by Fr. Brian Kane,
Rector, St. Gregory the Great
Seminary; Director of Seminarians
“Faith makes nothing impossible and renders meaningless such words as anxiety, danger, and fear, so that the believer goes through life calmly and peacefully, with profound joy—like a child, hand in hand with his mother.” - St. Charles de Foucauld
As Christmas approaches, we see a desire to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Word made flesh, as we are inundated with Christmas lights, advertisements in stores and online, music on the radio, and decorations in our homes. Although advertisements often lack the word Christmas, it is hard to deny a deeper draw within each person toward God.
In columns over the last several months, I’ve focused on a three-fold goal of seminary formation, building on the seminarian’s faith that St. Charles de Foucauld talks about in the quote above, leading to a “profound joy” that comes through intimacy with God, forming men to be “healed, mystic, teachers.” The gift of spiritual healing opens doors to a deeper faith. It lays a foundation for seminarians, and all of us, to have a mystic encounter with God.
Mystic is not a frequently used word. Sometimes it refers to saints who have had extraordinary encounters with God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks about mysticism as a process.
“Spiritual progress tends toward an ever more intimate union with Christ. This union is called ‘mystical’ because it participates in the mystery of Christ through the sacraments — ‘the holy mysteries’ — and, in him, in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God calls us all to this intimate union with him, even if the special graces or extraordinary signs of this mystical life are granted only to some for the sake of manifesting the gratuitous gift given to all.” (#2014).
When we speak of a candidate for the priesthood as “mystic,” it is this spiritual progress that we seek to develop in the man. That growth has as its end intimate union with God, who the seminarian encounters in all elements of formation.
The Program of Priestly Formation describes the goal of the seminary’s spiritual formation program in similar terms. “The heart of spiritual formation is personal union with Christ, which is born of, and nourished in, a particular way by prolonged and silent prayer.” PPF 229
In January, seminarians will return from the Christmas break and begin the spring semester on a silent directed retreat on the model of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Each seminarian will have a director with whom he meets each day of the retreat to explore how he is encountering Jesus in his prayer. These discussions are an important part of being able to see where the Father wants to have this mystical experience of love with the person on retreat.
The other important element of the retreat is silence. Without real silence, without the ability to listen to the quiet voice of God, it is very difficult to grow in a life-long, sustaining relationship with the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
The Program of Priestly Formation continues: “This prayer happens in a context of silence and solitude in which they (seminarians) learn to be attuned to God’s movements in their lives. It grows and develops into a ‘contemplative attitude’ that learns to find God in all things. It matures in such a way that it allows for a balanced and unified rhythm of life in action and contemplation, work and prayer, while providing the future priest with the strength, meaning, and focus he will need in his life.” PPF 229
This manner of living a “balanced and unified rhythm of life” may seem almost unattainable, unrealistic and distant, especially when it is in almost complete opposition to what our culture is today.
Every parishioner desires the priest to be holy, joy-filled and an image of the Good Shepherd. Seminary formation today is very attentive to the need for priests who live the life of a “mystic” in the midst of so many demands. It requires strong patterns of prayer to be developed at the earliest stages so that a priest may live “(a) life of steady prayer centered first and foremost on Sacred Scripture and the prayerful celebration of the sacraments, especially Penance and the Eucharist, the Liturgy of the Hours (the Divine Praises, in the Eastern Catholic Churches), and the liturgical cycles, but also on devotional and contemplative prayer.” (PPF 43)
This process of growing in mystical union with God is not reserved for seminarians and priests alone, it is a goal for every disciple of Jesus.
“Families can become ‘a first seminary’ in which children can acquire from the beginning an awareness of piety and prayer and love for the Church.” (PPF 50) Our Catholic schools, CCD programs, Godteens, Newman Center, youth ministry, young adult groups and general parish life all help promote this way of living and of prayer, long before a young person starts to discern a vocation.
As we are surrounded by the lights of Christmas, we should ask God for the specific grace of deeper trust in the Father’s love and a faith that St. Charles de Foucauld said “makes nothing impossible and renders meaningless such words as anxiety, danger, and fear, so that the believer goes through life calmly and peacefully, with profound joy.”
The seminarians, faculty and staff of St. Gregory the Great Seminary wish you a blessed Advent and a happy and holy Christmas!
