by Fr. Brian Kane
Rector, St. Gregory the Great
Seminary; Director of Seminarians
Periodically, seminarians at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward gather to reflect on their weekly apostolate assignments, seeking what Jesus wants for them as they work with the poor, the homeless, refugees, the sick and elderly.
For most of the seminarians, the apostolate assignments—navigating the world of Catholic Social Services, Matt Talbott Kitchen, People’s City Mission and area nursing homes—are a new experience.
Discussing his assignment, one seminarian said, “I was worried about going back the second week. It was a challenging experience for me; it opened my eyes to Jesus’ presence in the poor.”
The Program of Priestly Formation, the U.S. bishops’ document that guides seminary formation, talks about how “the growth of human formation happens generally in a threefold process of self-knowledge, moving to self-possession, and finally to self-gift, and all this in a context of faith. This is a gradual process of growth that integrates both the human and spiritual life.” (PPF #100)
The seminary apostolate program is meant to help seminarians experience “self-gift,” and in doing so, they learn more about themselves.
On a recent visit to Matt Talbott Kitchen, the men discovered that it’s easier to visit with people they have never met by breaking the ice with a card game. One seminarian commented, “We brought a cribbage board and a deck of cards with us. A group of people started to trickle over to watch, to play and to talk.”
Seminarians often return from their apostolate site with the realization that they have met Jesus in the people they were serving and talking with. “There is a deep desire in all of us to have someone listen and to be loved,” one seminarian reflected as he recalled a tense start to one conversation that ended 30 minutes later with prayer and a promise to talk again the following week.
At Catholic Social Services, seminarians have the opportunity to work at the food bank, helping families in need. On a recent visit, a seminarian was helping an elderly refugee couple find items they could take home that would last the week. As the two people were getting ready to leave, they looked at the seminarian and said, “Thank you.” The seminarian was moved by their gratitude for his simple effort to help. He said it led him to contemplate what it would be like to leave your home, your place of security, and all of your belongings to flee war, danger and deprivation, not knowing if you would ever return. He said the refugees’ “thank you” was humbling and deepened his empathy for those who have left everything to start a new life.
Nursing homes can be challenging places to visit, especially if you are not going to see someone you know. Our seminarians have learned the joy of greeting nursing home residents with a smile and a hello. They hear stories of military service, grandchildren, and fond childhood memories. One seminarian who visited a nursing home after a full day of classes recalled that he was tired as he drove to his destination. But as he encountered a resident who greeted him with a smile, he was energized to listen, be encouraging and pray with the resident. Yes, the seminarian was tired when he arrived, but that feeling was soon replaced by a pastoral zeal born of a gift of self.
During the discussion of apostolate assignments, a consensus arose that seminarians’ efforts at apostolate sites help them move from living their lives quietly to living as witnesses to a deeper boldness, courage and desire to share with people they meet the Christ-centered love that they experience in their own prayer. Our seminarians are learning what it’s like to be shepherds. They are finding, too, that they often receive more than they give.
The Program of Priestly Formation summarizes the value of apostolic work in seminary formation: “Spiritual formation also involves seeking Christ in people.” Especially in a seminary context, seminarians are to learn how prayer is to be lived out in service of others, particularly the poor, the sick, sinners, unbelievers, and the stranger, but extended to all in the outreach of charity and mercy and in the quest for justice. Prayer is apostolic also in the sense that seminarians learn to pray for the needs of those they serve in order to teach others how to pray.
Whatever growth and formation in prayer takes place, it is not simply meant for the personal enhancement of the seminarian but as a gift to be given in the course of his priestly mission and ministry for the benefit of the Church—for he is a servant of this body.” (PPF #298)
The gifts of self that our seminarians experience now in their apostolate communities are a dimension of formation that serve as a foundation for the gifts of self each of them will incorporate into their lives after ordination as priests in our diocese and elsewhere.
