Season of Hope
The chapel at Saint John Vianney College Seminary.
Written for the December 2, 2018 bulletin at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Grand Rapids.
Parish family,
Peter and I received our care packages from the parish/school this week. Thank you so much! As we head into the “final stretch” of the semester between Thanksgiving and Christmas, they are a great source of inspiration – a reminder that we have prayers and support back home, as well as a large amount of joy to come back to.
It has been a very exciting time here at Saint John Vianney these past few months:
In October, the newly-combined seminary Board of Directors announced the re-organization of the Archdiocese’s two seminaries; we are now known, collectively, as “The Seminaries of Saint Paul.” While mostly symbolic, the move does a lot to stress the holistic process of formation that takes place between minor (college) and major seminary.
Earlier this month, the University announced plans to renovate and expand the campus chapel. This effort is an undertaking meant to highlight the building’s role as a focal point of our campus, and ensure that the aging structure will be able to withstand another century.
During the last weekend before break, SJV hosted 77 college and high school-aged men considering coming here – 21 of those visitors were from the Diocese of Grand Rapids, three of which were from IHM. It was so life-giving to see the faith and holiness of these guys!
As we head into Advent and Christmas, hope is the “key word” of the times. These two seasons express most fully the hope Christ continues to bring to the world through His incarnation over two millennia ago. I pray that this year, the grace of this gift will truly flow into the Church. This is a trying time for us, and we could all use a dose of it.
On that note, I want to offer whatever personal assurances I can with regard to the goodness of our seminary. Under the holy leadership of our last two rectors, Father William Baer and Father Michael Becker, SJV has strengthened greatly in its mission to be a house of healthy Christian fraternity, rooted in a shared goal of universal holiness.
For the guys here, the primary goal is not only growth in the spiritual life, but in our own Christocentric masculinity as well. As such, we all devote ourselves to some level of psychological formation. For many of us, this takes the form of our communal conferences on topics related to the health of this identity – but for a good number of us, this also includes investment in counseling with solidly-Catholic professionals. Our in-house psychologist is a now-married lay graduate of SJV who is very devoted to ensuring that we are mentally and emotionally prepared for success in the Christian life, whether we go on to priesthood or marriage. Furthermore,development in the human pillar remains an integral part of Bishop Walkowiak’s expectations of us: he made very clear to us this summer that he will not advance any man he believes is not taking this aspect of formation seriously.
Again, I want to thank you for all the prayers and generosity throughout the semester for both Peter and I. Please be assured of our continuing prayers for you all.
Sincerely yours in the coming Christ,
Max
