Seminarian Column: The Church’s discernment for seminarians

I finished my last final and raced the clock to pack up my room at seminary—I needed to be leaving. I had to make it from Emmitsburg, Md. to Belleville, Ill. quickly! A childhood friend was having a big day. This May, I attended Sister Miryam of the Holy Family’s final profession of vows at the Poor Clare Monastery of Our Lady of Mercy.

When I got there, it was clear I did not belong. No, not in a bad way! Rather, in the way that if I stayed too long, I would be interrupting the sisters in their life of contemplative prayer. But I was meant to be there briefly. What I saw was clear—Sister Miryam does belong there! Throughout the final vows ceremony, I saw joy and more joy that exclaimed a clear and holy peace. Sister Miryam was ready for her vows. It was clear that this way of life was her way of life—this was God’s calling.  

What is interesting is that even though Sister Miryam’s life is contemplative and cloistered, she is not isolated. No one is. I have even met hermits before (as a child, I would have thought that was impossible). They too, are in community.

My vocation (and yours) exists in community. When I first started discernment, it was my discernment. At least, that is what I thought when I started. In seminary, though, I’ve seen that it is our discernment. Who is all included in that “our?” Well, of course God, the one who calls us, who writes our vocation into our very being so that we discover it as we grow close to him. But while that is crucial, there is more than just “me and Jesus.”

At seminary, we often hear how we discern with the Church. Becoming a priest is not my decision alone. True, I did make a decision, but it is also the decision of the Church, the Body of Christ. In my discernment, there are important things I do: pray with our Lord, conversations with my formator and my spiritual director, and visits with Bishop Folda and Father Metzger. But that’s not all. The whole Church’s discernment is important. You are important to my discernment.

How?

At least in three ways. The first is prayer. Please pray for your seminarians. We need it. I only semi-jokingly say that my grandma’s prayers are the reason why I am in seminary. Oh, and do not worry, your prayers are not competing with Sister Miryam’s. Remember the Body of Christ? Not all parts are the same (such a body would not even function). The point of community is that each does their part.

Another way is fellowship. We need to spend time with each other. When we seminarians come home for the summer between years of seminary formation, we’re sent out on little summer missions. Often, they are assignments to spend time with you in parishes throughout the diocese. Through this time, we discover how to serve and what our future life will look like. That is good discernment! We need you to share your community with us.

Finally, the third way is your financial support. You often most directly help us through God’s Gift Appeal and Knights of Columbus. There is no possible way we could pay for seminary on our own, but through your help we’re able to dive deep into the treasures of the Church and discover Christ deeply, that we might return and offer the goodness of God more deeply to you. I do have to say, when the studies are hard and I want to quit for the day, I remember that you’re counting on me and that through your support I am gifted with being in seminary. So, I sit right back down in my chair and keep going.

When I was able to say “hello” to Sister Miryam after her final vows, I found there was not much to say (one finds in such moments that small talk disappears). But I did have one request: would she pray for me? Except I knew she already was. So, instead I thanked her for her prayers.

I have one request for you, would you support us? Except I know that you already are. Thank you.