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From Wall Street to the Priesthood

From Wall Street to the Priesthood

Nov 28, 2023 | Alumni, News

Caption: Very Reverend Daniel Reehil,
V.F. and President Rector Fr. Peter
Kucer at the Boston Marian Conference

Very Reverend Daniel Reehil, V.F., is the Pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Church in the Nashville area and has a fascinating story about his journey to the priesthood.

As a Wall Street banker in Manhattan in the 1990s, he was invited to take a trip to Medjugorje in 1998 after being away from the church for twenty years. During confession, the priest told him that he believed he had a vocation. This life-altering pilgrimage began a transformational conversion for him.

The experience led him to re-evaluate his life, and so after 9/11, he moved to Boston to begin his formation under the mentorship of Fr. Tom Dilorenzo. Later, Fr. Dan attended Holy Apostles College and Seminary and completed his MDiv in 2014. During that time, he also spent five years in a contemplative hermitage

Along with his busy pastoral responsibilities and his role as Treasurer of the Diocesan Bank of Nashville CCIL, Fr. Dan also leads an engaging radio broadcast at 9:00 am CT called Battle Ready on Radio Maria USA, discussing a variety of topics relevant to our times and to advancing the Gospel.

Fr. Dan is also a well-known exorcist of the Diocese of Nashville. In fact, he was featured this past October on Fox News warning of the dangers of Ouija boards.

In 2018, he received his exorcism training at Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum in Rome and completed intensive spiritual warfare training with the Intercessors of the Lamb in Omaha. He has seen unusual paranormal experiences and strange manifestations in his role of exorcist but remains undaunted.

“As I approach the 10th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood, I am continually thankful for the solid, orthodox formation I was afforded at Holy Apostles Seminary and College. The strong work ethic and mission to serve, coupled with an excellent academic formation and a dedicated discipline of prayer and adoration have given me the tools to cultivate a rhythm of life to faithfully serve the parish and various ministries I shepherd,” said Fr. Reehil

“I have also maintained many solid friendships with the men I befriended at Holy Apostles Seminary; friendships that have grown into a brotherhood and relationships I am so grateful to have formed while in seminary.”

Fr. Reehil is in demand and travels extensively for speaking engagements worldwide. This fall, he was a guest speaker at the Boston Marian Conference in Quincy, Massachusetts. At the conference, he shared stories about the importance of following the leading of the Holy Spirit as we live out our Christian calling.

“As pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Columbia, TN, and as the Exorcist of the Diocese of Nashville, Fr. Dan Reehil is placing his many gifts at the service of the Church in a truly Christ-centered manner, “said Fr. Kucer. “Holy Apostles College & Seminary is blessed to have formed Fr. Reehil at our seminary. May Fr. Reehil and his ministry be blessed abundantly and flourish in accordance with God’s will.”

Holy Apostles College and Seminary www.holyapostles.edu is a NECHE and ATS accredited college with a mission of preparing and educating seminarians, consecrated and lay students, for the New Evangelization through undergraduate and graduate programs. Students have access to faithfully Catholic, truly affordable, and fully online programs as well as residential religious programs in historic Cromwell, Connecticut. As a pioneer in online learning, Holy Apostles is one of the first theological schools to offer 100% online graduate programs. Alumni and faculty of the institution include internationally recognized leaders and experts in apologetics, philosophy, and theology.

Community Gathering

Community Gathering

Nov 28, 2023 | News

On Thursday, October 12, we gathered in our chapel for the Mass to celebrate Blessed Carlo Acutis on his feast day and as a reminder of the passion, powerful mystery, and gift that receiving the Eucharist is for us all.

A plaque was placed in the chapel to honor Reverend Douglas Mosey, C.S.B. for his years of service to Holy Apostles College & Seminary followed by an outdoor Eucharistic procession.

We ended the evening with Eucharistic adoration led by Reverend Jeffrey “Skip” Thompson, M.S.A., who presided and gave reflections on “How Jesus Taught His Real Presence in the Eucharist.” Father Thompson has been featured on ETWN’s The Journey Home program.

It was a beautiful day to celebrate with our community and friends!

Click images below to view at full scale. 

Holy Apostles Alumnus Elected Provincial Superior

Holy Apostles Alumnus Elected Provincial Superior

Oct 31, 2023 | Alumni, News

Pictured: President Rector Fr. Peter Kucer, MSA and Very Reverend Chis Alar, MIC at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA, standing in front of the weeping image of Divine Mercy.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2023 

Congratulations to the Very Rev. Chris Alar, MIC, on the news that he is the newly elected Provincial Superior of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy Province of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception in the United States and Argentina. Currently, he is also the Director of the Marian Helpers on the grounds of the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Fr. Chris Alar received his Master in Divinity degree in 2014 from Holy Apostles College & Seminary in Cromwell, CT.

President Rector Fr. Peter Kucer, MSA, President-Rector of Holy Apostles College & Seminary, recently visited Fr. Alar at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy. “The service and evangelization that Fr. Alar is doing for the Shrine and our Catholic faith is truly remarkable. His ministry is reaching many people whose lives have been transformed by his teachings and witness of life,” said Fr. Kucer. “Holy Apostles College & Seminary is truly blessed to have formed at our seminary this exemplary, Christ-centered, inspirational priest who is placing his many gifts at the service of extending the Kingdom of God.”

Like other delayed vocation priests who attended Holy Apostles Seminary, Fr. Chris was a successful business owner living a worldly life before he decided to become a priest. Everything changed after he read the diary of St. Faustina and came to realize God’s infinite mercy, especially with his grandmother’s suicide that had impacted him. This experience led Fr. Chris to write the book After Suicide: There’s Still Hope for Them and You (2019).

“I am very grateful for the formation and education I received at Holy Apostles College and Seminary. It is the foundation of my priesthood, built on a life of prayer that was also fostered in me during my time there. As I give many talks around the world, I often explain what I am teaching is what I learned at HACS, a seminary faithful to the teachings of Christ and His Church”, said Fr. Alar.

Every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on EWTN, Fr. Chris hosts Living Divine Mercy, reaching millions of viewers with helpful information about the Catholic faith with inspirational stories. He also travels the globe giving popular talks on the messages of Divine Mercy and relevant teachings for our times.

The National Shrine of The Divine Mercy hosts thousands of visitors yearly at its beautiful chapel and grounds in the Berkshires and promotes the messages and devotions of God’s mercy given to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska OLM.

Holy Apostles College and Seminary www.holyapostles.edu is a NECHE and ATS accredited college with a mission of preparing and educating seminarians, consecrated and lay students for the New Evangelization through undergraduate and graduate programs. Students have access to faithfully Catholic, truly affordable, and fully online programs as well as residential religious programs in historic Cromwell, Connecticut. As a pioneer in online learning, Holy Apostles is one of the first theological schools to offer 100% online graduate programs. Alumni and faculty of the institution include internationally recognized leaders and experts in the areas of apologetics, philosophy, and theology.

Pray the Rosary With Your Holy Apostles Community

Feb 3, 2023 | Uncategorized

The Graduate Pastoral Studies Department is pleased to announce a community-wide rosary initiative, and you are invited to attend via Zoom on February 15, March 15, and April 12 at 7:00 PM Eastern time. Everyone will receive the link; no RSVP is necessary. We will gather for the praying of the rosary, which should only take about 20-30 minutes.

The Rationale

Each Catholic campus, and even more, every seminary, is to be a cenacle of prayer and an oasis where the community can grow in holiness, faith, and charity. Placing ourselves in the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Pastoral Studies Department is pleased to announce this all-new rosary initiative, which contributes toward the spiritual growth and nourishment of the entire academic community, both on campus and online. Our community wide rosary will take place once a month for three months of the semester. All are invited, whether on campus or online, from your area of the world: undergraduates, graduates, alumni, faculty and staff.

The Logistics

Each semester, a student will be appointed as the Rosary Chaplain. He/she will organize and lead a rosary via Zoom for the academic community each month for three consecutive months of the semester. Again, the entire rosary event, will only last about 20-30 minutes. Any student who is interested in serving as the Rosary Chaplain for the spring semester, please contact the Pastoral Studies Program Director, Dr. J. Marianne Siegmund ([email protected]).

When

The dates for the spring rosary are February 15, March 15 and April 12 at 7:00 PM Eastern time via Zoom. Spread the word, and plan on attending the first community wide rosary on February 15!

Benefits

The benefits of praying the holy rosary are many. For example, one can gain at plenary or partial indulgence under the usual conditions. For more, see The Enchiridion on Indulgences #48. The rosary also helps one to grow in peace and in union with our loving Father in Heaven. Bring a greater sense of peace to your life, your family, and your academic endeavors at Holy Apostles by joining us in praying the holy rosary! One need not be Catholic to attend. For additional benefits, see the 15 Promises to Those Who Pray the Rosary.

Join Us!

Shortly before each rosary event, you will receive a Zoom link. Click on it to join your Holy Apostles academic community in this contemplative, peaceful 20-30 minute time of prayer. It is not necessary to have your video camera on. For questions, please contact the Pastoral Studies Program Director, Dr. Siegmund ([email protected]). We look forward to having you join the spring Holy Apostles community wide rosary on February 15, March 15 and April 12 at 7:00 PM Eastern time!

Alumni Stories: Dr. Jason Morgan

Alumni Stories: Dr. Jason Morgan

Sep 2, 2022 | Uncategorized

Dr. Jason Morgan

Graduation Year: 2021
MA Philosophy (Christian Wisdom)

Holy Apostles has given me a completely new perspective on my life and the world around me. The MA program at HACS was my first experience studying philosophy in a structured setting, and being able to see how the different strands of ideas I had been picking up here and there before fit together into a much bigger whole was such a grace.

Tell us a little about yourself.

Born in southern Louisiana, grew up there and in Tennessee. I first went to Japan as an undergrad at UT-Chattanooga and from there have focused on Asian studies. Attended universities in China, Hawaii, Wisconsin, and Nagoya (Japan), and then did a Fulbright doctoral year at Waseda University in Tokyo. Finished the Ph.D. in Japanese history at the University of Wisconsin and then came straight to Japan to start working. Have lived in Japan for probably around ten years in all, and have also lived in China and South Korea.

I am married to my best friend. We both love animals, and when we have time we also like to take drives down to the Pacific Ocean and around the back roads of rural Japan.

What are you doing now?

I may possibly have the distinction—not sure, but I must be a contender—of being the most remote student in HACS history. I did the whole program (MA Philosophy—Christian Wisdom) from Japan, where I live and work.

I teach at a small Japanese college and research and write about Japanese history as my day job. My main areas of focus are Japanese law, history, and politics. My recent books are Law and Society in Imperial Japan: Suehiro Izutaro and the Search for Equity (Cambria, 2020). I’ve also published scholarly essays at Dao, Studia Gilsoniana, the Michigan Historical Review, the Proceedings of the Historical Awareness Research Committee, Logos, Reitaku Review, and a few other journals. A book chapter on religious philosophy in the writings of Confucius is due out soon in an edited volume put together by the legendary HACS professor, Peter Redpath.

I am very blessed to be able to contribute writings to the Seirondan opinion page of the Sankei Shimbun newspaper in Tokyo, the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies journal, New Oxford Review, The Remnant, the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals journal, The Imaginative Conservative, Abbeville Institute, Crisis, Japan Forward, Kokutai Bunka, Asia Times, the University Bookman, and some other outlets.

I hope to go back to HACS for a Post-Master’s in the history of philosophy, and would also like to study Indian philosophy formally.

Why did you decide to study at Holy Apostles?

I came to Holy Apostles by the grace of God. I had just finished a Ph.D. program in Japanese history and was ready to do some serious studying—which is how I was led to Holy Apostles.

Ph.D. programs at secular universities are mainly ideological, and students are coached to mimic “successful” professors in order to say the right things to get the best jobs and publishing contracts. It’s a tremendously sterile, anti-intellectual milieu.

Holy Apostles was a huge gust of fresh air! I started off with Prof. Redpath’s course on The One and the Many and was floored. It was probably one of the best classes I ever took in my life, perhaps THE best. The rest of my time at HACS was just like that, one amazing discovery of eternal truth after another. I wouldn’t trade my three-and-a-half years at Holy Apostles for anything in the world.

What was your favorite course you took while at Holy Apostles?

Probably Philosophical Anthropology, with Prof. Randall Colton, Dante, with Prof. Ferri, and The True, the False, the Lie, and the Fake, with Prof. Curtis Hancock

How has your education helped you in your life?

HACS has given me a completely new perspective on my life and the world around me. The MA program at HACS was my first experience studying philosophy in a structured setting, and being able to see how the different strands of ideas I had been picking up here and there before fit together into a much bigger whole was such a grace. I never thought of myself as a philosopher, and I still don’t claim the title, but HACS taught me that even I can think things through philosophically.

Since graduating from Holy Apostles, what has been your greatest personal and professional accomplishments?

My scholarly work continues–I am set to contribute to some book projects over the next few months, will take part in some legal history and Asian history conferences, and am working on several new chapters and essays, as well as a handful of new books. A colleague and I are starting a new book series on East Asian History, and I am now putting together proposals for the first round of books and just finished translating a long essay by a Japanese legal scholar on legal fictions for that series.

Personally, my greatest accomplishment since leaving HACS is that I am trying to learn to see God’s love in the world around me. This is not really an accomplishment, but a requirement of being a human being, something that HACS taught me should be at the very center of what I do.

How has your education help you serve in your community or family?

Prof. Mahfood always stressed community in his Dante lectures, and this has helped me to see myself as part of a much bigger world than just myself. Speaking the truth forthrightly and with love is what we should all be doing in and for the world. Listening to others is also indispensable to that mission. Holy Apostles was the place where I saw all of these various aspects of communal living come together into one coherent piece.

Were you inspired by any particular person at Holy Apostles?

All of them! Prof. Redpath, Prof. Curtis, Prof. Colton, Prof. Ferri–these and my other professors all showed me things that I never would have discovered on my own. Dr. Elizabeth Rex also deserves special mention. I attended one of her talks on embryos from a pro-life position and was overwhelmed by the quality of the discussion and her loving approach to life issues.

I’d also like to express my appreciation for Prof. Timothy Smith and Prof. Philippe Yates. They teach subjects that I personally find challenging, but their calm presentation and lucid explication made the difference. I thought it would be logically impossible for me to pass a logic class–Prof. Yates showed me that I was wrong, and also why it was illogical of me to think that logic wasn’t for me!

Other Information You Feel Like Sharing:

I could never have done the HACS program without the support of my wife and family.