by Fr. Brian Kane
Rector, St. Gregory the Great
Seminary; Director of Seminarians
This June will be the one-year anniversary of the hail storm that caused considerable damage at St. Gregory the Great seminary. We are grateful to so many friends who have helped us recover, both with gifts as well as with their time. The violence of the storm and the ongoing repairs have been a source of meditation for me this spring as we approach the end of the seminary’s academic year and prepare for graduation and ordinations to the diaconate and priesthood in May.
St. Francis de Sales spoke of a different type of violence that is taking place as the Holy Spirit descends on us and on the Church at Pentecost: “for though indeed the Holy Spirit is violent, yet his violence is gentle, sweet and peaceful. He comes as a mighty wind and as heavenly thunder, but does not knock the disciples down, he does not upset them; the fear they had in hearing the sound was momentary, and was immediately followed by sweet assurance.”
Discernment of a vocation contains elements of the “violence” St. Francis speaks about in his quote. When a young man discerns the call of Jesus to enter the seminary, the process can be a challenging one: leaving family, school, career, dating relationship, and other ideas about their future. Once in the seminary, the formation process involves a deep-dive into the life of the man, encouraging trust, vulnerability, self-awareness, moving to self-gift. These challenging events match the description of the working of the Holy Spirit, challenging, but in a gentle, sweet and peaceful manner.
We see this in a very concrete manner as a man graduates from St. Gregory the Great Seminary, and in an even deeper way at ordination to the diaconate and priesthood. The hard work that has taken place, the perseverance in the midst of challenges, hours of study, early mornings at prayer, opportunities for healing, enjoyment of friendship and fraternity, all come with the sweet assurance that the men are following the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. It is inspiriting to accompany men on their journey to ordination. Together we see how the Holy Spirit does not “knock them down” or “upset them,” but prepares them for their ministry as deacons and priests. The Holy Spirit configures them to Jesus and enables them to witness to the Gospel.
When a seminarian experiences this “violence” of the Holy Spirit, and then also receives the corresponding gentleness, he is given the gift of freedom. In this freedom he can trust that when the challenges of priesthood arise, when he feels the “mighty wind” and hears the “heavenly thunder” that he will not be knocked down but will be protected and strengthened. The Program of Priestly Formation describes this growth in freedom and trust in this way: “A life of continual conversion allows the priest to become and remain ‘a man of discernment’, able to read the reality of human life in the light of the Spirit.” PPF #43
Please pray for the five men who will be ordained deacons at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln May 26 at 7 p.m., and for the three men who will be ordained priests the next day, May 27, at 11 a.m. Everyone is welcome to attend the ordinations. If you’ve never witnessed the sacrament of Holy Orders being administered, perhaps the Holy Spirit is prompting you to attend this year.
