PROVIDENCE — A five-minute Lenten reflection on CatholicTV from diocesan seminarian Christopher Murphy painted a powerful image of the young man’s strong faith in Jesus Christ and his devotion to becoming a messenger of the Gospels.
Murphy's talk on CatholicTV.com's "Blink" show is based on the book "The Seven Last Words of Jesus," written by Father Romanus Cessario.
Murphy, 22, a first-year theology student at St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Mass., offered a reflection entitled "Woman, behold your son: Behold, your mother " (John 19:25-27), in which he explained how the Virgin Mary's obedience to God leads Christians to Christ.
Murphy, a native of East Providence, is a parishioner of St. Brendan Church, Riverside and attended the parish school from kindergarten to eighth grade. He said, "It's sad and unfortunate" the school will close its doors at the end of the school year.
He has three additional years of studies at St. John's before he will be ordained and assigned to minister at a parish by the bishop. Murphy's first two years of seminary were at Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Providence.
"My whole life has been preoccupied with discernment of the priesthood. I always considered it as an option but never pursued it or prayed about it — not until my second year of college at CCRI. I had a few conversations with friends and my pastor, prayed about it and then entered seminary and loved it," said Murphy.
Murphy's Lenten reflection focuses on Mary's servitude toward Christ and her commitment to a chaste life. The seminarian’s words reflect his own choice to lead a celibate life and live his life for Jesus. "Mary's face in the Madonna painting resembles Christ and she had the perfect obedience to God. Mary offers us hope and encouragement as she embraces a life of chaste celibacy."
Murphy added that he readily embraced God’s call to the priesthood.
"I think the service part is the attractive aspect of the priesthood and I wanted to serve in any way and I'm at peace with that. I've always had a relationship with God and prayer," said Murphy.
"Celibacy is essential to the priesthood and it has to be presented in a different way today. In the past it was seen as a huge sacrifice, but first and foremost it's a way to love and serve people. Celibacy is a sign for people and the way we love in heaven and the kingdom of God," he said.
In addition to his seminary studies, Murphy ministers at the Catholic student center at Northeastern University in Boston, where he attends weekly meetings with Catholic students. "There is praise and worship of God with a speaker and I witness to students who we are in the Church as seminarians. If I see any students having a difficult time, I establish relationships and help them out," said Murphy.
"I think Mary provides priests with a great example by the way of her obedience to God and carrying out his will with celibacy. Mary embodies what it means to life a chaste life and she lived chaste life for her son Jesus Christ. She's of huge importance for priests," he added.
Murphy said St. Dorothy Sister Isabel Borg-Cardona, his theology teacher at Our Lady of Fatima High School in Warren, was a major influence in his decision to enter seminary. "In this woman I saw someone of great faith and trust in the Lord. She shared her witness and story on why she became a sister and it had impact on me," he said.
Sister Borg-Cardona, who has taught religion and mathematics for 36 years at Fatima, described Murphy as a “wonderful student” in her Hebrew Scriptures' class. "His reflections were extraordinary and I felt he was close to Christ. The way he expressed himself — there seemed to be a perfect relationship between him and Jesus in a simple, beautiful way," she said.
Sister Borg-Cardona is pleased that Murphy has been an example for young Catholics in his pursuit of the priesthood. "He is no different than others except he is a good young man with good morals. I'm surprised and pleased because that's our ministry to bring Jesus Christ to these young men and women. Any success story is always encouraging," the religious sister added.
Murphy's faith and Mary's devotion are two examples for Catholics to develop a better one-on-one relationship with Christ.
"As Jesus was hanging from the cross Mary and the disciple that loved him John were there. Mary's heart is pierced by the wounds of Jesus and Jesus bears the sins of the world," said Murphy during his reflection, which aired on the Web program on April 7 during Holy Week.
Murphy explained why Catholics have a devotion to the mother of Christ. He said, "In John's Gospel, Jesus instructs us to do so. Mary bore the infant Jesus in her womb and eternally in her heart. There is nothing more intimate than a relationship between a mother and son.
"Mary teaches us the value of celibate love through hope in Jesus," he concluded.
