Seminary . I can ’ t wait to see what grace the Lord has for us this year .”
First year commuter student , Eliezer “ Jun ” Siwa , shared that he looks forward to gaining wisdom during his time at Sacred Heart and taking it back to his home parish St . Cyril and Methodius where he is involved with youth ministry .
During the Mass , Dr . Kevin Clarke , Father Jeremy Davis , and Mr . John Lajiness recited a Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity . In doing so , they stated their belief in all that the Church holds as definitively true and promised to teach according to the mind of the Church .
As Canon law 883 , article 7 states , the Profession of Faith is a public and solemn act required of all Catholics , at the beginning of their term in office , who teach the “ sacred sciences ” of theology and philosophy at a Catholic seminary .
Newly installed faculty member , Father Jeremy Davis , in the spirit of the new school year shared that he most looks forward “ to forming relationships with the young men that are being formed to be priests ,” remarking that the relationships formed through teaching and encountering Christ together are what he enjoys most .
Dr . Kevin Clarke joins the staff as the new Dean of the Institute for Lay Ministry and an associate professor bringing with him years of research and expertise in the Church Fathers and their interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures .
Dr . Clarke ’ s love for patristics and Sacred Scriptures came to him through the probing , metaphysical questions of a Buddhist roommate while he was working as a copy editor in Virginia .
34 Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Fall 2022