Juntos en el camino: Palabras semanales del Arzobispo Hebda
I was privileged this weekend to gather with Bishops Izen and Kenney and the seminarians from our Archdiocese for the annual “Seminary Expedition,” organized by our vocations director, Father Mark Pavlak. It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know the 19 young men who are new to our seminaries this year, and for them to get to know their bishops and 45 brothers who are already studying for the Archdiocese. They are an inspiring group, committed to discerning the Lord’s call.
The weekend culminated with the celebration of the “rite of candidacy” for the seven young men who will be beginning their theological studies for the Archdiocese this fall. Five are recent graduates of the Saint John Vianney College Seminary and two recently completed the pre-theology program at The Saint Paul Seminary (having already graduated from college). They have excelled in their required studies in philosophy and now turn to the study of theology and enter into a more focused period of proximate preparation for priesthood (which is still four years away).
Candidacy is a formal recognition by the men and by the Church that they are preparing for priesthood on behalf of the Archdiocese and that they have the basic gifts necessary for making priesthood a concrete possibility (while continuing to discern whether they are indeed called to be priests). One of the outward signs of this connection is that they begin to wear the Roman collar when engaged in seminary activities. I suppose that it would have been a shocker for some of the families to see their son or brother in “blacks” for the first time.
The readings for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time reminded our new candidates that they shouldn’t be surprised to find challenges along the path of discipleship. The first reading presented them with the experience of Jeremiah, cast into a cistern for preaching God’s word, and then Jesus reminded them in the Gospel that he had come to bring a fire that would even divide families.
In the midst of those challenging readings, I was grateful that the Church offered the new candidates some real consolation in the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 40) in which the psalmist proclaimed that it is the Lord who hears our cry and the Lord who can draw us out of the pit of destruction (very relevant to Jeremiah’s cistern experience!). I was particularly moved by the first line of the psalm: “I have waited, waited for the Lord, and he stooped toward me.” Who wouldn’t love the image of a loving God who in a fatherly way stoops toward his beloved child?
In St. Therese of Lisieux’s autobiography, Story of a Soul, the Little Flower uses a similar description for her childlike reliance upon the Lord (often described as her “Little Way”). She found in the elevator – a novel invention in her time – a wonderful analogy for her desire to be scooped up and brought to Jesus: “I, too, would like to find an elevator to lift me up to Jesus, for I am too little to climb the rough stairway of perfection.”
That doesn’t mean that we can escape all responsibility or effort. We always need to do our little part. As St. Therese wrote: “Always keep lifting your foot to climb the ladder of holiness, and do not imagine that you can mount even the first step…. From the top of the ladder [Jesus] looks lovingly upon you, and soon, touched by your fruitless efforts, He will Himself come down, and, taking you in His arms, will carry you to His kingdom never again to leave Him.”
God’s grace is indeed amazing, but we need to cooperate with it. I suspect that is why yesterday’s second reading, from the Letter to the Hebrews, would have encouraged us to do our part to “rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus” (Heb 12:1-2).
The same Lord who, in humility and love, descended from heaven in the Incarnation is not afraid to stoop down into our messiness – indeed into “the pit of destruction” – and deliver us. But are we afraid to come to him? Saint Therese speaks to this as well: “I feel that even had I on my conscience every crime one could commit, I should lose nothing of my confidence: my heart broken with sorrow, I would throw myself into the arms of my Savior.”
How grateful I am for the Sacrament of Reconciliation as an opportunity for throwing ourselves into the arms of our Savior. I cherish the sacrament as a penitent and love it as a confessor, witnessing the transformational impact it can have in the lives of others. You might remember that in my monthly video for August, I mentioned how Saint John Vianney was known for spending long hours hearing confessions. I ’m convinced that those hours were key to the transformation of the parish in Ars. I hope that you will join me in praying that the seven men admitted to candidacy yesterday will one day have Vianney’s zeal for ministry in the confessional and will grow into real missionaries of mercy.
I recognize that we are already blessed in this archdiocese with many parishes that offer daily confessions, as well as plentiful opportunities over the weekend for reconciliation—even on Sundays. I encourage you to visit our Parishes web page and—perhaps as part of your Passport Adventure—find a time and location where you can experience the Lord’s loving mercy.
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