oops, how could I forget!?

I can't believe I forgot to mention one thing about my vacation:

NICK AND I MET SCOTT HAHN!

He was there on vacation with his extended family the same week we were! I saw him at Mass at Holy Family Church on Sunday but wasn't sure if it was him or not. (It was a surprisingly orthodox Church, despite the stadium layout) I saw him again at daily Mass so I decided to ask one of the ladies that ran the Church's gift shop if it was really him. She said it was! So Nick and I (not thinking to buy one there) scurried all over the Island trying to find a bookstore that carried his books. We finally found First Comes Love at a Barnes and Noble!

So the next day we had our book and pen ready for an autograph. We tried to catch him before Mass but weren't able to. After Mass we went outside and waited for him, his wife Kimberly (not to be confused with this Kimberly Hahn), and their son Jeremiah to exit the Church. His son did first so we asked him if he thought it would be OK to get an autograph from his dad. At that moment Kimberly and he came out and were so gracious! Nick and I talked with him for like 10 or 15 minutes! He was very kind and actually wanted to know stuff about us, like what we were doing there, where we're from, if we've graduated college, etc. We talked about theology, apologetics, and his new book coming out!

I asked him to pray for me as I'm discerning the priesthood and he asked me where I might go to seminary. I mentioned that the Archdiocese uses St. Meinrad, St. Mary's in Baltimore, and the Theological College at CUA (I forgot to mention Mundelein, drat!). He said he's heard great things about Mount St. Mary's in Emmitsburg and mentioned that he'll be teaching a scripture class at St. Vincent's in Latrobe, PA. He said if I mentioned St. Vincent's to Archbishop Kelly then he'd put in a plug for me! One note: After I mentioned TC at CUA he said "I wouldn't recommend WTC as they have some growth to do in the way of appreciation of Church Tradition." I'm wondering if he's confusing TC with the Washington Theological Union?

Finally, he asked me to pray for his eldest sons who are also discerning the priesthood and the Fathers of Mercy. I mentioned that I'd spent a weekend with them once and expressed how impressed I was by them. Then Nick and I both shared how the most powerful confessions we'd ever had were with the Fathers of Mercy who have a special devotion to the Sacrament of Confession. He was moved by our experience with the Fathers. What a great, great man. If you're Catholic and you're reading this, by all means, buy a Scott Hahn book!