Living an Integrated Spiritual, Human and Celebate Life Style (PDF

111 Pages·2011·0.57 MB·English

by  Vincent D. Bui

RULE OF LIFE

FOR

THE MEMBERS OF THE

ST. PATRICK’S SEMINARY & UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY

BOOK ONE

Formation In:
Living An Integrated Spiritual,
Human and Celibate Lifestyle

MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA
MAY 2005
Book One: Formation Page 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE
Spiritual Formation

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 7
2. THE SPECIFICS OF SPIRITUAL DIRECTION ........................................................................ 9
3. STRUCTURES OF SPIRITUAL IMPLEMENTATION ................................................................ 9
4. LITURGICAL PRAYER ......................................................................................................... 9
A. Daily prayer and Eucharist.............................................................................................. 9
B. Liturgical Celebrations: ................................................................................................ 10
5. THE SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR .............................................................................................. 11
6. LEADERSHIP IN SPIRITUALITY ......................................................................................... 11
7. SPIRITUAL DIRECTION ..................................................................................................... 11
A. Definition ...................................................................................................................... 11
B. What Happens in Spiritual Direction? .......................................................................... 12
C. Roles of The Spiritual Director & Advisor ................................................................... 13
D. Guidelines for Spiritual Readings ................................................................................. 13
E. Guidelines in Spiritual Direction .................................................................................. 14
F. Liturgical Celebrations.................................................................................................. 15
G. Devotions ...................................................................................................................... 16
H. Liturgical Participation ................................................................................................. 16

CHAPTER TWO
Habits of Silence

1. CHALLENGE OF SILENCE ................................................................................................. 18
2. VALUE OF SILENCE .......................................................................................................... 19
3. OPPORTUNITIES FOR SILENCE ......................................................................................... 20
A. Liturgical Silence: ......................................................................................................... 20
B. Quiet in the House: ....................................................................................................... 20
C. Retreats and Days of Recollection: ............................................................................... 20

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CHAPTER THREE
Paths of Prayer

1. SCRIPTURE PRAYER ......................................................................................................... 22
2. PRESENCE OF GOD ........................................................................................................... 22
3. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION............................................................................................... 23
4. COMMUNION WITH CREATION ........................................................................................ 23
5. VOCAL AND MENTAL PRAYER ......................................................................................... 23
6. SCRIPTURE READING ....................................................................................................... 24
7. MEDITATION ..................................................................................................................... 24
8. THE ROSARY..................................................................................................................... 24
9. THE JESUS PRAYER .......................................................................................................... 25
10. CENTERING PRAYER ......................................................................................................... 25
11. CONTEMPLATION .............................................................................................................. 26
12. RETREATS AND DAYS OF RECOLLECTION: ...................................................................... 27
13. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 27

CHAPTER FOUR
Sexuality and Celibacy

1. FORWARD ......................................................................................................................... 28
2. PERSONAL AND SEXUAL INTEGRITY ................................................................................ 31
3. FORMATION IN SEXUALITY AND CELIBACY .................................................................... 32
4. BEHAVIORAL EXPECTATIONS .......................................................................................... 33
5. WORKSHOP ON SEXUAL ABUSE ....................................................................................... 34
6. CELIBACY WORKSHOP ..................................................................................................... 34
7. ANNUAL RETREAT AND DAYS OF RECOLLECTION .......................................................... 35
8. SPIRITUAL DIRECTION ..................................................................................................... 35
9. RECTOR’S CONFERENCES ................................................................................................ 35
10. HOMILIES.......................................................................................................................... 36
11. ACADEMIC INPUT ............................................................................................................. 36
12. EXPECTATIONS REGARDING PSYCHOSEXUAL MATURITY ............................................. 36
13. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 39

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CHAPTER FIVE
Common Values and Expectations

1. THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS .......................................................................................... 40
2. THE SEMINARY AS A VALID & NECESSARY TIME FOR THE FORMATION OF PRIESTS .. 42
3. CREATING A PRIESTLY ETHOS ........................................................................................ 45

CHAPTER SIX
Human Growth and Development

1. ISSUES OF TRUST AND CONFIDENTIALITY ....................................................................... 48
2. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FORA ..................................................................................... 48
3. THE USE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES ........................................................................ 49

CHAPTER SEVEN
Multicultural Formation

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 50
2. ACADEMIC ORIENTATION ................................................................................................ 51
A. Active Learning Expectations ....................................................................................... 51
B. Writing Skills ................................................................................................................ 52
C. Study Skills ................................................................................................................... 52
D. Use of the Library ......................................................................................................... 52
E. Testing........................................................................................................................... 53
F. Interaction with the Faculty .......................................................................................... 54
G. Availability of Tutors .................................................................................................... 54
H. Time Management ........................................................................................................ 54
3. PASTORAL SKILLS ............................................................................................................ 55
A. Transportation ............................................................................................................... 55
B. Taking Initiative ............................................................................................................ 55
C. Making Appointments .................................................................................................. 56
D. Saying Yes/Meaning Yes .............................................................................................. 56
E. Triangulation ................................................................................................................. 56
F. Contracts for Learning .................................................................................................. 57
G. Issues of Power ............................................................................................................. 57
H. Interaction with Women ............................................................................................... 58

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CHAPTER EIGHT
The Mentoring and Advising of Seminarians

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 60
A. What is Personal Formation? ........................................................................................ 60
B. What is the Scope of the Evaluation Process? .............................................................. 60
2. THE PROCESS OF EVALUATION ....................................................................................... 61
3. SPECIFIC COMPONENTS OF THE EVALUATION PROCESS ................................................ 62
4. ADVISING MEETINGS ....................................................................................................... 63
A. Preparation .................................................................................................................... 63
B. During the Advising Session ........................................................................................ 64
C. Follow Up ..................................................................................................................... 64
D. First Semester Goals ..................................................................................................... 64
5. PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF ADVISING ................................................................................. 64
A. Helps ............................................................................................................................. 64
B. Pitfalls ........................................................................................................................... 65
6. GUIDELINES FOR ADVISING ............................................................................................. 66
A. Pre-Theology I .............................................................................................................. 66
B. Pre-Theology II ............................................................................................................. 68
C. First Theology ............................................................................................................... 69
D. Second Theology .......................................................................................................... 72
E. Third Theology: Advisor & Advisee Should Review the Evaluation Process ............. 74
F. Fourth Theology............................................................................................................ 76
7. GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATIONS ...................................................................................... 79
A. Guidelines for Final Evaluation: Pre-Theology I and II ............................................... 79
B. Guidelines for Self-Evaluation: Pre-Theology I and II................................................ 80
C. Guidelines for Final Evaluation: Theology I and II ...................................................... 82
D. Guidelines for Self-Evaluation: Theology I and II ....................................................... 83
E. Guidelines for Self Evaluation: Third Theology ......................................................... 85
F. Guidelines for Self-Evaluation: Fourth Theology ........................................................ 86
G. Guidelines for Final Self-Evaluation: Priesthood ........................................................ 88
8. SPECIAL QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................ 89
A. The Faculty Council ...................................................................................................... 89
B. Discernment Within The Internal and External Fora .................................................... 89
C. Roles of the Bishop and Vocation Director .................................................................. 90
D. Entrance and Exit Interviews ........................................................................................ 90
E. The Appeals Process ..................................................................................................... 91
F. Psychological Services.................................................................................................. 91
G. Serious Breaches of Discipline ..................................................................................... 93
H. Leave of Absence .......................................................................................................... 93
I. Access to Evaluations ................................................................................................... 94
9. THE EVALUATION FORM ................................................................................................. 96

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CHAPTER NINE
Archdiocesan Policy on Sexual Harassment

1. PURPOSE ......................................................................................................................... 100
2. PROCEDURES .................................................................................................................. 100
3. HARASSMENT OF THIRD PARTIES .................................................................................. 101
4. A FINAL NOTE ................................................................................................................ 101
5. CHILD ABUSE REPORTING ACKNOWLEDGMENT [SAMPLE].......................................... 102

CHAPTER TEN
Commitment to Community Behavioral Standards

1. OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................................... 104
2. THE VIRTUE OF TEMPERANCE ...................................................................................... 104
3. STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY BEHAVIORAL STANDARDS ............... 105
4. SPECIFIC BEHAVIORS ..................................................................................................... 105
A. The Consumption of Alcohol...................................................................................... 106
B. Dancing ....................................................................................................................... 106
C. Physical Touch ............................................................................................................ 106
D. The Seminarians in Relation to the Vatican II Institute .............................................. 106
5. PROCESS OF HANDLING AN INCIDENT OF PROBLEMATIC BEHAVIOR ......................... 107
A. Purpose of the Process: ............................................................................................... 107
B. Spirit and Motivation of the Process:.......................................................................... 107
C. Steps of the Process: ................................................................................................... 107
6. STATEMENT TO BE SIGNED BY A SEMINARIAN ............................................................. 110

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CHAPTER ONE
Spiritual Formation

1. INTRODUCTION

Spiritual formation is the central component of any seminary’s mission leading to the
highest level of all human development. At St. Patrick’s Seminary we are guided in this
formation component by the Second Vatican Council decree Optatam Totius, the Apostolic
Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, The Program of Priestly Formation of the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Constitutions of the Priests of the Society of Saint
Sulpice. As will be noted below, these documents are mutually interactive, providing a
comprehensive foundation for constructing a solid spiritual formation program.

Paragraph 8 of the Conciliar document gives the most concise treatment of the goal of any
seminary formation program. Paraphrasing that and subsequent paragraphs one notes that
spiritual formation should be conducted in a such a way that the students may learn to live
in intimate and unceasing union with God the Father through his Son Jesus Christ, in the
Holy Spirit. Those to be ordained to priesthood should take on the habit of drawing close to
him as friends in every detail of their lives. The Paschal Mystery should lead them to
conversion; they should meditate on the Word of God, pray the Divine Office, and actively
participate in the sacramental mysteries of the Church, especially Eucharist; they should
love and reverence the most Blessed Virgin Mary. Students are called to live according to
the standards of the Gospel. Of particular concern is the virtue of justice which the student
comes to appreciate through service to God’s people. Finally, prayer becomes a primary
value because it is filial conversation that leads to conversion and commitment.

John Paul II in Pastores Dabo Vobis develops these concepts more concretely in paragraphs
47 and following. The Holy Father recognizes the difficulty for members of modern
society to hear the voice of God. He affirms the value of setting aside time for holy
listening and stresses the value of silence. Indeed, silence not only allows one to perceive
God’s presence and but also helps the individual to be won over by it.

This document goes on to emphasize the importance of the Eucharist. Not only is it the
source and summit of our spiritual life but it fosters extremely important inner dispositions
for the life of a future priest. Chief among them are gratitude, self-sacrifice, charity, and
adoration.

For a seminarian to be fully sensitive to the value and power of the Eucharist in his life, the
Pope notes, he must devote time and personal energy on interior development and on
subsequent exterior manifestation of internal growth. The individual must develop a sense
of asceticism and interior discipline, practices that will foster an appreciation for personal
sacrifice, self-denial, radical self-giving, and for taking up and carrying the cross. All
interior formation must bear fruit in how one lives life in practice. Thus, the Pope
emphasizes that authentic spiritual formation will always manifest some outward
expression. For example, the a genuinely holy person is disposed to seek God in others.
Book One: Formation Page 7
This is aided by and manifested in ministerial service freely given and in “pastoral charity”,
a chief characteristic that must be present in the life of any effective priest. In a special way,
the Diocesan priest, as a spiritual leader, must be a person on fire with the Holy Spirit, in
love with God’s people, a listener who knows how to listen to the inner depths of the people
he is called to serve, who truly loves as Christ loves with pastoral charity, and who grows
as a man of faith through his encounter with others.

The Program of Priestly Formation takes these theoretical constructs and practical
applications and further concretizes them in terms of spiritual formation in the seminary
program. This is done for both the pre-theology program and the theologate. In paragraph
45 the document spells out the fourfold tasks of spiritual formation for the future priest:
simplicity of lifestyle, celibacy, obedience, and prayer. In the succeeding sections of the
document, moreover, it is careful to emphasize that the spiritual dimension must be brought
to the entirety of one’s life. For example, one preaches the Word by living it. Leadership
without the witness of holiness, asceticism, and personal integrity lacks authenticity.

At the pre-theology level there is a stress on human and spiritual growth, on intellectual and
pastoral formation, and on community living. In the theologate the challenge is to help the
candidate grow continually and progressively in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
and in his commitment to the Church, both on the level of understanding and action. This
formation is meant to establish attitudes, habits, and practices of spiritual life that will live
on in one’s priesthood after ordination. Very simply, the theologate prepares a man for
ongoing formation throughout one’s life as a priest.

The tasks outlined in the Program of Priestly Formation are to develop men who value
honesty, integrity, intellectual rigor, hard work, tolerance, discipline, humor, and
enjoyment. But most especially the seminarian is to become a person of prayer. To the
above items the document adds the special challenge and value of silence. The candidate
must become comfortable with silence so as to hear and respond to God’s invitation.
Finally, in paragraph 287, the document notes that spiritual formation of one who is called
to live celibately should pay particular attention to preparing the candidate so that he may
know, appreciate, love, and live celibacy according to its true nature and real purpose, that
is, for evangelical, spiritual, and pastoral service.

As a Sulpician Seminary, St. Patrick’s adds a special character to the formation program.
Article 14 of the Constitutions of the Priests of the Society of Saint Sulpice outlines several
essential pedagogical traditions that have characterized the Sulpician approach to formation
th
since the 17 century: the collegial exercise of authority; a communauté éducatrice in
which collaboration and co-responsibility among faculty and seminarians are critically
important; a progressive initiation into the spiritual life; spiritual freedom that is achieved
through absolute confidentiality in spiritual direction; and the integration of spiritual
formation with intellectual, pastoral, and community (social) formation. In more recent
times, Sulpicians have placed even stronger emphasis on human formation as highlighted in
Pastores Dabo Vobis.

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2. THE SPECIFICS OF SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

1. To provide candidates for the priesthood with a spirituality that will serve as a source
and a foundation for their pastoral ministry as diocesan priests. Such a spirituality
must be rooted in a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, fostered by prayer, worship
and a commitment to the People of God (PPF Chapter 3, Article 2, #264-332).

2. To form strong priestly identity as a diocesan priest, an identity rooted and manifested
in faith, celibacy, obedience, pastoral service, and simplicity of lifestyle (PPF #286).

3. To form true pastors of the People of God, achieved through a deepening of personal
faith, awareness of the contemporary world and the call to justice, critical theological
reflection, awareness of the sacramental priesthood, and personal integration of
theological understanding (PPF Chapter 3, Article 4, #397-440).

4. To assist in the development of a man who is a responsible, collaborative leader and
builder of community (PPF #410-412).

3. STRUCTURES OF SPIRITUAL IMPLEMENTATION

1. Personal instruction, guidance and encouragement in interior prayer (PPF #278-285).

2. Sacramental awareness: of Christ as the first Sacrament, in the Eucharist, in Penance
and personal conversion, in Divine Praise, and in spiritual devotion (PPF #273-277).

3. Maturation into a man dedicated to the Church and the community of believers: to
form a strong priestly identity rooted in faith, to experience community, to render
service, to grow in obedience, to learn the meaning of celibate chastity, to appreciate
the meaning of pastoral simplicity of lifestyle (PPF Chapter 3, Article 2, #264-332).

4. LITURGICAL PRAYER

In order to concretize the various specifications of The Program of Priestly Formation, St.
Patrick's provides the following structures and practices:

A. DAILY PRAYER AND EUCHARIST

Each morning the Faculty and seminarians gather for Morning Prayer, four from the
Liturgy of the Hours and one from other significant prayer traditions in the Church.
On three of the mornings dedicated to the Liturgy of the Hours, faculty teams and
individual classes meet in separate class chapels to provide an experience of small
group prayer and to help develop a solid discipline of fidelity to the daily prayer of the
Church. On the fourth morning, the Liturgy of the Hours is celebrated as a total
community.
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