Denver Catholic

23 DENVER CATHOLIC | JUNE 13-26, 2015 O n Feb. 6, an assem- bly met to discuss House Bill 1135, a proposed bill allowing for physician-assisted suicide. After writing a letter to the representa- tives on the committee for the bill, I was made aware that the assembly was open to the general public, and that people would have the opportu- nity to speak before the committee. I talked with my mom about it later in the evening—we decided to at least go and sit in to listen. As we found our seats, my mom asked if I had signed us up on the list to give a three-minute testimony. I nervously put both of our names down. We sat and listened to hours of testimony given by doctors, law- yers, and members of organizations devoted to care for the disabled and home-bound. Mean- while, I was writing down my own thoughts. I kept thinking, "All of these people–on both sides of the issue–are giving relatable, intelligent, and very moving testimonies. What dierence is my voice going to make?" As I read my testimony again and again, making edits along the way, my mindset began to shift. I entered this thought into my notes: "Other people have very strong, intelligent arguments. Mine is not based on legal or medical grounds; however, it is my own and nobody else has my testi- mony. Therefore, I must oer it." That was an incredibly empowering thought for me. My actual testimony was not verbatim to what I had written, but that played to my advantage because I made strong eye contact with each of the committee members over the course of my speech. Here is what I had writ- ten down: My testimony is, quite frankly, less about medicine or legislation, and more about the mind- set and direction of our culture. What message are we sending to my gen- eration and generations to follow with this bill? I want to talk about virtue, specifically, the virtue of courage. Now, I'm a runner, so I like to think about life as a marathon. Pretty easy analogy. When I think about this bill, I envision someone running a marathon and getting to the 25th mile. Exhaustion sets in along with muscle failure. This bill calls a cab for that runner to catch a ride to the finish line. Is that courageous? Or would it be more cou- rageous for that same person to keep putting one foot in front of the other, with people on the sidelines cheering them on? That person would do everything in their power to finish the race, even crawl if they had to. I ask you now to consider which of these two scenarios displays more courage and more dignity for the human person when you decide whether or not to pass this bill. With that, I thanked them and awaited their opportunity to ask ques- tions. Thankfully, there were none. I walked back to my seat standing a little taller. I had spoken my piece. Later that evening, we watched the local news. The bill was defeated. I was elated! I was on the winning team. Did my eorts alone sway the vote? Probably not. But my voice was heard, and I know it made a dierence. I felt like Dr. Seuss's Who character, whose one small, "Yelp!" combined with the voices of the other Whos, saved their small speck of dust from destruction. So many times in my life I have allowed fear to keep me from speaking my point of view. I don't expect to always have things go my way in the end, but this experience taught me a very import- ant lesson. I hope those who read this will also be instilled with the con- fidence of knowing that nobody else has your voice. I encourage you to speak– respectfully–into issues that matter, whether it is in your personal rela- tionships or in the public square. Take courage! Stand up! Be heard! My testimony at the Capitol P eople are always asking me, "What's a usual day look like for a seminarian?" "Well, I usually wake up at 5:45, I get ready for the day…" and the blabbering goes on for another five to ten min- utes while I describe all the usual and unusual possibilities for any given day. But in such a cold, calculated, and for- mulaic response, I find I'm never really able to answer the questions that per- haps most people would really like me to answer: How do you strike a balance in your life? How do you spend your time so as to make your life an oering to God? And, indeed, I even forget to ask myself these questions. Time is one of those hidden resources that we forget about. It is not a strict necessity of the universe, for the angels and God himself do not exist within it. Rather it is a divine gift given to us on earth in order that we might become perfected. Time is a reality which makes possible our salvation. In recognizing that our lives are meant to be total self-gift, we seminarians strive to find a balance in our time at semi- nary: a balance between study and rest, a balance between personal time and commu- nity time, a balance between our apostolic and our intellectual formation. In the end, however, I've discovered the balance is most per- fectly struck when prayer is at the center. The life of prayer in seminary is rich and well structured. It focuses on three "movements" throughout the day. There is the movement of the Mass, which the seminary celebrates together most days in our beautiful chapel.¥ This "source and summit" of our lives motivates our desire to grow in union with God, and so it takes priority in the day. The next movement is the Liturgy of the Hours.¥ Morning prayer and evening prayer are prayed in common, and the rest of the hours are for us to pray individually or in small groups. The last movement is the holy hour.¥ Most days of the week, we are given the opportunity to spend time reflecting on how the Lord is calling us into deeper union with him in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Our preparation for the priesthood also calls us to engage in a program of intellectual formation. This time of study happens in the classroom four days a week.¥ These classes are taught at a graduate level, and they require a fair amount of reading and preparation. Throughout our time of formation, we are constantly working to develop habits of study, which we can carry throughout our future priestly ministry. The time we spend in prayer and study is further marked by deeply communal character.¥ Not only do we pray and go to classes in community, we eat, recreate, and live in community. As humans, we can only be perfected through commu- nal life, and so in seminary we spend time and share our lives with brother seminarians who call us to greater virtue and, therefore, union with God. The balance we strive for in seminary is fruitful for us who are in formation for the priesthood. In our quest to make our time a gift to God, recognizing that it is a gift from God, we are reminded of the universal call to holiness. And we understand that the only way to know God's will for our lives is through prayer. Consider spending some time in prayer this week, bringing to Him the many people and events that vie for your time. Ask God to show you how to strike a balance in your life so that his gift of time to you can be returned as a fragrant oering to him. A day in the life of a seminarian Zachary Boazman is a seminari- an at St. John Vianney Theolog- ical Seminary. He is studying to be a priest for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and enjoys sharing photos and stories about life in the seminary. Guest Column ZACHARY BOAZMAN Justin Langfield±was a mission- ary for±FOCUS±before becom- ing a personal trainer for 24 Hour Fitness.±He attends Spirit of Christ Church in Arvada. Guest Column JUSTIN LANGFIELD DENVER CATHOLIC FILE PHOTO

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