Thoughts from the Cathedra

Dear Friends in Christ, 

This past week our seminarians returned to their various seminaries for a new year of formation. Some of our men attend Mount Angel Abbey and Seminary in Oregon. Others are in Chicago, Illinois, at Mundelein Seminary. And two of our men will begin their formation at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Texas. As they prepare to one day, God willing, be ordained priests of Jesus Christ and serve here in the Diocese of Tucson, one way to support them in formation is to pray with and for them each day, remembering them particularly in the Eucharist which binds us all together in Christ, who holds all things together in himself (c.f. Colossians 1:17). Meet our seminarians here.  

Formation is such a nuanced word that benefits from some explanation. In a certain sense, all of us are in formation by the very fact that we are missionary disciples. Specifically, our seminarians are engaged in formation for the priesthood. This is much more than just an academic enterprise. I often say that we are not so much trying to know about God as much as we are trying to know God. This is what formation is all about.

For our seminarians, formation is the integration of four pillars:  spiritual formation, academic formation, pastoral formation, and human formation. Although in some ways seminary resembles university life, in reality, it remains a much more comprehensive journey that brings together the intellect, will, and the soul. Formation is a giving over of oneself to someone outside of yourself, in this case God, who forms the seminarian through daily prayer and worship, theological study, preparation to live out the Gospel in pastoral service; all of which helps the seminarian come to know who he is and whose he is through human formation. Our hope and prayer is that this way of being through priestly formation will result in well-formed priests capable of bearing the weight of the mystery of God in the celebration of the sacraments and in his care of Mystical Body of Christ, people.

Pope Leo XIV wrote about the nature of the well-formed priest explaining that the priesthood calls for the ability to understand and interpret complex situations, and to rise above immediate emotions, fears, and the pressure of passing fashions. It means providing pastoral solutions that generate and regenerate faith by building good relationships, bonds of solidarity, and communities in which the style of communion shines forth. Being builders of peace means serving and not domineering. Priestly fraternity becomes a credible sign of the presence of the Risen Lord in our midst precisely when it is the hallmark of our shared journey as priests. The Lord does not look for perfect priests, but for humble hearts that are open to conversion and prepared to love others as he himself loved. Never forget that a holy priest makes love flourish around him. 

I invite you to join me in two very important spiritual works for our diocese:  1) to pray for our seminarians in their formation - that God will give them hearts that are joyful in the Spirit and magnanimous in their tireless service to God and God’s people, and 2) to help me by inviting men in your parish to consider the priesthood. Somewhere in your parish right now there is a young, or even middle-aged, man who possesses the gifts that would make an outstanding priest. He is just waiting for someone to notice and to invite him to consider the priesthood. As such, I invite you to share that you recognize these gifts in him and that God may be calling him to be a Priest of Jesus Christ.

May God bless our seminarians and those who have the call to the priesthood and may God help us to support them by our prayers and encouragement.