by Fr. Brian Kane
Rector, St. Gregory the Great Seminary; Director of Seminarians
“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”
This is advice given to travelers on the Camino de Santiago, the ancient 500-mile pilgrimage in Spain that concludes at the tomb of the Apostle James. I heard the advice for the first time as I started walking part of the Camino this summer.
As you walk, there is a temptation to start thinking about how much your feet hurt, how warm it is, how uncomfortable the rain is, how much you just want to be done for the day, especially if you are alone. What is more powerful, however, is the idea, “… if you want to go far, go together.” When you walk with others, pray together, and talk, sing and laugh together, you stop thinking about yourself; you forget that you are tired. The time passes quickly and you go farther than you expected. The Camino is a microcosm of life.
The advice to “go together” especially caught my attention as we prepared to welcome 21 new seminarians to St. Gregory the Great Seminary last week. Often in life, “going alone” can seem to be the most efficient method of getting something accomplished. Seminarians and priests are just as susceptible to this way of thinking as everyone else. The term “lone ranger” comes to mind.
Our first week of seminary includes several days of orientation dedicated to incorporating the value of “going together” throughout the upcoming year.
Our lives are based on relationships. A seminarian – or anyone for that matter – greatly benefits from having fellow travelers who are headed in the same direction. The path of the seminary especially focuses on deepening intimacy with Jesus. This is an important element of the spiritual life: even when it may feel as though we are alone, Jesus walks with us. When we invite him into our daily life, into work, family, school, we “go together.”
The opposite of this is sometimes called “ungodly self-reliance,” the idea that I can “go alone” in an attempt to accomplish as much as I can, to get everything done perfectly. At first, this is attractive, and often easier. We don’t have to work with anyone else, including God. Over time, this method of living becomes exhausting.
Seminary formation is not much different from the formation that each of us needs on our journey. Please keep the 21 new seminarians and the 15 returning seminarians in your prayers this year. We can journey together and “go far” in our relationship with Jesus.
