INTERNATIONAL MARIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON, OHIO in affiliation with the PONTIFICAL THEOLOGICAL FACULTY ,

By: Fr. Simon Mary of the Cross, M. Carm. Maroney, JCL

SEMINARY LIFE AND FORMATION UNDER MARY’S MANTLE: AN EXPLORATION OF MARY’S PRESENCE AND MISSION IN INITIAL PRIESTLY FORMATION

A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Licentiate of Sacred Theology with specialization in Marian Studies

Director: Msgr. Frank Leo Jr., STD

Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute University of Dayton 300 College Park Dayton, OH 45469-1390

2019

Seminary Life and Formation Under Mary’s Mantle:

An Exploration of Mary’s Presence and Mission in Initial Priestly Formation

© 2019 by of the Most Blessed Mary of Mount Carmel BN: Nihil obstat: Gloria Falcão Dodd, STD

Vidimus et approbamus: Msgr. Frank Leo Jr., STD – Director Fr. James Presta, STD – Examinator

Imprimi potest: Fr. Daniel Mary of Jesus Crucified, M. Carm., Schneider –

Daytonenesis (USA), ex aedibus International Marian Research Institute, et Romae, ex aedibus Pontificiae Facultatis Theologicae Marianum die 2 Augusti 2019.

All Rights Reserved Under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Printed in the of America ______

ii Table of Contents

Statement of Fidelity v Dedication vi Acknowledgments vii Abbreviations viii

Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Objectives of this Investigation, Scope, and Limitations 2 1.2 The Status Quaestionis 11 1.3 The Thesis Statement, Methodology, and Sources 13 1.4 The Foundational Theological Notions 17 1.4.1 Mary’s “Presence” 17 1.4.2 Mary’s “Mission” 26 1.5 A Brief Historical Excursus of Fundamental Magisterial Documents on Priestly Formation from 1965 to 2019 35

Chapter 2: Propaedeutic Stage 40 2.1 The Aim of the Propaedeutic Stage 43 2.2 Mary’s Presence and Mission in the Propaedeutic Stage 48 2.2.1 Human Formation 48 2.2.2 Spiritual Formation 61 2.2.3 Intellectual Formation 69 2.2.4 Pastoral Formation 76 2.3 Conclusion 83

Chapter 3: Discipleship Stage 85 3.1 The Aim of the Discipleship Stage 89 3.2 Mary’s Presence and Mission in the Discipleship Stage 98 3.2.1 Human Formation 98 3.2.2 Spiritual Formation 113 3.2.3 Intellectual Formation 120 3.2.4 Pastoral Formation 126 3.3 Conclusion 131

iii Chapter 4: Configuration Stage 134 4.1 The Aim of the Configuration Stage 138 4.2 Mary’s Presence and Mission in the Configuration Stage 144 4.2.1 Human Formation 144 4.2.2 Spiritual Formation 155 4.2.3 Intellectual Formation 168 4.2.4 Pastoral Formation 176 4.3 Conclusion 181

Chapter 5: Pastoral Stage 183 5.1 The Aim of the Pastoral Stage 187 5.2 Mary’s Presence and Mission in the Pastoral Stage 193 5.2.1 Human Formation 193 5.2.2 Spiritual Formation 200 5.2.3 Intellectual Formation 207 5.2.4 Pastoral Formation 211 5.3 Conclusion 216

Chapter 6: Conclusion 218 6.1 Summary of Findings 220 6.2 Examples of Marian Assessment at the Conclusion of Each Stage 225 6.3 Further Possibilities of Investigation 228 6.4 Implications for a Marian Church 230

Bibliography 232 1. Primary Sources 232 2. Secondary Sources 242

Biographical Note 282

iv Statement of Fidelity

The author offers the following licentiate thesis for the glory of God, the honor of the Immaculate Mother of God, the of souls, and the exaltation of the Church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ upon St. Peter. The author, therefore, has sought to steadfastly preserve the deposit of faith in its integrity and to foster the common discipline of the whole Church. Nothing that follows is intended in any way whatsoever to deviate from the Christian obedience proper to the author’s state in life, but rather to faithfully articulate all that has been taught by the doctors and teachers of the faith. Thus, the author renews his profession of faith, professing each article of the symbol of faith, and holding with firm faith and as divinely revealed everything contained in Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and proposed by the Church, whether in solemn judgment or in the ordinary and universal . The author desires that this thesis might be of service to priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians in forming Marian for the twenty-first century. In all that follows, the author humbly submits to the unerring judgment of his mother, the , and confesses that any errors are his own.

v

To the memory of my father,

GEORGE NELSON MARONEY who desired to have a for a son to hear his confession, but suddenly died December 15, 2014 before that was possible.

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.

vi Acknowledgments

In sixteenth-century , the intrepid reformer Teresa of Jesus inaugurated an abiding renewal within the Carmelite family with the primary apostolic aim of praying for priests. For Saint Teresa, any true rebuilding of the Church must begin with the , the pastors chosen by God to shepherd his flock. In this year of the Lord, 2019, the same vision inspires the author, a spiritual son of the mystical Doctor, to devote this protracted study to the relationship between integral initial priestly formation and the Virgin Mary; for Saint Teresa’s timeless foresight and maternal intercession, the author is eternally grateful. As a study concerned with the preparation of men for , the author recalls his debt of gratitude to those innumerable clerics whose priestly example nurtured his own vocation and modeled priestly fidelity permeated with Marian devotion. First, and in an exceptional way, the author wishes to thank the Reverend Father Daniel Mary of Jesus Crucified, Prior of the Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, who not only made this study possible by permitting countless hours of research and writing, but daily witnesses a priesthood of service animated by Mary’s spirit. Second, the author acknowledges Reverend Father Getz, an Augustinian who first demonstrated to the author a Marian priesthood and instilled in the author, while still a young boy serving at the Holy Altar, a love of . And, finally, the author expresses heartfelt appreciation to the Reverend Frank Leo, a faithful friend and devout client of the Mother of God, who not only recognized the need and of this work from the beginning, but sacrificed the countless hours necessary to bring this thesis to completion. Since words fail to articulate the author’s immense indebtedness, the author can only pray, “May God reward each of you, as He alone can!”

vii Abbreviations

AAS , Rome, 1909-

AG , Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church Ad Gentes art(t). article (articles) c. canon ca circa cc. canons

CCC Catechism of the Catholic Church cf. confer

CIC/83 Codex Iuris Canonici, Auctoriate Ioannis Pauli PP. II Promulgatus, Fontium Annotatione et Indice Analytico-Alphabetico Auctus

Directory Congregation for the Clergy, Directory for the Ministry and the Life of Priests

DV Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum

GS Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes

viii ISF Congregation for Catholic , The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation

LG Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium

MC Paul VI, for the Right Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary

MD John Paul II, Apostolic Letter on the Dignity and Vocation of Women

ML Pontifical International Marian Academy, The Mother of the Lord: Memory, Presence, Hope

OT Second Vatican Council, Decree on Priestly Training Optatam Totius

§(§) paragraph (paragraphs)

PDV John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day

PO Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests Presbyterorum Ordinis

Ratio/70 Congregation for Catholic Education, Ratio fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis/The Basic Plan for Priestly Formation

ix

Ratio/85 Congregation for Catholic Education, Ratio fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis/Basic Norms for Priestly Formation

Ratio/16 Congregation for the Clergy, Ratio fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis/The Gift of the Priestly Vocation

RM John Paul II, on the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church

RSVCE2 Holy : Revised Standard Version, Ignatius Bible

SC Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

SM Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation on Venerating and Imitating the Virgin Mary, and Model of All Virtues

ST , Summa Theologiae

x Chapter 1

Introduction

God wills that every human person enters into a personal relationship with Mary of Nazareth, known by faith as the ever- virgin Immaculate Mother of God, to assist in attaining union with God in this life and the of heaven. The Incarnate Word’s bequeathal of Mary on Calvary to the proxy of all Christ’s followers, John the Beloved, identifies the import of Mary in Christian discipleship.1 By positioning the conciliar teaching on Mary within the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, the Second Vatican Council underscores for today both Mary’s membership in the Church and the especial affiliation between Mary and individual members of the Church, further emphasized in Paul VI’s proclamation of Mary, Mother of the Church at the close of the third session of the Second Vatican Council.2 Moreover, the 2018 insertion of the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church into the Roman Calendar on the Monday following Pentecost manifests the Supreme Pontiff’s desire to “encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious, and faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety.”3 The precise nature of the

1 See Jn 19:25-27. Unless otherwise noted, all English biblical citations are from The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2006). Hereafter “RSVCE2.” 2 For the conciliar teaching on Mary and the Church, see Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, §§52-69, November 21, 1964, in AAS 57 (1965): 58-67. English translation in Austin Flannery, gen. ed., Vatican Council II: The Basic Sixteen Documents (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996), 80-90. Hereafter “LG.” Concerning Pope Paul VI’s declaration of Mary, Mother of the Church, see Paul VI, Second Vatican Council: Closing Address – Third Session, November 21, 1964 (Washington, DC: National Catholic Welfare Council, 1965). 3 Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Decree on the Celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of the Church in the , February 11, 2018. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, March 9, 2018, English edition, 7.

1 relationship between Mary and individual believers, however, and the manner in which Marian dogma and devotion converge in the realization of man’s eternal destiny, pose numerous theological, pastoral, and personal questions attributable to the varied Christian vocations and diverse circumstances of daily life.4 If left unexplored and deliberated, Mary’s relationship with individual Christian disciples risks marginalization, error, or gross reduction to a myriad of devotions severed from their dogmatic and doctrinal foundations in Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and magisterial teaching.

1.1 OBJECTIVES OF THIS INVESTIGATION,

SCOPE, AND LIMITATIONS

The present study considers Mary’s relationship to only one segment of the Church: seminarians, or those men who have received incorporation into the Church through ; have been accepted to priestly formation for a particular Church, institute of , or society of apostolic life; and prepare for future to the sacred priesthood of Jesus Christ.5 The circumscription of this thesis bears at once both strengths and weaknesses. By reducing the current investigation to only seminarians, the author aims to draw specialized conclusions that might assist priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians

4 Trappist Augustine Roberts identifies this as a challenge even for monks and who have left the world to devote themselves to the contemplative life. Roberts writes, “For many, even in monasteries, the reality of Mary may be one of the truths of faith accepted and recited in the Creed, but not really lived or appreciated as referring to a person who intervenes directly in daily life. She can be an implicit part of our life, but often not an explicit one, apart from routines such as the , the , or commemorations in the liturgy. Precisely because of this danger of routine, it seems important to base ourselves on doctrine and experience—Mary’s experience and ours— so as to discover for ourselves just what our relationship with her can be.” Augustine Roberts, “Mary and the Monk,” Cistercian Studies Quarterly 33 (1998): 137. 5 In addition to this list of “sponsors” of seminarians, a seminarian may also be studying to be incardinated a cleric in a personal prelature or a military or personal ordinariate with the canonical capacity to incardinate.

2 in integral priestly formation; inversely, by constraining the focus to exclusively seminarians to realize this end, this enquiry in no way intends to diminish the common priesthood of the baptized, Mary’s unique relationship with all the members of the Church, nor least of all to condone or foster in any manner whatsoever the egregious errors of clericalism.6 Although the conclusions that follow primarily pertain to seminarians, many apply to all

6 See LG, §10 that distinguishes between common and ministerial priesthood: “Though they differ from one another in essence and not only in degree, the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood are nonetheless interrelated: each of them in its own special way is a participation in the one priesthood of Christ. The ministerial priest, by the sacred power he enjoys, teaches and rules the priestly people; acting in the person of Christ, he makes present the Eucharistic sacrifice, and offers it to God in the name of all the people. But the faithful, in virtue of their royal priesthood, join in the offering of the . They likewise exercise that priesthood in receiving the sacraments, in prayer and thanksgiving, in the witness of a holy life, and by self-denial and active .” Approved in forma specifica by the Roman Pontiff, Ecclesiae de Mysterio further distinguishes the common and ministerial priesthood by the inherent to the ministerial priesthood, teaching in part, “To base the foundations of the ordained ministry on apostolic succession, because this ministry continues the mission received by the apostles from Christ, is an essential point of Catholic ecclesiological doctrine.” Congregations for the Clergy, Pontifical Council for the Laity, et al. Instruction on Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non- Ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of Priests, Ecclesiae de Mysterio, §1, August 13, 1997 (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1998), 8. See also Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1997), 1544-53. Hereafter “CCC.” In his letter to the President of the Pontifical Commission for America, posits that clericalism “not only nullifies the character of Christians, but also tends to diminish and undervalue the baptismal grace that the Holy Spirit has placed in the of our people. Clericalism leads to homologization of the laity; treating the laity as ‘representative’ limits the diverse initiatives and efforts and, dare say, the necessary boldness to enable the Good News of the Gospel to be brought to all areas of the social and above all political sphere. Clericalism, far from giving impetus to various contributions and proposals, gradually extinguishes the prophetic flame to which the entire Church is called to bear witness in the heart of her peoples. Clericalism forgets that the visibility and sacramentality of the Church belong to all the , not only to the few chosen and enlightened.” Francis, Letter to Cardinal , President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, March 19, 2016. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, April 29, 2016, English edition, 4-5. For a further contemporary reflection on clericalism, see George B. Wilson, Clericalism: The Death of Priesthood (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2008), particularly Wilson’s introduction of the question of the relation between initial priestly formation and clericalism on page 151.

3 Christians, regardless of their state in life, and therefore can benefit non-seminarians with appropriate adaptation.7 The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Priestly Training, Optatam Totius discusses Mary on only one occasion, exhorting seminarians to “love and venerate with a filial trust the most blessed Virgin Mary, who was given as mother to the by Christ Jesus as He was dying on the cross.”8 The precise nature of the relationship between Mary and seminarians finds greater development in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day, Pastores Dabo Vobis where Pope John Paul II invokes Mary as the “Mother and Teacher of our priesthood” and asserts, “Every aspect of priestly formation can be referred to Mary, the human being who has responded better than any other to God’s call.”9 Citing the

7 For a broader, more generic, assessment of Mary in all Christian formation, see M. Francis Mannion, “The Marian Formation of Christians: A Pastoral Perspective,” Marian Studies 45 (1994): 9-31, where Mannion suggests that the “role of Mary in the ongoing life of the Church is fundamentally that of enabling the formation of disciples in the image of Christ. The Marian dynamics of Christian life have an intrinsically Christological terminus; they exist for no other purpose than the formation of Christian believers. The correlative principle is that there is no adequate formation in Christ that does not involve a Marian dimension. To be formed most deeply as disciples of Christ is intrinsically to assume the posture of Mary vis-à-vis the Christian mysteries of salvation. In its deepest theological and anthropological structure, formation into Christ is Marian formation” (9). 8 Second Vatican Council, Decree on Priestly Training, Optatam Totius, §8, October 28, 1965, in AAS, 58 (1966): 718. English translation in Austin Flannery, gen. ed., Vatican Council II: The Basic Sixteen Documents (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996), 370- 71. Hereafter “OT.” For a historical study of Mary and priestly formation as envisioned by the Council Fathers and concretized in OT, see René Laurentin, “La Vierge Marie dans la formation des futurs prêtres,” Seminarium 7 (1967): 307-27. Of particular interest, see Laurentin’s novel analysis of the similarities between the Marian text of OT and LG, §58 on page 310. 9 John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day, Pastores Dabo Vobis, §82, March 25, 1992, in AAS 84 (1992): 802. English translation in I Will Give You Shepherds: Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation March 25, 1992 (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1992), 222. Hereafter “PDV.” The Latin original states, “Omnis species formationis sacerdotalis referri potest ad Beatam Virginem Mariam, quae melius ceteris humanis Deo vocati respondit.” Pope John Paul II here posits that all aspects of priestly formation can be referred to Mary in view of Mary’s free and active response to God’s unique vocation for Mary as the Mother of God. Germain Grisez raises an interesting concern to the aforesaid, arguing, “Mary is exemplary in that she receives her unique gifts, discerns her corresponding role,

4 aforesaid passage from PDV, paragraph 112 of the latest universal program of priestly formation, Ratio fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis entitled The Gift of the Priestly Vocation urges celebration of the Marian feasts and Marian devotion, explicitly mentioning two traditional Marian prayers: the Rosary and the Angelus.10 Despite affirmation of the importance of and feasts, neither PDV nor the Ratio/16 expand upon the relationship between Mary and seminarians within the stages and pillars of priestly formation whose structure and purpose PDV and the Ratio/16 prescribe. Accordingly, this research aims to assist priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians in studying some questions about the relationship between Mary and seminarians to enrich contemporary priestly formation and realize the pedagogical vision propounded by the Ratio/16.11 Aware that a majority of seminarians had recourse to Mary’s intercession through Marian devotions prior to entering priestly formation, formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians presently ask how Mary might be integrated into a wholistic initial priestly formation, both for the individual seminarian and in the life of the seminary as a

meekly accepts it with her fiat, and faithfully fulfills its responsibilities. However, using Mary as a model involves a risk: that people will want something like an angelic visit before discerning and accepting their vocations. Christians generally should expect to receive their personal vocations in a quite different way.” Germain Gabriel Grisez, “Mary and Christian Moral Principles,” Marian Studies 36 (1985): 52-53. While one would certainly not want to abandon Mary as a model of vocational correspondence, nonetheless Grisez’s argument holds that Christians will often discern their personal vocations without angelic salutations, yet with the aid and guidance of the Church’s hierarchy and those responsible for Christian vocational discernment and formation. 10 Congregation for the Clergy, Ratio fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis/The Gift of the Priestly Vocation, December 8, 2016 (: Catholic Truth Society, 2017). Hereafter “Ratio/16.” 11 Although written nearly thirty years ago, PDV offers a remarkably thorough snapshot of many of the factors affecting vocational discernment and formation at the present in paragraphs 6-7, including an unquenchable thirst for God amongst many of the youth who earnestly seek the truth yet are often harmed by the effects of modernism, , individualism, divorce, and sexual perversion and exploitation prevalent in many cultures at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians would greatly benefit by bearing in mind and frequently returning to Pope John Paul II’s assessment of contemporary signs of hope, as well as concern, to aid in individual formation and maturation.

5 community of Christian disciples.12 The Congregation for the Clergy’s promulgation on December 8, 2016, of the Ratio/16 presents an opportunity for the relationship between Mary and seminarians to be reexamined in view of the forthcoming drafting of national programs of priestly formation by the episcopal conferences and the assessment of seminary programs in view of these national programs.13 While maintaining the fourfold distinction of integral formation as human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral from PDV,

12 See the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate’s 2017 report that finds that 69% of the 2017 ordinands recited the Marian Rosary prior to beginning seminary formation. Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, The Class of 2017: Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood (Washington, DC: Georgetown University, 2017), 3. Although written nearly a century ago, Cardinal Bourne’s conclusion stands the test of time, supported by the aforesaid statistic: “Our Blessed Lady is the mother in the spiritual order of all the redeemed, but among them who can claim her protection with greater confidence than those upon whom her Son has bestowed a desire to receive his Eternal Priesthood? She is Regina Cleri—that is, of all those chosen, set apart, and consecrated for the salvation of souls, for whose saving she saw her Son hanging and dying on the Cross. There is no vocation to the priesthood in which Mary has not had a part, none which has come to maturity which she has not protected, none which can be true and fruitful unless it be very specially consecrated to her.” Francis Bourne, Ecclesiastical Training: Being a Short Treatise on the Spiritual Formation of Aspirants to the Priesthood (New York: Benziger, 1926), 52-53. 13 Ecclesiastical law prescribes, “Each nation is to have a program of priestly formation which is to be established by the conference of bishops, attentive to the norms issued by the supreme authority of the Church, and which is to be approved by the . This program is to be adapted to new circumstances, also with the approval of the Holy See, and is to define the main principles of the instruction to be given in the seminary and the general norms adapted to the pastoral needs of each region or province.” Codex Iuris Canonici, Auctoritate Ioannis Pauli PP. II Promulgatus Fontium Annotatione et Indice Analytico-Alphabetico Auctus, Libreria editrice Vaticana, 1989. English translation Code of Canon Law: Latin-English Edition, New English Translation, prepared under the auspices of the Canon Law Society of America (Washington, DC: Canon Law Society of America, 1999), canon 242, §1. Hereafter “CIC/83.” All references to the canons of the 1983 Code will be styled “c.” for canon and “cc.” for canons, followed by the canon number(s). This national program of formation is often known by the Latin name “Ratio nationalis.” See also Ratio/16, §3 that mandates, “Each Conference of Bishops is required to prepare its own Ratio nationalis on the basis of this Ratio fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis, which … must be approved by this same Congregation, after having heard the opinion of the Congregation for Catholic Education on matters within its competence. This is to ensure the necessary harmonization and coordination of the Program of Studies and its consistency with the Program of Studies of individual countries.” For the corresponding norms governing seminary programs, see CIC/83, c. 243 and Ratio/16, §10.

6 the Ratio/16 presents the novelty of a fourfold division of initial formation into pedagogical stages of preparation to achieve the affective maturation and preparation of candidates for priestly ordination.14 The Ratio/16 no longer divides priestly formation merely into the categories of philosophical and theological according to the particular focus of academic studies and corresponding to attendance at minor and major seminary respectively. Instead, the Ratio/16 envisions integral priestly formation characterized by a personal journey of discipleship and service ordered towards priestly life and ministry in the communion of the Church, divisible into four distinct stages: the propaedeutic, discipleship, configuration, and pastoral.15 Moreover, the Ratio/16 affirms:

In conclusion, the priestly vocation begins with the gift of , which is then sealed in sacramental ordination. This gift is expressed over time through the mediation of the Church, which calls and sends in the name of God. At the same time, the personal response develops through a process, which begins with an awareness of the gift received, and matures gradually with the help of

14 Maturity in all that follows refers not merely to physical maturity, but rather to the affective maturation of the whole man in the entirety of his being. Pope John Paul II calls particular attention to the importance of both receiving and giving love in the maturation process, teaching, “Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it.” John Paul II, Encyclical at the Beginning of His Papal Ministry, , §10, March 4, 1979, in AAS 71 (1979): 274. English translation The Redeemer of Man (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 1979), 18. Let it be noted, however, that human maturity is not merely required of those seminarians in initial priestly formation, but of all Christians, albeit the want of maturity has been seen to be a predominant cause cited by priests seeking dispensation from the obligations of the clerical state. Wherefore, A Guide to Formation in Priestly Celibacy affirms, “Even prior to its requirement for the priestly state, human maturity is an elementary requirement for a Christian life. The history of priests who have defected is often that of men somehow lacking: of personalities without unity or integration where one would look in vain for maturity and balance.” Congregation for Catholic Education, A Guide to Formation in Priestly Celibacy, §25, April 11, 1974. English translation in Origins 4, no. 5 (1974): 73. 15 Ratio/16, §57.

7 priestly spirituality, until it becomes a stable way of life, with its own obligations and rights, and a specific mission accepted by the one ordained.16

Thus, the Ratio/16 stresses the primacy of the divine calling to ministerial priesthood, received as a grace to which seminarians are invited to freely and actively correspond, and the proper and essential tasks of both the Church and seminarians in initial priestly formation. The concept of “relationship,” used thus far to introduce this investigation, necessitates greater theological exactitude before advancing to situate this study within realizable parameters to avoid excursions into historical, sociological, or psychological considerations beyond this thesis and its author’s competency. A relationship between any two human persons, such as between Mary and a seminarian, arises and exists in the various dimensions of the integrity of each person; communication, emotional influence, and societal factors, for example, necessarily determine and affect any relationship. At the most fundamental level, however, a relationship by its very nature demands the involvement of two distinct, independent persons, each of whom has a particular identity both apart from and within that relationship of communion. Considering the relationship between Mary and seminarians, this thesis confines itself to the workable limits of investigating this relationship from Mary’s perspective, particularly Mary’s presence and mission in seminary life and formation. As will be shown, the theological notions of Mary’s presence and mission have been deliberately selected by the author because of their theological precision, including, but not limited by, singular Marian dogmas, doctrines, devotions, and virtues. Furthermore, the author aspires to avoid any reduction to a mere Marian sentimentality or hollowness in the relationship between Mary of Nazareth and seminarians by firmly grounding this study

16 Ratio/16, §34.

8 in the theologically rich and demanding notions of Marian presence and mission.17 Integral priestly formation necessarily surpasses seminary life, beginning long before in the family home, being nurtured in the community, and continuing throughout the whole of priestly life.18 Wherefore, the Church distinguishes between the initial formation received by seminarians and the ongoing formation proper to priests. Pope Francis expands upon the correlation between initial and ongoing formation, stating, “Initial and ongoing formation are distinct because each requires different methods and timing, but they are two halves of one reality, the life of a disciple cleric, in love with his Lord and steadfastly following him.”19 While confessing the value and necessity of ongoing formation, and alluding to Mary’s presence and mission within that ongoing formation, this investigation explicitly studies solely initial formation, the primary formative years for a fecund future

17 See Francesco Franzi, “Sacerdotes,” in Nuevo Diccionario de Mariología, ed. Stefano de Fiores, Salvatore M. Meo, and Eliseo Touron (Madrid: Ediciones Paulinas, 1988), 1790-99, particularly under the subheading “2. María en la experiencia de los sacerdotes” where the author argues in part, “Pero estas reflexiones se quedan en la superficie cuando no captan la participación de María en el misterio de Cristo, y por tanto su presencia en la vida y en el ministerio del sacerdote, que es sacramento del misterio de Cristo. Es justamente este el aspecto profundo que los sacerdotes santos perciben en su experiencia. Ellos sienten la presencia de María…” (1796) (emphasis original). Hereafter, all references to non-English sources will be referenced in the footnote in the original language and, unless otherwise noted, all translations are the author’s own. 18 OT, §2, treating of the Christian obligation of fostering vocations, emphasizes the formation of priestly vocations beginning in the family, calling the family a “kind of initial seminary,” and the initial preparation of priestly vocations within the parish community. Pope John Paul II also stresses the role of the Christian family in cultivating priestly vocations: “Indeed, the family that is open to transcendent values, that serves its brothers and sisters with joy, that fulfills its duties with generous fidelity, and is aware of its daily sharing in the mystery of the glorious Cross of Christ, becomes the primary and most excellent seed-bed of vocations to a life of to the Kingdom of God.” John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation on the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World, , §53, November 22, 1981, in AAS 74 (1982): 145. English translation in The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2002), 80-81. 19 Francis, Address to the Plenary of the Congregation for the Clergy, October 3, 2014. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, October 17, 2014, English edition, 21, 23.

9 priestly life of ministry.20 The author hopes that by considering Mary’s presence and mission in initial priestly formation, Mary’s presence and mission enjoy the possibility of further recognition, appreciation, enrichment, and application in the lifelong exercise of the ministerial priesthood.21 This study leaves to others the identification of Mary’s presence and mission in ongoing priestly formation.

20 Introducing the topic of ongoing formation, the Directory for the Ministry and the Life of Priests affirms, “The priest has a constant need to deepen his formation. Even if on the day of his ordination he received the permanent seal that configured him in aeternum with Christ Head and Shepherd, he is called to ongoing development in order to be more effective in his ministry. In this sense, it is fundamental for priests to be aware that their formation did not come to an end during the years in the seminary. On the contrary, as of the very day of his ordination, the priest must feel the need to be ever more of Christ the Lord.” Congregation for the Clergy, Directory for the Ministry and the Life of Priests, February 11, 2013 (: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013), p.125. Hereafter “Directory.” The Directory, moreover, devotes an entire section in paragraph 68 to the topic of “Devotion to Mary.” The Directory contains twelve explicit references to Mary of Nazareth, suggestive of the ecclesial understanding of the importance of Mary in ongoing priestly formation. The existent Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests of 2001 of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops contains two references to Mary, first asking for Mary’s intercession for priests and then acknowledging that “a devotional life … fosters discipleship by keeping believers in contact with Mary the Mother of the Lord, and the , the friends of God” (30). See National Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 2001). The relationship between Mary and ongoing priestly formation finds more extensive development in the earlier National Conference of Catholic Bishops’s 1984 document The Continuing Formation of Priests where the of the United States writes, “All of this [ongoing formation and future priestly ministry] requires of the priest a continued willingness to be stretched by the Word of God, as Mary was open to move and respond to the call of God’s providence in her life. She, whose receptivity to God’s urgings moved her beyond the scope of normal human limits, offers a model for the priest in his journey of continuing formation.” See National Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Continuing Formation of Priests: Growing in Wisdom, Age, and Grace (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1985), 33. 21 The author’s conviction echoes that of Fr. Jean Galot, SJ, who posits, “The maternal mission of Mary is meant to influence the entire development of the priesthood, every moment of the spiritual life of the priest, and the whole of the fulfillment of his priestly ministry. We must not overlook the role of Mary in the birth and maturation of vocations to the priesthood.” Jean Galot, “The Priest and Our Lady,” in Priesthood, A Greater Love: International Symposium on the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Promulgation of the Conciliar Decree “Presbyterorum Ordinis” (Philadelphia: Archdiocese of Philadelphia, 1997), 262.

10 1.2 THE STATUS QUAESTIONIS

This thesis would not be possible without the earlier scholarship of theologians in the areas of both Marian studies and seminary formation, a rich corpus of scientific investigations to which this study hopes to make a modest development and from which the author draws wisdom and inspiration. Where appropriate, the author will avail himself of these contributions to resume the discussion previously begun by others. Before commencing the present lengthy study, the author, assuming a posture of humble gratitude, confesses the significant and praiseworthy labors of others. Consequent to the relatively recent promulgation of the Ratio/16 three years ago, scholarship on Mary in priestly formation according to the originalities of the Ratio/16 remains sparse beyond passing reference. More pressing and immediate questions surrounding the Ratio/16, however, have been academically treated to facilitate the implementation of the Ratio/16.22 Juridical consequences of the Ratio/16, for example, have received attention in canonical periodicals to assess the effects of the Ratio/16 upon ecclesiastical law.23 The absence of recent editions of Seminarium and Seminary Journal with their treatments of contemporary theological questions affecting priestly formation has further contributed to a quasi-silence on the presence and mission of Mary in seminary life and formation following the Ratio/16.24

22 For example, Jorge Carlos Patrón Wong’s article “Grandes lineamientos de la Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis,” Ecclesia 31 (2017): 231-38. Patrón Wong currently holds the ecclesiastical office of Secretary for Seminaries at the Congregation for the Clergy. Also noteworthy are the numerous publications of the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, Nebraska, that consider a wide assortment of questions on priestly formation and life following the Ratio/16, yet none of which treat of Mary in a manner envisioned by the author for this study. 23 Recent examples of such scholarship are Gianfranco Ghirlanda’s “La nuova Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis del 2016: Prova, Maturazione, Discernimento,” Periodica de re Canonica 107 (2018): 241-95 and Robert J. Kaslyn’s “Current Priestly Formation: Status Quaestionis,” Canon Law Society of America Proceedings 79 (2017): 164-88. 24 The last publication of Seminarium occurred in 2014 with issue 54 and shortly following the transfer of competency of seminary formation from the Congregation for Catholic Education to Congregation for the Clergy by the Apostolic Letter ,

11 While much has been written in the foregoing fifty years on Marian spirituality and the priesthood, a lacuna developed even prior to the Ratio/16 regarding the relationship between Mary and integral seminary formation beyond cursory mention, particularly the recommendation of Marian devotions such as the Rosary.25 Important exceptions to this Marian silence include the scholarship of theologians in the 1975 edition of Seminarium that broached the question of the Blessed Virgin Mary in priestly formation in the immediate post-conciliar context. Within the last twenty years, the theme of Mary and priestly formation received additional treatment in the Bulletin de Saint-Sulpice 29 of 2003 dedicated to the theme of “Teaching and Devotion to Mary in Priestly Formation,” exploring different approaches to Mary in priestly formation according to cultural norms and sensitivities. Interspersed throughout theological journals, well-known scholars Juan Esquerda Bifet, Velasio De Paolis, and Salvatore Perrella have offered journal-length presentations on Mary and seminary formation, albeit predating the Ratio/16. Of particular mention, the author acknowledges the 2011 scholarship of Juan Esquerda Bifet in “Maria en el itinerario de la formación, de la vida y del ministerio sacerdotal” wherein Bifet begins to elucidate Mary’s

Ministrorum Institutio of January 16, 2013. The future of Seminarium as a scholarly, theological journal on priestly formation remains unknown. The winter 2013 issue of Seminary Journal was published in early 2018. By means of a private communication, the general editor, Sebastian Mahfood, graciously provided to the author draft tables of contents for the forthcoming 2014, 2015, 2016-2017, and 2018 combined issues, none of which include specific articles on Mary and initial priestly formation. 25 Certainly, it is not the author’s intent to belittle mention of the Rosary nor to minimize its importance in seminary and priestly life. What Pope John XXIII wrote in 1959 remains true today, perhaps more so: “[C]onstant union with God is best achieved and preserved through the various practices of priestly piety; many of the more important of them, such as daily meditation, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, recitation of the Rosary, careful examination of conscience, the Church, in her wise and provident regulations, has made obligatory for priests. As for the hours of the Office, priests have undertaken a serious obligation to the Church to recite them. The neglect of some of these rules may often be the reason why certain churchmen are caught up in the whirl of external affairs, gradually lose their feeling for sacred things, and finally fall into serious difficulties when they are shorn of all spiritual protection and enticed by the attractions of this earthly life.” John XXIII, Encyclical on St. John Vianney, Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia, §§41-42, August 1, 1959, in Staff of the Pope Speaks Magazine, ed., The and Other Messages of John XXIII (Washington, DC: TPS, 1964), 82-83.

12 active and maternal presence in initial priestly formation with particular attention to Mary’s influence in realizing the priesthood as an ecclesial vocation.26 The presentations of Benedict O’Cinnsealaigh and Robert Fastiggi at Session One of the Marian Forum in Dayton, Ohio, on October 16, 2015, were likewise notable contributions, though limited to intellectual formation, primarily concerned with the American circumstance, and unpublished. The novelty of this thesis, therefore, consists in the author’s intent to explore the multi-faceted dimensions of Mary’s presence and mission in the formation program, seminary life, and the individual lives of priestly candidates in accord with the Ratio/16, namely to explicate Mary’s presence and mission within the four stages, each subdivided into four pillars, of initial priestly formation.

1.3 THE THESIS STATEMENT, METHODOLOGY,

AND SOURCES

The Virgin Mother of God is present and plays a singular role in the formation of priests, accompanying, inspiring, modeling, and interceding for seminarians during these pivotal years of growth and development. Mary’s presence and mission add a Marian character to the formation program evoking an essential ecclesial dimension typified in the person of Mary of Nazareth. While being prepared for “configuration to Christ as Priest, Teacher, and Pastor,”27 the presence and mission of Mary in initial priestly formation accentuates the interplay of nature and

26 Juan Esquerda Bifet, “María en el itinerario de la formación, de la vida y del ministerio sacerdotal,” Estudios Marianos 77 (2011): 189-211. Bifet, moreover, situates Mary’s presence as firmly Trinitarian and Christological: “El sacerdote ministro participa de la consagración sacerdotal de Cristo (que tuvo lugar en el seno de María), prolonga la misma misión de Cristo (quien asoció y sigue asociando a María), esta llamado a vivir en sintonía con él (como María, guiada por el Espíritu Santo, se asoció a la obra redentora de Cristo). De este modo, María está presente y active maternalmente en todas las etapas del itinerario de la formación y de la vida apostólica” (193). 27 CCC, 1585. 13 grace. The Eternal Word of God assumed human nature through Mary’s active cooperation in the work of redemption, so Mary offers not merely a model of vocational correspondence and needed maternal intercession to priestly candidates, but God wills to use Mary in preparing contemporary men for priestly life and ministry at the service of the Church in the twenty-first century. The method of this thesis advances from the general to the specific: from an ecclesial vision of priestly formation, to an identification of Mary’s presence and mission within that vision, to suggestions for concrete, immediate application by formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians such as the incorporation of specific Marian mysteries and virtues. The author intends to advance this investigation in accord with the orientation offered to Marian studies by LG chapter 8, Marialis Cultus, Redemptoris Mater, the 1988 letter The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation, and the Pontifical International Marian Academy’s The Mother of the Lord: Memory, Presence, and Hope.28 Ergo, this thesis will be consistently Marian, while also necessarily characterized by Trinitarian, Christological, and ecclesiological themes, and supported by biblical, liturgical, ecumenical, anthropological, and spiritual appraisals.29

28 Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation for the Right Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Marialis Cultus, February 2, 1974, in AAS 66 (1974): 113-68. English translation in Apostolic Exhortation for the Right Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Marialis Cultus (Vatican City: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1974). Hereafter “MC.” John Paul II, Encyclical on the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church, Redemptoris Mater, March 25, 1987, in AAS 79 (1987): 361-433. English translation in Mother of the Redeemer: Anniversary Edition (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2012). Hereafter “RM.” Congregation for Catholic Education, The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation, March 25, 1988. English translation in AFER 30, no. 4 (1988): 201-16. Hereafter “ISF” Pontifical International Marian Academy, The Mother of the Lord: Memory, Presence, Hope, trans. Thomas A. Thompson (Staten Island, NY: Society of St. Paul, 2007). Hereafter “ML.” 29 This orientation is clearly established in the twofold division of the sections of MC. Marian spirituality finds particular synthesis and development in RM, §48. Additionally, the author intends to realize a notion of Marian presence accentuated in ML, namely “the active presence of Mary in the mystery of ” (§67).

14 Since the Ratio/16 establishes a fresh distinction of initial priestly formation in the propaedeutic, discipleship, configuration, and pastoral stages, identifying the characteristics and purposes of each stage, this thesis corresponds to this division of formation in four chapters each dedicated to one of these stages.30 The four pillars of priestly formation—the human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral—segment each chapter to examine Mary’s presence and mission as explicitly or implicitly contained in Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the Church’s living Magisterium. In each stage, subdivided into each pillar, the author asks how “[e]very aspect of priestly formation can be referred to Mary,”31 proposing practical suggestions how Mary’s presence and mission can assist in the realization of the desired goals of each of the four stages.32 The identification of particular Marian mysteries and virtues corresponding to each stage of initial priestly formation weds in the life of seminarians Marian doctrine and devotion with special attention given to the Marian virtues enumerated in paragraph 57 of MC. Magisterial teaching serves as the primary source for this study, particularly OT, the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests Presbyterorum Ordinis, and the catecheses of recent .33 PDV ensures a vision of integral initial priestly formation, and the Congregation for Clergy’s Ratio/16 situates the pedagogical development of priestly candidates in a decidedly contemporary context with immediate and practical application. Meanwhile, the Second Vatican Council’s LG provides the framework for a theologically robust

30 Although the logical development of this study necessitates this division into the stages, subdivided into the pillars, the author maintains the essential unity of initial (and ongoing) formation in the coherence of the Christian life beginning at baptism, reaffirming with the Ratio/16, “Since it should be an ongoing experience of discipleship, formation is a single and integrated path, beginning in seminary and continuing into priestly life, where it takes the form of ongoing formation” (§53). 31 PDV, §82. 32 PDV, §55 explicitly states that the overall goal of initial priestly formation is to “form a priestly heart.” 33 Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Presbyterorum Ordinis, December 7, 1965, in AAS, 58 (1966): 991-1024. English translation in Austin Flannery, gen. ed., Vatican Council II: The Basic Sixteen Documents (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996): 317-64. Hereafter “PO.”

15 study of Mary, simultaneously Christological, ecclesiological, and anthropological, to advance a compelling argument for Mary’s presence and mission in the formation of future priests.34 Finally, the ISF reaffirms the essential importance of both Marian studies and Marian spirituality in integral, initial priestly formation. The secondary sources advantageously consulted include the voluminous homilies and addresses of recent popes, as well as the writings of theologians, pastors, and formators treating of seminary life and formation that intimate the Marian presence and mission in seminary formation and the lives of seminarians. Other secondary sources considered include Seminarium and Seminary Journal, the periodicals of institutes of consecrated life engaged in priestly formation, and the publications and proceedings of mariological societies. The bibliography at the conclusion of this investigation identifies additional secondary sources. While the preponderance of the present study arises from the aforesaid primary sources and the author’s own inspiration and insight gained from personal experience and formation as a consecrated man and priest whose life is dedicated to Jesus through Mary, the author recognizes the academic contributions of his predecessors with humility, admiration, and thanksgiving.

34 The author accepts, on the authority of Pope John Paul II, that “the eighth chapter of the dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium is in a certain sense a ‘Magna Charta’ of Mariology for our times.” John Paul II, Discourse at a General Audience, May 2, 1979. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, May 7, 1979, English edition, 1. The author’s understanding of the merit and utility of LG, chapter eight echoes that of Salvatore Meo who comments, “Con il cap. VIII di LG si è inteso dare non un trattato organico e completo di mariologia, né dirimere questioni ancora disputate fra i teologi, ma semplicemente offrire una sintesi teologica della dottrina più sicura intorno alla vergine Maria, approfondita alla luce della rivelazione, guidata da una sensibilità culturale e religiosa rispondente ai tempi moderni e riletta nella prospettiva della storia della salvezza, perché la chiesa tutta avesse un quadro perfetto dell’intero mistero di Maria.” Salvatore Meo, “Concilio Vaticano II,” in Nuovo dizionario di mariologia, ed. Stefano de Fiores and Salvatore Meo (Milan: Edizioni Paoline, 1985), 393. 16 1.4 THE FOUNDATIONAL THEOLOGICAL

NOTIONS

The application of Marian presence and mission to the Ratio/16’s vision of initial priestly formation is original to the author, but the theological concepts of Mary’s presence and mission originate in Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the living Magisterium. Prior to investigating Mary’s presence and mission within the four stages of initial priestly formation and each stage’s four pillars, Mary’s “presence” and Mary’s “mission” must be considered to avoid undue confusion in all that follows.

1.4.1 Mary’s “Presence”

Presence is sometimes best understood by its antithesis: absence. The English word “presence” finds its origins in the Latin prefix prae, meaning “before,” and the Latin verb esse, meaning “to be.” As the etymology of “presence” suggests, presence concerns not only the existence of something or someone, but the precedence of that existence before the action contemplated or related. Although Sacred Scripture never employs the specific theological term “omnipresence” to refer to the divine attribute of God’s presence, the nevertheless centrally concerns God’s revelation of his abiding divine presence to the Chosen People. The revelation of God’s name as YHWH or the tetragrammaton to in Exodus 3:14 attempts to convey in human language the theological reality of God’s presence: God not only exists from all eternity and will exist for all eternity, but God is omnipresent in the midst of his people as a personal God. The ark of the covenant commanded by God to Moses reveals, for example, God’s singular presence amongst his people where God wills not only that the people encounter their God, but where God will dwell and speak to his people.35 The Old Testament further relates how the divine presence finds concrete experience in the

35 Ex 25:8, 22. 17 lives of God’s people, especially the Old Testament and prophets such as , who hears God’s call when sleeping near the ark of the covenant in 1 Samuel 3:1-9 and who experiences God not in the powerful wind, earthquake, and fire, but in the “still small voice” in 1 Kings 19:20. The royal psalmist likewise gives utterance to the reality of the divine omnipresence in Psalm 139:7 asking, “Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” Contemporary theologian Thomas Dubay synthesizes the presence of God in the Old Testament hence: “[T]he omnipresence of God, his love and abiding presence with his people, his fatherly closeness to men and women, his call to a relationship of intimate mutual love, and their longing for his presence, prepared the Hebrew mind and heart to accept his revelation and to expect that the next step in the divine condescension would be some more intimate union.”36 In an entirely new and incomprehensible manner, the relates the Incarnation of the Second Person of the , who assumes a human nature to his eternally unchanged divinity and thus becomes verily present as true God and true man, dwelling from the first moment of his Conception by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary.37 Scriptural exegete Raymond Brown concludes therefrom that “the flesh of Jesus Christ is the new localization of God’s presence on earth, and that Jesus is the replacement of the ancient Tabernacle.”38 The Incarnation, thus, further heightens, witnesses, revolutionizes, and reveals the presence of God. God’s presence, however, continues after the Resurrection and as revealed at the Pentecost event where tongues of fire manifest the Paraclete’s presence.39 Herein Jesus’s promise to the nascent Church is realized: “I am with you always, to the close of the age.”40 From the emphasis placed upon God’s presence, and the revelation of

36 Thomas Dubay, “The Revelation of God’s Abiding Presence in the Human Heart,” in Temple and Contemplation: God’s Presence in the Cosmos, Church, and Human Heart, ed. Scott W. Hahn and Scott (Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road, 2008), 178. 37 Lk 1:31, 35. 38 Raymond E. Brown, “The Gospel according to John I-XII,” in Anchor Bible, vol. 29 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966), 33. 39 Acts 2:3. 40 Mt 28:20.

18 that presence in the Old and New Testaments, the theological significance of presence emerges as proper to God himself in the first instance whose very essence is to be and who eternally possesses by nature the attribute of omnipresence.41 Contingent or dependent beings, namely every created thing, can be present in a secondary manner that owes its primary cause to the creative and effective will of God, who both calls everything into being out of nothing and holds all of creation in existence at a particular moment in salvation history.42 In a given situation, a human person in this life can be present to another human person by exercising man’s free will to move about as he pleases. What can be said, however, of the presence of human persons who have passed from this life, as well as the incorporeal angels? Is the secondary presence of contingent being confined to simply the corporeal or the duration of mortal life? As a composite being comprised of mortal, corporal body and immortal, spiritual soul united in the human person and with an eternal destiny, the human person continues to exist after death while awaiting the final resurrection of the body.43 The doctrine of the communion of the saints confesses in part, therefore, the unity or communion of all those members of the Mystical Body of Christ—the Church— whether the blessed in heaven, suffering souls in , or men and women in this earthly life.44 LG affirms the union that exists between the saints and the members of the Church here on earth, calling particular attention to the presence of all the members of

41 Thomas Aquinas offers a scholastic interpretation of divine presence that accords with that found in Scripture, but further differentiates a threefold presence of God, teaching, “God is in all things by his power, inasmuch as all things are subject to his power; he is by his presence in all things, as all things are bare and open to his eyes; he is in all things by his essence, inasmuch as he is present to all as the cause of their being.” Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, I, q. 8, a. 3, in Summa theologica: Complete English Edition in Five Volumes, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province, vol. 1 (Notre Dame, IN: Christian Classics, 1981), 36. Hereafter “ST.” 42 See CCC, 315-24. 43 CCC, 1016. 44 Wherefore, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “The term ‘communion of saints’ therefore has two closely linked meanings: communion ‘in holy things (sancta)’ and ‘among holy persons (sancti).’” CCC, 948. The notion of the presence of the members of the Mystical Body, one to another, approximates the communion of saints (sancti). Communion, after all, would be impossible without some possibility of presence, even if that presence be veiled in mystery.

19 the Church at the Eucharist.45 The theological concept of presence signifies in part this union between the members who are present to one another, while acknowledging that the union between them may be imperfect because of sin. The Pontifical International Marian Academy, appealing to the Marian dogmas, especially the Divine Maternity and Assumption, situates the Marian presence as consequent to and interconnected with Mary’s singular identity in the communion of saints, teaching thus:

Through her perfect glorification, through her close union with her Son, which made her “spiritual body” no longer subject to vicissitudes of time and space, Mary is the meeting point for those who dwell in heaven and those who dwell on earth; hers is the totally pure hymn of praise, hers is the most efficacious prayer; she is the benign and maternal presence which brings about in the community of disciples growth toward a greater fraternity and family. In a discreet manner, she is present to the Church where her Son, the High Priest, the only Master and Lord, dwells; she is the sign that the liberation of the cosmos has already begun, because “in the glorified body of Mary, material creation begins to share in the resurrected body of Christ.”46

Although LG chapter eight entitled “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God in the Mystery of Christ and the Church” does not explicitly speak of the Marian presence, nonetheless the Second Vatican Council situates Mary within an ecclesial context, the human person in relation to God and neighbor par excellence. Mary’s presence is affirmed in conciliar teaching as primarily maternal, but also utterly unique, effective, enduring, and intercessory.47 Pope Paul VI maintains the legitimacy of Mary’s presence in the Church, expounding, “In truth, all periods of the

45 LG, §50. 46 ML, §51. 47 LG, §62. 20 Church’s history have benefited and will benefit from the maternal presence of the Mother of God because she will remain always indissolubly joined to the Mystery of the Mystical Body, of whose Head it was written: ‘Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday and today, yes, and forever.’”48 While Pope John Paul II often receives the greatest recognition for the contemporary development of the theological concept of Marian presence, the Discalced Carmelite martyr at Dachau , known in religion as Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, explores the notion of Marian accompaniment akin to Marian presence in the first half of the twentieth century. St. Teresa Benedicta posits:

Just as certainly, through her unique relation with Christ, Mary must have a real – that means here a mystic – relationship with the other members of the Church. This relationship extends far above that of the other members in intensity, nature, and importance; it is analogous to the relationship which a mother has with her children, a relationship surpassing that which the children have among themselves. The title of Mary as our mother is not merely symbolic. Mary is our mother in the most real and lofty sense, a sense which surpasses that of earthly maternity. She begot our life of grace for us because she offered up her entire being, body and soul, as the Mother of God. That is why an intimate bond exists between Mary and ourselves. She loves us, she knows us, she exerts herself to bring each one of us into the closest possible relationship with the Lord – that which we are above all supposed to be. Of course, this is true for all humanity.49

48 Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation on Venerating and Imitating the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church and Model of All Virtues, Signum Magnum, §6, May 13, 1967, in AAS 59 (1967): 474. English translation in The Blessed Virgin Mary in the Teaching of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI, William Joseph Chaminade (St. Louis, MO: Marianist Resources Commission, 1972), 38. Hereafter “SM.” 49 Edith Stein [St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, OCD], Essential Writings (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2002), 123. 21

Consequently, Teresa Benedicta asserts that Mary’s relationship with the individual Christian surpasses the relation of natural maternity precisely because of Mary’s singular vocation in salvation history as the Mother of the Redeemer. Moreover, Teresa Benedicta teaches that Mary’s presence in the lives of Mary’s spiritual children exists for the sake of a particular Marian mission in the Christian life. In a poem written on a Good Friday retreat, Teresa Benedicta further develops the notion of Mary’s presence thus:

So you have taken into your heart those who belong to him [Jesus], and by the life blood of your bitter pains, you have purchased new life for every soul. You know us all: our wounds, our weaknesses, you also know the heavenly radiance which your son’s love would like to pour out on us in eternal brightness. So you carefully direct our steps, no price is too high for you to lead us to the goal. But those chosen by you as companions Will someday surround you at the eternal throne.50

According to Teresa Benedicta, the Marian presence results from Mary’s inseparable union with Christ in both the Incarnation and Redemption, concretized in the daily life of individual Christian disciples by Mary’s accompaniment into eternal life.51 In RM, Pope John Paul II alternately refers to Mary’s presence under five characteristics, namely as “active and exemplary,” “essential,” “maternal,” “permanent,” and “special,” finding Mary present not only in the New Testament accounts of Mary’s physical, tangible presence in the mysteries of the life of

50 Edith Stein, Edith Stein: Selected Writings, ed. Marian Maskulak (New York: Paulist, 2016), 255. 51 ML synthesizes accordingly, “This is the Marian spirituality of Edith Stein: to trust in the direction of the Virgin, to place oneself under her guidance, to allow oneself to be led by her hand” (§56).

22 Christ, but also present in the Old Testament types of Mary and in the Church today with its wide-ranging apostolates.52 Pope John Paul II, therefore, stresses that Mary “who is present in the mystery of Christ as Mother becomes-by the will of the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit-present in the mystery of the Church.”53 In the teaching of Pope John Paul II, Mary’s ecclesial presence remains perpetual, stable, and constitutive in the multi-dimensional life of the Church today and its many members.54 Moreover, John Paul II calls marked attention to the primacy of Mary’s maternal presence correlative to Mary’s ensuing maternal mission.55 Subsequent contemporary theologians have enumerated Mary’s presence according to different qualities of Mary’s presence in the life of the Church and its members consequent to God’s will for the Divine Mother and Spiritual Mother of all mankind. After affirming that Mary’s presence did not end nearly two thousand years ago with the Assumption, but rather that Mary “exists today, and that she exercises an influence that can be identified, recognized, and known, and that is accessible through experience,” Marian scholar René Laurentin posits the Marian presence under six categories, distinct from the divine omnipresence, as “permanent and universal,” “human and feminine,” “maternal,” “free and non-possessive,” “discreet,” and “an image of Trinitarian love.”56 Angelo Pizzarelli, citing the influence of the philosophy of on the theological

52 RM, §§1, 24, 31. 53 RM, §24. 54 RM, §31. 55 John Paul II, General Audience, May 2, 1979, 1: “The presence of Mary in the mystery of the Church, that is at the same time in the daily life of the People of God all over the world, is above all a motherly presence. Mary, so to speak, gives the salvific work of he Son and the mission of the Church a singular form: the motherly form” (emphasis original). 56 René Laurentin, Mary in Scripture, Liturgy, and the Catholic Tradition (New York: Paulist, 2014), 151-59. In his 1967 assessment of Mary in priestly formation, Laurentin previously posited the importance of the Marian presence in relation to the Communion of Saints and the Church in initial priestly formation, arguing, “[C]heque futur prêtre doit trouver, personnellement et en communauté, la présence e la Vierge dans l’Église, c’est-à-dire dans la communion des saints. Dans cette communion, que l’Esprit instaure in Christo, elle continue d’être, en relation vitale avec tous les membres, ce qu’elle fut dans les mystères du Christ, de l’Annonciation au Calvaire et à la Pentecôte.” Laurentin, “La Vierge Marie dans la formation des futurs prêtres,” 327.

23 notion of Marian presence, suggests five manners in which Mary is theologically present, namely: intellectual, affective, operative, real, and Mary’s modern and contemporary pneumatic-personal presence consequent to Mary’s state of glory.57 In recent years, Tommaso Turi offers his own list of characteristics of Marian presence subdivided into the threefold earthly presence of Mary in Sacred Scripture, the heavenly presence of Mary in Christian tradition, and the real presence of Mary in the light of the real presence of Christ.58 First, Turi identifies Mary’s maternal, obedient, virginal, ecclesial, and universal presence. Second, Turi speaks of Mary’s cosmic, spiritual, glorious, pneumatic, and mystical presence. Finally, Turi treats of Mary’s anthropological, cultural, and liturgical presence. Stefano de Fiores, by contrast, treats of Marian presence under three general headings—presence as a central theme in RM, Mary’s presence in all dimensions of the mystery of salvation, and finally, apropos to this study, the multiple presences of Mary in the life of the Church—before offering concluding remarks on the Marian presence as a hermeneutical principle, the pneumatic presence of Mary, and Mary’s presence as experienced in the Church. De Fiores’s study of Mary’s presence in the life of the Church treats separately of Mary’s presence in space, time, and the spiritual life without distinguishing the Marian presence amongst different members of the Church according to vocation.59 The Pontifical International Marian Academy presents its own identification of the Marian presence under twelve characteristics, namely “maternal … active and operative … praying … permanent … feminine … exemplary … sacramental … pneumatic … discreet … singular and special.”60 With due regard for the significant contributions of the aforesaid theologians to identify the qualities of Mary’s presence,

57 Angelo Pizzarelli, “Presencia,” in Nuevo Diccionario de Mariología, ed. Stefano de Fiores, Salvatore M. Meo, and Eliseo Touron (Madrid: Ediciones Paulinas, 1988), 1644-46. 58 Tommaso Turi, “Presenza,” in Mariologia, ed. Stefano de Fiores, Salvatore M. Perrella, and Valeria Ferrari Schiefer (Milan: San Paolo, 2009), 1002-11. 59 Stefano de Fiores, “Presenza,” in Maria Nuovissimo Dizionario, vol. 2 (Bologna: Edizione Dehoniane, 2006), 1365-1400. 60 ML, §66.

24 the author elects to advance the present study under fourteen dimensions of Marian presence, namely: active, exemplary, essential, maternal, permanent, unique, feminine, free, discreet, obedient, virginal, ecclesial, liturgical, and spiritual. As will be seen in the chapters to follow, these fourteen dimensions of Marian presence aid in suggesting how Mary’s presence can assist in the realization of the four stages and four pillars of initial priestly formation.61 When introduced in what follows, each of the aforesaid qualities of Marian presence will be theologically expounded. Mindful of the Ratio/16’s emphasis on missionary discipleship, this thesis will also study Mary’s presence in seminary formation as the foremost Christian disciple.62 Mary, “the servant and the disciple of the Word to the point of conceiving, in her heart and in her flesh, the Word made man, so as to give him to mankind,” presents herself to men in priestly formation.63 Before considering Mary’s mission, the author readily concedes the difficulties in articulating the precise manner and grade of Mary’s presence to men in different states of Christian discipleship who possess varying degrees of holiness and virtue, all the while finding themselves in a quasi-infinite number of circumstances of daily life.64 In order to overcome this hardship, the current investigation progresses from Mary’s presence and mission as divinely revealed and in accord with the Church’s

61 The author is cognizant that this list is in no way exhaustive, nor does he intend it to be so. While adjectives attempt to characterize how the human person of Mary is present to other Christian believers, these notes of presence can in no way completely comprehend the mystery of the human person of Mary. The selected dimensions of Marian presence simply serve to circumscribe this investigation within realizable parameters, and they have been deliberately chosen by the author as most in accord with, and advantageous to, the realization of the Church’s vision of initial priestly formation proffered in Ratio/16. 62 MC, §35: “She is worthy of imitation because she was the first and the most perfect of Christ’s disciples. All of this has a permanent and universal exemplary value.” 63 PDV, §82. 64 Marian scholar O’Carroll, CSSp introduces the inherent difficulty of the question of Mary’s presence in individual Christian lives, writing, “There is not only the question of Mary’s presence, but of degrees in that presence. How it varies with objectively fixed moments in the life of the Church and with the different phases in personal spiritual growth would demand much difficult study.” Michael O’Carroll, : A Theological Encyclopedia of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2000), 292.

25 vision of initial priestly formation without attempting to pronounce on the individual state or needs of an individual seminarian in his formative journey or a particular seminary community, questions best left to individual discernment and application by priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians most intimately aware of these individual exigencies.65

1.4.2 Mary’s “Mission”

Derived from the Latin verb “missio,” to send, a mission connotes the secondary place of the person sent by another with a particular goal or task. A mission does not initiate in the missionary sent on mission, but in the sender who determines both the mission and a suitable missionary to realize a given mission. The responsibility for realizing the mission, and the mission’s success, therefore, acutely depend upon the free will of the missionary.66 Mission enjoys a close correlation to the theological understanding of presence. When sent on a mission, the missionary’s presence either begins to exist anew to those whom he is sent or his presence is strengthened and intensified.67 Unlike presence, however, mission draws attention to not merely existence, but action. A person or thing may be present at a particular time in a certain place and manner but lack any operation or effective activity assigned by the sender and thus be

65 Herewith, the author again emphasizes his hope to forgo any digressions into psychology or sociology outside the realm of the author’s competency and the focus of this investigation, scientific studies albeit meritorious and necessary, but best left to their proper practitioners. Likewise, the aforesaid limit intentionally purposes to avoid any foray into ecclesial polemics or hasty accusation or condemnation of particular seminarians, formators, or seminaries, seeking to remain an academically demanding theological investigation instead. 66 Thomas Aquinas articulates this same reality in scholastic parlance, teaching, “[T]he notion of mission includes two things: the habitude of the one sent to the sender; and that of the one sent to the need whereto he is sent.” ST, I, q. 43, a. 1, trans. English Dominican Province, 219-20. 67 In scholastic expression, Aquinas teaches likewise: “The habitude to the term to which he is sent is also shown, so that in some way he begins to be present there: either because in no way was he present before in the place whereto he is sent, or because he begins to be there in some way in which he was not there hitherto.” ST, I, q. 43, a. 1, trans. English Dominican Province, 220.

26 deprived of a proper mission. Moreover, since the theological notion of mission impresses the secondary place of the missionary to the sender, mission penetrates the intent of the sender through the lens of the mission the sender entrusts to the missionary. Biblical scholar Xavier Léon-Dufour expresses the theological notion of mission within a scriptural framework of salvation as a “positive call of God, explicitly manifest in each particular case. It applies to collectives as well as to individuals. Connected with the idea of and vocation, it is expressed by a vocabulary which centers around the verb to send.”68 Analogous to the theological concept of presence, mission belongs primarily to the Godhead, who is the first sender, and refers foremost to the conjoined, visible and invisible missions of the Incarnate Word and the Holy Spirit sent by the Eternal Father into the world to bring about man’s redemption and .69 Since God sends His creatures on missions, the Trinitarian missions, namely the messianic and redemptive conjoined missions of the Son and Spirit, are properly and essentially distinguished from the apostolic or personal missions of individual Christian disciples in accord with each person’s proper vocation.70

68 Xavier Léon-Dufour, “Presence,” in Dictionary of Biblical Theology: New Revised Edition (New York: Seabury, 1973), 365. Léon-Dufour further suggests that a theology of mission is not exclusive to Christianity, but rather other world religions also include the notion of mission as proper to their belief systems and history. David H. Engelhard slightly broadens Léon-Dufour’s notion of mission, offering explicit examples from Sacred Scripture of the use of the term “mission,” and elaborating that a person or group sent on mission is sent “usually by God or God’s representatives.” David H. Engelhard, “Mission,” in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, et al., vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1986), 384. Thus, Engelhard expands that a person can be sent on a divine mission not only by God, but by an agent of God such as an angel, a saint, or the Church and its hierarchy. For a contemporary synthesis on the search for a scriptural foundation for “mission,” see Donald Senior, “Bible,” in Dictionary of Mission: Theology, History, Perspectives, ed. Karl Müller, Theo Sundermeier, Stephen B. Bevans, and Richard H. Bliese (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1999), 44-47. 69 CCC, 743: “From the beginning to the end of time, whenever God sends his Son, he always sends his Spirit: their mission is conjoined and inseparable.” 70 Pope Francis develops the relationship between the divine mission and the mission of Jesus’s disciples in an Angelus address, teaching, “Jesus is not a lone missionary, he does not want to fulfill his mission alone, but involves his disciples … Jesus does not

27 The Old and New Testaments recount the missions of holy men and women sent by God to bear witness to the divine presence and precepts.71 The Book of Exodus relates, for example, the unique mission of Moses to free the Chosen People of God from bondage and lead them into the Promised Land.72 Likewise, after having his mouth purified by the fiery coal, receives a divine and prophetic mission in Isaiah 6, and God sends on a mission to proclaim repentance to Nineveh in Jonah 1. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ sends the apostles on a specific mission, one proper to them, namely to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that [He has] commanded.”73 The Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul of Tarsus, receives a unique mission following his conversion to proclaim the Good News of Christ’s Incarnation, Passion, Death, and Resurrection to “Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel.”74 Presence and mission find biblical convergence; without the divine presence, the divine mission remains eternally unknown, unrealizable, and frustrated. Through the secondary instrumentality of the human presence of missionaries, the divine presence shines forth through the apostolic labors of individual, divinely commissioned missionaries.

want to act alone, he came to bring the love of God into the world, and he wants to spread it in the of communion, in the style of brotherhood. This is why he immediately forms a community of disciples, which is a missionary community. He trains them straight away for the mission, to go forth.” Francis, Angelus, July 7, 2013. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, July 10, 2013, English edition, 4. Furthermore, Emile Neubert, SM offers a working definition of the apostolate of individual believers, closely related to the mission of Christ’s disciples, writing, “The concept of ‘apostolate’ therefore, contains three ideas: that of being sent, as indicated by the word itself, but sent by God; that of freeing men from Satan in order to make them children of God; that of devoting one’s self, to the achievement of that goal, without counting the cost.” Emile Neubert, Mary’s Apostolic Mission and Ours (New Bedford, MA: Academy of the Immaculate, 2011), 5. 71 Noteworthy is the fact that each of these missions originates in God, who sends but also entrusts the missionary labor to the free acceptance and correspondence of the missionary. The mission’s success rests significantly, although not exclusively, upon the missionary’s fidelity and generous response to the divine mandate. 72 See Ex 9:1 where God sends Moses on a mission to Pharaoh to demand the freedom of the Hebrew People. 73 Mt 28:19-20. 74 Acts 9:15.

28 God, however, does not only call Christians as individuals to missionary labors, but rather a missionary identity belongs to all the baptized and to the Church. Wherefore, the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church Ad Gentes affirms that the “pilgrim Church is missionary by her very nature, since it is from the mission of the Son and the mission of the Holy Spirit that she draws her origin, in accordance with the decree of .”75 As members of the Church through baptism, the Christian faithful are “called to holiness and to mission.”76 Turning to the resultant personal responsibility of each of Christ’s followers, Pope Paul VI affirms, “Those who have received the Good News and who have been gathered by it into the community of salvation can and must communicate and spread it.”77 Amongst human persons, this missionary vocation pertains in the first instance to Mary of Nazareth, who rightly enjoys a singular Marian mission in the Church and in the life of its members.78 Considered from the perspective of efficacy of mission, the Marian mission enjoys the greatest possible success in realizing its divinely appointed goal, namely the salvation of souls, because as the saved from

75 Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church, Ad Gentes, §2, December 7, 1965, in AAS 58 (1966): 718. English translation in Austin Flannery, gen. ed., Vatican Council II: The Basic Sixteen Documents (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996), 444. Hereafter “AG.” 76 John Paul II, Encyclical on the Permanent Validity of the Church’s Missionary Mandate, , §90, December 7, 1990, in AAS 83 (1991): 337. English translation in Encyclical Letter on the Permanent Validity of the Church’s Missionary Mandate, Redemptoris Missio (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1990), 148. 77 Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation on Evangelization in the Modern World, Evangelii Nuntiandi, §13, December 8, 1975, in AAS 68 (1976): 12-13. English translation in On Evangelization in the Modern World (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1976), 12. 78 Wherefore, theologians Paul Molinari and Anne Hennessy, reflecting upon the angelic greeting at the , comment, “The expression, ‘The Lord is with you’ echoes the terms used by those people whom God had chosen to accomplish a mission in salvation history. In religious and rabbinical traditions, this expression had acquired a specific meaning: it had become the way to manifest what some people realized when they became aware not only of God’s personal love for them, but that such a special closeness ensued from his having called them to himself in order to entrust them with a task to be performed in his name for the sake of the people.” Paul Molinari and Anne Hennessy, The Vocation and Mission of Joseph & Mary (Dublin: Veritas, 1992), 27.

29 from the first instant of Mary’s conception and utterly free from all personal sin, Mary’s personal holiness and humility before God offer credence to Mary’s witness and place no obstacle in the realization of the Marian mission.79 Mary’s response to the angelic salutation confirms, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”80 All missions hold but only one ultimate purpose, including the mission of Mary, namely to “make men share in the communion between the Father and the Son in their Spirit of love.”81 The theological concept of Mary’s mission, or the Marian mission, therefore connotes how Mary has been called from all eternity by the Triune God to assist men and women to enter into a relationship with the Trinity in this life that finds perfect fulfillment in the beatific vision of heaven. While not explicitly employing the term “mission,” the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council explicate Mary’s mission as divinely mandated and for the eternal beatitude of the People of God, teaching:

The maternal duty of Mary toward men in no wise obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows His power. For all the salvific influence of the Blessed Virgin on men originates, not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure. It flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His

79 Commenting on Mary’s freedom and perfect cooperation with grace, Pope Paul VI notably teaches in Part I of SM, “Furthermore, it is well to bear in mind that Mary’s eminent sanctity was not only a singular gift of divine liberality. It was also the fruit of the continuous and generous cooperation of her free will in the inner motions of the Holy Spirit. It is because of the perfect harmony between divine grace and the activity of her human nature that the Virgin rendered supreme glory to the Most Holy Trinity and became the illustrious ornament of the Church.” Concerning the importance of authentic, credible missionary witness, see A. M. Henry, A Mission Theology, trans. Albert J. LaMothe Jr. (Notre Dame, IN: Fides, 1962), 69-70 where Henry writes in part, “The first witness, consequently, which the word of the one who evangelizes requires is that of his absolute loyalty, of his humility before God, of his ability to renounce himself in order to be the faithful reporter of a truth which does not belong to him –in a word, the witness of his sanctity. Every lack of sanctity, or of perfect charity, creates a difficulty for belief on the part of the listener” (69). 80 Lk 1:38. 81 CCC, 850.

30 mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all power from it. In no way does it impede, but rather does it foster the immediate union of the faithful with Christ.82

The Second Vatican Council clearly teaches that Mary’s singular maternal mission is subservient to, but always in union with, the conjoined mission of the Triune God and congruently the mission of the Church “for the regeneration of men.”83 Wherefore, Marian scholar, Juan Esquerda Bifet concludes, “The mission of Mary and of the Church complement each other.”84 The mission of Mary, ergo, is intimately and inseparably united to the ecclesial mission; through Mary’s exercise of her maternal mission in the lives of Christian disciples, the maternal mission of the Church is simultaneously advanced and realized. Pope Paul VI examines Mary’s mission, a mission he identifies after the Ascension of Jesus as a “new mission of spiritual Mother of the most beloved of the disciples and of the nascent Church.”85 Consequently, for Pope Paul VI the theological concept of Mary’s mission cannot be separated from either Mary’s Divine Maternity or Mary’s Spiritual Maternity of the human race. Pope Paul VI describes how Mary embraced her mission: “strong and constant … to the point of sacrificing herself, in full communion of sentiments with her Son who immolated Himself on the Cross to give men a new life.”86 Perhaps offering the most complete magisterial teaching on Mary’s mission, Pope Paul VI elaborates in MC:

82 LG, §60. The Latin original text of LG employs the noun “munus” rendered in the official English translation as “duty,” but that might also be translated as Mary’s function, office, or even mission as synonyms of the English noun “duty.” 83 LG, §§63, 65. Speaking of Mary’s “mission,” the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Decree on the Celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of the Church describes Mary’s mission as characterized by maternal nurturing and prayer: “As caring guide to the emerging Church, Mary had already begun her mission in the Upper Room, praying with the Apostles while awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit.” 84 Juan Esquerda Bifet, Mary, Our Lady in the Mission of the Church (Rome: Centro Internazionale di Animazione Missionaria, 1985), 5. 85 SM, Part I. 86 SM, Part I. 31

Mary’s many-sided mission to the People of God is a supernatural reality which operates and bears fruit within the body of the Church. One finds cause for joy in considering the different aspects of this mission, and seeing how each of these aspects with its individual effectiveness is directed towards the same end, namely, producing in the children the spiritual characteristics of the first-born Son. The Virgin’s maternal intercession, her exemplary holiness and the divine grace which is in her become for the human race a reason for divine hope.87

Suggesting Mary’s mission as a true theological mission intimately united to the mission of the Godhead, Pope Paul VI proffers the Marian mission as worthy of Christian imitation, an example of humble, selfless, courageous service.88 Pope Francis likewise treats of Mary’s mission, identifying Mary as the Mother of Evangelization, the “missionary who draws near to us and accompanies us throughout life, opening our hearts to faith by her maternal love. As a true mother, she walks at our side, she shares our struggles, and she constantly surrounds us with God’s love.”89 In his explication of the Marian mission, Pope Francis emphasizes the dynamism of Mary’s mission; Mary is not merely passively present in the lives of Christian disciples and the Church, but Mary’s presence enjoys an efficacy and activity theologically identified as the Marian mission. The Marian mission, unlike Marian presence, has alluded extensive categorization or qualification by contemporary

87 MC, §57. 88 SM, §3: “And it is still in her [Mary] that Christians can admire the example of how to fulfill, with humility and at the same time with magnanimity, the mission which God entrusts to each one in this world, in relation to his own salvation and that of his fellow beings.” 89 Francis, Apostolic Exhortation on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World, , §286, November 24, 2013, in AAS 105 (2013): 1135. English translation in The Joy of the Gospel: Evangelii Gaudium (Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2013), 139.

32 theologians and scholars.90 There are no comparable attempts to apply descriptive adjectives to the varied dimensions of Mary’s mission, although, as has been shown, the Marian mission has a biblical origin at the Annunciation and continues unto the present.91 Whereas successive pontiffs and theologians confess the actuality of the Marian mission and concede its theological merit and efficacy in the lives of individual Christian believers, attempts to qualify or expound upon this mission remain vague. The “Marian mission” seems often times to be simply assumed under the heading of “Marian presence,” particularly the understanding of Mary’s presence as operative or active.92 An active presence, however, does not necessarily connote a divinely given mission. Additionally, presence, particularly in English, conveys an undertone of passivity difficult to overcome by merely describing presence as active. A mission, however, accentuates activity in response to a divine command, namely to realize a divine purpose according to the divine will. Through presence, mission is manifest and, conversely, through mission, presence is revealed. While the Marian presence and Marian mission are unquestionably closely related and readily confused, the author opines that great benefit

90 The Marian mission often times receives but only little attention in preference for Marian devotion. In proof whereof, the Dictionary of Mission: Theology, History, Perspectives includes entries on such diverse themes as “,” “Culture,” “Ecology and Mission,” “Inculturation,” “ as Missionary,” “Theology of Mission,” and “Women,” but no entry on or significant development of “Mary and Mission” or the “Marian Mission.” See Karl Müller, Theo Sundermeier, Stephen B. Bevans, and Richard H. Bliese, eds., Dictionary of Mission: Theology, History, Perspectives (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1999), 44-47. The author of this thesis hopes to remedy this oversight by identifying the Marian presence and Marian mission within seminary formation. 91 For example, none of the aforementioned scholarly dictionaries or encyclopedias on Mary contain entries particularly studying Mary’s “mission.” 92 See, for example, Angelo Pizzarelli, “Presencia,” in Nuevo Diccionario de Mariología, 1644 where Pizzarelli writes, “Si en la visión beatifica ella nos ve, nos ama y nos acompaña por todas partes, es claro que no puede permanecer inactiva, porque el amor es esencialmente operativo y comunicativo.” Although Pizzarelli elects to reflect thus under the theological heading of Marian presence, the author of this thesis sees a subtle, but important distinction between presence and mission that aids in initial priestly formation by highlighting for priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians that Mary is not only present in this pedagogical journey, but has received from the Trinity a particular mission greater than an active presence, namely a mission that this thesis seeks to identify and to celebrate.

33 will result from attempting to clearly distinguish Mary’s presence from Mary’s mission in initial priestly formation. The author, nonetheless, confronts the want of theological categorization of Mary’s mission, but hopes to begin a discussion on Mary’s mission that enriches the Church and its many members. By studying Mary’s mission, something that can be more tangibly grasped through its activity and that has been divinely revealed in Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium, Mary’s real and true presence in the Church gradually emerges. Facing this lacuna, the author proposes Mary’s mission under the nine characteristics of dynamic, essential, maternal, permanent, unique, ecclesial, intercessory, effective, and accompanying.93 In the succeeding chapters, when these notes of Marian mission are introduced, the author will likewise suggest a theological interpretation of each. Admittedly a comparison of these qualifications of the Marian mission admits great similarity with the notes of Marian presence, but the author hopes to assist in the disambiguation of these theological realities by expounding how Mary’s presence and Mary’s mission, under their respective qualifications, can enrich initial priestly formation in all four pillars of the four stages developed in the Ratio/16. The Second Vatican Council Fathers further identify Mary’s mission to not only bring forth spiritual children of God and intercede on behalf of those selfsame children, but to form these very children whose “education she cooperates with a maternal love.”94 The Latin verb used in the original text of LG, “educandos” from “educare” signifies Mary’s mission in wholistic formation, not merely intellectual instruction, but leading

93 Akin to Marian presence, the author grants that this list of notes of Marian mission is far from exhaustive and presented in no particular order here. The above-listed qualifications of the Marian mission, inseparably related to the four Marian dogmas and central Marian doctrines, have been intentionally selected by the author in view of advancing the ecclesial vision of initial priestly formation found in the Ratio/16. 94 LG, §63. Here Lumen Gentium accords with the teaching of Emile Neubert, SM, who argues, “The role of a mother is not only to give life to a human being, but also to nurture it. Every complete mother is an educator. Mary carried all priests in her womb and gave birth to them as she gave birth to the Christ-Priest. She was His educator and should be theirs as well.” Emile Neubert, Mary and the Priestly Ministry (New Bedford, MA: Academy of the Immaculate, 2009), 47.

34 out of all error as the Latin suggests and into the fullness of Truth, Jesus Christ.95 The present thesis will, therefore, also necessarily illuminate Mary’s mission as teacher, catechist, and educator of seminarians, educating seminarians in all the stages and dimensions of their vocational journey.96 In fine, the Church and all of its members are objects and beneficiaries of Mary’s mission that directly results from the mystery of the Incarnation. Mary’s mission, intimately bound to the theological concept of Mary’s presence, has as its ultimate aim the of the human race by means of the infinite treasury of grace purchased by Mary’s Divine Son, Jesus Christ on Calvary. As members of the Church through baptism and in formation for the ministerial priesthood in Jesus Christ, Mary’s presence and mission intimately concern and can assist seminarians to realize the vision of priestly formation proffered in the Ratio/16.

1.5 A BRIEF HISTORICAL EXCURSIS OF

FUNDAMENTAL MAGISTERIAL DOCUMENTS

ON PRIESTLY FORMATION

FROM 1965 TO 2019

Although the author maintains his initial intention to eschew a merely historical analysis of Marian treatment in magisterial documents on seminary formation, a brief historical examination of the fundamental magisterial documents on priestly

95 Jn 14:6. 96 The related terms “teacher,” “catechist,” and “educator” will each be used in the pages that follow to suggest Mary’s role in leading the Christian faithful, here seminarians, out of error and into the light of truth. The author elects to use all three terms where appropriate, while collectively referring to Mary’s pedagogical identity within the life of Christian disciples, to better accent how Mary realizes this mission within the entirety of the human person, not merely on the level of intellectual or spiritual formation as “catechist” and “teacher” might respectively spotlight.

35 formation from 1965 to 2019 appears expedient to alleviate concern of any immediately forthcoming new universal priestly formation program to replace the Ratio/16 that might render this thesis proximately outdated.97 This section proposes only to identify those documents of magisterial teaching that are fundamental to an appreciation of both the novelty and continuity of reform of priestly formation first begun by the , returned to by the Second Vatican Council in 1965, and continuing at present in the Ratio/16.98 The third session of the Second Vatican Council approved a decree on priestly formation, OT in October 1965 with the self- professed recognition that the conciliar and renewal of ecclesial life and structures “depends to a great extent on the ministry of priests.”99 Gathered from throughout the world, and conscious of the diversity of the Churches, circumstances, and cultures, OT established general, universal norms that the Council Fathers envisioned would be concretized by particular formation programs proper to the nations and Oriental Rites.100 OT applied the principle of renewal and reform delineated in other conciliar teaching to priestly formation but left the development of precise norms governing initial priestly formation to episcopal conferences according to the conciliar principle of subsidiarity. From the aforesaid, the promulgation of the 1970 Ratio fundamentalis Instiutionis Sacerdotalis, a universal formation program, emerged only in response to the 1967 first ordinary general assembly of the Synod of Bishops.101 The Ratio/70 professed not to supplant the rights of episcopal conferences to develop national programs, but to establish the “solid foundations

97 For a comprehensive historical study of the development and debates surrounding OT and other universal post-conciliar documents on priestly formation, see Maryanne Confoy, Religious Life and Priesthood: Perfectae Caritatis, Optatam Totius, Presbyterorum Ordinis (New York: Paulist, 2008), 77-173. 98 See OT, Conclusion where OT concedes its common ambition and continuity with the clerical reforms begun by the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century. 99 OT, Introduction. 100 See OT, §1. 101 Congregation for Catholic Education, Ratio fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis/The Basic Plan for Priestly Formation, January 6, 1970 (Washington, DC: National Council of Catholic Bishops, 1970). Hereafter “Ratio/70.”

36 for carrying out or completing this serious task [and] also to supply sure standards to the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education in its examination and approval of individual [national programs] in accordance with the Decree Optatam Totius, §1.”102 Five years after the promulgation of OT, Ratio/70 clarified questions arising from OT, while also creating universal obligatory laws for bishops, priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians. After treating of the essential importance of forming integral men, the Ratio/70 identified seven necessary dimensions of priestly life including that the priest “ought, as the Church desires, to have a fervent love for the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ, who was in a special way associated with the work of Redemption.”103 This is the only reference to Mary made in the Ratio/70 beyond footnote 128’s citation of Pope John XXIII’s earlier quoted teaching on the significance of the Rosary in priests’ devotional lives from the 1959 Encyclical Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia. The Ratio/70 thus presents the relationship between seminarians and Mary from the perspective of seminarians’ devotional lives and suggests Mary’s affective presence as worthy of seminarians’ love consequent to Mary’s role in salvation history. In 1985, fifteen years following the publication of the Ratio/70, the Congregation for Catholic Education promulgated a new Ratio fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis, largely retaining verbatim the earlier norms from the Ratio/70 with the necessary adaptations required for conformity with the CIC/83.104 The presentation of Mary remained unchanged from the Ratio/70. The eighth ordinary general assembly of the Synod of Bishops of 1990 on the theme of the formation of priests in the contemporary milieu recognized the need for present-day application of OT, in part attributable to the previously unanticipated “crisis of priestly vocations.”105 By means of the

102 Ratio/70, §1. 103 Ratio/70, §54 e). The six other characteristics are (1) awareness of the Trinitarian presence; (2) divine intimacy with Christ; (3) faithful reading and communication of Scripture; (4) frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament; (5) recourse to Tradition, patristics, and the example of the saints; and (6) examination of conscience. 104 Congregation for Catholic Education, Ratio fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis/ Basic Norms for Priestly Formation, March 19, 1985 (Pasay City, Philippines: Saint Paul Publications, 1990). Hereafter “Ratio/85.” 105 PDV, §1. 37 Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation PDV, Pope John Paul II not only confessed difficulties confronting initial priestly formation at the close of the twentieth century but also offered a theological reflection on ministerial priesthood and addressed the essential task of all the members of the Christian faithful to cultivate vocations in the particular Churches. The novelty of PDV consisted in the introduction of wholistic priestly formation under the four pillars of the human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral, casting light upon formation of the whole man, body and soul, in pastoral charity, not solely of mind or heart.106 Mary received extensive treatment and mention throughout the 82 paragraphs of PDV, many of which will be elucidated in the chapters that follow.107 Concluding PDV with an original Marian prayer, Pope John Paul II synthesized his understanding of the presence and mission of Mary in priestly formation thus: “O Mother of Jesus Christ, you were with him at the beginning of his life and mission, you sought the Master among the crowd, you stood beside him when he was lifted up from the earth consumed as the one eternal sacrifice, and you had John, your son, near at hand; accept from the beginning those who have been called, protect their growth, in their ministry accompany your sons, O Mother of Priests. Amen.”108 The Ratio/16, the latest document to be promulgated with universal general norms on initial priestly formation, concludes an extensive period of collaboration and preparation begun in early 2014 by the Congregation of Clergy. After internal preparation, the draft document was studied at the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation of Clergy in October 2014, before being subsequently submitted for broad consultation to the various Roman , episcopal conferences, papal legates, and an International Conference in November 2015 on the occasion of OT

106 PDV, §42. Although outside the scope of this thesis, PDV’s original treatment of ongoing formation is likewise noteworthy. 107 The author of this thesis has unfortunately been unable to locate any major studies on Mary in PDV in either the publications of Marian societies or the writings of international Marian scholars, suggestive of the need for the theological discussion this scholarship hopes to elicit. 108 PDV, §82. It is interesting to note here Pope John Paul II’s choice to refer to Mary’s presence and mission in the lives of seminarians under St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross’s previously studied notion of Marian accompaniment.

38 and PO’s quinquagenary. After still more extensive consultation and review, a draft was presented for Pope Francis’s approval prior to the Congregation for the Clergy’s promulgation of the Ratio/16 as a General Executory Decree on December 8, 2016.109 The self- described foundational principles of the new Ratio/16 are “one, integral, grounded in community, and missionary in spirit.”110 Consequently, the Ratio/16 locates integral initial priestly formation within the broader “‘journey of discipleship,’ which begins at Baptism, is perfected through the other sacraments of Christian Initiation, comes to be appreciated as the center of one’s life at the beginning of seminary formation, and continues throughout the whole of life.”111 Still later in the same introduction, the Ratio/16 seeks to synthesize the whole of its overarching purpose, namely to “form missionary disciples who are ‘in love’ with the Master, shepherds ‘with the smell of the sheep,’ who live in their midst to bring the mercy of God to them. Hence every priest should always feel that he is a disciple on a journey, constantly needing an integrated formation, understood as a continuous configuration to Christ.”112 The themes of discipleship, configuration, and mission occur repeatedly throughout the Ratio/16. Although no particular sections are exclusively devoted to the presence and mission of Mary in the pedagogical journey of initial priestly formation, the Ratio/16’s concluding dedication suggests Mary’s critical involvement wherein the “life and formation [of priests] are placed under the mantle of Mary, who is Mother of Mercy and Mother of Priests.”113

109 For a still more protracted history of the evolution of the Ratio/16 in its current form, see Ratio/16, Introduction, 1-2. To better comprehend the nature of the Ratio/16 as a “General Executory Decree,” see CIC/83, cc. 31-33 that treat of the nature and juridic effect of this type of law as an exercise not of legislative, but of executive power – in this case of the executive power proper to the Congregation of Clergy and therefore legally binding upon all those responsible for priestly formation. 110 Ratio/16, Introduction, 3. 111 Ratio/16, Introduction, 3. 112 Ratio/16, Introduction, 3. 113 Ratio/16, Conclusion. 39 Chapter 2

Propaedeutic Stage

Pursuant to the promulgation of the Ratio/16, initial priestly formation officially commences with the propaedeutic stage.114 The Ratio/16 originally establishes the propaedeutic stage, established with a clear character and distinct aim from later stages, as “necessary and mandatory.”115 During the propaedeutic stage, initial priestly formation gradually unfolds in its interdepended dimensions of human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral, preparing seminarians to receive subsequent initial and ongoing formation by laying the groundwork for an organic, vibrant, lifelong journey of discipleship as ministerial priests ordained for service to a particular portion of the People of God.116 The propaedeutic stage finds its origins in OT wherein the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council entreat bishops to organize both a time for seminarians to be introduced to Christian spirituality and remedial catechetical instruction offered.117 Paragraph 14 of OT establishes that “ecclesiastical studies are to be begun with an introductory course which should last an appropriate length of time. In this initiation to ecclesiastical studies, the mystery of salvation should be so proposed that the students perceive the meaning, order, and pastoral end of their studies. At the same time, they should be helped to establish and penetrate their own entire lives with faith and strengthened in embracing their vocation with a personal dedication and a joyful heart.”118 The propaedeutic stage in its current obligatory form in the

114 Ratio/16, §55. See also footnote 93 of the Ratio/16 that clarifies, “The propaedeutic stage follows the preliminary discernment of a vocation and the first vocational accompaniment outside the Seminary.” 115 Ratio/16, Introduction, 3. 116 CIC/83, c. 265: “Every cleric must be incardinated either in a particular Church or personal prelature, or in an institute of consecrated life or society endowed with this faculty, in such a way that unattached or transient clerics are not allowed at all.” 117 OT, §§12, 14. 118 OT, §14. 40 Ratio/16 reflects the natural evolution of the aforesaid cursus introductorius envisioned by the Second Vatican Council, as well as the need for a time appropriated to the inauguration and cultivation of the spiritual life. Also noteworthy in the development of the propaedeutic stage, the eighth ordinary general assembly of the Synod of Bishops of 1990, and the resultant PDV, identified the “need for a period of study and experimentation in order to define as clearly and suitably as possible the different elements of this prior preparation … [including] the duration, place, form, subject matter of this period, all of which will have to be coordinated with the subsequent years of formation offered by the seminary.”119 Pope John Paul II conceded the divergent conceptions of this propaedeutic stage amongst the bishops and asked, “Should it be directed mainly to spiritual formation to discern the vocation or to intellectual and cultural formation? On the other hand, we cannot overlook the many and deep diversities that exist, not only among the individual candidates, but also in the different regions and countries.”120 In the interim years between PDV and the Ratio/16,

119 PDV, §62. The Lineamenta of the eighth Ordinary Synod refers to the propaedeutic stage’s existence in particular Churches: “Numerous pre-preparatory initiatives have equally been taken, especially in young Churches, to prepare candidates for the major seminary. They are intended to make up for the deficiencies which are all too frequent today in the spiritual preparation of candidates and in human formation, even in mastery of one’s own language.” See Synod of Bishops, Lineamenta: The Formation of Priests in Circumstances of the Present Day, §14 (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1989), 14. Interestingly, the Lineamenta only speaks of these precursors of the propaedeutic stage as advantageous to spiritual and human formation, and perhaps intellectual formation as regards communication, but offers no indication of intellectual formation in the faith or pastoral formation. Footnote 3 of Chapter IV of the Ratio/16 highlights earlier indications of the necessity and utility of a propaedeutic stage including the Congregation for Catholic Education’s Circular Letter Concerning Some of the More Urgent Aspects of Spiritual Formation in Seminaries of January 6, 1980 and a Circular Letter of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People in 1987. For a more extensive history of the propaedeutic stage in the particular Churches, see Congregation for Catholic Education, Il periodo propedeutico: documento informativo, May 10, 1998 (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1998). 120 PDV, §62. Fr. Philippe Molac, PSS examines the origins of the propaedeutic stage in his article “Historical Overview of the Evolution of the Formation of Candidates to the Priesthood,” Seminary Journal 19, no. 3 (2013): 9-17, giving particular attention to the evolution of the propaedeutic stage at Maison Saint-Augustin in the Archdiocese of under the leadership of Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger. Maison Saint-Augustin focused

41 assorted practices arose in different nations and particular Churches, testing the arrangement, scope, and method of a propaedeutic stage to better prepare seminarians for major seminary and future priestly life and ministry.121 Although the propaedeutic stage remained ad experimentum for programs of initial priestly formation, the Basic Norms for the Formation of Permanent of 1998 prescribed a propaedeutic stage as compulsory for all aspirants to the permanent diaconate wherein “the aspirants will be introduced to a deeper knowledge of theology, of spirituality, and of the ministry of , and they will be led to a more attentive discernment of their call.”122 The propaedeutic stage, however, was not envisioned for candidates to the permanent diaconate as traditional classroom lectures or the anticipation of coursework this preparatory year not on intellectual formation but solely on spiritual formation. As Molac notes, “It must be recognized that there was, at this time, a real debate about whether – beyond the parodied model – the propaedeutic should apply only spiritual formation or if it should also provide elements that are specific to the first cycle [of philosophy]” (16). Cardinal Lustiger’s argument in favor of a spiritual year of preparation, and not merely a time of remedial instruction, is recalled in Charles M. Murphy, Models of Priestly Formation: Past, Present, and Future (New York: Crossroad, 2006), 73-84. 121 For a disambiguation between the ecclesiastical institutions of minor and major seminary, see CIC/83, cc. 234-35. See also Ratio/16, §§16-23 that states in part that the “purpose of the minor seminary is to assist the human and Christian growth of adolescents, who manifest the seeds of a vocation to the ministerial priesthood. It develops, in a way appropriate to their age, that interior freedom by which they can make a response to the plan of God for their lives” (§18). 122 Congregation for Catholic Education, Ratio fundamentalis Diacono Permanente/Basic Norms for the Formation of Permanent Deacons: Directory for the Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons, §41, March 31, 1998 (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1998), 47-48. Although outside the scope of this thesis, the Basic Norms for the Formation of Permanent Deacons appears to explicate more clearly than the corresponding Ratio/85 (or even the Ratio/16) the relationship between the Virgin Mary and clerical candidates stating in part, “Love for Christ and for His Church is profoundly linked to love of the Blessed Virgin Mary, handmaid of the Lord. With her unique title of Mother, she was the selfless helper of her divine Son’s diaconia. Love of the Mother of God, based on faith and expressed in daily recitation of the Rosary, imitation of her virtues, and trust in her, are indeed signs of authentic filial devotion. With deep veneration and affection, Mary looks on every deacon … This love of the Virgin Mary, handmaid of the Lord, who is born and rooted in the Word, will cause deacons to imitate her life. In this way, a Marian dimension is introduced into the Church, which is very close to the vocation of the deacon” (§57).

42 required for diaconal ordination, but rather a prolonged period of “meetings for prayer, instructions, moments of reflection and comparison directed towards ensuring the objective nature of the vocational discernment.”123 Thus, the propaedeutic stage of formation for the permanent diaconate occasioned abundant opportunities for healthy, sustained discernment enlightened by an enriched understanding of the ecclesial nature of the vocation of the permanent diaconate, but without being burdened by later requirements of intellectual formation.

2.1 THE AIM OF THE PROPAEDEUTIC STAGE

As the inchoate stage of initial priestly formation, the propaedeutic stage chiefly purports to assist in the self-recognition and generous response by seminarians to their divine calling to the ministerial priesthood in the communion of the Church. Thus, the propaedeutic stage purposes to advance the affective maturity of priestly candidates by means of “an education in true and responsible love.”124 Acutely aware of the exigencies of the modern world and the formative deficiencies possible in those discerning vocations to Holy Orders, the propaedeutic stage strives to endow seminarians with the prerequisite human virtue, spirituality, knowledge, and pastoral charity necessary for later stages of formation and future bountiful ministry. Paragraphs 59 and 60 of the Ratio/16 define the propaedeutic stage, lasting a minimum of one year, and not longer than two years, and

123 Congregation for Catholic Education, Ratio fundamentalis Diacono Permanente, §43. 124 PDV, §43. For a more comprehensive treatment of the magisterial notion of “affective maturity” from a theological and psychological perspective, see David Songy, Spiritual Direction for Priestly Celibacy (Charleston, SC: CreateSpace, 2012), 50-56 where Capuchin Franciscan Fr. Songy, synthesizes, “In summary, the affectively mature person is someone in whom reason generally rules over the passions and in whom the passions themselves serve as a guide towards perfection in charity. The affectively mature person is free to give and receive love, not centered on himself, but focused on others. He does not seek his own security and gratification in others, and, therefore, can love them for who they are and not for what they offer, without anxiety for receiving but with a desire to be generous in giving” (55-56).

43 preferably in a formation house distinct from the major seminary, as that unique time of formation whose “principal objective is to provide a solid basis for the spiritual life and to nurture a greater self-awareness for personal growth.”125 While the propaedeutic stage has as its primary focus the spiritual formation necessary for the fostering of a spiritual life of discipleship, the Ratio/16 likewise confesses the proper place of human, intellectual, and pastoral formation in the propaedeutic stage that enlightens, cultivates, and disciplines seminarians in the integrity of their humanity.126 If the propaedeutic stage neglects one of the pillars of priestly formation, its ecclesial purpose will be frustrated as “a real time of vocational discernment, undertaken within community life, and a ‘start’ to the following stages of initial formation.”127 Consequently, existent so-called “spirituality years” must be reassessed to ensure that all four pillars of integral initial priestly formation advance during the propaedeutic stage in conformity to the conception of the Ratio/16. The propaedeutic stage realizes its purpose both in those seminarians who advance to the successive discipleship stage of initial priestly formation as well as in those men who freely and maturely discern God calling them out of the seminary community and to other vocations in the Church.128 Corresponding to the self- professed notion of priestly formation in the Ratio/16 as “a journey of faith and of gradual and harmonious maturity, avoiding fragmentation, polarization, excesses, superficiality, or partiality,”129 at the close of the propaedeutic stage seminarians will have embarked upon the pilgrimage of initial priestly formation. With a more realistic understanding of the vocation to the ministerial priesthood, these seminarians will likewise have assimilated a clearer grasp of their personal apostolic vocations as Jesus’s disciples and the areas in which they are being summoned

125 Ratio/16, §59. 126 See Ratio/16, §§59, 60 where all four pillars of formation are treated, albeit in cursory fashion. 127 Ratio/16, §59. 128 See Ratio/16, §59 that explicitly recognizes the effectiveness of the propaedeutic stage both in helping young men discern with greater conviction a call to future priestly life, as well as those who will discern God calling them to other vocations in the Church and not to the major seminary with their peers. 129 Ratio/16, §28. 44 by Christ through the Church to grow in preparation for future priestly life and ministry. As a stage of initial discernment, the propaedeutic stage ought not be viewed as ineffective or futile when some seminarians discern calls away from the seminary and to discontinue seminary formation. Verily, the propaedeutic stage offers a genuine service to the Church exactly because it enables dedicated time for seminarians to know the Church’s theological, juridical, pastoral, and practical vision of the ministerial priesthood and to discern with the help of God’s grace whether their personal baptismal vocations accord with this vision. Moreover, by means of the integral formation received in the propaedeutic stage, men discerning another vocation leave priestly formation with greater maturity and better able to follow their individual Christian vocations. Pope Francis passionately expresses the purpose of the propaedeutic stage accordingly:

Please, one must carefully study the evolution of a vocation! See whether it comes from the Lord, whether the man is healthy, whether the man is well-balanced, whether the man is capable of giving life, of evangelizing, whether the man is capable of forming a family and renouncing this in order to follow Jesus. Today we have so many problems, and in many dioceses, because some bishops made the mistake of taking those who at times have been expelled from other seminaries or religious houses because they need priests. Please! We must consider the good of the People of God.130

Seminarians in the propaedeutic stage must honestly, and in a spirit of trust, examine under the direction of their priestly formators and spiritual directors whether they in fact have the prerequisite qualities required by the Church for a lifetime of priestly ministry

130 Francis, Address to the Plenary of the Congregation for the Clergy, October 3, 2014, 23.

45 to God’s people.131 The Ratio/16 reaffirms, “[O]ne should not arrive ‘automatically’ at the priesthood merely by reason of having followed a series of pre-established stages in chronological order and set out beforehand, independently of the actual progress that has been achieved in overall integral maturity. Rather, ordination is the goal of a genuinely completed spiritual journey, that has gradually helped the seminarian to become aware of the call he has received and the characteristics that pertain to priestly identity, allowing him to reach the necessary human, Christian, and priestly maturity.”132 In view of the aim of the propaedeutic stage to endow seminarians with the prerequisite knowledge, virtue, and spirit to receive later stages of formation and fully embrace their vocations to the ministerial priesthood, the Marian dogma of the Immaculate Conception reinforces the ecclesial vision of the propaedeutic stage and serves as an archetype for seminarians in the propaedeutic stage.133 In the dogmatic definition of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, Pope Pius IX declared, “From the very beginning, and before time began, the eternal Father chose and prepared for his only-begotten Son a Mother in whom the Son of God would become incarnate and from whom, in the blessed fullness of time, he would be born into this world.”134 Invited to recognize during the propaedeutic stage their divine vocations to bring Christ into

131 The Ratio/16 stresses the value of mutual trust in priestly formation, explicating, “The program of formation should explore and outline the concrete ways in which this trust can be encouraged and safeguarded. Above all, those conditions should be sought and fostered, which can, in some way, create a peaceful climate of trust and mutual confidence: fraternity, empathy, understanding, the ability to listen and to share, and especially a coherent witness of life” (47). Certainly the theological and juridic distinction between internal and external forums nurtures in seminarians this spirit of confidence with their spiritual directors and priestly formators respectively. 132 Ratio/16, §58. 133 In response to those who might argue against the application of Marian dogmas to priestly formation, the author responds on the authority of the Catechism of the Catholic Church by affirming, “There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas. Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith.” CCC, 89. 134 Pius IX, Defining the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, , December 8, 1854. English translation in Defining the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception (Boston: St. Paul Books & Media, 1992), 3.

46 the world, and the divergent manners in which God has prepared them for priestly life, as well as those areas in which God is inviting them to mature and develop, seminarians in the propaedeutic stage can look to the Immaculate Conception to more fully appreciate God’s providential care, the truth of their personal baptismal callings, and the call to be holy with the help of God’s grace after the example of the spotless Mother of God.135 Wherefore then-Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger teaches concerning Mary’s Immaculate Conception, “The doctrine of the Immaculata testifies accordingly that God’s grace was powerful enough to awaken a response, that grace and freedom, grace and being oneself, renunciation and fulfillment are only apparent contradictories; in reality, one conditions the other and grants it its very existence.”136 In an age beset by the divorce of freedom from obedience, nature from grace, the Immaculate Conception orientates these seminarians from the outset of their initial priestly formation to appreciate their rightful freedom as a means to love and serve God through vocational correspondence. Just as the Immaculate Conception prepares the way for Mary’s singular vocation as the Mother of God, highlights Mary’s complete freedom as a child of God, affirms Mary’s perpetual virginity, and looks ahead to Mary’s Assumption, the Immaculate Conception bolsters the Ratio/16’s invitation for seminarians to discern with faith, hope, and charity their personal vocations to the one priesthood of Jesus Christ, Head and Shepherd, as an authentic means of sanctification and a call to service. Contemplated with faith, the Immaculate Conception models for seminarians in the propaedeutic stage the primacy of God’s activity in calling them to the ministerial priesthood, which requires their daily cooperation

135 Treating of correspondence to their vocations, the Guide to Formation in Priestly Celibacy exhorts, “A priestly vocation demands human and Christian maturity so that the answer to this divine call may be an answer based on faith, and so that the seminarian may be able to understand the sense of a vocation from God, and realize what it demands.” Congregation for Catholic Education, Guide to Formation in Priestly Celibacy, §30. 136 Joseph Ratzinger, Daughter Zion: Meditations on the Church’s Marian Belief (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1983), 71.

47 with God’s grace and is entirely ordered, like Mary’s Immaculate Conception, to Jesus Christ’s sacred life, death, and resurrection.137

2.2 MARY’S PRESENCE AND MISSION

IN THE PROPAEDEUTIC STAGE

2.2.1 Human Formation

The Ratio/16 identifies human formation as the “foundation of priestly formation [that] promotes the integral growth of the person and allows the integration of all its dimensions.”138 Human formation in initial priestly formation, however, can never be divorced from its Christological and soteriological foundation. Wherefore PDV affirms, “The priest, who is called to be a ‘living image’ of Jesus Christ, Head and Shepherd of the Church, should seek to reflect in himself, as far as possible, the human perfection which shines forth in the incarnate Son of God.”139 Ergo, human formation during the propaedeutic stage launches the abiding personal task of seeking after “mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”140 Thus, human formation concerns the realization of an affective maturity proper to one’s age and life experiences as well as the cultivation of human virtue; without this affective maturity and virtue, the life project of seeking to make present in one’s person the perfections of the human nature of Jesus Christ is frustrated.141 Human formation in

137 The author follows the novel lead of ML, §48 that seeks to proclaim and celebrate Mary’s Immaculate Conception in its dogmatic integrity, while simultaneously exploring its meaning for contemporary Christians, here seminarians. ML, §48 reflects, in part, “Mary’s Immaculate Conception is a forceful sign of God’s grace operative within a creature: Gift of the Trinity’s love, this grace allowed Mary, with her liberty rooted in grace, to live her life of freely welcoming love without limit.” 138 Ratio/16, §94. 139 PDV, §43. 140 Eph 4:13. 141 For an introduction to some contemporary challenges in human formation resultant to the state of the family in modern society, see Dominican Fr. Brian Mullady, “The Four Pillars of Religious Formation: Human Formation,” Religious Life 42, no. 1

48 the propaedeutic stage cannot, therefore, be hastily dismissed as self-evident or an abstract theological notion to be given little heed outside of obvious difficulties in physical and mental health.142 Rather, human formation, as explicated in the Ratio/16, enjoys a pervasive extension and import to prepare, strengthen, and sanctify priestly candidates:

Physically, this means an interest in health, nutrition, physical activity, and rest; psychologically it focuses on the constitution of a stable personality, characterized by emotional balance, self-control, and a well-integrated sexuality. In the moral sphere, it is connected to the requirement that the individual arrive gradually at a well-formed conscience. This means that he will become a responsible person able to make the right decisions, gifted with right judgment and able to have an objective perception of persons and events.

(2019): 3-5 where Mullady opines, “The most important issue in this lack of family life is the inability to nurture the giving of oneself freely in order to realize what it means to be a person” (4). 142 For an interesting analysis of the disambiguation between human and spiritual formation following the newfound emphasis given to human formation by Pope John Paul II in PDV, §43, see Katarina Schuth, Seminary Formation: Recent History, Current Circumstances, New Directions (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2016) where Schuth concludes in part, “The dilemma formators faced was determining how to properly relocate to human formation some of the many topics previously covered under spiritual formation [such as formation in perfect continence and celibacy]. The modifications have come slowly. Even more than twenty years after the call for change, theologates are still in the process of expanding and implementing this area as well as distinguishing it from spiritual formation (91).” Helpfully, Archbishop Allen Vignernon systematically distinguishes the aims of human and spiritual formation to overcome common error and confusion, teaching, “So then, both human formation and spiritual formation seek to cultivate what the ancients would call moral virtues, virtues that are dispositions to use our freedom well. And efforts in both spheres are sustained by grace. What distinguishes the two dimensions is the object to which the free acts are directed. The qualities cultivated in a seminarian’s spiritual formation are moral virtues conducive to his sound relationship with the Three Divine Persons. The qualities cultivated in human formation are moral virtues conducive to sound relationships with other human persons.” Allen H. Vigneron, “Pastores Dabo Vobis: Establishing an Ecclesial Culture for the Clergy,” in Called to Holiness and Communion: Vatican II on the Church, ed. Steven Boguslawski and Robert Fastiggi (Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press, 2009), 195.

49 Such a perspective should bring the seminarian to a balanced sense of self respect, leading him to be aware of his own talents and learning how to place them at the service of the People of God. The aesthetic sense should also be cultivated in human formation, by offering opportunities for an appreciation of various modes of artistic expression, cultivating in him the “sense of beauty.” He ought to be aware of the social environment, and be helped to improve his capacity for social interaction, so that he can contribute to building up the community in which he lives.143

In this wide-ranging vision for human formation, Mary of Nazareth offers a perfect model of the human virtues, but more still Mary’s presence and mission can assist in the official inauguration of human formation within priestly formation. While the Ratio/16 explicitly identifies in paragraph 93 ten human virtues proper to seminarians, the propaedeutic stage might most effectively begin by focusing on two of these virtues preeminently found in Mary of Nazareth, namely humility and courage.144 Humility firmly situates seminarians in the truth concerning both God and themselves, thus serving as the Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms as the “foundation of prayer.”145 Inseparable from the truth, the virtue of humility is a stranger to both self-pity and the rejection of the goodness impregnated in all creatures and creation consequent to the divine goodness of the Creator.146 The humble soul, hence, confesses his

143 Ratio/16, §94. 144 Ratio/16, §93: “Therefore, it is necessary to cultivate humility, courage, common sense, magnanimity, right judgment and discretion, tolerance and transparency, love of truth and honesty.” The remaining human virtues will be taken up in the subsequent stages of formation. Experience shows that greater progress is often made when only one or two things are focused on in initial formation, rather than an overwhelming multiplicity. 145 CCC, 2559. The cultivation of humility, therefore, accords with the emphasis given to the launching of the spiritual life in the propaedeutic stage. 146 Teresa of Jesus, , for which reason describes humility as inseparable from truth, teaching her sons and daughters in the Discalced Carmelite Reform, “Once I was pondering why our Lord was so fond of this virtue of humility, and

50 dignity as a child of God, while likewise acknowledging his utter dependence on God and the ways in which he has failed to realize his divine sonship through sin. Seminarians in the propaedeutic stage discover in Mary’s exemplary presence, as moral theologian Faustino Ossanna asserts, a “living gospel, a concrete model of the virtues preached by the apostles, where every man and woman can see what it means to be a Christian.”147 Erroneous conceptions of humility find swift remedy by a prayerful, reflective study of the humility of Mary of Nazareth, manifesting the efficacy of Mary’s exemplary presence.148 In the all-holy Mother of God, free from personal and original sin, humility shines forth: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.”149 Mary acknowledges that all that she has received comes from God who created, sustains, delights, and empowers Mary, having chosen Mary from all eternity to be the Mother of God. Wherefore, St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori exclaims, “Mary, being the first and most perfect disciple of Jesus Christ in the practice of all virtues was the first also in that of humility, and by it merited to be exalted above all creatures.”150 Ergo, Mary witnesses both to the faithful living of humility in truth and service, while also revealing the eternal reward God wills to grant to humble souls. Expounding upon Mary’s humility manifest in the Canticle of Mary, Federico Suarez adds: this thought came to me – in my opinion not as a result of reflection but suddenly: It is because God is supreme Truth; and to be humble is to walk in the truth, for it is a very deep truth that of ourselves we have nothing good but only misery and nothingness. Whoever does not understand this, walks in falsehood. The more anyone understands it the more he pleases the supreme Truth because he is walking in truth.” Teresa of Jesus, The Interior Castle, vol. 2, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, trans. Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez (Washington, DC: ICS, 1980), 420. 147 Tullio Faustino Ossanna, “Modelo evangélico,” in Nuevo Diccionario de Mariología, ed. Stefano de Fiores, Salvatore M. Meo, and Eliseo Touron (Madrid: Ediciones Paulinas, 1988), 1360: “María es evangelio vivo, modelo concreto de las virtudes predicadas por los apóstoles, donde todo hombre y toda mujer pueden ver lo que significa ser cristiano.” 148 ML, §66. 149 Lk 1:46-47. 150 Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, , trans. Robert A. Coffin (Rockford, IL: TAN, 1977), 465.

51

There are two special traits, two great coordinates, as it were that immediately strike us in the ; first, acknowledgment of a truth, of a fact, namely that God has done great things to her; and, second, thankfulness for the gift, for the grace, implied in the truth. That is to say, there is first of all an attitude of mind and then an act of the will derived from this attitude. The will is moved by the intelligence; thus, we can see that, in regard to humility, the first and most important thing, the thing we may call the essence of humility, is that it must be based on truth.151

The exemplary presence of Mary, modeling authentic humility to seminarians in the propaedeutic stage, creates a healthy foundation upon which all other formation can build and thereby reaffirms with John Paul II that “Mary is thus present in the mystery of the Church as a model.”152 The second human virtue after which seminarians in the propaedeutic stage might strive is courage, more properly known as the moral virtue of fortitude. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that fortitude “ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions.”153 At this emergent stage of priestly formation, priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians have much to gain by focusing on the development of fortitude to resist temptations of the world, flesh, and devil, while stoutly and manfully persevering in discernment and the difficulties surely to be had in seminary life and community.154

151 Federico Suarez, Mary of Nazareth (New York: Scepter, 2003), 92-93. 152 RM, §44. 153 CCC, 1808. 154 For a brief introduction to the relationship between Marian fortitude and perseverance, see Jean Galot, “The Priest and Our Lady,” 261-64 where Fr. Galot writes

52 Entering into initial priestly formation from the world, seminarians ought to be exhorted to practice the virtue of fortitude that they might be resilient in the divergent, yet real challenges faced by those who have “left house or brothers or sisters or mothers or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel.”155 Wherefore, Archbishop Denis E. Hurley claims, “Seminarians have to learn this: that the priestly life, like any other life, involves growth, that growth is often painful, though the goal, the fullness of Christ, is magnificent, and that perseverance in growth requires fortitude.”156 If, therefore, initial priestly formation commences a lifetime of personal growth in the areas of human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation as envisaged by the Ratio/16, the virtue of fortitude prepares seminarians for this life project surely to be accompanied by trials that can only be overcome by means of the exercise of fortitude. In Marialis Cultus, Pope Paul VI calls attention to Mary’s fortitude of character by selflessly embracing a life of perpetual virginity, as well as accepting according to the divine will the hardships of Mary’s vocation as the Mother of God.157 Mary reveals the Christian vocation to discipleship as one sustained by not only humility, but by courageously following Jesus.158 In in part, “She who fulfilled her mission completely supports the perseverance of the priest who at times encounters grave obstacles” (264). 155 Mk 10:29. 156 Denis E. Hurley, “Training in Priestley [sic] Fortitude,” Seminarium 7 (1967): 336. 157 MC, §§37, 57. Fr. Luigi Lanzoni depicts the fortitude of Mary, writing, “It is a grievous error to imagine that Mary’s life was one of quiet repose and tranquil contemplation, whereas in reality she was continually being put to the proof by sorrow and by unspeakable sufferings which were all the greater because they were interior, secret, known to and worthy of a magnanimous soul. The poverty of the crib, the flight into Egypt, the sword of ’s prophecy, contempt from the Nazarenes, persecution from the , and finally Gethsemane, the Praetorium, Calvary, all these show us as it were the tissue of Mary’s life. It was a life of martyrdom.” Luigi Lanzoni, The Virtues of Mary (New Bedford, MA: Academy of the Immaculate, 2012), 131. 158 See Pope Benedict XVI who emphasizes the significance of courage in following Christ. Pope Benedict teaches, “The rich young man, unfortunately, did not accept Jesus’s invitation and went away saddened. He did not find the courage to leave behind his material goods in order to find the far greater good proposed by Jesus. The sadness experienced by the rich young man in the Gospel story is the sadness that arises in the heart of all those who lack the courage to follow Christ and to make the right choice. Yet it is never too late to respond to him!” Benedict XVI, Message on the Occasion of the

53 Mary’s suffering with Jesus Crucified and all of humanity, the Virgin offers an authentic witness and impetus to courage in seminarians.159 St. Thérèse of Lisieux emphasizes that Marian fortitude “does not consist in those momentary ardors which impel us to go out and win the world to Christ—at the cost of every imaginable danger, which only adds another touch of romance to our beautiful dreams. No, the courage that counts with God is that type of courage which Our Lord showed in the Garden of Olives: on the one hand, a natural desire to turn away from suffering; on the other, in anguish of soul the willing acceptance of the chalice which His Father had sent Him.”160 By developing through repeated, individual acts the human virtues of humility and courage, seminarians begin to grasp the gift of their priestly vocations, a gift freely given from the infinite love of God that must be manfully safeguarded and augmented throughout the whole of one’s life.161 The Marian presence in the human formation of the propaedeutic stage, thus far identified as Mary’s exemplary

Twenty-Fifth , March 28, 2010. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, March 24, 2010, English edition, 8. 159 Amadeus of Lausanne explores the fortitude of Mary on Calvary, preaching, “The work of fortitude was revealed in the dying of Christ and his mother’s watching it.” Amadeus of Lausanne, Eight Homilies on the Praises of Blessed Mary, trans. Grace Perigo (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian, 1979), 10. In another sermon, Amadeus plunders the mystery of the Sorrowful ’s fortitude yet still: “Therefore the glorious lady [Mary], triumphing in this kind of suffering, the more glorious as she was nearer them all, clung to the revered cross of the Lord’s passion, drained the cup, drank the passion and, having quaffed the torment of grief, was able to endure a grief unlike any other. She hastens after Jesus not only for the scent of his perfumes, but in the abundance of his sorrows. Not only [does she follow] for the joy of his consolations, but also for the wealth of his sufferings. His mother perceived the true in the diadem with which she had crowned him and she, herself crowned with the crown of affliction, followed after him” (41). Gazing upon the bravery of , seminarians in the propaedeutic stage are summoned to cultivate the virtue of fortitude not only in following Christ but in the sufferings consequential to the priestly vocation of loving service. 160 Geneviève of the Holy Face, My Sister Saint Thérèse (Rockford, IL: TAN, 1997), 191. 161 Pope John Paul II, therefore, refers to a priestly vocation as “a mystery of divine election,” declaring, “At its deepest level, every vocation to the priesthood is a great mystery; it is a gift which infinitely transcends the individual. Every priest experiences this clearly throughout the course of his life. Faced with the greatness of the gift, we sense our own inadequacy” (emphasis original). John Paul II, Gift and Mystery: On the Fiftieth Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination (New York: Image, 1996), 3.

54 presence, further reveals itself as Mary’s active presence to realize Mary’s dynamic mission at this stage of initial priestly formation. Growth in human formation, paramount to realizing the ecclesial vision for the propaedeutic stage, interests Mary in such a manner that Mary does not merely take note of the needs of these seminarians, but Mary is actively present in this critical undertaking.162 Since goodness by its very nature diffuses itself, and Mary possesses God perfectly as manifest in the Marian dogmas of the Immaculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity, Mother of God, and Assumption, Mary’s active presence makes known Mary’s dynamic mission in the lives of these seminarians to distribute the abundant goodness Mary has received. Ergo, Mary’s presence cannot be reduced to passivity, but rather corresponds to the dynamic mission of Mary. Just as the Christ Child grew and matured at Nazareth under the maternal care of Mary, seminarians in the propaedeutic stage find in Mary’s dynamic mission an “introduction to the genuine knowledge of the meaning of life and to the higher wisdom of divine truth.”163 Mary’s active presence, conjoined to Mary’s dynamic mission, not only recalls to seminarians that they are not alone in this inchoate stage of formation, but rather that Mary, and the Church with Mary, are present and have been entrusted with a particular mission to cultivate within the men in the propaedeutic stage a maturation upon which subsequent stages of formation will advance. Mary’s presence and mission during the propaedeutic stage, therefore, ought to be recognized by spiritual directors, formators, and seminarians as advantageous to genuine human advancement, healing, and ever-increasing self-knowledge. Integral to human formation during the propaedeutic stage is the cultivation of healthy, adult relationships. Admittedly, seminarians in the propaedeutic stage may have experienced wounded and broken relationships prior to commencing seminary formation, including the relationships with their natural mothers.

162 ML, §66: “Although her heavenly life is in the Blessed Trinity, she offers a solicitous service of love in favor of all Christ’s redeemed people.” For an introduction to the question of whether Mary’s active presence enjoys moral or physical-instrumental causality, see Pizzarelli, “Presencia,” in Nuevo Diccionario de Mariología, 1644. 163 Lk 2:39-40 and Paul VI, Address at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, January 5, 1964, in The Pope Speaks 9, no. 3 (1964): 285-86. 55 Mary’s maternal presence offers healing to these wounds and an assurance of a maternal presence to men who have otherwise been deprived this natural relationship of the utmost importance. While Mary’s maternal presence to the Divine Child arises as a true biological mother, Mary’s adoptive maternity of the human race establishes a maternal presence to be cultivated by seminarians from the beginning of initial priestly formation.164 Tommaso Turi expounds upon the maternal presence of Mary, intimately and inseparably linked to Mary’s singular vocation in salvation history as the Mother of God; Turi writes, “In Mary and with Mary, God inaugurates the time of the ‘new creation’ and of the ‘new man.’”165 Thus, the propaedeutic stage presents a graced moment for seminarians to rediscover, through Mary’s maternal presence, the grace of baptism by which they have been incorporated into the Mystical Body of Christ and “truly become sons of God and sharers in the holiness they have received.”166 Through a continued reflection upon the singular grace of Christian baptism, priestly formation emerges as a part of a “singular ‘journey of discipleship,’ which begins at Baptism, is perfected through the other sacraments of Christian Initiation, comes to be appreciated as the center of one’s life at the beginning of seminary formation, and continues through the whole of life.”167 The maternal presence of Mary in the human formation of the propaedeutic stage, therefore, elicits and aids in forming new, healthy, integrated men of service recreated in the image and likeness of Christ.168

164 For a strong defense of Mary’s adoptive maternity of the human race, see Laurentin, Mary in Scripture, Liturgy, and the Catholic Tradition, 155: “Adoption is not an artificial motherhood, or a sham. It comes out of the depths of the human heart. It is something profound, basic, and intimate. Mary, who is the Mother of Christ bodily, just like every other mother (biologically speaking), is our adoptive mother. It is a spiritual motherhood, acquired, moral, existential, and complete on a theological level. It is a true motherhood. An adoptive mother is a real mother, not an unnatural mother.” 165 Turi, “Presenza,” in Mariologia, 1003: “In tal senso, in Maria e con Maria Dio inaugura il tempo della ‘nuevo creazione’ e dell’ ‘uomo nuovo.’” 166 LG, §40. 167 Ratio/16, Introduction, 3. 168 See John Paul II, General Audience, May 2, 1979, 1 where the Pope prays, “May the new spring of vocations, their new increase throughout the Church, become a particular proof of her motherly presence in the mystery of Christ, in our times, and in the mystery of his Church all over the earth.”

56 The Ratio/16’s specification of community living as constitutive to the propaedeutic stage strives to foster a recognition that one’s vocation arises within, is cultivated by, and is ordered towards the broader Christian community.169 The Ratio/16 emphasizes the importance of fostering this communion first and foremost with the and the presbyterate of a particular Church, noting the trend that “quite a few vocations nowadays originate within various groups and movements, and so need to develop deeper bonds with the diocese.”170 Mary’s ecclesial presence, always within and in service to the community of Christ’s disciples as seen at the Pentecost event, underscores the necessarily ecclesial nature of the ministerial priesthood that enjoys concrete manifestation in the promise of obedience made to the diocesan bishop at diaconal ordination.171 During the

169 See Directory, §43 that highlights a priest’s abiding relationship to the seminary, “the cradle of his own vocation and the training grounds for his first experience of communal life.” 170 Ratio/16, §60. Expounding upon the sacramental origin of this relationship between priests and the diocesan bishop, Bishop Richard Malone writes, “The communion with the bishop and other priests is a specific horizontal sacramental communion that flows from the vertical unity of the sacrament of [Holy] Orders in which the Son pours out the Spirit on the ordained, to consecrate them and make them sharers in his own consecration and mission.” Richard Malone, “On John Paul II’s Pastores Dabo Vobis,” Communio 20 (1993): 571. Noteworthy in Bishop Malone’s observation, the communion between the bishop and priests thus arises as an inseparable dimension of priestly ordination and consequential to priestly configuration to Jesus Christ, Eternal Priest and Shepherd. 171 The promise of obedience, made at the time of diaconal ordination and immediately prior to the candidate’s prostration during the Litany of the Saints, can be found in Rite of Ordination of a Deacon, in The Rites of the Catholic Church, vol. 2, prepared by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991), 32, where the bishop, if the candidate’s Ordinary, asks, “Do you promise respect and obedience to me and my successors?” (32). Concerning Mary’s ecclesial presence of faith at Pentecost, Pope Benedict XVI elaborates, “In the Upper Room, the Apostles did not know what awaited them. They were afraid and worried about their own future. They continued to marvel at the death and and were in anguish at being left on their own after his ascension into Heaven. Mary, ‘she who believed in the fulfillment of the Lord’s words,’ assiduous in prayer alongside the Apostles, taught perseverance in the faith. By her own attitude, she convinced them that the Holy Spirit, in his wisdom, knew well the path on which he was leading them, and that consequently they could place their confidence in God, giving themselves to him unreservedly, with their talents, their limitations and their future.” Benedict XVI, Address at the Encounter with Men and Women Religious,

57 propaedeutic stage, accompanied by Mary’s ecclesial presence and with Mary’s ecclesial witness, men are invited to advance in their relationship with a particular Church, forming open, effective relationships with the diocesan bishop, presbyterate into which they will be incardinated, consecrated men and women, and the lay faithful. Mary, therefore, exercises an ecclesial mission corresponding to Mary’s ecclesial presence, grafting these seminarians to the particular Church or portion of the People of God to whom they will be sent; as Mother of the Church, Mary’s ecclesial mission renders a maternal face to the Church and permits priestly candidates in the propaedeutic stage to discover their personal vocations to service as a call to ecclesial communion and charity.172 Moreover, a necessary dimension of human formation, from the very beginning of the propaedeutic stage, includes the wholesome integration of a man’s sexuality to form a chaste, celibate, virile identity that can relate appropriately with men and women.173 OT expresses the goal of human formation in the arena

Seminarians, and Representatives of Ecclesial Movements, May 26, 2006. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, May 31, 2006, English edition, 6. Pope John Paul II teaches on Mary’s ecclesial presence and its importance in the life of the Church in RM, §25: “It is precisely in this ecclesial journey or pilgrimage through space and time, and even more through the history of souls, that Mary is present, as the one who is ‘blessed because she believed,’ as the one who advanced on the pilgrimage of faith, sharing unlike any other creature in the mystery of Christ.” 172 Pope Benedict XVI draws attention to the Marian ecclesial mission positing, “During his time in the seminary, a particularly important process of maturation takes place in the consciousness of the young seminarian: he no longer sees the Church ‘from the outside,’ but rather, as it were, ‘from the inside,’ and he comes to sense that she is his ‘home,’ inasmuch as she is the home of Christ, where ‘Mary his mother’ dwells.” Benedict XVI, Meeting with Seminarians on Apostolic Journey to Cologne, August 19, 2005. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, August 24, 2005, English edition, 7. 173 See CIC/83, c. 247, §2 that exhorts that “no difficulty of the priestly life is to be omitted.” Surely, perfect continence in celibacy and chastity are not only gifts given by Christ to priests, but also, as is the case with each Christian vocation, entail crosses also. It must be maintained, however, that “[c]elibate chastity is not some kind of taxation that has to be paid to the Lord, but rather a gift that one receives from his mercy. A person entering this state of life must not see himself so much taking on a burden as rather receiving a liberating grace.” Congregation for Catholic Education, Guide to Formation in Priestly Celibacy, §16. Speaking on the need for formation in celibacy, Cardinal writes, “If the priest is to live his vowed celibacy calmly and joyfully, as a mature integrated person, and with pastoral fruitfulness, he must learn how to associate with women, whether in

58 of celibacy, namely “to integrate their renunciation of marriage in such a way that they may suffer in their lives and work not only no harm from celibacy, but rather acquire a deeper mastery of soul and body and a fuller maturity, and more perfectly receive the blessedness spoken of in the Gospel.”174 In the propaedeutic house of formation, where only men will dwell, Mary’s feminine presence instructs the seminarians how to relate not only with the true human woman of Mary, but by extension all the women they will encounter in society. Here priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians find great helpfulness in identifying the feminine presence of Mary to aid in the creation of right relationships between men and women, a necessary underpinning for a true, healthy, celibate identity and mature adult relationships as future pastors of souls. When seminarians grasp the true dignity of women, and the eternal wisdom of God in creating the two sexes, “the equality resulting from their dignity as persons can give to their mutual relationship the character of an authentic ‘communio personarum.’ While the violation of this equality, which is both a gift and a right deriving from God the Creator, involves an element to the disadvantage of the woman, at the same time it also diminishes the true dignity of the man.”175 Consequently, the feminine presence of Mary begins the abiding work of developing ascetical discipline to realize the clerical obligation of celibacy.176 By living in Mary’s feminine living or working situations or simply as friends.” Francis Arinze, “Priestly Celibacy and Association with Women,” Seminarium 33 (1993): 89. 174 OT, §10. 175 John Paul II, Apostolic Letter on the Dignity and Vocation of Women on the Occasion of the Marian Year, Mulieris Dignitatem, §10, August 15, 1988, in AAS 80 (1988): 1674. English translation in On the Dignity and Vocation of Women (Boston: St. Paul Books & Media, 1988), 38. Hereafter “MD.” 176 CCC, 2342-44 emphasizes the continued work of persevering in celibacy that has proper “laws of growth which progress through stages marked by imperfection and too often sin” (emphasis original) (2343). Thus, seminarians must slowly gain an ever-deeper self-knowledge, a confidence and trust in God’s love and mercy, and a more profound appreciation for the incalculable strength gained by frequenting the sacraments of the Eucharist and Confession. The Directory, §82, speaking of the spiritual helps to a faithful and fruitful daily living of priestly celibacy, exhorts “communion with Christ, an intense Eucharistic piety, frequent confession, spiritual direction, retreats and days of recollection, a spirit of acceptance of crosses in daily life, trust and love for the Church, filial devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and consideration of the examples of holy

59 presence and learning to appreciate the beauty and complementarity of that presence, seminarians form from their first days as priestly candidates “good personal initiative, so that the young [men] will come to know and properly evaluate [themselves], wisely assume [their] own responsibilities, and train [themselves] to that self-control which is of such importance in priestly education.”177 By proffering Mary’s virginal purity as not only a model, but a virtue to be earnestly sought in prayer and practice, seminarians can make great stride in becoming the integral, healthy men God is calling them to be as future priests.178 Moreover, as has been shown, seminarians in the propaedeutic stage, by means of cultivating a constant awareness of, comfort with, and abiding joy concerning Mary’s feminine presence will thus gradually cultivate an integrated priestly character as a celibate man. Wherefore, Francis Cardinal Arinze elaborates:

The priest who has properly integrated his vowed celibacy into his life will learn how to meet women and collaborate with them in ordinary living and working situations. With due esteem for them as persons, he will learn how to listen, to receive, and to share. He will also be able to speak, to give, and to contribute in a common project. At the psychological, human, and Christian levels, he will be at peace. Without denying his human feelings as

priests of all times.” Although intended for those ordained to the ministerial priesthood, what is said in the Directory ought to be begun to be practiced in the propaedeutic stage for a healthy living of priestly celibacy. Moreover, concerning the value of ascetical discipline in practicing perfect continence and celibacy, the Guide to Formation in Priestly Celibacy adds, “A mature sexuality, with the characteristics here underlined, cannot be attained without conflict or without sacrifice and difficulty. A maturing person must always struggle because at every moment he has to make a choice: what need, that is, should he satisfy along one or other line of his potentialities.” Congregation for Catholic Education, Guide to Formation in Priestly Celibacy, §21. 177 Paul VI, Encyclical on the Celibacy of the Priest, Sacerdotalis Caelibatus, §67, June 24, 1967. English translation in The Papal Encyclicals: 1958-1981, ed. Claudia Carlen (Raleigh, NC: Consortium, 1981), 214. 178 MC, §57 identifies Mary’s “virginal purity” as one of the “solid evangelical virtues” present in Mary’s soul.

60 a man, he will have learned how to accept these feelings and keep them always and ceaselessly open to the Lord as a consecrated man with an undivided heart. His attitudes will be such as to win him respect, appreciation, and sometimes friendship. He will never forget that he is a priest, nor will he allow the women who meet him to put his celibate priesthood in parenthesis. He will be seen by them, not only as an integrated Christian person, but also, and especially, as their spiritual father or who leads them to Christ.179

2.2.2 Spiritual Formation

Spiritual formation during the propaedeutic stage receives explicit identification in the Ratio/16. The Ratio/16 instructs, “In order to launch and develop their spiritual life, it will be necessary to lead seminarians to prayer by way of the sacramental life; the ; familiarity with the Word of God, which is considered the soul and guide of the journey; silence; mental prayer; and spiritual reading.”180 By beginning its treatment of spiritual formation with the life-giving sacraments, the Ratio/16 applies the well-known conciliar principle of the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium that the sacred liturgy is the “primary, indeed the indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit.”181 The Ratio/16, however, must not be falsely and

179 Arinze, “Priestly Celibacy,” 92. 180 Ratio/16, §59. Expanding the theological notion of the “spiritual life,” the Directory includes in the means of the “spiritual life,” in addition to liturgical and personal prayer, a priestly “style of life and the practice of the Christian virtues, which contribute to the fecundity of ministerial action.” Directory, §50. The same paragraph of the Directory offers an extensive list of priestly practices of the spiritual life to be advantageously consulted in developing both the horarium of seminaries and seminarians’ personal daily timetables and ought to include the “precious expressions of Marian devotion, such as the Rosary” (§50). 181 Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, §14, December 4, 1963, in AAS 56 (1964): 125. English translation in Austin Flannery, gen. ed., Vatican Council II: The Basic Sixteen Documents (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996), 124. Hereafter “SC.”

61 hastily understood as to reduce spiritual formation in the propaedeutic stage to solely the sacraments, liturgy, or dedicated times of prayer in the communal horarium, which would deny both the exhortation of St. Paul to the Church of Thessalonica to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes 5:17) and the practical wisdom of the mystical doctor St. Teresa of Jesus that the “Lord walks among the pots and pans helping us both interiorly and exteriorly.”182 Sacrosanctum Concilium accordingly confirms, “The spiritual life, however, is not limited solely to participation in the liturgy.”183 By means of spiritual formation in the propaedeutic stage, seminarians discover how life in the Spirit envelops the entirety of one’s being, talents, labors, and even rest.184 Called to the spiritual life, or new life in the Holy Spirit, seminarians gradually cultivate personal, intimate relationships with each of the Divine Persons of the Blessed Trinity, recognizing anew the catechetical confession, “Uniting us by faith and Baptism to the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, the Spirit makes us sharers in his life.”185 The spiritual formation of the propaedeutic stage thus concerns the application of the objective redemption wrought by Jesus Christ on Calvary to the subjective redemption of individual seminarians called to serve the Christian people. Suggesting the mission of the Virgin of Nazareth in man’s regeneration by grace and entrance into a relationship with the Persons of the Blessed Trinity, twentieth-

182 Teresa of Jesus, The Book of Her Foundations, vol. 3, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, trans. Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez (Washington, DC: ICS, 1985), 119-20. 183 SC, §12. See Joe Bala H., “A Paradigm Shift for Integral Human Formation of Priests,” Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection 82 (2018): 295 where Bala H. elaborates, “Spiritual life does not consist only in fulfilling certain spiritual duties. It cannot be restricted to [a] mere timetable. Sometimes spirituality is identified with the regulations and timetable for prayer and pious activities and not so much in internalizing and personalizing. Hence, it results in a spiritual vacuum. If this is not adequately addressed in spiritual direction, the candidate tends to drift into meaninglessness and restlessness.” 184 See OT, §8 that stresses, “The spiritual training should be so closely connected with the doctrinal and pastoral, and, with the special help of the spiritual director, should be imparted in such a way that the students might learn to live in an intimate and unceasing union with the Father through His Son Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. Confirmed to Christ the Priest through their sacred ordination, they should be accustomed to adhere to Him as friends, in an intimate companionship, their whole life through.” 185 CCC, 2017.

62 century spiritual theologian Jordan Aumann posits, “It is not the Mary of history, but our heavenly Mother who nurtures us and leads us to the fullness of the spiritual life. But Mary’s intervention in our spiritual life through her spiritual motherhood is restricted to some kind of efficient causality, while her dignity and excellence of the gifts of grace enable her to exercise an influence by way of exemplary causality. Consequently, Mary’s role in the spiritual life of the faithful will be contained under her titles of spiritual Mother, , and advocate of the human race.”186 In his introduction of Mary’s presence in the spiritual life, de Fiores identifies this Marian presence under the qualifications of operative and pneumatic, which the author of this study has elected to categorize as Mary’s spiritual presence in the order of grace as introduced in the aforesaid affirmation of Jordan Aumann. Moreover, de Fiores penetratingly continues, “The following path logically flows out of this: the person of the Mother of God makes herself present in time, in space, and in my interior self to maternally act in the order of grace, which is to say in the perspective of a lifegiving relationship with God, in view of an interpersonal encounter that reaches dynamic identification with her in the arena of faith.”187 Thus, according to Aumann and de Fiores, Mary’s spiritual presence in the propaedeutic stage can assist priestly candidates through the intervention of grace to enter into the spiritual life, make swift progress therein, and come to an encounter not only with the faith of Mary, but with the omnipresence of the Triune God throughout initial priestly formation and beyond. In the sacraments, Liturgy of the Hours, study of Sacred Scripture, personal prayer, holy reading, silence, and solitude, Mary’s presence and mission can be advantageously recalled not

186 Jordan Aumann, OP, “Integrating Marian Devotion in Catholic Spirituality,” Marian Studies 15 (1964): 106-7. Here Aumann’s invocation of Mary under her titles as spiritual mother, mediatrix, and advocate is presented and understood in accord with the treatment of these Marian titles in LG, §62, namely in such a manner “that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator” (§62). 187 de Fiores, “Presenza,” in Maria Nuovissimo Dizionario, 1387: “Scaturisce logicamente il seguente percorso: la persona della Madre di Dio si fa presente nel tempo, nello spazio e nell'io interiore, per agire maternamente nell'ordine della grazia, cioè nella prospettiva della relazione vitale con Dio, in vista di un incontro interpersonale, che giunga all'identificazione dinamica con lei nel campo della fede.” 63 merely to develop a lively Marian devotion, but for the sake of realizing the spiritual formation envisioned by the Church in initial priestly formation. Sulpician formator Melvin Farrell offers practical suggestions for a Marian integration as follows:

The Church helps considerably by dedicating regular days in the to honor Mary and her glories. The Mass texts on these days contain many beautiful prayers, as well as much food for thought. Another link to Mary is the Litany of Loreto. Each of the magnificent invocations of this litany pleads for Mary’s aid under a different title, and helps you appreciate your heavenly Mother in another light. Again, Mary should have a place in your private prayer life. Many inspiring books have been written about her, and ought to form a part of your spiritual reading. From time to time, it is well to make her the topic of your meditation, since this exercise is especially suited to giving you deep and lasting insights into Mary’s holiness. Also, your visits to Christ in the chapel can be closed no more fittingly than by kneeling before Mary’s statue and begging her to make your love for her divine Son stronger. Finally, dedicate to your heavenly Mother those small but important details of your daily life like keeping your shoes shined and being mannerly at table; for all mothers are naturally concerned about their son’s neatness and courtesy. Let each Angelus and Ave recited through the day remind you that Mary is watching, and wants to take pride in your appearance as well as in your love for God.188

The spiritual growth commenced during the propaedeutic stage presents quasi-infinite opportunities for Mary’s presence to be experienced, and Mary’s mission to be realized in the daily lives of these seminarians. Mary’s singular identity as at once the Mother

188 Melvin Farrell, First Steps to the Priesthood: An Explanation of the Christian Life for Minor Seminarians (Milwaukee, WI: Bruce, 1960), 189. 64 of God and , while remaining the lowly Virgin of Nazareth, initiates through the Marian presence and mission an authentic priestly spirituality that “oscillates between these two poles, God and mankind. The relation between these two terms of reference is not one of alternatives, either God or men, but rather one of unity, both God and men. To be closely united to mankind a priest has to be deeply united with God first.”189 By meditating upon Mary’s perfect union with God as the Immaculate Conception, seminarians gradually foster pastoral charity that arises from, is nourished by, and enlarges a vigorous priestly spirituality ordered, like the Immaculate Conception in view of Christ’s , to the salvation of souls. A proper appreciation of Mary’s liturgical presence can be introduced to cultivate authentic Christian spirituality of Marian accompaniment and the nurturing of authentic Marian devotion.190

189 Congregation for Catholic Education, Guide to Formation in Priestly Celibacy, §30. 190 See LG, §67 and MC, §31 that attempt to express the nexus between liturgy and Christian piety and devotion thus: “[E]xercises of piety should be harmonized with the liturgy not merged into it. Wise pastoral action should, on the one hand, point out and emphasize the proper nature of the liturgical acts, while on the other hand it should enhance the value of practices of piety in order to adapt them to the needs of individual communities in the Church and to make them valuable aids to the liturgy” (§31). The liturgical and devotional practices of seminarians and seminary communities ought to be reviewed to ensure this necessary interplay between liturgy and spirituality, worship and piety. Although John Paul II uses the common term “Marian spirituality” in RM, §58, in all that follows concerning spiritual formation, the author will refer rather to Christian spirituality in its Marian dimensions amidst the various schools of spirituality to emphasize that an authentic “Marian spirituality” cannot be separated from the Christian spirituality proper to the baptized. Here the author follows the carefully nuanced lead of well-known mariologist Johann G. Roten, SM, who writes, “Fully recognizing that what is called ‘Marian spirituality’ is the spirituality of spiritualities or the archetype of all ecclesial spiritualities, I would nonetheless caution against the use of the term ‘Marian spirituality.’ Yes, we have in Mary the premier and most Christlike (Christoform) of ways to live the Christian message in the project of life, but ‘Marian spirituality’ does not point to the originality of Mary’s way, rather it points to the typical way to live as Christians, being itself the archetypical realization of the Christian vocation” (30). Additionally, Roten expounds, “Mary’s visible and articulate presence in Christian spirituality highlights and simultaneously warrants the deeply personal and active character of our response to the eminently personal call of God addressed to all” (46). See Johann G. Roten, “How Can Spirituality be Marian,” Marian Studies 52 (2001): 7-52. See also the agreement of Thomas A. Thompson, SM, regarding Roten’s reservations about the term “Marian spirituality” in Thomas A. Thompson, “Preface: The Marian

65 The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council present in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy the liturgical presence of Mary, clearly subservient to and in union with Christ, teaching, “In celebrating this annual cycle of Christ’s mysteries, holy Church honors with especial love the Blessed Mary, Mother of God, who is joined by an inseparable bond to the saving work of her Son. In her, the Church holds up and admires the most excellent fruit of the redemption, and joyfully contemplates, as in a faultless image, that which she herself desires and hopes wholly to be.”191 Therefrom, Pope Paul VI posits Mary as a “model of the spiritual attitude with which the Church celebrates and lives the divine mysteries.”192 Through immersion in the Church’s liturgical life, Mary’s liturgical presence witnesses to men in the propaedeutic stage the proper posture of mind and heart not only before the Christian mysteries, but as a Christian disciple, namely of actively listening, unceasingly praying, humbly obeying, and generously offering oneself.193 By gradually introducing seminarians to Mary’s presence in the worshipping and praying Church, Jesus’s redemption and the effects of that redemption become better

Dimension of Christian Spirituality: Historical Perspectives,” Marian Studies 52 (2001): 4-6 where Fr. Thompson argues, “[T]he term ‘Marian spirituality’ can be easily misunderstood as something apart from, or alongside of, Christian spirituality” (5). See further the teaching of Hans Urs von Balthasar that argues for the essentially Marian character of all authentic Christian spirituality positing, “Because Mary’s Yes is so spotless and perfect, veneration and imitation of her do not in any way constitute some special spirituality. We must say the opposite: No approved spirituality in the Church can afford to seek God while bypassing this model of Christian perfection; none can afford not to be Marian as well.” Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger and Hans Urs von Balthasar, Mary: The Church at the Source, trans. Adrian Walker (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2005), 120. 191 SC, §103. See also MC, §25-26 that definitively states, “In the Virgin Mary, everything is relative to Christ and dependent upon Him. It was with a view to Christ that God the Father from all eternity chose her to be the all-holy Mother and adorned her with gifts of the Spirit granted to no one else” (§25). Marianist Father Thomas Thompson comments, “Mary’s presence in the liturgy is derived from and dependent upon Christ, the center of worship, who through his saving work embraces all the redeemed, among whom Mary is the first.” See Thomas A. Thompson, “The Virgin Mary in the Liturgy: 1963-1988,” Marian Studies 40 (1989): 84. Interesting here is Thompson’s allusion to the Marian dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and Assumption in relation to Christian worship. 192 MC, §16. 193 See MC, §§17-20 where Paul VI presents the well-known Virgo audiens, Virgo orans, Virgo obediens, and Virgo offerens.

66 known, loved, and celebrated, mindful that “the liturgy is life that forms, not an idea to be learned.”194 The Marian feasts of the and the forty-six votive Masses in the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary facilitate opportunities for seminarians in the propaedeutic stage to further encounter the liturgical presence of Mary, always in relation to the Trinity and the Church, as well as to find affirmation and strength in following their proper vocations after Mary’s example.195 Marian liturgical scholar Thomas Thompson suggests the benefit of the Masses presented in the aforesaid Collection as “comprehensible to contemporary society and in a manner reflecting current ecclesial references to the Virgin Mary. Some of the themes and titles in Marialis Cultus seemed appropriate: Mary’s relation to the Holy Spirit, the Church, humanity; Mary as disciple of Christ, exemplar of the Church at worship, model of faith, the new woman.”196 In accord with liturgical law, the celebration of Marian feasts and votive Masses from the Collection offers a spiritual formation with a distinctly Marian character that can facilitate the development of an authentically Marian dimension of Christian spirituality. The celebration of votive Masses in honor of the Virgin Mary,

194 Francis, Audience with Participants in the Plenary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, February 14, 2019, The , https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2019/02/14/190214d.ht ml. Furthermore, Benedict XVI identifies Mary’s presence as an aid to encountering Jesus at Holy Mass affirming, “Each moment of seminary life can be an opportunity for loving experience of the presence of Our Lady, who introduces everyone to an encounter with Christ in the silence of meditation, prayer, and fraternity. Mary helps us to meet the Lord above all in the celebration of the Eucharist, when, in the Word and in the consecrated Bread, he becomes our daily spiritual nourishment.” Benedict XVI, Meeting with Seminarians on Apostolic Journey to Cologne, 7. 195 For an exposition on Mary in the liturgical calendar and seasons, see Paul Puthanangady, “Mary in the Liturgy of the Church,” Mary Today: Fundamental Issues and New Directions in Mariology, ed. Joy Kaipan (Bangalore: Kristu Jyoti, 2010), 84-89. See also Laurentin, Mary in Scripture, Liturgy, and the Catholic Tradition, 61 who underscores that “Mary, then, is present at every Mass, in the fabric of the liturgical year (temporal and sanctoral) and throughout the whole life of the Church. This discreet and forceful omnipresence, which permeates both official and private prayer, responds to her presence within Scripture and reminds us that she lives within the Communion of Saints.” 196 Thompson, “Virgin Mary in Liturgy,” 97.

67 however, will not automatically instill in seminarians a distinctly Marian devotion or call to mind the Marian presence and mission of integral priestly formation, so spiritual directors, priestly formators, and seminarians “will have to engage every device at their disposal, and will have to do this with a kind of infinite patience, to make the Eucharist the daily meaningful experience which it was instituted to be … Perhaps the spiritual director, or a senior seminarian, can make a general application which takes into account the particular situation in the seminary at that time, e.g., such circumstances as examinations, illnesses, visitations, athletic contests, the rainy season, and various other matters. The point is that the Mass must enter most intimately into the details of the daily life of the seminarian.”197 In addition to the practices of Marian piety widely found in seminaries (e.g., the Marian Rosary, the Angelus, and the Stations of the Cross with the fourth station celebrating Mary in the Mystery of Redemption), Marian hymns, novenas in honor of Mary under a myriad of titles, the celebrated Via Matris or Way of the Sorrowful Mother promoted by the Servite family, and May crownings offer additional opportunities for Mary’s presence and especial mission in Christian salvation to be celebrated in such a manner that flows from and leads to the liturgy.198 The spiritual presence of Mary in the propaedeutic stage finds concretization as seminarians develop a discipline of daily communal and personal prayer, but also as they begin to recognize the end of the spiritual life, namely transformative union with the

197 Maur Burbach, “Liturgical Education in the Seminary,” in Seminary Education in a Time of Change, ed. James Michael Lee and Louis J. Putz (Notre Dame, IN: Fides, 1965), 432. 198 The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops approved an Order of Crowning with the possibility of the crowning of an image of the Virgin Mary within Mass, Vespers, or the Liturgy of the Word that might be an advantageous moment for the seminary community to consider not only Mary’s glorification, but to call to mind Mary’s presence in the midst of the praying seminary community. These liturgical celebrations can be found in National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Order of Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1987). For the Marian devotion of the Via Matris or Way of the Sorrowful Mother, see James R. Keane, Novena in Honor of Our Sorrowful Mother (Chicago: Servite Fathers, 1938), 11-26. For a more contemporary arrangement of the same devotion, and a historical commentary promulgated by the Servite Fathers, see Via Matris Dolorosae: Celebration of Our Lady’s Sorrowful Journey (Rome: Curia Generalizia OSM, 1999). 68 Triune God that is continually cultivated throughout the ordinary and extraordinary moments of daily life in the journey of Christian discipleship. The growth in virtue attained with the help of God’s grace, and the appropriation of the grace of baptism, find their earthly fulfillment in the concrete exercise of pastoral charity, love of God and love of neighbor, towards which priestly formation aspires.

2.2.3 Intellectual Formation

The Ratio/16 envisions intellectual formation within the propaedeutic stage for the dual purpose of providing an “initial and overall familiarity with Christian doctrine … [and] to make up for anything that is missing in [seminarians’ earlier] general education.”199 The intellectual formation of the propaedeutic stage, therefore, remains separate from later philosophical formation of the discipleship stage and does not concern the acquisition of a particular .200 The Ratio/16 in §157 offers a list of documents and subject matters for intellectual formation to be “assured of the soundness of essential elements of intellectual formation, for these will contribute to the subsequent formative journey.”201 The Church emphasizes the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Sacred Scripture as essential texts for the intellectual formation of the propaedeutic stage, both of which offer an occasion for the study of Mary of Nazareth as presented by the New Testament evangelists, typified in the Old Testament, confessed in Tradition, and hailed “a living catechism” by Pope John Paul II.202

199 Ratio/16, §59. 200 Ratio/16, §59. 201 Ratio/16, §155. 202 John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation on Catechesis in Our Time, , §73, October 16, 1979, in AAS 71 (1979): 1340. English translation in On Catechesis in Our Time (Manchester, NH: Sophia, 2014), 111. See also Ratio/16, §§59, 157. Commenting on ISF, Schönstatt Sister Jean M. Frisk develops the theological foundation for invoking Mary as the “living catechism,” arguing, “In addition to knowledge, the document advises that an authentic love for Mary, the Savior’s mother and our mother, leads to imitating Mary, especially in her committed dedication to God’s commandments and God’s will. That is what is meant when Mary is called a living

69 The study of the Word of God corresponds to the fundamental intellectual formation envisioned by the Church for the propaedeutic stage. Intellectual formation in the Old and New Testaments, however, must not remain a merely intellectual exercise or one born out of curiosity, but rather seminarians in the propaedeutic stage and their formators ought to “remember that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that God and man may talk together.”203 Through prayerful reading and study of the Word of God, seminarians in the propaedeutic stage discover the human person of Mary as revealed by God and always in relation to the Trinity.204 Benedict XVI further expresses the relationship between Mary and Scripture imploring that the “faithful need to be helped to see more clearly the link between Mary of Nazareth and the faith-filled hearing of God’s word … Indeed, what the understanding of the faith has enabled us to know about Mary stands at the heart of Christian truth.”205 In the same apostolic exhortation, Verbum Domini, Benedict XVI underscores catechism. Life awakens life; love awakens love. According to the document, to look at Mary helps the student to develop the capacity to communicate love that is like her ‘through speech, writing and example’” (emphasis original). Jean M. Frisk, “Mary in Catechesis: A Comparative Study on Magisterial Catechetical Documents and Religion Textbooks for Elementary Schools in the United States from 1956 -1998” (STL thesis, University of Dayton, 1998), 270. 203 Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, §25, November 18, 1965, in AAS 58 (1966): 829. English translation in Austin Flannery, gen. ed., Vatican Council II: The Basic Sixteen Documents (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996), 764. Hereafter “DV.” In his assessment of the importance of the Word of God in the ministerial priesthood and initial priestly formation, Gerhard Cardinal Müller exhorts, “We priests, therefore, ought to be the first to obey the Word of God: before preaching it, we ourselves should listen to it, study it carefully, pray it with devotion, live it without the least self- referentiality.” Gerhard Müller and Carlos Granados, The Cardinal Müller Report: An Exclusive Interview on the State of the Church, trans. Richard Goodyear (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2017), 86. 204 ISF, §24: “The study of Sacred Scriptures, therefore, must be the soul of Mariology.” Furthermore, MC, §30 exclaims, “In its wonderful presentation of God’s plan for man’s salvation, the Bible is replete with the mystery of the Savior, and from Genesis to the Book of Revelation, also contains clear references to her who was the Mother and associate of the Savior.” 205 Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church, Verbum Domini, §27, September 30, 2010, in AAS 102 (2010): 706. English translation in The Word of the God (Frederick, MD: The Word Among Us Press, 2010), 49.

70 the benefit of a prayerful study of the Word of God in seminary formation “to lead to an increased awareness of the mystery of divine revelation and foster an attitude of prayerful response to the Lord who speaks. Conversely, an authentic life of prayer cannot fail to nurture in the candidate’s heart a desire for greater knowledge of the God who has revealed himself in his word as infinite love. Hence, great care should be taken to ensure that seminarians always cultivate this reciprocity between study and prayer in their lives.”206 The study of the human person of Mary found in the Old and New Testaments thereby further places these seminarians in contact with the living Word of God, a true living Word that possesses the innate power to transform and equip men in the propaedeutic stage for future priestly ministry. Through the intellectual study of the scriptural, historical Mary of Nazareth, never separated from the prayerful meditation and application of the Word of God, the Church envisions the cultivation of the spiritual life in such a manner that an authentic ebb and flow ensues between the Mary known and confessed by faith and Marian devotion. Moreover, intellectual formation based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church presents opportunities for the Marian dogmas and doctrines to be introduced and any errors or lacuna in catechetical formation to be mercifully corrected. Although dated, Jesuit theologian John Hardon made a sober assessment of the state of Marian catechesis to which priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians must be attentive, acknowledging:

To anyone familiar with the scene of American Catholic religious instruction, this concern “that the young be taught a deep and true love for the Mother of God” borders on anguish. Those who know what is going on have no illusions. No mask of theological rhetoric can hide the fact that millions of our Catholic young are not being taught a deep and true love for the Mother of God. When a stout volume is being published under the guise of scholarship, casting doubt on the historicity of the

206 Verbum Domini, §82 (emphasis original). 71 Infancy Narratives in the Gospels; when priest- writers are telling the faithful that doctrines like the Assumption are not required to be a professed Catholic; when authors writing with an Imprimatur are claiming that Christ never identified Himself with the Father, is it any wonder that the youth are not being taught a deep and true love for the Mother of God? Love for the Blessed Virgin must be based on sound doctrine about the Blessed Virgin. In the absence of true doctrine, there cannot be true love; and without love, there can be no devotion. 207

While conceding that Hardon’s depiction of possible areas of Marian catechetical lacuna and errors may not accurately represent the contemporary situation in its entirety and in all the particular Churches, nonetheless, Hardon brings to light some potential difficulties to be addressed in the propaedeutic stage concerning Mary to which might be added the popularity of certain Marian apparitions and their influence upon candidates to the priesthood. Attributable to the interest in contemporary Marian apparitions, some of which lack ecclesial approbation, intellectual formation in the propaedeutic stage ought to include the distinction between public revelation and private revelation to ensure Marian studies remain robustly biblical and doctrinal without corruption of either authentic Christian doctrine or Marian devotion.208

207 John A. Hardon, “The Blessed Virgin in Modern Catechetics,” Marian Studies 29 (1978): 91-92. 208 The author recalls here the admonition of ISF, §34 to ensure, as a concrete application of LG, §67, that these seminarians “acquire a complete and exact knowledge of the doctrine of the Church about the Virgin Mary which enables them to distinguish between true and false devotion, and to distinguish authentic doctrine from its deformations arising from excess or neglect; and above all which discloses to them the way to understand and to contemplate the supreme beauty of the glorious Mother of Christ.” For a treatment of the relationship between public and private revelation, see Verbum Domini, §14 that teaches in part, “Private revelation is an aid to faith, and it demonstrates its credibility precisely because it refers back to the one public revelation. Ecclesiastical approval of a private revelation essentially means that its message contains nothing contrary to faith and morals; it is licit to make it public and the faithful are authorized to give to it their prudent adhesion. A private revelation can introduce new emphases, give rise to new forms of piety, or deepen older ones.”

72 In its comprehensive and accessible presentation of Mary of Nazareth, the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers a fitting opportunity for seminarians in the propaedeutic stage to redress any confusion or error concerning the human person of Mary as divinely revealed, confessed by the Church, and known by faith.209 In paragraphs 484-511, the Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs on Mary’s perpetual virginity, virginal birth, Divine Maternity, and Immaculate Conception, while paragraphs 963-975 synthesize the Marian dogma of the Assumption and the doctrines concerning Mary’s especial relationship with the Church as “a pre- eminent and singular member of the Church, and its type and excellent exemplar in faith and charity.”210 Additionally, paragraphs 2617-2619 and 2622 propose the Virgin Mary as not only prayerful intercessor, but model of prayerful discipleship.211 In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Mary emerges as the Mother of God and spiritual mother of all humanity who “unites in her person and re-echoes the most important doctrines of the faith.”212

209 For an identification of those instances when Mary is treated in CCC, see Michael Wrenn, “The Blessed Virgin in the Catechism of the Catholic Church,” Marian Studies 45 (1994): 52-61. See also Johann G. Roten, “Mary—A Living Catechism,” The International Marian Research Institute, https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/c/catechism-and- mary.php where Roten attempts to analyze the catechetical presentation of Mary in the CCC in light of chapter eight of LG. After duly noting possible Marian shortcomings and omissions in the CCC, Roten concludes that the CCC offers “a Marian teaching that is both rich and sober. Mary is pictured as a strictly religious figure, foregoing easy psychologization and historization. Mary’s cooperation in Christ’s salvific work is not qualified beyond her role as mother and intercessor (there is no mention of her co- redemption). Mary’s privileges have essentially functional character; little or no moralizing or apologetic interpretation of the Marian dogmas is attempted, except perhaps for the explanations for Mary ever-virgin.” 210 LG, §53. 211 Roten categorizes the catechetical presentation of Mary in the Catechism of the Catholic Church into five categories, namely: “Christ-centered texts (art. 422-512), Spirit-centered texts (art. 721-726), Church-centered texts (art. 963-975), Texts centering on Mary’s prayer (art. 2617-2619), and Texts about praying in communion with Mary (art. 2673-2679).” See Roten, “Mary—A Living Catechism.” 212 LG, §65. For a compelling argument in favor of a Marian pedagogy of catechesis to ensure an authentically human, organic catechesis in the propaedeutic stage, see Petroc Willey, “Teaching a ‘Living Catechism’ with Mary,” Catechetical Review 1, no. 3 (2015): 18-20.

73 Mary, however, cannot be relegated to merely an object of intellectual speculation, but rather God has entrusted to Mary a particular mission in the intellectual formation of seminarians in the propaedeutic stage, namely as catechist and teacher of the faith.213 In the school of Mary, seminarians imitate the God-man Jesus Christ who “sat on her lap and later as He listened to her throughout the hidden life at Nazareth, this Son, who was ‘the only Son from the Father,’ ‘full of grace and truth,’ was formed by her in human knowledge of the Scriptures and of the history of God’s plan for His people, and in adoration of the Father.”214 Mary’s mission as teacher of the faith, catechist, therefore, continues as Mary instructs the intellects of seminarians to remedy any catechetical lacuna. Mary animates the propaedeutic stage with a marked Marian pedagogy that introduces seminarians to the life of Christian discipleship. As Pope John Paul II affirms, “[A]mong creatures no one knows Christ better than Mary; no one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of his mystery better than

213 The notion of Mary as “catechist” or “teacher” is not a novelty of Pope John Paul II nor this author, but enjoys a venerable history in many of the teaching religious Orders and the spirituality of their founders. For example, St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, foundress of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montréal, posits that Mary “instructed the first Christians on every occasion she could to make her Son known and loved, never refusing any journey where charity or necessity needed her help.” Marguerite Bourgeoys, The Writings of Marguerite Bourgeoys, trans. Mary Virginia Cotter (Montreal: Congregation of Notre Dame, 1976), 50. Throughout her writings to her spiritual daughters, St. Margaret Bourgeoys identifies Mary the Teacher as a model for the Congregation of Notre Dame in its apostolate of Christian instruction. Fr. Joseph Kentenich, founder of the Schönstatt Movement, also makes a valuable contribution to the notion of Mary as Erzierherin or Educator, positing, “We are made of the stuff from which something great can be formed. But who should carve such figures from the rough block of wood which we represent, saints such as [the] world and Church need today in order to master the archenemy of Christendom and of all civilization? The answer was given by Our Lord from the cross: ‘Ecce Mater tua—Behold your Mother!’ Behold the one who co-generated you, the one who nourishes you, the one who is the educator of God’s children here on earth and of the great saints and apostles in the Kingdom of God. Behold your Thrice Admirable Mother and Queen who wants to enter into a covenant of love with you.” Joseph Kentenich, Mary, Our Mother and Educator: An Applied Mariology (Waukesha, WI: Lithoprint, 1987), 24. 214 Catechesi Tradendae, §73. John Paul II’s teaching here calls to mind the classical, beloved invocation of Mary as Seat of Wisdom.

74 his Mother.”215 During the propaedeutic stage, and as liturgical law permits, the Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Teacher in the Spirit, might be celebrated to return to the aim of the propaedeutic stage, aware of Mary’s mission as confessed by the Church in the prayer over the offerings of that proper votive Mass: “Lord, we offer these gifts from joyful hearts; through them sanctify your servants, whom the Blessed Virgin instructs by her example and watches over by her patronage, so that, faithful to our baptismal promises, we may serve you and our neighbor with sincerity of heart. Through Christ our Lord.”216 Additionally, 157.b. of the Ratio/16 suggests an introductory treatment in the propaedeutic stage of Christology and to offer a more comprehensive exposition of the vocation to the ministerial priesthood.217 In presenting the Incarnate, Eternal High Priest and the maternity and virginity of the Church, opportunities are likewise afforded for Marian connections to be made, particularly surrounding Mary’s pivotal role in the Incarnation as the Mother of God and the necessary relationship between the Church and Mary, both of whom are virgin and mother.218 While a Mariological course would likely not be appropriate during the propaedeutic stage, by presenting the Mary of Scripture, Tradition, and the living Magisterium, populace

215 John Paul II, Apostolic Letter on the Most Holy Rosary, , §14, October 16, 2002, in AAS 95 (2003): 13. English translation in Rosary of the Virgin Mary (Charleston, SC: CreateSpace, 2017), 19. 216 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2012), 223. This particular votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Teacher in the Spirit incorporates into the Preface and Postcommunion numerous other themes identified in this chapter as advantageous to the propaedeutic stage such as Mary’s model of prayer, Mary’s inspiration, and Marian imitation. See, for example, the Preface of Mary, Mother and Teacher in the Spirit that proclaims, “[A]s we look up to her [Mary] in prayer, we learn from her mind to love you [God] above all things, from her spirit to be rapt in contemplation of your Word, and from her heart to serve the needs of others” (117). Mary thereby instructs seminarians in the propaedeutic stage in the whole of their humanity and becomes a protagonist in realizing the ecclesial vision of this first stage of initial priestly formation in all four pillars. 217 Ratio/16, §157.b. 218 LG, §63.

75 tendencies, albeit often well-intentioned, to found Mariological data on apparitions and private revelations can be remedied.219

2.2.4 Pastoral Formation

The Ratio/16 only briefly alludes to pastoral formation during the propaedeutic stage by envisioning the cultivation of “self-giving through experiences in the parish setting and charitable works.”220 Pastoral formation emerges in this early stage of initial priestly formation as a true expression of paternal solicitude and priestly charity.221 In formation for service to a particular Church, the Ratio/16 foresees the pastoral formation of the propaedeutic stage ordered “according to the culture and experiences of the local Church.”222 Here the Ratio/16 realizes the admonition of Pius XII in the Apostolic Constitution Menti Nostrae concerning the relationship between seminarians and the people to whom they will be sent as priests: “If young men— especially those who have entered the seminary at a tender age— are educated in an environment too isolated from the world, they may, on leaving the seminary, find serious difficulty in their

219 Thus, and in accord with ISF, §28, Mary’s place in the intellectual formation of men in the propaedeutic stage is “suited … to the level of the students.” Additionally, the author bears in mind the wisdom of Pope Benedict XVI regarding the “balance, always necessary, between theological rationality and believing affectivity. The unique figure of the Mother of God must be understood and deeply examined from different and complimentary viewpoints: while the via veritatis remains ever valid and necessary, one cannot fail to travel the via pulchritudinis as well as the via amoris in order to discover and contemplate ever more profoundly the crystalline and steadfast faith of Mary, her love for God, her unwavering hope.” Benedict XVI, Address to Participants in the 23rd International Mariological Marian Congress, September 8, 2012, English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, September 12, 2012, English edition, 5. 220 Ratio/16, §59. 221 For a concise, yet theologically demanding introduction to the relationship between the priest’s mature self-identification as father and priestly charity, see Müller, The Cardinal Müller Report, 89 where Cardinal Müller confirms, “Certainly the fruitfulness of a priest, his ability to sow hope, will always have a close relationship to his personal maturity and how he lives his spiritual paternity through the sacrament and the Word. That spiritual paternity is a key factor on which depends the full realization, received as an unearned gift, of his vocation as a pastor, and he will be able to accompany with kindness and devotion, in the midst of many difficulties, the faithful who have been entrusted to him: this is called ‘pastoral charity.’” 222 Ratio/16, §60.

76 relations with either the ordinary people or the educated laity, and it may happen that they either adopt a misguided and false attitude toward the faithful or that they consider their formation in an unfavorable light.”223 The Ratio/16 confirms the essential character of pastoral formation, beginning in the propaedeutic stage, wherein seminarians’ formation necessarily includes a gradual introduction to pastoral labors in a spirit of service and charity according to the maturity and gifts of each priestly candidate.224 Pastoral formation in initial priestly formation strives to cultivate the virtue of priestly charity, namely to realize Christ’s appeal to St. Peter: “‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’”225 Hence, pastoral formation, often experienced by means of organized communal corporal works of charity, intends “to form missionary disciples who are ‘in love’ with the Master, shepherds ‘with the smell of the sheep,’ who live in their midst to bring the mercy of God to them.”226 PDV calls

223 Pius XII, Apostolic Exhortation on the Development of Holiness in Priestly Life, Menti Nostrae, §86, September 23, 1950, in AAS 42 (1950): 686. English translation in Menti Nostrae: Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Pius XII to the Clergy of the Entire World on the Development of Holiness in Priestly Life (Washington, DC: National Catholic Welfare Conference, 1951), 31-32. 224 Ratio/16, §124. Although pastoral formation is often conceptualized as service to the poor and dying, as well as educating the ignorant, Pope Francis calls recent attention to pastoral formation undertaken in the service of youth, particularly “to accompany young men and women showing leadership potential, so that they can receive training and necessary qualifications.” Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation to Young People and to the Entire People of God, , §245, March 25, 2019, English translation in Origins 48, no. 46 (2019): 757-58. The author contemplates here the mutual benefit afforded to both seminarians and young adults through this accompaniment wherein young men and women mature in their relationship with the Trinity and the Church, while seminarians recognize a youthful face of the Church radiant with hope. 225 Jn 21:16. 226 Ratio/16, Introduction, 3. The term “missionary disciples,” frequently utilized by Pope Francis in his teaching, here receives a pedagogical value wherein seminarians are reminded that through baptism they have become missionary disciples, and they will exercise priestly charity in accord with this foundational calling to be missionary disciples that is shared with all the baptized. Pope Francis exhorts, “Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are ‘disciples,’ and ‘missionaries,’ but rather that we are always ‘missionary disciples.’” Evangelii Gaudium, §120. The recognition of discipleship as missionary, however, can in no way be claimed as a novelty of Pope Francis, for Pope Benedict XVI made a similar confession writing as a

77 particular attention to the pastoral charity of Christ Jesus to which all ministerial priests are called through priestly ordination:

His whole life is a continual manifestation of his “pastoral charity,” or rather, a daily enactment of it. He feels compassion for the crowds because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He goes in search of the straying and scattered sheep and joyfully celebrates their return. He gathers and protects them. He knows them and calls each one by name. He leads them to green pastures and still waters and spreads a table for them, nourishing them with his own life. The Good Shepherd offers this life through his own Death and Resurrection.227

The Ratio/16 leaves the practical means and opportunities for these occasions of pastoral formation to the discernment of the diocesan bishop and particular law, as well as the , priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians’ personal initiatives.228 These graced moments of pastoral formation, in the assorted manners judged expedient, allow seminarians to not only proclaim the Beatitudes, but to enter into the compassion of the Good Shepherd

private theologian, “Jesus appoints the Twelve with a double assignment: ‘to be with him, and to be sent out to preach.’ They must be with him in order to get to know him; in order to attain that intimate acquaintance with him that could not be given to the ‘people’—who saw him only from the outside and took him for a prophet, a great figure in the history of religions, but were unable to perceive his uniqueness … Being with Jesus and being sent by him seem at first sight mutually exclusive, but they clearly belong together. The Apostles have to learn to be with him in a way that enables them, even when they go to the ends of the earth, to be with him still. Being with him includes the missionary dynamic by its very nature, since Jesus’s whole being is mission.” Joseph Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration, trans. Adrian J. Walker (New York: Doubleday, 2007), 172. 227 PDV, §22. 228 The Ratio/16 creates the office of “coordinator of pastoral formation” who “takes care of theoretical and practical pastoral formation. He identifies suitable locations for pastoral placements, and he organizes apostolic experiences in dialogue with priests, religious, and laity” (§137).

78 through the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.229 Beginning with their pastoral formation in the propaedeutic stage, seminarians encounter their own human frailty and inability to alleviate suffering humanity. This apparent difficulty presents an occasion to approach pastoral formation according to Mary’s spirit, animated by Mary’s presence and united to Mary’s mission with Marian humility and fortitude. Mary’s accompanying mission appears in the pastoral formation of the propaedeutic stage. Left to themselves, the varied hardships of suffering humanity can overwhelm and terrify these priestly candidates. Mary’s accompanying mission, however, gives strength to these seminarians to encounter their own personal fears, overcome their biases, and adopt a divine perspective to see in their brothers and sisters children eternally loved by the Triune God. Studying Mary’s accompanying presence in the Church’s varied apostolic labors, medieval Latin theologian Amadeus of Lausanne proposes:

The holy creatures of which one reads in that they are full of eyes before and behind, within and round about, cannot weigh as can the Mother of God the toils of men, their griefs, misfortunes, failures, blindness, weaknesses, deadly perils, the uncertain end of life, and every ill of the human race and, by weighing them, with heaven’s help dispense and drive them away. The more she beholds from on high the heart of the mighty king, the more profoundly she knows, by the grace of

229 The CCC, 2447 defines, “The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead.” Beginning in the propaedeutic stage, initial priestly formation in pastoral formation aims to form seminarians for a lifetime of Christian discipleship in the ministerial priesthood, characterized by the public and private, spiritual and corporal, works of mercy animated by pastoral charity. The spiritual works of mercy ought not, therefore, to be recklessly overlooked for they too are essential to pastoral formation. A priest’s pastoral ministry necessarily originates in the chapel, concretizes on the street, and concludes in the chapel at the Lord’s feet in supplication.

79 divine pity, how to pity the unhappy and to help the afflicted.230

Through Mary’s accompanying mission, seminarians find themselves gradually prepared and formed to minister to the People of God. The Marist spirituality bequeathed by Jean-Claude Colin to his followers further invites seminarians in the propaedeutic stage on these occasions to emulate Mary and the Marian virtues in “service without notice, doing what others won’t do or can’t do, the primacy of living over talk, availability for collaboration with others, a simple and warm approach to people, a certain aptitude for working without too much insistence on personal success or consolation.”231 Engaged in Mary’s accompanying mission, when seminarians minister to the poor, infirm, and suffering, they make Mary present and in so doing experience the maternal presence of the universal mother of all humanity, the Virgin of Nazareth.232 Further exploring Mary’s accompanying mission in pastoral charity, John Paul II exhorts:

[I]n the midst of the People of God, who look to Mary with immense love and hope, you must look to her with exceptional hope and love. Indeed, you must proclaim Christ who is her Son; and who will better communicate to you the truth about him than his Mother? You must nourish human hearts with Christ; and who can make you more aware of what you are doing than she who nourished him? “Hail,

230 Amadeus, Praises of Blessed Mary, 71. 231 Lawrence Duffy and Charles Girard, Like a Bridge: The People of God and the Work of Mary (Rome: Rome Press, 1994), 60. 232 The Ratio/16 provides an identification of many possible apostolates for priestly formation including “children, young people, the sick, the elderly, the disabled, those who live in situations of isolation or poverty, perhaps by virtue of being migrants, and for prisoners. The fundamental area of the pastoral care of families ought to receive special attention” (§124). Since pastoral formation in the propaedeutic stage begins and shapes pastoral charity, the experiences and abilities of these seminarians must be borne in mind and much will be gained by pairing these seminarians with more experienced seminarians, clerics, religious, and lay faithful.

80 true Body, born of the Virgin Mary.” In our ministerial priesthood, there is the wonderful and penetrating dimension of nearness to the Mother of Christ. So let us try to live in that dimension.233

Whether sitting on a park bench with a homeless man, teaching catechism to the youth, or visiting shut-ins, seminarians witness to the evangelical charity of the Mother of God of which Redemptoris Mater affirms, “Mary became the first of those who, ‘serving Christ also in others, with humility and patience lead their brothers and sisters to that King whom to serve is to reign,’ and she fully obtained that ‘state of royal freedom’ proper to Christ’s disciples: to serve means to reign!”234 The experiences of pastoral formation of the propaedeutic stage inaugurate a lifetime of service wherein “the figure of Mary at the foot of the Cross will be their guiding principle. Because the Son of Man is still being crucified daily in his sisters and brothers, the [priests of Jesus Christ wish] to be present with Mary at the foot of these infinite crosses.”235 While assisting in the parish or engaged in other works of mercy, seminarians will undoubtedly meet the enculturated Madonna and the particular devotions of the people, whether a French parish’s affinity for Notre-Dame de Lourdes or the Hispanic identification with Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.236

233 John Paul II, Letter to All the Priests on the Occasion of Holy Thursday 1979, §10, April 8, 1979. English translation in John Paul II, Letters to My Brother Priests: Complete Collection of Holy Thursday Letters (1979-2005), ed. James Socias (Woodbridge, IL: Midwest Theological Forum, 2006), 23-24 (emphasis original). 234 RM, §41. 235 Rule of Life of the Secular Order of the Servants of Mary, §42 (Rome: Curia Generalizia, 1995). Although these profound and rich lines are ripe with the spirit of the Servites, they nonetheless encapsulate the Marian accompanying mission of pastoral formation in the propaedeutic stage, so are used with liberality and due adaptation here. Concerning the abiding nature of pastoral charity as characteristic of the ministerial priesthood, see PDV, §23 that identifies “pastoral charity [as] a gift freely bestowed by the Holy Spirit and likewise a task and a call which demand a free and committed response on the part of the priest.” 236 These common examples are evidently far from exhaustive of the different enculturated Madonnas and cultural devotions of the People of God that seminarians will surely encounter in their pastoral formation. Mary of Nazareth’s cultural reception and popular devotion affirms John Paul II’s belief that “theology has always had to respond in different historical moments to the demands of different cultures, in order then to mediate

81 Through this encounter in pastoral ministry, seminarians in the propaedeutic stage discover not only a love for the Virgin Mother of God, but a lively, vibrant faith emerging from a personal relationship with Mary of Nazareth that “expresses that content more by way of symbols than by discursive reasoning, and in the act of faith greater accent is placed on credere in Deum than on credere Deum.”237 These pastoral encounters invite dialogue, learning, personal conversion, and greater appreciation, as the universality of Mary’s spiritual maternity offers an image of the universality of the priestly heart called to serve the Universal Church.238 Pope Francis admonishes, “Expressions of popular piety have much to teach us; for those who are capable of reading the content of faith to those cultures in a coherent and conceptually clear way.” John Paul II, Encyclical on the Relationship Between Faith and Reason, , §92, September 14, 1998, in AAS 91 (1999): 77. English translation in Encyclical Letter on the Relationship Between Faith and Reason (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 1998), 113. For an additional presentation on the relationship between inculturation and popular piety, see Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines, December 2001 (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2003), §§91-92. Mary of history, a Jewish woman chosen by God to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word, evidently needs no inculturation, but the enculturated Madonna emerges when reflecting upon Mary as a type and model of the Christian believer and an approach to the veracity of Mary’s spiritual maternity. As José Cristo Rey García Paredes writes, “Indubbiamente, Maria è un personaggio complesso che trascende la propria storia. Si è trasformata in un forte simbolo della fede Cristiana. Si tratta di un personaggio interpretato e reinterpretato, teologizzato e dogmatizzato. In questo senso la riflessione teologica su Maria si è espresso culturalmente ed è solo attraverso processi di inculturazione che è possibile continuare a comprenderla.” José Cristo Rey García Paredes, “Inculturazione,” in Mariologia, ed. Stefano de Fiores, Salvatore M. Perrella, and Valeria Ferrari Schiefer (Milan: San Paolo, 2009), 642. Moreover, as ML encourages, through encounters with the Mary known and loved in the diverse cultures, seminarians are invited to “develop a hermeneutic which is able to express in other cultural settings the doctrine concerning the Mother of God – the truth certain and defined – without losing any of its content, while transcending historical and linguistic limitations” (§73). 237 Evangelii Gaudium, §124. Here Pope Francis applies the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas on the material and formal objects of faith to evangelization. See ST, II-II, q. 2 a. 2, trans. English Dominican Province, 1174. 238 This universality of priestly vocation and mission, analogous to the universality of Mary’s presence and mission, finds utterance in the Ratio/16, §123 that admonishes, “Seminarians ought to be moved by an authentically Catholic spirit. While loving their own Diocese sincerely, they ought to be open to placing themselves at the service of the Universal Church or of other particular Churches. This they should do with generosity and dedication, if it should be asked of them or if they themselves should desire it.”

82 them, they are a locus theologicus which demands our attention, especially at a time when we are looking to the new evangelization.”239 The Marian maternal presence amongst the people, multifaceted in its rich diversity and history, invites seminarians to enter more deeply into Mary’s accompanying mission of leading all men and women of whatever race and culture into an ever- deepening, personal encounter with the Triune God. In so doing, the Marian dogmas and doctrines materialize not as solely speculative theology reserved to classrooms, debates, and textbooks, but as celebrated, cherished, and lived in the ordinary daily lives of Christian disciples. Mary’s mantle of maternal tenderness thus embraces seminarians in the propaedeutic stage that they might in turn envelop the whole of suffering humanity in this same mantle of maternal benevolence, intercession, and love.

2.3 CONCLUSION

In summary, the ecclesial aim of the inchoate, obligatory stage of initial priestly formation, the propaedeutic consists in the gradual introduction to life in the Spirit and an increase in self- awareness, as well as initial and remedial formation in all four pillars of formation. The propaedeutic stage thereby creates the foundation of all future formation, both initial and ongoing. While the propaedeutic stage will receive character from the life of the local Church, the presence and mission of Mary advantage the realization of the Church’s dream for the propaedeutic stage. The Marian presence and mission of the propaedeutic stage are not, however, found only in the propaedeutic stage, but rather experienced and augmented throughout the whole of initial priestly formation and beyond. In particular, Mary’s exemplary, maternal,

239 Evangelii Gaudium, §126. Outside of the scope of this investigation, the often ambiguous and confused term “new evangelization” finds historical and magisterial concretization in Benedict XVI, Motu Proprio Establishing the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, Ubicumque et Semper, September 10, 2010, in AAS 102 (2010): 788-92. English translation at Libreria Editrice Vaticana, http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/apost_letters/documents/hf_ben- xvi_apl_20100921_ubicumque-et-semper.html. 83 ecclesial, feminine, spiritual, and liturgical presence experienced in Mary’s dynamic, ecclesial, and accompanying mission as teacher, catechist and educator assist in this initial stage of vocational discernment and correspondence to prepare seminarians for the major seminary. The following charts depict how Mary’s presence and mission might be first introduced and discovered in the four pillars of the propaedeutic stage:

MARIAN PRESENCE IN THE PROPAEDEUTIC STAGE Human Spiritual Intellectual Pastoral Exemplary Spiritual Maternal Liturgical Ecclesial Feminine

MARIAN MISSION IN THE PROPAEDEUTIC STAGE Human Spiritual Intellectual Pastoral Dynamic Teacher, Accompanying Catechist, Educator Ecclesial

Let the aforesaid charts, however, and those that follow not be hastily misunderstood as suggesting that Mary’s presence is only found, for example, in the human and spiritual pillars of the propaedeutic stage or that Mary’s mission is absent in the spiritual pillar of the propaedeutic stage. Instead, these charts and those to come seek only to suggest where Mary’s presence and mission according to the respective qualities emerges and might be advantageously introduced by priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians. Verily, Mary’s presence and mission remain and grow throughout the whole of the Christian life. Moreover, through study and sustained reflection upon the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, seminarians discover God’s providence and wisdom that has led them to this point in their lives and, after the example of Mary, seminarians approach their continued formation as Christian disciples in view of the ministerial priesthood with humility and courage.

84 Chapter 3

Discipleship Stage

The Ratio/16 seeks to reorientate the traditional “philosophical studies” by offering the alternative name “discipleship stage” to this time of initial priestly formation.240 The Ratio/16 prescribes the discipleship stage, lasting at least two years and possessing an inherent value that surpasses its positioning in the program of initial priestly formation immediately antecedent to theology, as “characterized by the formation of the disciple of Jesus who is destined to be a pastor.”241 Thus, the reorganization of

240 Ratio/16, Introduction, 3. Herein the Ratio/16 accords with the desire of OT, §14 “that the philosophical and theological disciplines be more suitably aligned and that they harmoniously work toward opening more and more the minds of the students to the mystery of Christ. For it is this mystery which affects the whole history of the human race, continually influences the Church, and is especially at work in the priestly ministry.”240 Following the lead taken by the Ratio/16, and to better underscore the wholistic nature of the initial priestly formation of this stage, the author of this study elects to use the term “discipleship stage” when referring to what has been traditionally known as the “philosophical studies” but now enjoys dual names. 241 Ratio/16, §62. Let the reader or seminarian in the discipleship stage not hastily conclude that discipleship is something that someone graduates from to advance on to another stage or another degree of following Christ. Rather, as David J. Bosch argues when contrasting the Christian disciple with the Jewish talmid, “In Judaism, discipleship was merely a means to an end. Being a talmid, a student of the law, was no more than a transitional stage. The student’s goal was to become a rabbi himself. The rabbi was, in this process, certainly indispensable, but he himself looked forward to the crowning of his efforts—the day his disciples would become teachers like himself. With this in mind, he guided and helped them eventually to master the Torah. For the disciple of Jesus, however, the stage of discipleship is not the first step toward a promising career. It is in itself the fulfillment of his destiny. The disciple of Jesus never graduates into a rabbi. He may, of course, become an apostle, but an apostle is not a disciple with a degree in theology. Apostleship is not, in itself, an elevated status. An apostle is, essentially, a witness to the resurrection.” David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2018), 38. Consequently, those men in the discipleship stage do well to recall that the formation they receive as Jesus’s disciples in view of future priestly life and ministry does not become obsolete nor can it be constricted to only the years of the discipleship stage of initial priestly formation. The formation begun in the discipleship stage is willed by God and the Church to continue throughout the whole of priestly life. In fact, the fruitfulness

85 the discipleship stage by the Ratio/16 broadens this stage beyond intellectual formation in the philosophical sciences to suggest its value when approached from the perspective of Christian discipleship in preparation for ministry.242 The Second Vatican Council offers a fresh presentation of the mystery of Christian discipleship in the modern world, teaching in the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum that “the invisible God out of the abundance of His love speaks to men as friends and lives among them, so that He may invite and take them into fellowship with Himself.”243 Discipleship wherefore consists of two components, namely dwelling with Jesus and being sent by Jesus to evangelize others.244 According to the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, discipleship, or the call into Trinitarian friendship and communion, inspires the Eternal Word’s Incarnation, sacred life and teaching, and the Paschal Mystery.245 Building upon the renewed conciliar attention to the theological theme of discipleship, PO posits the ministerial priesthood within the underlying Christian vocation to discipleship: “Though priests of the New Testament, in virtue of the sacrament of [Holy] Orders, of future priestly ministry depends in large part upon the priest’s continued and ongoing formation in the abiding Christian endeavor of discipleship. 242 Wherefore, the Ratio/16, §66 italicizes, “It [the discipleship stage] must be valued properly in its own right and understood with regard to its specific aims, and not simply as an ‘obligatory step’ needed to reach theological studies.” For a presentation of discipleship, both in the nascent Church and the Church today, see CCC, §§767, 787-89, where the Catechism upholds the centrality of discipleship in Jesus’s salvific mission entrusted to the Church: “From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings” (787). 243 DV, §2. 244 Theologian Anthony Buono identifies three prerequisites for Christian discipleship, namely a divine vocation from the Lord, clinging to the Lord, and sharing in the joys and sorrows of the Lord’s sacred life. Therefrom, Buono concludes, “It is obvious that Mary, the mother of Jesus, fulfilled all three of these characteristics and was fully qualified to be called a disciple.” Anthony M. Buono, The Greatest Marian Titles: Their History, Meaning, and Usage (Staten Island, NY: Society of St. Paul, 2008), 203. 245 Now-Cardinal studies an anthropological understanding of the human person as disciple called by Christ in “Humanity in the Light of Christ in the Second Vatican Council,” in Vatican II: Assessment and Perspectives: Twenty-Five Years After (1962-1978), ed. René Latourelle (New York: Paulist, 1989), 386-401. Ladaria Ferrer deduces, on the authority of conciliar teaching, that “the conformity of the Christian to Christ’s likeness and association with the paschal mystery fulfill God’s original design for humanity” (392).

86 exercise the most outstanding and necessary office of father and teacher among and for the People of God, they are nevertheless, together with all Christ’s faithful, disciples of the Lord, made sharers in his Kingdom by the grace of God’s call.”246 As disciples of Christ, the vocation and identity of priests necessarily and primarily entails principally following Jesus and then responding to the divine mandate, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”247 Only after having first discovered a personal identity as a Christian disciple by following Christ can priests authentically witness, proclaim, and invite their brothers and sisters to Christian discipleship also.248 The theological concept of “discipleship,” from which this stage receives its name, consequently includes both the primacy of God’s grace and Christ’s call with secondarily man’s active and free acceptance of the Good News and its correlative mission.249

246 PO, §9. 247 Mt 28:19. 248 Fr. Eugene M. Florea therefrom argues against priestly functionalism: “When the priest is living in communion or relationship with Jesus, he knows his identity in Christ as a son in the Son. Only when the priest is grounded in his identity can he, then, be sent on mission. To get this approach backwards and place one’s mission first and seek to derive one’s identity from that mission is to fall into functionalism and all of its negative consequences.” Eugene M. Florea, The Priest’s Communion with Christ: Dispelling Functionalism (Omaha, NE: IPF Publications, 2018), 20. 249 See CCC, 767 and 787 that argue, “From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings” (787). See also biblical scholar Francis J. Moloney’s study of a scriptural concept of discipleship that identifies five fundamental points of biblical discipleship: discipleship for service; conformation to Jesus’s mission through real proximity to the Lord and his teaching; rejection of the world and worldliness; universality of those called, both saints and sinners alike; and the very real prospect of not realizing the envisioned goal. Francis J. Moloney, Disciples and Prophets: A Biblical Model for the Religious Life (New York: Crossroad, 1981), 139-40. Hans Weder further synthesizes a biblical vision of discipleship thus: “Jesus approaches human beings in order to get them to approach others; Jesus ‘sees’ human beings; one becomes a disciple not through certain conditions of life, but because of the unexpected call of Jesus; the call itself creates what it demands, since discipleship is understood as creation of this call and not as decision of the called. Discipleship is entirely dependent on Christology; in being a disciple, the service of the Son of Mary as humility, service, and peacemaking replicates itself.” Hans Weder, “Disciple, Discipleship,” in Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman, trans. Dennis Martin, vol. 2 (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992), 210.

87 Wherefore, Pope Francis conceives the totality of Christian discipleship, teaching, “The disciple is ready to put his or her whole life on the line, even to accepting martyrdom, in bearing witness to Jesus Christ, yet the goal is not to make enemies, but to see God’s Word accepted and its capacity for liberation and renewal revealed.”250 While being formed for the ministerial priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Church envisages seminarians in the discipleship stage receiving suitable integral formation for greater efficacy of mission as Christ’s disciples.251 Moreover, the Ratio/16 asserts the intrinsic place of the discipleship stage in the project of initial priestly formation wherein “a pedagogical itinerary is proposed, which sustains the candidate in the process of growth, helping him to become aware of his own poverty and, at the same time, of his need for the grace of God and fraternal correction.”252 The

250 Evangelii Gaudium, §24. 251 The discipleship formation received during the discipleship stage must be ordered towards future priestly life and the portion of the People of God to whom these future priests will be sent to serve. Wherefore, the Ratio/16 orders, for example, in the area of intellectual formation during this stage, “Contemporary philosophical speculation must also be taken into account – especially those aspects that exert a major influence in one’s own country – along with the progress of modern sciences, so that seminarians can be adequately prepared for dialogue with others, by being properly aware of the salient trends in society” (§159). 252 Ratio/16, §65. Pope Francis suggests some of the components of this pedagogical itinerary teaching: “A good priest, therefore, is first of all a man with his own humanity, who knows his own history, with its riches and its wounds, and who has learned to make peace with it, reaching an underlying serenity, that of a disciple of the Lord.” Francis, Address to Participants in the Convention Sponsored by the Congregation for the Clergy on the 50th Anniversary of the Conciliar Decrees “Optatam Totius” and “Presbyterorum Ordinis,” November 20, 2015. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, December 11, 2015, English edition, 8. For a refreshing treatment on the importance of fraternal correction in the Christian life, a practice that enjoys a rightful and essential place in seminary formation as affirmed in Ratio/16, §65, see Benedict XVI, Message for Lent 2012, November 3, 2011. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, February 8, 2012, English edition, 7 where Benedict XVI exhorts, “In a world pervaded by individualism, it is essential to rediscover the importance of fraternal correction, so that together we may journey towards holiness. Scripture tells us that even ‘the upright falls seven times;’ all of us are weak and imperfect. It is a great service, then, to help others and to allow them to help us, so that we can be open to the whole truth about ourselves, improve our lives, and walk more uprightly in the Lord’s ways. There will always be a need for a gaze which loves and admonishes, which knows and understands, which discerns and forgives, as God has done and continues to do with each of us” (§1). Although not explicitly mentioned in

88 discipleship stage, thereupon, strengthens the individual personal call of these seminarians and imparts a veracity to future priestly ministry founded upon a lived experience of evangelical discipleship in view of Holy Orders.253 As disciples of Christ, seminarians in the discipleship stage enter into a life journey of conversion and mission consequent to a personal encounter with the living God in the Divine Person of Jesus of Nazareth.254

3.1 THE AIM OF THE DISCIPLESHIP STAGE

The Ratio/16 confesses, “The experience and dynamic of discipleship, that lasts, as we have noted for the whole of life, and includes all priestly formation, pedagogically requires a specific stage in which all possible efforts are expended to root the seminarian in the sequela Christi, listening to His Word, keeping it

Benedict XVI’s teaching here, Mary’s presence and mission offer a sinless, tender, maternal, feminine correction that advances the aims of the discipleship stage as will be suggested in all that follows. 253 Ratio/16, Introduction, 3. 254 See Francis, Letter to Participants in the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference, November 8, 2014. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, November 12, 2014, English edition, 7. Here Francis upholds the relationship between ministerial priests and the theological notion of disciple demonstrating, “[F]ormation understood as discipleship sustains the ordained minister in his entire life and regards his entire person and his ministry.” Moreover, the Ratio/16, §80, treating of ongoing formation, further affirms that the “discipleship of those called to priesthood is never interrupted.” See also Pope Francis’s teaching on the relation between vocational discernment, divine encounter, and discipleship in Francis, Address to Participants in the International Conference on Pastoral Work for Vocations Sponsored by the Congregation for the Clergy, October 21, 2016. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, October 28, 2016, English edition, 4-5. Here Pope Francis confirms, “[V]ocational pastoral ministry is an encounter with the Lord! When we welcome Christ, we experience a decisive meeting, which brings light to our existence, which pulls us out of the angst of our little world, and transforms us into disciples in love with our Master” (4). Pope Benedict XVI previously highlighted the importance of this personal encounter with the Lord in initial priestly formation teaching, “You are seminarians, that is to say, young people devoting an intense period of your lives to seeking a personal relationship with Christ, an encounter with him, in preparation for your important mission in the Church. This is what a seminary is: more than a place, it is a significant time in the life of a follower of Jesus.” Benedict XVI, Meeting with Seminarians on Apostolic Journey to Cologne, 7.

89 in his heart, and putting it into practice.”255 The discipleship stage, therefore, proposes to strengthen, through a personal and sustained encounter with the Incarnate Word, the life of missionary

255 Ratio/16, §62. It is interesting to note here the introduction to seminary formation of the theological expression “sequela Christi,” previously used in magisterial teaching to distinguish consecrated life and its three-form consecration by means of the profession of the evangelical counsels from other Christian vocations. Curiously, OT never employs the Latin term sequela Christi, while the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life, Perfectae Caritatis affirms in §2a), “Since the ultimate norm of the religious life is the following of Christ set forth in the Gospels, let this be held by all institutes as the highest rule.” Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life, Perfectae Caritatis, October 28, 1965, in AAS 58 (1966): 703. English translation in Austin Flannery, gen. ed., Vatican Council II: The Basic Sixteen Documents (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996), 612. The “following of Christ,” however, cannot and must not be limited to only consecrated life, but rather is proper to all Christian vocations as vocations to holiness and discipleship, although witnessed in a particular, radical, vowed manner in consecrated life. The Ratio/16, §24 draws attention to the call to follow Christ regardless of one’s personal vocation and consequent to baptism. Whether a young man discerns a priestly vocation or not at the end of initial priestly formation, the call to discipleship remains. This employment of language borrowed from religious life and its theology of consecration continues in Ratio/16, §62 that articulates as an aim of the discipleship stage “to help the seminarian mature in his definitive decision to follow the Lord in ministerial priesthood, by embracing the evangelical counsels in a way proper to this stage.” Here the Ratio/16 follows the earlier reference to the evangelical counsels in PDV, §27 that states, “A particularly significant expression of the radicalism of the Gospel is seen in the different ‘evangelical counsels’ which Jesus proposes in the , and among them the intimately related counsels of obedience, chastity, and poverty. The priest is called to live these counsels in accordance with those ways and, more specifically, those goals and that basic meaning which derive from and express his own priestly identity.” The author must concede some concern in utilizing without restraint the theological terminology of consecrated life in Church teaching on the ministerial priesthood lest the vocations between consecrated life and the ministerial priesthood lose their proper identification and therewith unique place in the life and mission of the Church. Despite some reservation, the author nonetheless acknowledges the abundant fruit that the witness of consecrated life can offer men in initial priestly formation by revealing the joy and freedom consequent to following Christ in obedience, chastity, and poverty. Due adaptation and consideration, however, must be made to the fundamental distinction between the evangelical counsels constitutively vowed to God in institutes of consecrated life and the promises of obedience and celibacy proper to the ministerial priesthood in the . For additional treatment of the question of the ministerial priesthood and obedience, chastity, and poverty, see Basil Cole and Paul Conner, Christian Totality: Theology of the Consecrated Life (Staten Island, NY: Alba House, 2005), 326-29 which similarly argues, “Even when these counsels are not professed as vows, the virtues they represent greatly assist the diocesan priest to live up to the dignity and mission to which he has been consecrated” (326).

90 discipleship begun at baptism for the sake of future priestly ministry. As such, discernment and vocational correspondence characterize the discipleship stage wherein seminarians are reminded that discipleship, and more particularly discipleship as ministerial priests of the , “is an event of election, a free decision of the Lord’s will, which in turn is anchored in his communion of will with the Father.”256 Thus, the discipleship stage aspires to intensify seminarians’ self-awareness of their human and Christian dignity, the indescribable gift of the sacerdotal vocation, and a humble recognition that the burden of discerning their vocations rests not only with seminarians, but with the diocesan bishop, priestly formators, spiritual directors, and, ultimately, the Church. While God calls men to the sacerdotal dignity and duty, these same men must likewise freely and maturely “perceive, desire, and accept a vocation to stable and total service of others, following a path of complete consecration to God as a priest.”257 Neither God nor the Church coerce men to accept priestly ordination.258 Accordingly, not only must seminarians’ intentions be tested, but seminarians in the discipleship stage ought to strive with God’s grace to develop “an adequate inner freedom and maturity.”259 Admission to candidacy at the conclusion of the discipleship stage necessitates a free and mature consent on the part of seminarians wherein, having had their intentions tested and

256 Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth, 170. 257 PDV, §9. 258 The freedom of the ordinandi is paramount to the validity of ordination in its relation to the intention of the recipient of the sacrament of Holy Orders. See CIC/83, c. 1026 that legislates, “A person must possess due freedom in order to be ordained. It is absolutely forbidden to force anyone in any way or for any reason to receive orders or to deter one who is canonically suitable from receiving them.” The discipleship stage provides a prolonged period of time for seminarians to examine with their formators and directors whether their pursuit of Holy Orders arises from a free response made to a divine calling or instead as a consequence of some external force, fear, or threat of irresistible violence that restricts, if not completely negates, man’s freedom. 259 Ratio/16, §67. For an interesting introduction to some potential challenges to seminarians’ cultivation of inner freedom, especially “the education of the seminarian to greater emotional objectivity, i.e. towards having more realistic expectations,” see Brenda Dolphin, “Human Formation, the Basis of Priestly Formation,” in The Formation Journey of the Priest: Exploring “Pastores Dabo Vobis,” ed. McGregor and Thomas Norris (Dublin: Columba, 1994), 70-82, especially 74-75.

91 more properly discovered their foundational identity as Christian disciples, seminarians now publicly manifest their desire to prepare for Holy Orders with the added graces consequent to the liturgical rite of admission.260 The discipleship stage aims, therefore, “to help the seminarian mature in his definitive decision to follow the Lord in ministerial priesthood.”261 Nonetheless, the vocation to the ministerial priesthood remains in the first instance an act of God’s infinite love and mercy identified, cultivated, and confirmed through the ministry of the Church. Any claim of a right to be admitted as a candidate to Holy Orders contradicts the primacy of the divine activity and the Church’s ministry of discernment.262 The Ratio/16 upholds, “Since it presupposes a responsible decision on the part of the seminarian, admission among the candidates for

260 Pope Paul VI calls attention to the theological and anthropological significance of the liturgical rite of Admission to Candidacy for Ordination as Deacons and Priests, declaring that “one who aspires to the diaconate or priesthood publicly manifests his will to offer himself to God and the Church, so that he may exercise a sacred order. The Church, accepting this offering, selects and calls him to prepare himself to receive a sacred order, and in this way, he is properly numbered among candidates for the diaconate or priesthood.” Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Containing Norms for the Order of Diaconate, Ad Pascendum, August 15, 1972, in AAS 64 (1972): 537-38. English translation in Austin Flannery, gen. ed., Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, vol. 1 (Northport, NY: Costello, 1998), 437. For the reform of the steps towards priestly ordination, see Paul VI, Apostolic Letter on First Tonsure, Minor Orders, and Subdiaconate, Minister Quaedam, August 15, 1972, in AAS 64 (1972): 529- 34. English translation in Austin Flannery, gen. ed., Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, vol. 1 (Northport, NY: Costello, 1998), 427-32. 261 Ratio/16, §62. 262 Ratio/16, §201. Here the Ratio/16 references the earlier teaching of the Congregation for Catholic Education on the ecclesial right and obligation to discern a candidate’s suitability: “There are two inseparable elements in every priestly vocation: the free gift of God and the responsible freedom of the man. A vocation is a gift of divine grace, received through the Church, in the Church, and for the service of the Church. In responding to the call of God, the man offers himself freely to him in love. The desire alone to become a priest is not sufficient, and there does not exist a right to receive sacred ordination. It belongs to the Church – in her responsibility to define the necessary requirements for receiving the sacraments instituted by Christ – to discern the suitability of him who desires to enter the seminary, to accompany him during his years of formation, and to call him to Holy Orders if he is judged to possess the necessary qualities.” Congregation for Catholic Education, Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with Regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in View of Their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders, §3, November 4, 2005. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, December 7, 2005, English edition, 3.

92 [Holy] Orders is an invitation for him to continue with his formation, in configuring himself to Christ the Shepherd, through a formal recognition on the part of the Church.”263 The initial priestly formation begun during the propaedeutic and discipleship stages, and recognized through the liturgical rite of admission, resolves to realize the Church’s prayer that “our brothers may draw closer to Christ and be his witnesses to the world.”264 Thus, the discipleship stage and its successor, the configuration stage, are closely and essentially related in the respective pedagogy of forming priestly candidates first to follow Christ in a complete, free, loving response that they might be subsequently conformed at the conclusion of initial priestly formation, through the laying on of hands and consecratory prayer, to Christ “the head and shepherd, the servant and spouse of the Church.”265 In challenging seminarians to embrace their proper identity through baptism as missionary disciples in view of Holy Orders, Mary of Nazareth, “the first and most perfect of Christ’s disciples,”266 offers not merely the model, the impeccable human person worthy of imitation who faithfully followed Jesus, but Mary’s presence and mission advance the realization of the ecclesial vision of the discipleship stage in the lives of individual seminarians.267 As Pope John Paul II affirms, “She [Mary] in turn

263 Ratio/16, §67. 264 Admission to Candidacy for Ordination as Deacons and Priests, in Rites of the Catholic Church, vol. 2, 20. 265 PDV, §3. For the matter and form of priestly ordination, see Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution on the New Rites for Sacred Ordination, Pontificalis Romani Recognitio, June 18, 1968, in AAS 60 (1968): 372-73. English translation in Rites of the Catholic Church, vol. 2, 24. 266 MC, §35. 267 The author notes that an objection may be raised here concerning the suggestion of a woman, Mary, as a model for men preparing for the priesthood. Twentieth-century theologian , however, offers a thought-provoking response to this difficulty, arguing that “on closer inspection it becomes clear that many features (authentic in themselves) introduced into the image of Mary as woman in her relationship to God are by no means specifically and exclusively feminine. Is it not true that a man also in his approach to God must be able to be silent, be wholly receptive, commit himself, listen in humility and faith, serve and not dominate? In describing the religious existence we seize only too easily and too often on characteristics which are really generally human and can and must be predicated of both sexes.” Karl Rahner, Theological Investigations, vol. 19, Faith and Ministry, trans. Edward Quinn (New York: Crossroad, 1983), 216-17. The author of this thesis maintains likewise that the Marian virtues, presence, and mission

93 was the first of His disciples. She was the first in time, because even when she found her adolescent Son in the temple, she received from Him lessons that she kept in her heart. She was the first disciple above all else because no one has been ‘taught by God’ to such depth. She was ‘both mother and disciple,’ as St. Augustine said of her, venturing to add that her discipleship was more important for her than her motherhood.”268 Mary contains, therefore, a universal significance for men and women of all times and in all places, serving as an archetype of Christian discipleship by revealing the transcendent Christian vocation of discipleship that comes from God and returns to God.269 Conjointly Mary’s presence and mission aid seminarians to nurture their proper vocations as Christian disciples, men called by Christ to service and sent to serve through the ministry of the Church at the conclusion of initial priestly formation. Wherefore, Mary’s exemplary discipleship demonstrates for these seminarians, as a teacher forming her pupils, a life animated by charity, adorned

have a universal significance to all of humanity, not solely women, and therefore advance the ecclesial vision of priestly formation. 268 John Paul II, Catechesi Tradendae, §73. See a similar affirmation of Mary the Disciple in RM, §20. In further ratification of Mary’s vocation to discipleship, Pope John Paul II confesses, “Mary alone is a living incarnation of that total and complete dedication to God, to Christ, to his salvific action, which must find its adequate expression in every priestly and religious vocation. Mary is the fullest expression of perfect faithfulness to the Holy Spirit and to his action in the soul; she is the expression of the faithfulness which means persevering cooperation in the grace of a vocation.” John Paul II, General Audience, May 2, 1979, 1 (emphasis original). 269 Speaking of the human vocation in general, but all the more applicable to missionary discipleship, now-Cardinal Ladaria Ferrer, on the authority of the magisterial teaching of the Second Vatican Council, posits, “Christ is the origin and term of humanity, his beginning and end.” Ladaria Ferrer, “Humanity in the Light of Christ,” 398. For an interesting theological and sociological appraisal of Mary the archetype of humanity, especially of maternity, see Johann G. Roten, “Mary’s Missionary Charism,” Marian Studies 64 (2013): 248-73, particularly 252-54. Moreover, although addressed to Mary as type and model of the laity, Michele Giulio Masciarelli explores what may also be said of the diocesan priest and all those called to the particular vocation of secularity: “Más que de modelo, es posible hablar de María como de tipo, punto de referencia, desafío y provocación para el pueblo de Dios y el creyente a vivir el compromiso secular y a realizar el Proyecto de Dios sobre el mundo.” Michele Giulio Masciarelli, “Laicos,” in Nuevo Diccionario de Mariología, ed. Stefano de Fiores, Salvatore M. Meo, and Eliseo Touron (Madrid: Ediciones Paulinas, 1988), 1046.

94 with virtue, and perfectly ordered to the love of God and the salvation of souls.270 The Lord himself confesses Mary’s identity as a disciple in the synoptic accounts of Mt 12:46-50, Mk 3:31-35, and Lk 8:19-25 when an interlocutor asks Jesus about his family to which Christ responds, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mk 3:35).271 concludes thereupon to the indissoluble link between Mary’s identity as the Mother of God and Mary’s discipleship writing, “For Jesus, the relationship of discipleship is closer to his heart than the same family ties. This relationship has its origin in ‘doing the will of the Father,’ from whence it follows that doing the will of God is greater than being the mother of Jesus.”272 Throughout the biblical passages that speak of Mary, Mary emerges as a perfect, faith-filled disciple of

270 Michele Giulio Masciarelli, “ Discepola,” in Mariologia, ed. Stefano de Fiores, Salvatore M. Perrella, and Valeria Ferrari Schiefer (Milan: San Paolo, 2009), 417: “É la condizione discepolare a rendere Maria maestra ed educatrice. Maria ha assorbito il mistero di Cristo e l’ha fatto fruttificare nella sua vita, conquistando anche, in tal modo, la più alta autorevolezza nell’essere maestra dello stile di vita, del sentire, dei valori o delle virtù che Gesù ha testimoniato come misteriosa eco dei misteriosissimi dinamismi di gloria che si vivono nel seno della Santa Trinità.” 271 For a scriptural analysis of these synoptic accounts of Jesus’s relations and disciples, see Marianist Fr. Bertrand Buby, Mary of Galilee, vol. 1, Mary in the New Testament (Staten Island, NY: Alba House, 2008), 36-39, 58-60, 98-99. Against oft heard denials that this pericope affirms Mary’s discipleship, Buby replies using the parable of the sower and the lamp: “Mary and the brothers [i.e. cousins] are those who listen to and do the will of God. Thus, they are a part of Jesus’ eschatological or Kingdom family. They are like the good soil and good seed which both hold and produce. Mary and the brothers hold on to Jesus’ words and accomplish them with a noble and generous heart. This is true discipleship in Luke” (98-99). For another interpretation of this same pericope, see Raymond E. Brown, Karl P. Donfried, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and John Reumann, eds., Mary in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978), 51-59, 97-99, 167-70, 288-89 that adds, “This first and only mention of the brothers of Jesus in 8:21 and the association of them with the mother in terms of discipleship anticipates Acts 1:14 and the presence of ‘Mary the mother of Jesus…with his brothers’ in the believing community” (170). 272 Angelo Amato, “Jesucristo,” in Nuevo Diccionario de Mariología, ed. Stefano de Fiores, Salvatore M. Meo, and Eliseo Touron (Madrid: Ediciones Paulinas, 1988), 964: “Para Jesús, la relación de discipulado está más cercana a su corazón que los mismos lazos familiares. Esa relación tiene su origen en ‘hacer la voluntad del Padre;’ de donde se sigue que hacer la voluntad de Dios es más grande que ser madre de Jesús.” A parallel might be drawn here between the relationship of Mary’s discipleship and Mary’s divine and spiritual maternity and the discipleship of priests and their spiritual paternity of God’s people entrusted to their care.

95 the Trinitarian God, ready to consent to God’s Will with freedom, obedience, and humble acceptance, as seen originally in the Annunciation mystery.273 Thus, the Marian pericope of the Annunciation advantageously serves to animate the discipleship stage with a Marian character by reflecting upon Mary’s unrestrained consent to serve God as a disciple of Jesus Christ through the realization of Mary’s utterly unique vocation as the Mother of God. Dominican theologian Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange calls particular attention to the volitional nature of Mary’s consent to the divine maternity, offering a paradigm for all other vocational correspondence, writing:

[T]he maternity proper to a creature endowed with reason is not the maternity according to flesh and blood, which is found in the animal kingdom, but something which demands by its very nature a free consent given by the light of right reason to an act which is under the control of the will and is subject to the moral laws governing the married state; failing this, the maternity of a rational being is simply vicious. But the maternity of Mary was more than rational. It was divine. Hence, her consent needed to be not free only, but supernatural and meritorious: and the intention of divine providence

273 Contemporary scripture scholar Donald Senior explores the Gospel of St. Luke’s presentation of Mary’s discipleship, teaching, “One of the ideal discipleship types in Luke’s account is the figure of Mary. As Luke portrays her, she embodies the description of the genuine disciple outlined in the sower parable: ‘Those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience.’ This is precisely how Mary performs in the annunciation drama, as she hears the Word, ponders it, and gives birth. Three times in the Gospel, Mary is acclaimed for this kind of persevering faith. This notion of genuine discipleship as attentive hearing of the Word and faithful, persevering response to it carries over in Luke’s portrayal of the group whom Jesus chooses as his witnesses in the community’s mission.” Donald Senior and Carroll Stuhlmueller, The Biblical Foundations for Mission (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2003), 266. ISF, §15 supports this anthropological view of Mary at the Annunciation on the basis of RM, teaching, “The Popes have repeatedly presented Mary of Nazareth as the supreme expression of human freedom in the cooperation of man with God, who ‘in the sublime event of the Incarnation of His Son, entrusted Himself to the ministry, the free and active ministry of woman.’”

96 was that in default of this consent the mystery of the redemptive Incarnation would not have taken place—she gave her consent, St. Thomas says, in the name of mankind.274

Viewed under the theological and biblical notion of discipleship, the Marian dogma of Mary’s Divine Maternity of the God-Man Jesus Christ depicts, as Garrigou-Lagrange suggests, both Mary’s freedom as well as the grace that made Mary’s consent possible and the resultant infinite and eternal benefits for all of humanity through the Incarnation, Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. By sustained and reoccurring reflection upon Mary’s missionary discipleship, angelically proclaimed in the Annunciation and dogmatically celebrated in the Marian dogma of the Theotókos,275 seminarians in the discipleship stage discover that in the Incarnate Word “the triune God establishes the possibility of an intimate personal communion with human beings,”276 a communion into which these selfsame seminarians are not only personally called, but will likewise invite

274 Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, The Mother of the Saviour (Middletown, DE: Marian Apostolate Publishing, 2013), 7. 275 For a succinct introduction to the first Marian dogma of the Divine Maternity, often hailed under the Greek Θεοτόκος (transliterated into English as Theotókos) or less frequently under the Latin Deipara or Dei genitrix, see the contemporary Pascal-Raphaël Ambrogi and Dominique le Tourneau, “Mère de Dieu,” in Dictionnaire encyclopédique de Marie (Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 2015), 768-69 that synthesizes, “Marie est la Mère du Verbe incarné qui est Dieu. En proclamant Marie ‘Mère Dieu,’ l’Église entend donc affirmer qu’elle est la ‘Mère du Verbe incarne, qui est Dieu.’ Sa maternité ne concerne donc pas toute la Trinite mais seulement la seconde personne, le Fils qui, en s’incarnant assume d’elle sa nature humaine. La maternité est un rapport entre une personne et une autre: une mère n’est pas seulement mère du corps ou de la créature physique née de son sein, mais de la personne qu’elle engendre. Ayant engendre selon la nature humaine la personne de Jésus, qui est une personne divine, Marie est donc la Mère de Dieu.” Although dated, the classic English Mariology text of Fr. Juniper Carol may also be helpful for a historical presentation of the Marian dogma, albeit without the recent contributions of the living Magisterium. See Eamon R. Carroll, “Mary in the Documents of the Magisterium,” in Mariology, vol. 1, ed. Juniper Carol (Post Falls, ID: Mediatrix, 2018), 6-10. 276 International Theological Commission, Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God, §75, July 23, 2004. English translation in Text and Documents 1986-2007, vol. 2, International Theological Commission, ed. Michael Sharkey and Thomas Weinandy (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2009), 345.

97 contemporary men and women to this same communion and participation in Trinitarian life. Analogous to the dogma of the Mother of God, seminarians in the discipleship stage contemplate how the vocation to the priesthood advantages all the People of God and how, moreover, the faithful response to and fulfillment of this vocation to Holy Orders is possible on a daily basis only by a free consent born of love, sustained by grace, and ordered towards the salvation of one’s spiritual sons and daughters.277

3.2 MARY’S PRESENCE AND MISSION

IN THE DISCIPLESHIP STAGE

3.2.1 Human Formation

Resuming and continuing the work begun in the propaedeutic stage in the arena of human formation, the discipleship stage stresses the importance of “systematic work on the personality of the seminarian, in openness to the Holy Spirit.”278 As the foundational pillar of all authentic formation of the human person, human formation manifests its success “in

277 For a lyrically beautiful, theologically astute assessment of Mary’s unbridled freedom in the Annunciation drama and its repercussions for all of creation, see ’s famous homily that argues that all that is said of the Mother of God refers to the Son in Bernard of Clairvaux, Homilies in Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary, trans. Marie-Bernard Saïd (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian, 1993), 53 where Bernard declares, “My lady, say this word which earth and hell and heaven itself are waiting for. The very King and Lord of all, he who has so desired your beauty, is waiting anxiously for your answer and assent, by which he proposes to save the world.” 278 Ratio/16, §63. In order to avoid the hasty conclusion that formation in the discipleship stage can be reduced to solely human formation to the neglect of spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation, it is paramount to bear in mind the interplay of nature and grace alluded to by the authors of the Ratio/16 by introducing into personality formation the necessary and unceasing activity of the Holy Spirit as an application of ST, I, q. 1, a. 8, ad 2, trans. English Dominican Province, 6 where the Angelic Doctor affirms that “grace does not destroy nature, but perfects it.” While this section treats of personality formation within the context of human formation, the author reaffirms the proper and essential place of the divine activity in the cultivation of an authentically priestly character.

98 stability of mind, in an ability to make weighty decisions, and in a sound evaluation of men and events.”279 Personality development enjoys so essential a role in the discipleship stage of initial priestly formation that a “lack of a well-structured and balanced personality is a serious and objective hindrance to the continuation of formation for the priesthood.”280 As experience manifests, priests who have not developed a healthy, virtuous, priestly personality in seminary can be the cause of pain, division, and harm within the parishes and to the very people they have been sent to serve.281 To assist in the human formation proper to the discipleship stage, PDV identifies desirable qualities in the personalities of priests and offers an evangelical motivation for the cultivation of these qualities:

Of special importance is the capacity to relate to others. This is truly fundamental for a person who is called to be responsible for a community and to be a “man of communion.” This demands that the priest not be arrogant, or quarrelsome, but affable, hospitable, sincere in his words and heart, prudent

279 OT, §11. 280 Ratio/16, §63. Commenting on the importance of a priestly character that flows from priestly ordination, theologian Federico Suarez proffers, “Each individual must behave in accordance with what he is. The priest, a consecrated man, has a special quality, the quality of something holy, for his sacramental consecration endows him with a sacred character. He can no longer behave as if this special quality did not exist. He is a man of God, belonging no longer to himself, but to God alone.” Federico Suarez, About Being a Priest (Princeton, NJ: Scepter, 1996), 11. The priestly consecration alluded to here by Suarez finds clarification and sustained reflection in René Laurentin, The Meaning of Consecration Today: A Marian Model for a Secularized Age (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1992) where Laurentin argues, “Our role, therefore, is not to ‘consecrate ourselves,’ but rather to open up to and accept the great design of love to which God calls us in the freedom that God has also given us. We carry out this role in following Mary, as well as in following Christ himself, who did consecrate himself in order to consecrate us” (207). 281 Reflecting upon the priestly call to unite and build up God’s Kingdom, Timothy Cardinal Dolan exhorts, “Thus, we must be aware of those traits in our character that do indeed serve as a magnet to draw people to Jesus and his Church, and constantly enhance, refine, and improve them; and thus must we candidly confront those characteristics that wound, scatter, and scandalize people, and work to purge them from our temperament.” Timothy M. Dolan, Priests for the Third Millennium (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2000), 147.

99 and discreet, generous and ready to serve, capable of opening himself to clear and brotherly relationships and of encouraging the same in others, and quick to understand, forgive, and console. People today are often trapped in situations of standardization and loneliness, especially in large urban centers, and they become ever more appreciative of the value of communion. Today this is one of the most eloquent signs and one of the most effective ways of transmitting the Gospel message.282

With the perfect humanity of Jesus Christ considered, seminarians in the discipleship stage “should become accustomed to training their character, they should grow in their strength of spirit and, generally speaking, they should learn human virtues.”283 Accordingly, the formation of a priestly personality aims that seminarians in the discipleship stage “become a bridge and not an obstacle for others in their meeting with Jesus Christ the Redeemer of humanity.”284

282 PDV, §43. Fr. Jean Galot likewise situates the development of a priestly character within evangelical considerations, teaching, “This means that, more so than the ordinary Christian, the priest is called to take Christ as his model in all his behavior. The priestly character is the gospel imprinted on personal being, the gospel striving to achieve revelation of itself. The priest cannot act consistently with what he is unless he lets himself be permeated ever more deeply by the spirit of the gospel. He must carry in his own self the genuine traits of the Savior, and he must let them radiate.” Jean Galot, Theology of the Priesthood (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1985), 207. The degree to which priests realize in their persons the character of the sacred humanity of Jesus Christ directly corresponds to the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of priestly ministry, either revealing the Lord or becoming an obstacle to the divine revelation they have been called to proclaim. 283 Ratio/16, §63. 284 PDV, §43. Pope Francis admonishes priests and seminarians accordingly to be aware of the good or evil that may result from their temperament strengths and weaknesses: “A priest who is a peaceful man will know how to spread serenity around him, even in the most trying of moments, conveying the beauty of his relationship with the Lord. It is not normal for a priest to be often sad, nervous, or harsh of character; it is not okay and it does no good, neither for the priest, nor for his people. If you have an illness, if you’re overwrought, go to the doctor! Go to the spiritual doctor and the medical doctor: both of them will give you medicine that will be good for you! The faithful should not have to pay for the neurosis of the priests! Do not lambast the faithful; be

100 Admittedly, the formation of a priestly personality presents many challenges, since it requires self-knowledge, a willingness to train the personality, the capability to form such a personality, and an identification of characteristics of that personality after which seminarians in the discipleship stage should be seeking.285 Seminarians in the discipleship stage, and throughout the whole of priestly formation, are themselves “protagonists of the process of reaching integral maturity.”286 In accord with Mary’s mission consequent to God’s Will, seminarians can become, however, co- workers with the Virgin of Nazareth in their ever more profound, personal, and true configuration to Jesus Christ that begins with a recognition of the call to Christian discipleship. The Marian presence and Marian mission assist in the personality formation proper to the discipleship stage, obtaining grace for this character endeavor and demonstrating in Mary’s own character a personality of discipleship. Personality development proper to the human formation of the discipleship stage benefits from Mary’s maternal mission.287 close at heart to them.” Francis, Address on the 50th Anniversary of the Conciliar Decrees, 8. Although outside the scope of this study as a sociological assessment of the 1972 National Opinion Research Center’s survey on priests, Fr. Andrew M. Greeley contrasts historical human formation in seminaries to that which seems to be envisioned by the new Ratio/16, prophetically writing, “I think men were attracted to the priesthood precisely because they saw in it an outlet for their own personality strengths and a protection from their personality weaknesses … In the future, hopefully, men motivated much more by internal conviction than by external constraints will be attracted to the priesthood. However, it is important to note that the most important way to attract such men to the priesthood is to define both the role and training of priests in such a way that strong personalities are attracted to it. Modifications of the training experience ought to be designed not with the view of turning potential ‘nice guys’ into self-actualizers—a difficult and dubious task at best—but rather in attracting those who are self-actualizers in the first place.” Andrew M. Greeley, Priests in the United States: Reflections on a Survey (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1972), 49-50. 285 For a short list of the human virtues envisioned, see OT, §11 that identifies “sincerity of mind, a constant concern for justice, fidelity to one’s promises, refinement in manners, modesty in speech coupled with charity.” This list of human and priestly virtues ought to be added to those enumerated in PDV, §26 and Ratio/16, §93. 286 Ratio/16, §127. 287 The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council sustain Mary’s mission: “This maternity of Mary in the order of grace began with the consent which she gave in faith at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, and lasts until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven, she did not lay aside this

101 Pope John Paul II asserts in his Apostolic Letter on the Dignity and Vocation of Women on the Occasion of the Marian Year, Mulieris Dignitatem that the maternal mission of all mothers “is decisive in laying the foundation for a new human personality.”288 The human, historical woman of Mary of Nazareth enjoys a dual motherhood, a biological motherhood of the Incarnate Word of God and an adopted maternity of all of humanity by grace.289 As a true, albeit adopted mother of seminarians in the discipleship stage, Mary enjoys a true maternal mission, aiding in the formation of personalities befitting Christian disciples and future ministerial priests that advances this life project. As ML teaches, “She is not only a model, but, as a mother, she takes part in the moral education of her children and accompanies them on the path of their moral transformation. She is the fulcrum of Christian morality: in contemplating her person, human and Christian dignity appear in its fulness.”290 salvific duty, but by her constant intercession continued to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation” LG, §62. Pope Benedict XVI expounds the newness of Mary’s maternal mission received on Calvary, teaching, “From the Cross you received a new mission. From the Cross you became a mother in a new way: the mother of all those who believe in your Son Jesus and wish to follow him.” Benedict XVI, Encyclical on Christian Hope, Spe Salvi, §50, November 30, 2007, in AAS 99 (2007): 1026. English translation in On Christian Hope (Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2007), 55. 288 MD, §18. 289 Pius XII, Encyclical on the Mystical Body of Christ, , §110, June 29, 1943, in AAS 35 (1943): 248. English translation in Encyclical Letter on the Mystical Body of Christ and Our Union in It with Christ (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 1990), 66-67: “Thus she who, according to the flesh, was the mother of our Head [Jesus Christ], through the added title of pain and glory became, according to the Spirit, the mother of all His members [the baptized] … and she continues to have for the Mystical Body of Christ, born of the pierced Heart of the Savior, the same motherly care and ardent love with which she cherished and fed the Infant Jesus in the crib.” Wherefore, CCC, 973 teaches, “She [Mary] is mother wherever he is Savior and head of the Mystical Body.” For a lengthy study on the medieval contribution of Bl. Guerric of Igny who reaffirmed Mary’s mission in the formation of Christians, see Deyanira Flores, “‘Forming Her Only-Begotten in the Sons by Adoption:’ The Contribution of Bl. Guerric of Igny (+1157) to the Doctrine of Mary’s Spiritual Maternity,” Marian Studies 30 (2011): 29- 167. 290 ML, §60. Additionally, Benedict XVI points out where priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians can find the personality of Mary for closer examination: “This marvelous canticle [of Mary] mirrors the entire soul, the entire personality of Mary. We can say that this hymn of hers is a portrait of Mary, a true icon in which we see her

102 Augmenting the growth in human virtue solidified in the previous propaedeutic stage, seminarians in the discipleship stage and their formators look to the Marian virtues to realize the essential priestly virtues found in the Ratio/16, §93. In Mary, seminarians not only discover the human virtues proper to a Christian disciple, but they witness the daily faithful and fruitful living of these same Christian values. Contemplating the aim of Christian discipleship as a following of Christ in its characteristic abnegation and transformative suffering, the human virtue of courage or fortitude cultivated in the propaedeutic stage becomes enriched by the corresponding virtue of magnanimity.291 As Adolph Tanqueray posits in his classical text on virtue, magnanimity “also called greatness of soul or nobility of character, is the noble and generous disposition to undertake great things for God and for our neighbor… The characteristic of magnanimity is disinterested service.”292 Pope Francis offers a contemporary definition of magnanimity that reconciles greatness of soul with ordinary life, expounding, “Thanks to magnanimity, we can always look at the horizon from the position where we are. That means being able to do the little things of every day with a big heart open to God and to others. That means being able to appreciate the small things inside large horizons, those of the kingdom of God.”293 The angelic salutation at the Annunciation event provides biblical exactly as she is.” Benedict XVI, Homily on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Parish Church of Castel Gandolfo, August 15, 2005. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, August 24, 2005, English edition, 15. Hence, the Canticle of Mary ought to become an oft reoccurring text of meditation and study for these seminarians to form personalities proper to Christian disciples. 291 See Mk 8:34: “And he [Jesus] called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’” 292 Adolphe Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life: A Treatise on Ascetical and Moral Theology, trans. Herman Branderis (Tournai, Belgium: Desclée, 1932), 510. Fr. Thomas Dubay, SM, offers a more contemporary presentation of the importance of the virtue of magnanimity in the Christian life after the example of the Carmelite reformer, St. Teresa of Jesus who speculated in The Book of Her Foundations concerning the great number of good works never undertaken out of fear and a pusillanimous spirit. See Thomas Dubay, Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. , and the Gospel on Prayer (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1989), 118. 293 Antonio Spadaro, “A Big Heart Open to God: The Exclusive Interview with Pope Francis,” America 209, no. 8 (2013): 17.

103 evidence of the magnanimity of Mary’s soul, wherein grace is not found in part, but in fullness according to Mary’s human capacity.294 Luigi Lanzoni further speculates:

But God is great, and as He cannot dwell in a heart that is mean and narrow, He enlarges the hearts which He chooses for His abode, and this He does in proportion to the measure in which He wills to impart Himself. “I ran the way of Thy commandments when Thou didst enlarge my heart.” Therefore God, who has bestowed more and better gifts on Mary than on any other of His creatures, must have also given her a soul great beyond conception, a soul capable of receiving those graces of the Holy Ghost which were at every moment poured out upon her in superabundance. In fine, Mary must have been capable of all those great and mysterious things which the Almighty alone can effect in the soul. “He that is mighty hath done great things to me.”295

Seminarians in the discipleship stage ought to seek to make present in their own souls the magnanimity shown by Mary at the Annunciation, characterized by humility and trust, when realizing their divine vocations and corresponding missions in accordance with God’s Will.296

294 See Lk 1:28: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” For an interesting commentary on the magnanimity of Mary’s soul evinced in the Annunciation drama, see Edward Sri, Rethinking Mary in the New Testament (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2018), 63 where Sri argues, “These words give us a glimpse into the soul of this magnificent woman of Nazareth. In other birth announcement and commissioning scenes like this, God or his heavenly messenger typically speaks last before departing. , Sarah, Zechariah, and Samson’s parents do not give a grand statement of consent—a fiat—in the biblical narratives of the birth announcements made to them. Neither does Moses or Gideon when God commissions them. But here, Mary remarkably stands out for getting the last word in the dialogue with the angel. And these words of consent reveal much about Mary’s desire to serve God.” 295 Lanzoni, The Virtues of Mary, 135. 296 See SM, §3: “And it is still in her that Christians can admire the example of how to fulfill, with humility and at the same time with magnanimity, the mission which God

104 The Ratio/16 likewise identifies the importance of formation in the human virtue of common sense that correlates to the cardinal virtue of prudence by which “we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid.”297 While the lack of common sense in responding to a particular question or circumstance often self-evidently appears, common sense regularly avoids categorization or precise definition.298 The cultivation of common sense, however, importantly equips future priests to appropriately and efficaciously respond to extra-mental realities in a manner that advances the salvation of the world. As a human virtue, common sense concerns not merely the material world, but man’s eternal destiny.299 Priests lacking in common sense are often unable both to effectively realize the most ordinary tasks of human life and to correctly apply moral principles to the quasi-infinite circumstances which priests daily face. Mary too advances the acquisition of common sense by witnessing a life animated by common sense. Whether responding to the angelic greeting, finding the Christ Child in the temple, addressing the want of wine at the wedding at Cana, or standing at the foot of the ignominious gibbet of the cross, Mary consistently models common sense as an appropriate response to the divine will and human condition.300 entrusts to each one in this world, in relation to his own salvation and that of his fellow beings.” 297 Ratio/16, §93. CCC, 1807. 298 See Marcus G. Singer, “Ethics and Common Sense,” Revue Internationale de Philosophie 40, no. 158 (1986): 221-58 where Singer humbly confesses, “I have been plagued throughout by the question, natural to a philosopher, of how I know what common sense is and what it would say on one matter or another. But it has occurred to me more than once that it is common sense, which I cannot suppose I altogether lack, that tells me so. Without common sense we can get no adequate or accurate conception of common sense. With it we can get at least some. In William James’s felicitous phrase, it is the ‘natural mother-tongue of thought.’ As such, though it is both elusive and allusive, it is neither invisible nor ineffable” (222). 299 See Paweł Tarasiewicz, “The Common Sense Personalism of St. John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla),” Studia Gilsoniana 3 (2014): 619-34 where Tarasiewicz posits, “If reality includes external and internal objects of experience, common sense must be a cognitive habit which not only pursues the apprehension of the outer world, but also strives to apprehend the inner reality of man” (632). 300 The author here calls to the reader’s attention the little-known invocation of Mary as Our Lady of Equilibrium, noting the Virgin Mother’s common sensical, balanced manner of confronting life’s joys, sorrows, and glories. For a brief introduction to the

105 Mary’s common sense enables the Mother of God to steadfastly respond in a manner that is rational, virtuous, and corresponds to the particularities of life in view of man’s eternal destiny. The final human virtue that enhances the ecclesial vision of the discipleship stage in accordance with the Marian presence and mission is a love of truth revealed in docility of spirit.301 Jesus confesses, “I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”302 PDV asks apropos, “If we are not certain about the truth, how can we put our whole life on the line, how can we have the strength to challenge others’ way of living?”303 In the following of Christ that characterizes the discipleship stage, seminarians follow Christ to the degree that they come to know and love the truth of themselves, the world, others, and primarily God. This love of the truth, wherefore, necessarily includes through reflection, self-examination, and spiritual direction the knowledge not only of a seminarian’s personal strengths and gifts, but also of his weaknesses and sins. While the cultivation of the human virtue of the love of truth closely relates to the intellectual formation proper to this stage in the philosophical sciences, the love of truth necessitates a humble and docile spirit willing to learn and to be taught. Seminarians lacking in docility and a love of truth want the prerequisite for the lifelong project of formation. Here Mary enriches this life project of seeking to know and love the truth by modelling a contemplative posture of self-knowledge coupled with awe before the divine mysteries, seen clearly at the Annunciation. Throughout origins and symbolic representation of this Marian title, see Nicholas J. Santoro, Mary in Our Life: Atlas of the Names and , the Mother of Jesus, and Their Place in Marian Devotion (Bloomington, IN: Universe, 2011), 411. 301 Indicative of the interconnectedness of the four pillars within the one stage of initial priestly formation, the Marian love of truth closely relates to Mary, Seat of Wisdom and the maternal nature of the philosopher’s vocation, “the dynamics of impregnation, parturition, and suckling the truth as the paradigms by which the human knower comes to know what is. This maternal imagery emphasizes philosophy’s need to be open to all of reality.” David Vincent Meconi, “Philosophari in Maria: Fides et Ratio and Mary as the Model of Created Wisdom,” in The Two Wings of Catholic Thought: Essays on “Fides et Ratio,” ed. David Ruel Foster and Joseph W. Koterski (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2003), 75. 302 Jn 14:6. 303 PDV, §52.

106 the whole of Mary’s hidden, apparently ordinary life, Mary both sought the truth and allowed the truth to challenge and illumine her.304 Applying this love of, and docility to, the truth to priestly formation, PDV asserts that “in order that he [the priest] himself may possess and give to the faithful the guarantee that he is transmitting the Gospel in its fullness, the priest is called to develop a special sensitivity, love and docility to the living tradition of the Church and to her Magisterium.”305 Mary’s free presence advances the essential aim of the discipleship stage by revealing the beauty, power, and efficacy of a faithful acceptance and surrender to God’s Will in perfect conformity.306 By consenting to the Annunciation by which she became the Mother of God, Mary’s freedom presents seminarians with the sobering awareness of the relationship between freedom and faith.307 As seminarians in the discipleship stage consider their own liberality in corresponding to God’s call, the free presence of Mary continuously affirms the independence of these seminarians to either accept or reject the call of Christ to the ministerial priesthood. The Church teaches, “Mary is totally dependent upon God and completely directed towards him, and at the side of her

304 Lk 2:51: “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.” 305 PDV, §26. 306 See John Paul II, Encyclical Regarding Certain Fundamental Questions of the Church’s Moral Teaching, , §120, August 6, 1993, in AAS 85 (1993): 1227. English translation in The Splendor of Truth (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1993), 178 that teaches, “Mary lived and exercised her freedom precisely by giving herself to God and accepting God’s gift within herself.” 307 For a profound introduction to the relationship between freedom and faith, oft confused if not denied in contemporary society, see Fides et Ratio, §13 where Pope John Paul II instructs, “Indeed, it is faith that allows individuals to give consummate expression to their freedom. Put differently, freedom is not realized in decisions made against God. For how could it be an exercise of true freedom to refuse to be open to the very reality which enables our self-realization? Men and women can accomplish no more important act in their lives than the act of faith; it is here that freedom reaches the certainty of truth and chooses to live in that truth.” This author echoes the sentiments of Pope John Paul II who, later in Fides et Ratio, teaches: “[I]n giving her assent to Gabriel’s word, Mary lost nothing of her true humanity and freedom…” (§108). The sustained reflection upon Mary’s consent throughout the whole of the discipleship stage illumines, clarifies, and even corrects through affirmation a seminarian’s proper freedom to either petition for candidacy at the conclusion of the discipleship stage or to pursue a different Christian vocation.

107 Son, she is the most perfect image of freedom and of the liberation of humanity and of the universe.”308 Reflecting upon the Marian presence as free, theologian René Laurentin candidly confesses:

Mary was not a possessive mother toward Jesus. She let him travel in the caravan without constantly keeping an eye on him. She waited a whole day before wondering where he might be. She respected his freedom. She respects the same freedom of her adopted children. She does not need to blackmail our “feelings,” but instead invites us to better perceive the truth about Christ and the purpose for which he calls us before God and men.309

A vocation is a free gift of the liberality of God, but a gift that must be accepted in a selfless and magnanimous spirit in truth and with common sense.310 By neither coercing man’s free will, nor proudly imposing her presence, Mary imitates the providential activity of God manifest in man’s salvation. Pope Paul VI sustains,

308 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation, Libertatis Conscientia, §97, March 22, 1986 (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1986), 56-57. 309 Laurentin, Mary in Scripture, Liturgy, and the Catholic Tradition, 156. Mary is not a “helicopter parent,” but respects and affirms the rightful place of man’s freedom as proper to man by nature. Moreover, commenting on Mary’s discipleship demonstrated in Mary’s finding of the Child Jesus in the temple, David O. Brown remarks, “Mary knows what it is to lose Jesus. She knows that she had to search to find him. ‘Finding Jesus’ makes her a disciple of the Lord. The three days and three nights were not wasted. She taught us what it is to search.” David O. Brown, Preaching the Scriptures of the Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991), 32. 310 Wherefore, PDV, §2 stresses, “To remain faithful to the grace received! This gift of God does not cancel freedom; instead, it gives rise to freedom, develops freedom, and demands freedom.” Pope Paul VI enriches the anthropological notion of a vocation as a treasure to be freely accepted, explicating, “In virtue of such a gift, confirmed by canon law, the individual is called to respond with free judgment and total dedication, adapting his own mind and outlook to the will of God who calls him. Concretely, this divine calling manifests itself in a given individual with his own definite personality structure which is not at all overpowered by grace. In candidates for the priesthood, therefore, the sense of receiving this divine gift should be cultivated; so too, a sense of responsibility in their meeting with God, with the highest importance given to supernatural means.” Sacerdotalis Caelibatus, §62.

108 “Mary’s eminent sanctity was not a singular gift of divine liberality. It was also the fruit of the continuous and generous cooperation of her free will in the inner motions of the Holy Spirit. It is because of the perfect harmony between divine grace and the activity of her human nature that the Virgin rendered supreme glory to the Most Holy Trinity.”311 The free presence of the spiritual mother of seminarians enforces the Pauline confession of the “glorious liberty of the children of God.”312 Seminarians in the discipleship stage ought to come to a full recognition and appreciation of not only the universal call to holiness proper to all of Christ’s disciples, but man’s inner freedom that “is an exceptional sign of the divine image within man.”313 The character formation and freedom of response and acceptance thus far examined in the human formation of the discipleship stage in relation to Mary likewise serve to fortify in these seminarians the Latin discipline of the celibate priesthood. Through human formation in the discipleship stage, the obligation of celibacy proper to the ministerial priesthood in the Latin Church ought to be fostered and seminarians aided to “acquire a tranquil, convinced, and free choice of the grave responsibilities which [they] must assume in conscience before God and the Church.”314

311 SM, Part I. For a scholarly introduction to Mary and men under the aspect of man’s constitutive freedom, see Stefano de Fiores, “Maria,” in Nuevo Diccionario de Espiritualidad, ed. Stefano de Fiores, Tullo Goffi, and Augusto Guerra (Madrid: Ediciones Paulinas, 1991), 1168-69. 312 Rom 8:21. 313 Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, §17, December 7, 1965, in AAS 58 (1966): 1037-38. English translation in Austin Flannery, gen. ed., Vatican Council II: The Basic Sixteen Documents (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996), 179. Hereafter “GS.” GS continues in the same paragraph, “For God has willed that man remain ‘under the control of his own decisions,’ so that he can seek his Creator spontaneously, and come freely to utter and blissful perfection through loyalty to Him. Hence, man’s dignity demands that he act according to a knowing and free choice that is personally motivated and prompted from within, not under blind internal impulse nor by a mere external pressure. Man achieves such dignity when, emancipating himself from all captivity to passion, he pursues his goal in a spontaneous choice of what is good, and procures for himself through effective and skillful action, apt helps to that end.” Certainly, cultivating an awareness of the Marian free presence and cooperating with the Marian mission constitute an important, essential help in the cultivation of an authentic human freedom ordered not to the merely apparent good, but the true Good, God. 314 Sacerdotalis Caelibatus, §69.

109 While ecclesiastical law of the Latin Church obliges celibacy, seminarians in the discipleship stage, seeking affective maturity in the integrity of their personhood, ought to arrive at a mature understanding of priestly celibacy as a free response.315 Through human formation in the discipleship stage, seminarians discover, “Freedom is given to us not only for self-affirmation, but also for self-giving in love. We grow and develop by freely choosing to commit ourselves to different personal and community involvements, and by accepting all the responsibilities which these commitments bring with them. This is especially so in relation to celibacy.”316 The virginal presence of Mary, inciting the Marian virtue of virginal purity in priestly candidates, witnesses to these men in the discipleship stage the fecundity of a complete gift of self to God and inspires a manly pursuit after the virtue of chastity.317 Mary’s virginal presence, moreover, affirms the

315 CIC/83, c. 277, §1 states not only the ecclesiastical law, but also the theological and pastoral motivation for clerical celibacy, legislating, “Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven and therefore are bound to celibacy, which is a special gift of God by which sacred ministers can adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart and are able to dedicate themselves more freely to the service of God and humanity.” 316 Thomas McGovern, Priestly Celibacy Today (Princeton, NJ: Scepter, 1998), 158. In his treatment of the history and charism of priestly celibacy, member Fr. Thomas McGovern not only defends the authority of magisterial teaching on the Latin Church’s discipline of clerical celibacy, but argues that “there are also elements specific to the minister of Christ which justify and authenticate priestly celibacy in view of his function as mediator acting in persona Christi, and of his spousal love for the Church which springs from his sacramental identification with the Eternal High Priest” (225). According to McGovern’s position, heavily building upon the theological considerations of John Paul II, priestly celibacy emerges not merely within a historical context or as a continuation of the ritual purity of the Levitical priesthood of the Old Testament, but rather as a manifestation of the Lord’s own chaste celibacy and the spousal relationship between priests of the New Testament and the Church. For a rare, contemporary assessment of the priest as spouse in relation to clerical celibacy, see Thomas McGovern, “The Spousal Dimension of the Priesthood,” National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 3 (2003): 95-110 where McGovern further hones his argument thus: “Following Christ, the Church as Bride is the only woman the priest can be wedded to. He has to love her with an exclusive, sacrificial love which results in all the fruitfulness of spiritual paternity. For the priest, Christ is the source, the measure, and the impetus of his love for the Spouse and his service to the Body. The demands of such a love clearly suggest the incompatibility of any other nuptial commitment on the part of the priest, giving rise to the most compelling reason for the celibacy of the priesthood” (97). 317 RM, §43. See also the development of the virginal presence of Mary evinced in the Word of God in the study of Tommaso Turi who underscores the anthropological

110 goodness of both marriage and celibacy in the Virgin Mary, perpetual virgin while also true spouse of St. Joseph.318 Correcting some seminarians’ negative attitudes towards marriage or fears of wedded life, the virginal presence of the Theotokos reminds seminarians that the celibacy proper to the ministerial priesthood orders the whole of priestly life to selfless service and dedication in view of man’s perfect beatitude where “they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”319 The significance of the virginal presence as indicative of Mary’s complete, whole and entire, consecration to God that enjoys a divine fecundity by grace. Turi, “Preseneza,” 1004. Preacher of the Papal Household Fr. further comments on Mary’s virginal presence, underscoring the primacy of the divine and the eschatological and ecclesiological significance of Mary’s virginity, teaching, “Mary did not ‘find favor with God’ because she was a virgin; she was a virgin because she had found favor with God, and she was chosen so that through her the beginnings of the Kingdom on earth would be uncontaminated. Certainly Mary responded perfectly, with absolute faith, to the call to virginity. She accepted all of its consequences joyfully and without discussion, saying: ‘Here I am!’ She thus became the model for all the countless hosts of young men and women who, through the centuries, were to receive the same call to be ‘virgins and mother,’ ‘virgins and fathers.’” Raniero Cantalamessa, Virginity: A Positive Approach to Celibacy for the Sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, trans. Charles Serignat (Staten Island, NY: Society of St. Paul, 1995), 91. Furthermore, for the relation between purity as a grace and the gift of wisdom, see Pope John Paul II’s General Audience of March 18, 1981 in : Human Love in the Divine Plan (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 1997), 209 where Pope John Paul II elaborates, “The virtue [of purity] is in the service of wisdom, and wisdom is a preparation to receive the gift that comes from God. This gift strengthens the virtue and makes it possible to enjoy, in wisdom, the fruits of a behavior and life that are pure.” 318 Dominican Fr. J.H. Nicolas expresses the beauty of Mary’s virginity in relation to both marriage and spiritual fecundity, writing in La Virginité de Marie: Étude Théologique (Fribourg: Éditions Universitaires,1962), 83, “La grandeur et la beauté de la virginité ne réclament aucunement que soit déprécié le mariage et méprisé l’amour humain. Elle affirme son excellence sans détriment pour les autres valeurs nécessaires, même quand elle se fait préférer … L’image lumineuse de cette Femme bénie, qui par les voies de la virginité parfait a été conduit à la plus haute et la plus complète des maternités, est bien faite pour révéler à l’humanité le sens vrai de la virginité, qui n’est pas mutilation et rétrécissement, mais au contraire valeur positive et épanouissement.” 319 Mt 22:30. Pius XII strongly rebukes a false understanding of the Marian virtue of virginity, arguing, “Here also it must be added, as the Fathers and Doctors of the Church have clearly taught, that virginity is not a Christian virtue unless we embrace it ‘for the kingdom of heaven;’ that is, unless we take up this way of life precisely to be able to devote ourselves more freely to divine things to attain heaven more surely, and with skillful efforts to lead others more readily to the kingdom of heaven. Those therefore, who do not marry because of exaggerated self-interest, or because, as Augustine says, they shun the burdens of marriage or because like Pharisees they proudly flaunt their

111 virginal purity of the Mother of God, moreover, not only summons these seminarians “to meditate on the virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary: [but further still] with absolute confidence to fly to her…”320 In the human formation proper to the discipleship stage, the Ratio/16 recommends the utilization of all suitable means “to educate the person in the truth of his being, in freedom and in self- control … to overcome all kinds of individualism, and to foster the sincere gift of self, opening him to generous dedication to others.”321 The means envisioned as advantageous to this personality formation indicative of affective maturity include all those ordinary activities of a mature lifestyle such as physical activity, leisure, social and cultural opportunities, and even the professional help of mental health experts who maintain a Christian anthropology.322 physical integrity, an attitude which has been condemned by the Council of Gangra lest men and women renounce marriage as though it were something despicable instead of because virginity is something beautiful and holy, - none of these can claim for themselves the honor of Christian virginity.” Pius XII, Encyclical on Consecrated Virginity, Sacra Virginitas, §§12-13, March 25, 1954, in AAS 46 (1954): 164-65. English translation in On Holy Virginity (Washington, DC: National Catholic Welfare Conference, 1954), 3-4. Although more than 50 years old, Pius XII’s correction of a false understanding of the Christian virtue of virginity remains timeless and a truth that must be communicated to seminarians for a healthy living of the chaste, celibate vocation. The priestly vocation is not for men fearing, running from, or despising the married vocation, but rather those called to make a loving, joyful, free gift of themselves, body and soul, for love of God and souls. See, albeit dated yet continually relevant, Max Kassiepe, Priestly Beatitudes: Retreat Sermons, trans. A. Simon (St. Louis, MO: Herder, 1952), 54: “We simply cannot ignore half of the human race. Hence it is important that from the very outset we take the correct point of view toward women, and from this point of view regulate our whole conduct in conformity with the principles of faith and reason.” 320 Sacra Virginitas, §66. 321 Ratio/16, §63. 322 Although somewhat developed here, the basic description given by the Ratio/16 of the means of human formation at this stage can be found in Ratio/16, §63. For the selection of mental health experts to assist in the human formation of seminarians, see Congregation for Catholic Education, Guidelines for the Use of Psychology in the Admission and Formation of Candidates for the Priesthood, §6, June 29, 2008. English translation in Origins 38, no. 23 (2008): 357-62. These Guidelines emphasize, “Therefore, it must be borne in mind that these experts, as well as being distinguished for their sound human and spiritual maturity, must be inspired by an anthropology that openly shares the Christian vision about the human person, sexuality, as well as the vocation to the priesthood and celibacy. In this way, their interventions may take into account the mystery of man in his personal dialogue with God, according to the vision of the Church” (360). Rectors and priestly formators could be greatly helped

112 3.2.2 Spiritual Formation

The Ratio/16 succinctly expresses the spiritual formation that occurs during the discipleship stage as “growth of the spiritual life.”323 Advancing the introduction to the spiritual life proper to the propaedeutic stage, the spiritual formation of the discipleship stage centrally focuses on hearing the Lord’s call, living in the Lord’s presence, and remaining faithful to the Lord with the assistance of divine grace. The Ratio/16 draws attention to the importance of the cultivation of the presence of God during the discipleship stage as constitutive of the life of a disciple of Jesus.324 Through spiritual direction and the augmentation of the spiritual life, seminarians in the discipleship stage foster an awareness of God’s presence in all the circumstances and events of life, originating in the sacramental life and being intensely fostered during dedicated times of communal and private prayer. Assisting in this awareness of the divine omnipresence, The Catechism of the Catholic Church identifies the presence of God as constitutive of all , whether communal or private, mental or vocal, teaching, “They all have one basic trait in common: composure of heart. This vigilance in keeping the Word and dwelling in the presence of God makes these three expressions intense times in the life of prayer.”325 Spiritual formation, therefore, seeks in the discipleship stage to attune seminarians to God’s presence in all times and at all places.326 in this selection by the compilation of a list of such qualified professionals by the respective episcopal conference. 323 Ratio/16, §64. 324 Ratio/16, §64. 325 CCC, 2699. 326 In his well-known reflection on aids to priestly sanctity on the occasion of his fiftieth anniversary of priestly ordination, soberly condemns the error that the cultivation of meditation in initial and ongoing priestly formation is in vain or deprives from other priestly duties. Pius X rather teaches, “Some of those who find ‘recollection of the heart’ a burden, or entirely neglect it, do not seek to disguise the impoverishment of soul which results from their attitude, but they try to excuse themselves on the pretext that they are completely occupied by the activity of their ministry, to the manifold benefit of others. They are gravely mistaken. For as they are unaccustomed to converse with God, their words completely lack the inspiration which comes from God when they speak to men about God or inculcate the counsels of the

113 While the divine omnipresence can be known by reason and has been revealed by faith, nonetheless contemporary seminarians may find it difficult not only to experience this presence, but to not lose track of God’s presence in the midst of a full schedule of classes and seminary activities. Discipline and perseverance in the life in the Spirit are paramount to achieve authentic growth in the spiritual life. Heavy course loads, as well as vacations, test the firmness of seminarians’ convictions to abide in the presence of the Triune God by dedicating time each day to not only vocal prayer, but also mental prayer. Mindful that the prayer of presence may at first be foreign to men entering the discipleship stage, Carmelite Br. Lawrence of the Resurrection offers an accessible, experiential presentation on the practice of the presence of God that can assist these seminarians to behold God’s omnipresence in every lecture, meal, sport’s event, outing, and Holy Hour, teaching:

During the first years, I usually spent my fixed prayer times thinking about death, judgment, Hell and Heaven, and my sins. I continued in this way for several years. But during the rest of my day, even while working, I applied myself to practicing the presence of God, whom I always considered to be so close to me that He could be found in the depths of my heart. Doing this gave me such a high esteem for God that faith alone was capable of satisfying me. Soon, without being aware of it, I found myself doing the same thing during my fixed prayer times, and this gave me great sweetness and consolation. That is how I began.327

Christian life; it is as if the message of the Gospel were practically dead in them. However distinguished for prudence and eloquence, their speech does not echo the voice of the good Shepherd which the sheep hear to their spiritual profit; it is mere sound which goes forth without fruit, and sometimes gives a pernicious example to the disgrace of religion and the scandal of the good.” Pius X, Encyclical on the Catholic Priesthood, Haerent Animo, August 4, 1908. English translation in The Popes and the Priesthood: Seven Papal Documents (St. Meinrad, IN: Abbey Press, 1963), 21. 327 Lawrence of the Resurrection, The Practice of the Presence of God, trans. Robert J. Edmonson (Brewster, MA: Paraclete, 1985), 91-92.

114

Since discipleship fundamentally concerns the following of Christ in close intimacy as Christ’s friends, the practice of the presence of God ideally suits this stage’s sustained aim of discipleship.328 The Ratio/16 concludes therefrom that spiritual formation in the discipleship stage “consolidates the identity of discipleship.”329 In the prayer of presence recommended by the Ratio/16 to be cultivated by seminarians in the discipleship stage, Mary’s spiritual presence encourages these seminarians in their prayer and affords an opportunity to introduce the practice of the presence of Mary.330 The practice of the presence of Mary invites seminarians

328 The Catechism of the Catholic Church suggests the centrality of the presence of God in the spiritual life, teaching: “Prayer is the life of the new heart. It ought to animate us at every moment. But we tend to forget him who is our life and our all. This is why the Fathers of the spiritual life in the Deuteronomic and prophetic traditions insist that prayer is a remembrance of God often awakened by the memory of the heart.” CCC, §2697. According to CCC, therefore, the practice of the presence of God or of Mary need not be unduly complicated with the composition of eloquent sermons on theological realities nor characterized by extraordinary mystical graces, but rather consists in an abiding mindfulness of the Beloved Lord and the Virgin Mother. Seminary rector and Sulpician Fr. Robert F. Leavitt argues in support of this cultivation of the divine omnipresence communally in seminary and individually in seminarians’ lives, arguing, “Nothing would seem more obvious than for the seminary to do everything possible to cultivate a ‘lively’ sense of God and the divine. The priest, after all, is called a man of God. The world of divine mystery and activity is supposed to be real to him, not naively real or ideologically real, but sacramentally, ontologically, and linguistically real. This remains a major challenge in seminary formation.” Robert F. Leavitt, “The Formation of Priests for a New Century: Theological and Spiritual Challenges,” Seminary Journal 8, no. 2 (2002): 13. The practice of the presence of God and the practice of the presence of Mary offer a fresh approach to this difficulty. 329 Ratio/16, §64. 330 The practice of the presence of God must necessarily and essentially be distinguished from the practice of the presence of Mary. While both practices of the spiritual life concern the awareness of presence, the former concerns the divine omnipresence and the latter the presence of the human person of Mary entirely subject to and ordered towards the divine will. The author opines, however, that by furthering the practice of the presence of Mary the seminarian will likewise grow in the practice of the presence of God. In returning to the spiritual presence of Mary, first introduced in the spiritual formation of the propaedeutic stage, the author wills to further apply with the practice of the presence of Mary the personal characteristic of Mary’s spiritual presence developed by Tommaso Turi as “non è una vaga e generica presenza spirituale ma è, invece, una presenza personale che tocca le più importanti capitali della ‘vita interiore,’ che convergono verso l’intimo della coscienza e il suo trascendimento estatico.” Turi, “Presenza,” in Mariologia, 1003.

115 to learn to pray “in communion with the Virgin Mary, to magnify with her the great things the Lord has done for her, and to entrust supplications and praises to her.”331 Unlike other Marian devotions, the practice of the presence of Mary, significantly developed by Flemish Carmelite Michael of St. Augustine as the Mary-form life and later augmented and popularized by St. Louis- Marie Grignion de Montfort, nourishes a greater interiority in these seminarians without the unnecessary multiplication of external practices or devotions.332 The practice of the presence of Mary instead concerns an attitude of mind and heart that never departs from Mary’s spiritual presence nor seeks to act contrary to or without the assistance of this same presence of the Mother of God. Moreover, the practice of the presence of Mary affords the continual recollection of Mary’s discipleship to incite these same seminarians to embrace a life of evangelical discipleship through persevering reflection upon the Gospel presentation of discipleship in the life of Mary. Progress in the spiritual life regularly meets difficulties including distraction, aridity, and not infrequently temptations to turn back to earlier consolations and the prayer of beginners. In their struggles with prayer, men in the discipleship stage ought to turn to Mary, “the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church.”333 The prayers of Mary, inseparable from the Marian intercessory mission in accord with the Will of God, perfect the prayers of these seminarians, teaching them how to exercise the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity in the Blessed Trinity.334 Let these seminarians, wherefore, learn to live in Mary’s

331 CCC, 2682. 332 For those unfamiliar with these two prominent Marian figures who called attention to the presence and mission of Mary in the spiritual life, see Michael of St. Augustine, Life with Mary: A Treatise on the Marian Life, trans. Thomas McGinnis (New York: Scapular, 1953) and Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, ed. J. Patrick Gaffney (Bayshore, NY: Montfort, 2006). 333 CCC, 2679. 334 The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the three theological virtues, directly infused by God, “dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive, and object.” CCC, 1812. The intercessory mission of Mary, also later identified as advantageous for the intellectual formation in the discipleship stage, finds a theological, Christological defense

116 spiritual presence, benefit from Mary’s intercessory mission, and learn from Mary “to open the dimensions of prayer, not to turn to God only in times of need and to turn to him not only for ourselves, but also in a unanimous, persevering and faithful way, with ‘one heart and soul.’”335 The progress in the spiritual life summoned by the Ratio/16 for the discipleship stage, however, necessitates also the cultivation of daily communal and private times of silence.336 PDV identifies the role of silence in the fostering of the spiritual life of these seminarians, exhorting, “A necessary training in prayer in a context of noise and agitation like that of our society is an education in the deep human meaning and religious value of silence as the spiritual atmosphere vital for perceiving God’s presence and for allowing oneself to be won over by it.”337 While the seminary horarium quickly fills with classes, work, and spiritual exercises, the growth in the spiritual life envisioned by the Church for the discipleship stage requires formation in silence that in Pope Pius XII’s teaching on the Queenship of Mary: “For from her union with Christ she attains a radiant eminence transcending that of any other creature; from her union with Christ, she receives the royal right to dispose of the treasures of the Divine Redeemer’s Kingdom; from her union with Christ, finally is derived the inexhaustible efficacy of her maternal intercession before the Son and His Father.” Pius XII, Encyclical on Proclaiming the Queenship of Mary, , §39, October 11, 1954, in AAS 46 (1954): 635. English translation in Mary Our Queen (New York: Paulist, 1955), 18. 335 Benedict XVI, General Audience on March 14, 2012. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, March 21, 2012, English edition, 3. 336 Benedict XVI, Address to Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for Catholic Education, February 7, 2011. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, February 16, 2011, English edition, 5. Here Benedict XVI infers the grave importance of silence in the project of discipleship and seminary formation: “On various occasions I have emphasized that the seminary is a precious stage of life in which the candidate to the priesthood experiences being ‘a disciple of Jesus.’ This training period requires a certain detachment, a certain ‘desert,’ so that the Lord may speak to hearts with a voice that is heard if there is silence.” 337 PDV, §47. Prolific author on initial priestly formation Deacon James Keating expounds, “To move to more specificity, we need contemplation to be secured by interior silence, a silence overflowing with divine presence. Within this presence, seminarians come to know celibacy as intimacy, rather than pain-provoked ‘busy-ness.’… Without entering silence, the seminarian inadequately prepares himself to suffer the coming of God in prayer. Silence wraps the man in a habitual openness to receive what is being offered to him from God.” James Keating, “From Fantasy to Contemplation: Seminarians and Formation in a Paschal Imagination,” Nova et Vetera 16 (2018): 372.

117 closely allies with instruction in the proper use of modern means of communication and technology.338 The cultivation of silence in the souls of seminarians and in the seminary community at appropriate times advances by recalling Mary’s discreet silence. The practice of silence poses numerous challenges to contemporary seminarians, but Mary’s presence and mission present a solution. In his exploration of the role of silence in the Christian spiritual life, Robert Cardinal Sarah explicates, “By her [Mary’s] physical, prayerful, discreet presence, she engenders the Church and encourages her Son’s companions.”339 The discretion of Mary, manifest in the Marian silent presence, invites seminarians to likewise contemplate the Mystery of the Triune God dwelling in their souls by grace and to nurture this contemplative, spiritual outlook upon the world.340 Mary’s discrete presence, wherefore, proves that authentic silence does not find its merit in the want of noise, but rather in the abiding conversation between God and the soul.341 Exponent of the French School of Spirituality, Pierre de

338 The author ponders here the difficulties of cultivating silence where the television, computer, music devices, cellular communication, social media, and other forms of modern technology tempt seminarians to a continual noise and distraction making it difficult, dare-to-say impossible, to cultivate the spirit of prayer proper to Christian disciples. Seminarians in the discipleship stage must learn, with the aid of clear and balanced seminary programs and personal directives from their formators and spiritual directors, how to properly use modern means of communication and technology in such a manner that does not infringe upon life in the Spirit. Moreover, priestly formators and spiritual directors ought to be aware that when seminarians begin to practice silence maladies of soul often surface and will need sacramental healing and spiritual guidance. For an introduction to the effects of modern technology on initial priestly formation, see Christopher Ruddy, “‘What Are You Looking At?’: Screens, Faces, and the Place of Contemplation in Seminary Formation,” in Culture, Contemplation, and Seminary Formation, ed. James Keating (Omaha, NE: IPF, 2018), 75-98. 339 Robert Cardinal Sarah, The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise, trans. Michael J. Miller (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2017),116. 340 Pope John Paul II likewise considered, “Mary’s silence is not only moderation in speech, but it is especially a wise capacity for remembering and embracing in a single gaze of faith the mystery of the Word made man and the events of his earthly life. It is this silence as acceptance of the Word, this ability to meditate on the mystery of Christ, that Mary passes on to believers. In a noisy world filled with messages of all kinds, her witness enables us to appreciate a spiritually rich silence and fosters a contemplative spirit.” John Paul II, General Audience, November 22, 1995. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, November 29, 1995, English edition, 11. 341 The author elects to here write only of Mary’s discrete presence as silent, while conceding that much more can be said of Marian discretion, such as Laurentin’s general,

118 Bérulle accordingly teaches, “The silence of the Virgin is not a silence of stuttering and of helplessness. It is a silence of light and of rapture. It is a silence more eloquent in the praises of Jesus than eloquence itself.”342 The practice of silence in the discipleship stage wherefore purports to advance the life project of dwelling in intimacy with Christ, listening attentively to Jesus, and allowing Jesus to speak to the soul.343 The Lenten votive Mass of Holy Mary, Disciple of the Lord in the ordinary form likewise progresses the ecclesial vision for spiritual formation in the discipleship stage by celebrating Mary’s liturgical presence. The collect of the Mass confesses Mary’s exemplary Christian discipleship, praying, “Lord our God, through the Blessed Virgin Mary, you have shown us the example

enigmatic explication, “Generally, Mary’s presence remains the same kind of presence she had with Jesus, without splendor or exuberance, and the life of the Church at the end of her life where she did not hold any hierarchical position, but instead shone through her prayer, her intercession, her attention, and her memory…Love is discreet. Perfection is discreet and is the driving principle behind all manifestations that emerge from it, but radiance is the main attribute of these manifestations. Love itself remains inexplicable, whether divine or human love, and words and phrases fail when trying to express its essence.” Laurentin, Mary in Scripture, Liturgy, and the Catholic Tradition, 156, 158. ML, §102 likewise suggests the Marian discrete presence as unobtrusive and in common with Mary’s peers. The author wills to offer greater precision, following the lead of Cardinal Sarah in The Power of Silence, by finding in Mary’s silent presence Marian discretion that instructs in the spiritual arena on the Christian value of silence. 342 Pierre de Bérulle, “De la naissance et enfance de Jésus,” in Œuvres complètes (Paris: Migne, 1856), 989: “Ce silence de la Vierge n’est pas un silence de bégayement et d’impuissance, c’est un silence de lumières et de ravissement, c’est un silence plus éloquent, dans les louanges de Jésus, que l’éloquence même.” Earlier in the same treatment of silence, Bérulle identifies the import of silence in Mary’s life, teaching, “Her life is a life of silence, which adores the eternal Word. In seeing before her eyes, at her breast, in her arms, that same Word, the substantial Word of the Father, mute and reduced to silence by the state of his infancy, she enters into a new silence and is there transformed in the example of the incarnate Word who is her Son, her God, and her only love.” Cheslyn Jones, Geoffrey Wainwright, and Edward Yarnold, eds., The Study of Spirituality (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), 394. 343 Practicing silence affords these seminarians with an opportunity to listen to God and to neighbor, an indispensable characteristic of the biblical conception of discipleship shown in the discipleship of Mary of Nazareth. Theologian and later of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Gerhard Müller remarks, “In Mary, his [Jesus’] Mother and in other women, we find individuals and types of discipleship in general who (with deep understanding) are hearers of the word of Jesus” (emphasis original). Gerhard Müller, Priesthood and Diaconate, trans. Michael J. Miller (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2002), 114.

119 of a disciple who is faithful to the words of life; open our hearts to receive your saving word, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit it may speak to us in our daily lives and bring forth a rich harvest of holiness.”344 Seeking to develop with the help of God’s grace the Christian journey of discipleship properly contemplated in this stage, the votive Mass accordingly emphasizes the importance of attentive, open listening to the Word of God after Mary’s example to realize the universal call of holiness, both in these seminarians personally and in the lives of those to whom they will be sent to serve.345

3.2.3 Intellectual Formation

The discipleship stage, as its alternative name of “philosophical” suggests, studies under the pillar of intellectual formation a “philosophical patrimony which is perennially valid and taking into account the philosophical investigations of later ages. Account should also be taken of the more recent progress of the sciences.”346 While the Second Vatican Council envisions such an intellectual formation’s value in preparing these seminarians “for dialogue with men of their time,”347 philosophy possesses its own intrinsic value of instilling in Christ’s future priests “a love of rigorously searching for the truth and of maintaining and demonstrating it, together with an honest recognition of the limits of human knowledge.”348 Philosophical formation, ergo, purports not merely to be an intellectual pursuit confined to academic lecture and debate, but

344 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 31. The proper Preface of Mary, Disciple of the Lord, moreover celebrates the aforementioned words of St. Augustine, praying, “His Mother, the Virgin Mary in her glory, is rightly called blessed, for she received your Son in her virginal womb, but she is even more blessed because, as a disciple of the incarnate Word, she eagerly sought to know your will and faithfully carried it out.” Mary’s missionary discipleship, contemplating the words of Incarnate Wisdom and then fulfilling God’s Will in action, thus receives liturgical prominence in the praying Christian community. 345 For the central conciliar presentation of the universal call to holiness, see LG, §§39-42. 346 OT, §15. 347 OT, §15. 348 OT, §15.

120 rather to have a real relationship to the struggles of contemporary life and the questions facing man.349 The study of the philosophical sciences “seeks to enable them to enter into fruitful dialogue with the contemporary world, and to uphold the truth of faith by the light of reason, thereby revealing its beauty.”350 Thus, philosophy equips future priests to discourse with modern society and to lead their brothers and sisters into the fullness of truth concerning God, humanity, and all of creation, “to detect the roots of errors and to refute them.”351 The Congregation for Catholic Education in its

349 See OT, §15 that affirms, “Attention must be carefully drawn to the necessary connection between philosophy and the true problems of life, as well as the questions which preoccupy the minds of the students.” See also John Paul II’s affirmation of the importance of an intellectual formation in perennial philosophy “for those who one day, in their pastoral life, will have to address the aspirations of the contemporary world and understand the causes of certain behavior in order to respond in appropriate ways.” Fides et Ratio, §60. Here John Paul II makes his own not only the aforesaid teaching of OT, but also the position of the Congregation for Catholic Education, The Study of Philosophy in Seminaries, March 16, 1972, English translation in Origins 1, no. 39 (1972): 658, namely, “Philosophy is also irreplaceable for the encounter and dialogue between believers and unbelievers. In this regard, philosophy has a very evident pastoral value. It is, therefore, inadmissible that a Catholic priest, called to exercise his ministry in the midst of a pluralistic society where fundamental philosophical problems are being debated through all the means of social communication and on every cultural level, should be unable to engage in an intelligent exchange of views with non-Christians on the fundamental questions which are close to his own personal faith and which are the problems most agitating the world.” 350 Ratio/16, §116. 351 OT, §15. For a powerful defense of philosophy in initial priestly formation, see Congregation for Catholic Education’s 1972 affirmation in The Study of Philosophy in Seminaries, 657 where the Congregation argues, albeit lengthy, “Even though the obstacles which today militate against the teaching of philosophy are many and difficult, it is hard to see how philosophy can be undervalued or simply suppressed in a process of formation toward a true and authentic humanism, and especially in view of the mission of the priesthood. Indeed, a desire to give in to such tendencies would mean ignorance of all that is most genuine and deep in modern thought. There can be no doubt that most fundamental problems of philosophy are found today more than ever at the center of the anxieties of contemporary men, even to the extent of having invaded the entire field of modern culture: literature (novels, essays, poetry, etc.), the theater, the cinema, radio and television, and even song. Here are constantly evoked the eternal themes of human thought: the meaning of life and death; the meaning of good and evil: the basis of true values; the dignity and rights of the human person; the confrontation between culture and a spiritual heritage; the scandal of suffering, injustice, oppression, and violence; the nature and the law of love; the order and disorder in nature; the problems of education, authority, and freedom; the meaning of history and progress; the mystery of the transcendent; and, finally, at the depth of all these problems, God, his existence, his personal characteristics, and his providence.”

121 letter The Study of Philosophy in Seminaries asserts that the study of perennial philosophy establishes “a solid base for the study of theology … setting down the necessary premises for a fruitful encounter between the Church and the world, faith and science, and the spiritual patrimony of Christianity with modern culture.”352 Likewise, the error of placing such an exaggerated confidence in philosophy that usurps the loving and merciful gift of God’s self-revelation in the Person of Jesus Christ must be avoided. Instead, let those responsible for philosophical formation clearly highlight the abundant and multifaceted “links between the subject-matter of philosophy and the mysteries of salvation which are considered in theology under the higher light of faith.”353 Mary, known by faith and studied in the discipleship stage by reason, presents to these seminarians “the woman who, through her self- control, her sense of responsibility, her openness to others and to the spirit of service, her strength and her love, is the most completely realized on the human level.”354 Moreover, Mary’s intercessory mission achieves this right ordering of faith and reason wherein the Virgin Mother of God, whose consent made possible Incarnate Wisdom in the humanity of Jesus Christ, intercedes “that we may not seek the wisdom of the proud, but with humility treasure your revealed wisdom.”355 Mary’s mission of interceding makes it possible for seminarians in the discipleship stage to, like Mary, receive, safeguard, and proclaim with humility and love the divine truths.356 In order to better realize the

352 Congregation for Catholic Education, The Study of Philosophy in Seminaries, 655. 353 OT, §15. 354 ISF, 15. 355 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 198. 356 Wherefore the Preface of Mary, Seat of Wisdom prays, “Wisdom built himself a house in the chaste womb of the Virgin Mary, the Creator of time came to be born in this world of time, so that as the new he might undo the ancient inheritance of sin and renew us in his own resplendent image.” Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 108. For a defense of Mary’s intercessory mission in the life of the Church and its members, see RM, §40 where Pope John Paul II succinctly states, “After her Son’s departure, her motherhood remains in the church as maternal mediation: interceding for all her children, the Mother cooperates in the saving work of her Son, the Redeemer of the world.” Broadening the scope of intercession beyond the customary supplications for miracles or virtues, LG, §62 upholds that in the mystery of the Assumption Mary’s “constant intercession continued to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. By her maternal

122 intellectually demanding and stimulating labor of the discipleship stage, Mary’s intercessory mission impresses Pope John Paul II’s assertation that “between the vocation of the Blessed Virgin and the vocation of true philosophy there is a deep harmony.”357 The studies of the philosophical sciences in the intellectual formation of the discipleship stage benefit from an unceasing reference to Mary of Nazareth whose love of the truth finds concrete expression in receptivity, earnest pursuit of the divine, and contemplative wonder.358 charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into the happiness of their true home.” 357 Fides et Ratio, §108. Pope John Paul II further explicates his assertion: “Just as the virgin was called to offer herself entirely as human being and as woman that God’s Word might take flesh and come among us, so too philosophy is called to offer its rational and critical resources that theology, as the understanding of faith, may be fruitful and creative” (108). The author confesses that this connection between Mary of Nazareth and philosophy is not always immediately obvious, since “philosophers are usually associated with human reason, while Mary is usually associated with theologians, revelation, and faith.” Prudence Allen, “Mary and the Vocation of Philosophers,” in The Vocation of the Catholic Philosopher: From Maritain to John Paul II, ed. John P. Hittinger (Washington, DC: American Maritain Association, 2010), 51. By introducing Marian presence and mission into philosophical formation, the author argues that Mary bridges the lamentable division between faith and reason, theology and philosophy. In analyzing the concluding paragraph of Fides et Ratio, Bishop André- Mutien Léonard likewise posits the connection between Mary and God, reason and faith, arguing, “La Vierge Marie, en effet, a beaucoup gagné en s’ouvrant à l’appel sa dignité, il amplifia à l’infini sa liberté. De même, la philosophie n’a rien à perdre de son autonomie en accueillant les appels qui lui viennent de la Révélation.” André-Mutien Léonard, “Un guide de lecture pour l’encyclique Fides et Ratio,” in Foi et Raison (Saint-Maur: Parole et Silence, 1998), 73. 358 Jesuit Fr. David Vincent Meconi develops the medieval axiom, attributed to Odo of Canterbury (†1200), and found in Veritatis Splendor, §108 “to philosophari in Maria” writing, “Mary exemplifies philosophy’s initial task to receive reality and not manipulate it. Unlike some Baconian mastery or Cartesian orchestration of the world, Mary symbolizes the awe of standing before a reality wholly independent of the human mind. As Seat of Wisdom, she symbolizes the philosopher’s primordial vocation to receive that which is” (emphasis original). David Vincent Meconi, “Philosophari in Maria,” 71. Meconi provocatively later asserts, “The human search for meaning does have a face, a human face. It is not the face of a monk or a scholar, it is not even the face of an angelic doctor; it is the face of a mother, the Virgin of Nazareth. Mary beckons all humans to know the truth of things: to open themselves up to what is, to give themselves to the direction of the Divine, and to rest in the loving knowledge of God. In this, Mary becomes, for all who yearn to know, the perfect model of created wisdom” (87). For Odo of Canterbury’s presentation of Mary as the philosophy of Christians in its original, homiletic context, see Odo of Canterbury, The Latin Sermons of Odo of Canterbury, ed. Charles de Clercq and Raymond Macken (Brussel: AWLSK, 1983), 138

123 The intellectual formation of the discipleship stage particularly ambitions to arrive at “an anthropology which safeguards the authentic spirituality of man, leading to a theocentric ethic, transcending earthly life, and at the same time open to the social dimension of man.”359 In the course of philosophical study of the human person who has a divine origin and whose final end is eternal beatitude, as well as the ethics of the human act, the human person of Mary of Nazareth provides a permanent presence, embodying the full import of a human person who exercises her freedom in pristine accord with reason and in view of her eternal destiny, acting with the perfection of virtue wherein the emotions are subject to reason and in whom there is neither sin nor vice.360 While the respective methodologies resultant from the material and formal objects of the philosophical and theological sciences ought not to be confused, nonetheless the human person and the morality of his acts are often best known by having recourse to examples of which none is better suited than the where Odo suggests, “Ecce qualiter philosophati sumus in Maria, quae dicitur ‘christianorum philosophia.’” 359 Congregation for Catholic Education, The Study of Philosophy in Seminaries, 659. By highlighting the pedagogical merit of the philosophical study of man, the author does not wish to downplay the great value and merit likewise of the philosophical study of God known by reason, nor of all being whether animate or inanimate, each of which is an essential science within the philosophical curriculum and closely and inseparably interrelated. 360 The author here calls to mind the wisdom that “philosophy and the contribution it has to make can best be understood when philosophy is viewed as man’s continuing effort to grasp reflectively his vocation as a person” (emphasis original). Robert O. Johann, “Philosophy in the Seminary Curriculum,” in Seminary Education in a Time of Change, ed. James Michael Lee and Louis J. Putz (Notre Dame, IN: Fides, 1965), 464. ISF, §21 asserts the value of Mary’s permanent presence since “in Mary everything is referable to the human race, in all times and all places. She has a universal and permanent value … Because she is the ‘perfect follower of Christ’ and the woman most completely realized as a person, she is a perennial source of fruitful inspiration.” Noteworthy here is the connection between the anthropological study of Mary as truly human and the link to Mary’s discipleship, a reoccurring theme throughout all four pillars of the discipleship stage. Additionally, by considering the sinless Virgin of Nazareth, any temptation to think that to sin is to be human can be mercifully corrected in these seminarians, again returning to the theme of man’s freedom and obedience to the natural, divine, and positive laws exemplified in the Divine Maternity and celebrated in the Annunciation. For the development of the permanent presence of Mary within a theological framework, particularly ecclesiological and ecumenical, see RM, §31 where Pope John Paul II introduces the permanent presence of Mary of Nazareth.

124 Virgin of Galilee.361 The Annunciation at Nazareth, ergo, emerges as the definitive, supernatural response to “all the different ways in which humanity has always sought to answer the fundamental and definitive questions which most beset it.”362 Herein the historical human person of Mary of Nazareth reveals herself, as Pope Benedict XVI posits, as the “‘nexus mysteriorum’ [indicative] of the close connection between the mysteries of the Christian faith, which the Council pointed out as the horizon for understanding the individual elements and the diverse affirmations of the patrimony of the Catholic faith.”363 Without negating the essential and real importance of philosophical study during the discipleship stage, the Ratio/16 likewise reminds that “study, important though it be, is but one aspect of integral formation in preparation for priesthood, even if it is by no means secondary.”364 Although the Divine Maternity remains eternally incomprehensible and knowable only by faith, nonetheless God’s definitive act of perfect redemption essentially includes Mary of Nazareth, a historical human woman knowable in her humanity by reason. When studying the human person’s

361 This suggestion in no way seeks to militate against the sage and practical counsel of the Congregation for Catholic Education: “An excessive mixing of philosophical and theological subjects – or, indeed, of subjects of another sort – ends up giving the students a defective formation in the respective intellectual ‘habitus,’ and introduces confusion between the methodologies of the various subjects and their specific epistemological configurations.” Congregation for Catholic Education, Decree on the Reform of Ecclesiastical Studies of Philosophy, §15b, January 28, 2011, in AAS 103 (2011): 152. English translation at Libreria Editrice Vaticana, http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/documents/rc_con_ccathed uc_doc_20110128_dec-rif-filosofia_en.html. Instead, the author concurs with the admonition of the Congregation for Catholic Education, all the while contemplating a manner in which the historical woman of Mary illumines the philosophical study of man and his acts without creating an occasion of “excessive mixing.” 362 MD, §3. Further reflecting upon Mary’s permanent presence, that he further identifies as universal to signify its import for all men and women in all times and places, Marian scholar René Laurentin explains, “Mary’s presence is permanent and universal in the sense that nothing is outside of her grasp, as she participates in the divine life at the heart of her commitment to humankind. More specifically, nothing is beyond her, neither at the time of salvation, nor in the work of salvation where God has involved her from the start: the incarnation. Thus she is the starting point in the communion of God and humanity.” Laurentin, Mary in Scripture, Liturgy, and the Catholic Tradition, 151. 363 Benedict XVI, Address to Participants in the 23rd International Mariological Marian Congress, 5. 364 Ratio/16, §118.

125 extramental reality, his faculties, his acts, his causality, Mary illumines “the problems connected with the meaning and dignity of being a woman and being a man.”365 Pope John Paul II wherefore affirms the value of Mary in intellectual formation of the discipleship stage: “[T]hrough her response of faith, Mary exercises her free will and thus fully shares with her personal feminine ‘I’ in the event of the Incarnation.”366

3.2.4 Pastoral Formation

The pedagogy begun in the propaedeutic stage continues and intensifies in the discipleship stage in the area of pastoral formation with the singular purpose of advancing pastoral charity, namely enabling these seminarians “to demonstrate that same compassion, generosity, love for all, especially the poor, and zeal for the Kingdom that characterized the public ministry of the Son of God.”367 Closely allied to the corresponding human, spiritual, and intellectual formation of the discipleship stage, pastoral formation likewise concerns the self-recognition and fortification of each seminarian into “a group leader and to be present as a man of communion. He will do so by listening and careful discernment of situations, as well as cooperating with others and encouraging their ‘ministeriality.’”368 The cultivation of leadership skills in

365 MD, §4. 366 MD, §4. 367 Ratio/16, §119. For an interesting presentation of the distinction between the overarching term “pastoral formation” and one of its components “pastoral experience,” see Vincent Logan, “An Overview of Priestly Formation,” in The Formation Journey of the Priest: Exploring “Pastores Dabo Vobis,” ed. Bede McGregor and Thomas Norris (Dublin: Columba, 1994), 188-95 where Bishop Logan attempts to clarify, “Pastoral formation is all about the forming of pastoral attitudes. The living out of the college’s [seminary’s] day to day program of activities (prayer, liturgy, studies in class and on one’s own, relationships, cooperation, community life, etc.) is an ongoing forum for the development of pastoral attitudes. In addition, there is the formal course in pastoral studies, undertaken by the Pastoral Director or the equivalent” (192-3). OT, §19 identifies some of these pastoral experiences that might be advantageously encouraged for pastoral formation in the discipleship stage. 368 Ratio/16, §119. Archbishop Charles Chaput stresses the importance of priestly leadership in diocesan priests called to be future pastors of parishes, teaching, “But the diocesan priesthood really does come with the expectation that a priest will be the leader and pastor of his community. So every priest must have at least some basic leadership

126 pastoral ministry, marked by a spirit of service, finds its model in Mary of Nazareth who at Cana first observes the deficiency of wine before acting and acts not on her own, but by sending the servants to the Divine Master.369 The leadership of Mary continues in the lives of Christian disciples, as Pope Benedict XVI implores, “Show us the way to his Kingdom! Star of the Sea, shine upon us and guide us on our way!”370 Mary as Star of the New Evangelization, thus, instructs seminarians in the discipleship stage by the example of humble leadership, deferential to the Will of God, yet aware of the needs and wants of others.371 In exercising pastoral ministry, seminarians must learn to communicate the one deposit of faith found in Scripture and Tradition that has been entrusted to the Church in “a new style of pastoral life, marked by a profound communion with the pope, the bishops and other priests, and a fruitful cooperation with the lay faithful, always skills. If a priest gives up his responsibility to lead, he always has enormous problems with the faithful—always.” Charles J. Chaput, “The Priest as Pastor and Guide in the Church and in Society,” in Priests—What Lies Ahead? A Dialogue of Carlos Granados with Luis F. Ladaria, , Livio Melina, and Charles J. Chaput, trans. Richard Goodyear (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2018), 167. 369 Jn 2:1-12. 370 Spe Salvi, §50. In his evaluation of Mary’s leadership, Marek Kluz adds, “Mary’s model of leadership should encourage each Christian to follow the path she followed, to imitate her and to promise to find a pattern and a model of life in the school of her example.” Marek Kluz, “Mary Is a Model of Faith and Moral Life for the Contemporary Disciples of Christ,” Person and the Challenges 8 (2018): 162. 371 Pope Paul VI hails Mary “Star of Evangelization” in Evangelii Nuntiandi, §81. Pope John Paul II makes his own this title referring to Mary as the “Star of the New Evangelization,” “the radiant dawn and sure guide for our steps.” John Paul II, Apostolic Letter at the Close of the of the Year 2000, , §58, January 6, 2001, in AAS 93 (2001): 309. English translation in Novo Millennio Ineunte (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2001), 76. Moreover, Pope Francis celebrates Mary as the “Star of the New Evangelization,” writing in Evangelii Gaudium, §287, “Today we look to her and ask her to help us proclaim the message of salvation to all and to enable new disciples to become evangelizers in turn.” Pope Francis, later in Evangelii Gaudium, weds the type of a star to the archetype Mary in the work of evangelization, offering a blueprint of pastoral formation in the discipleship stage with a marked Marian character: “Star of the new evangelization, help us to bear radiant witness to communion, service, ardent and generous faith, justice and love of the poor, that the joy of the Gospel may reach to the ends of the earth, illuminating even the fringes of our world” (§287). For a more comprehensive presentation of the origins of the invocation of Mary as “Star of the New Evangelization” and the connection between Mary and evangelization, see Christopher Gillespie, “The Role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the New Evangelization in the Writings of Blessed John Paul II,” Marian Studies 64 (2013): 171-97.

127 respecting and fostering the different roles, charisms and ministries present within the ecclesial community.”372 During the discipleship stage, wherein seminarians learn to sit at the Lord’s feet in attentive prayer and hear the Lord’s invitation to mission, the Ratio/16 exhorts the practice of active listening in pastoral ministry.373 The Ratio/16 expounds the importance and characteristics of active listening thus:

To make pastoral discernment effective, the evangelical style of listening must take central place. This frees the pastor from the temptation to abstraction to self-promotion, to excessive self- assurance, and to that aloofness, that would make him a “spiritual accountant” instead of a “good Samaritan.” He who sets himself to listen to God and to his brothers and sisters knows that it is the Spirit who guides the Church towards the fullness of truth. He also knows that, in keeping with the mystery of the Incarnation, this fullness of truth sprouts gradually in the real life of a human being and in the signs of history. In this way, the pastor will learn to leave behind his preconceived certainties, and will not think of his ministry as a series of things to be done or norms to be applied, but will make his life a

372 PDV, §18. 373 Redemptorist Fr. Dennis J. Billy introduces the connection between the aforesaid spiritual formation of the discipleship stage and the discipleship stage’s closely related pastoral formation in the area of listening by suggesting, “Passive reception is an ascetical practice that requires openness to others and a willingness to simply be in another’s presence. It requires patience and longsuffering, the kind that is willing to suffer the tediousness of the present moment for the sake of a higher good.” Dennis J. Billy, “Spiritual Direction at the Art of Active Listening,” Seminary Journal 19, no. 1 (2013): 24. The author also calls to mind here the admonition of Pope Francis that makes the Marian reference explicit, referring to the Church’s evangelizing mission in the modern world into which these seminarians are called: “This interplay of justice and tenderness, of contemplation and concern for others, is what makes the ecclesial community look to Mary as a model of evangelization.” Evangelii Gaudium, §288.

128 “place” for listening openly to God and to his brothers and sisters.374

Listening to the joys and sorrows of others can be exhausting and burdensome, yet Mary’s attentiveness to the Lord as God’s servant suggests a model of self-denial, mortification, and ultimately charity that looks outside oneself and to the other.375 Pastoral formation, therefore, becomes much more than merely corporal works of mercy, emerging instead as the entrance into relationships with others wherein those served are “welcomed as a person, with a story, his heart rich feelings and thoughts, so that he may truly feel like he is among family.”376 The school of Mary makes this fully human pastoral ministry possible, seeking to enter into the depths of Mary’s virtues, particularly a charity that turns outward, as recalled in the biblical accounts of the Visitation, Wedding at Cana, and Calvary. Experiencing Marian discipleship, seminarians embrace pastoral “ministry with a disposition of serene openness, and attentive accompaniment in all situations, even those that are most complex, showing the beauty and demands of the Gospel truth, without falling into legalistic or rigorist obsessions.”377 Through this paternal, loving outlook, seminarians in the discipleship stage manifest to all those they minister the maternal face of the Church inseparable from the maternity of Mary of Nazareth, the Mother of Jesus and spiritual mother of all humanity. Finally, the integrity of formation ought to be highlighted by slowly introducing men in the discipleship stage to exercising pastoral care to those who do not yet profess the Catholic faith

374 Ratio/16, §120. 375 Lk 1:38. Undeniably, listening is a skill that must be acquired through practice. Through repeated efforts at active listening, these seminarians become better listeners and thereby more effective future spiritual directors and pastors of souls. Again, seminarians become better listeners by first seeking to grow in the spiritual life themselves, particularly contemplative prayer by which they learn to listen to the Lord. Accordingly, active listening, born from lives of prayer and returned as a gift to God’s people who have given seminarians a gift in these shared experiences and encounters, enriches the whole of the Christian life. 376 Francis, Angelus, July 17, 2016. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, July 22, 2016, English edition, 12. 377 Ratio/16, §120.

129 through the pastoral works of evangelization and catechesis.378 Animated by a love of the Church through, in, and with whom these men discern the ministerial priesthood, seminarians in the discipleship stage ought to begin to experience the joys and struggles of pastoral action that extends beyond the confines of the faithful and even the baptized.379 Mary presents an opportunity for ecumenical convergence and dialogue with the contemporary world wherein maternity holds a permanent value and the Divine Maternity, professed by faith, identifies Mary’s unique mission of becoming the Mother of the God-Man, Jesus Christ.380 The uniqueness of Mary’s mission dogmatically professed in the Divine Maternity reveals man to man.381 In Mary’s free consent at

378 PDV situates pastoral formation within the Church’s evangelizing mission, positing, “The formation of future priests, both diocesan and religious, and lifelong assiduous care for their personal sanctification in the ministry and for the constant updating of their pastoral commitment, is considered by the Church one of the most demanding and important tasks for the future of the evangelization of humanity” (§2). 379 Directly addressing some of the pastoral hardships to be discovered by seminarians in the discipleship stage, PDV, §51 acknowledges, “The present situation is heavily marked by religious indifference, by a widespread mistrust regarding the real capacity of reason to reach objective and universal truth, and by fresh problems and questions brought up by scientific and technological discoveries.” 380 ML, 102: “[T]he Theotokos – her characteristics, her role, her values – constitute a unique event in the history of salvation.” For some sage guidelines in dialoguing with other Christians about Mary, see Francis Cardinal Arinze’s suggestions in Marian Veneration: Firm Foundations (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2017), 97-105 where the Cardinal emphasizes the place of Scripture, honest familiarity with the Protestant Reformers’ original beliefs about Mary, and faithful study of magisterial teaching on Mary to avoid “polemics and argumentation to see who will win. You can win an argument and lose a friend. The goodwill of the interlocutor should be presumed” (101). 381 Commenting on the uniqueness of Mary’s mission from the perspective of the universality of the Virgin Mary’s mission in Chapter V of his Mary in Doctrine (Milwaukee: Bruce, 1954), Emile Neubert, SM, argues that Mary’s mission is not only singular, but in quality to all other apostolic missions because of the universality of Mary’s mission in the Church as divinely orchestrated. Neubert posits in part, “Mary has received directly from God the mission of sanctifying and saving all souls. Other apostles work under her orders; their apostolate, whether they realize it or not, is only a participation in the apostolate of Mary. Her role is one of commander-in-chief; they are the soldiers or officers of the apostolic army” (126). In The Mission of Mary (Milwaukee, WI: Bruce, 1963), Mary Annice concurs with Neubert, “The greatest mission ever assigned to woman was unquestionably that of being the Mother of God. Mary’s mission gave the whole meaning to her life. The special prerogative of her Immaculate Conception, all of her graces, the perfect use of her faculties, her family lineage—all belonged to her divinely appointed mission … The Blessed Mother’s mission also includes the ‘mothering’ of Christ’s Mystical Body” (11).

130 the Annunciation, the uniqueness of Mary’s mission accompanies contemporary men to enter “the holy space for the mysterious nuptials of the divine nature with the human, the place where the Trinity is revealed for the first time and where Mary represents the new humanity, ready to take up again, in obedient love, the dialogue of the Covenant.”382 Mary’s aforesaid permanent, discreet presences accordingly emerge through joyful proclamation and celebration, acknowledged by some as a Queen-Mother in the tradition of Judaism, a prophetic voice in the charismatic life, or, for the faithless, as an example of maternity’s nurturing, consoling, tender effects in a world often characterized by strife and division. In pastoral formation, seminarians benefit from seeking to make present Mary’s aforesaid magnanimity, common sense, and love of truth to offer both a convincing presentation of the truths known by reason and by faith, as well as an equally important credible witness of evangelical values. Wherefore, of prime importance in the success of pastoral formation during the discipleship stage is the ability of seminarians “to create new ‘spaces’ and new pastoral opportunities, to go out to meet those who do not fully share the Catholic faith, but who are nonetheless searching with good will, for a comprehensive and authentic response to their deepest questions.”383 Thus, the character formed in human formation, the graces obtained in spiritual formation, and the wisdom gleaned in intellectual formation all converge in pastoral charity that makes the charity of Christ present and witnesses to the joy of missionary discipleship after the exemplarity of Mary of Nazareth.

3.3 CONCLUSION

The Ratio/16, as the dual name of the discipleship stage suggests, purposes to form in this second stage of initial priestly formation men who are disciples of Christ Jesus, having discerned the initial call from God to follow Jesus as pastors and shepherds

382 John Paul II, Homily Closing Marian Congress, §4, September 24, 2000. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, September 27, 2000, English edition, 1. 383 Ratio/16, §121. 131 of souls in the ministerial priesthood. Accordingly, the discipleship stage devotes particular attention to the seminarian’s personal correspondence to Christ’s call to discipleship and the ensuing duties of following Jesus as an ordained priest, including the formation of a priestly personality in human formation and advancement in holiness of life in spiritual formation. Consistent with the earlier propaedeutic stage, and the later configuration and pastoral stages of initial priestly formation, the discipleship stage envisions a gradual, integrated transformation into a Christian disciple called to be a pastor of souls. At the conclusion of the discipleship stage, seminarians petition to be recognized by the Church as candidates for Holy Orders in preparation for the subsequent configuration stage of initial priestly formation. Mary’s presence and mission advance the Church’s vision for the discipleship stage and should be meritoriously recognized and fostered during the discipleship stage. Cognizant of Mary’s presence as the first and perfect disciple of Jesus Christ, Mary’s permanent, free, and discreet presence proffer Mary’s mission as maternal, intercessory, and unique while seminarians seek to advance in the human virtues of common sense, magnanimity, and love of truth. The following charts suggest how the notes of Mary’s presence and mission emerge during the four pillars of the discipleship stage and enrich the notes of Marian presence and mission previously identified in the propaedeutic stage:

MARIAN PRESENCE IN THE DISCIPLESHIP STAGE Human Spiritual Intellectual Pastoral Free Discreet Permanent Discreet First and Perfect Disciple

MARIAN MISSION IN THE DISCIPLESHIP STAGE Human Spiritual Intellectual Pastoral Maternal Intercessory Unique

In the discipleship stage, Mary’s singular vocation as the Mother of God offers seminarians a model of intentional,

132 deliberate, generous response to the primacy of God’s call as evinced in the life of Mary in the Annunciation drama. The Marian presence and mission in their multifaceted dimensions assist seminarians in the discipleship stage to persevere in their formation. Mary’s example of discipleship offers seminarians a perfect human model that they might follow their vocations to the ministerial priesthood of Jesus Christ with a courageous, selfless, joyful response in imitation of Mary’s active cooperation in becoming the biological mother of Jesus Christ and the spiritual mother of all humanity.

133 Chapter 4 Configuration Stage

The designation of the third of four stages of initial priestly formation no longer infers merely the intellectual formation proper to this period in the theological sciences, but also the harmonious formation in the pillars of human, spiritual, and pastoral towards an enduring configuration to the one Eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ.384 According to the Ratio/16, the configuration stage assumes an apt identity in wholistic formation, now aimed towards conformation “to Christ, Shepherd and Servant, so that, united to Him, he can make his life a gift of self to others.”385 In the logically sequential stage to the foregoing discipleship stage, seminarians who have discovered their identity as Christian disciples are called at this time by the Church to strive to configure, not a part, but the whole of their persons to Jesus Christ to receive at priestly ordination a share in the one priesthood of Jesus Christ, priest and victim.386

384 As was analogously mentioned in the introduction to the discipleship stage, the configuration through, with, and in Christ after which this stage receives its name and centrally concerns cannot and must not be seen as limited to this stage, but rather a lifelong pedagogical journey begun during this stage that remains continual. Ratio/16, §3 therefore instructs, “Discipleship and configuration to Christ, obviously, last throughout life. The terms ‘discipleship stage’ and ‘configuration stage’ are intended to focus attention on two moments of initial formation, on the special attention to be given to the awareness of being disciples, and on the need to understand the call to ministry and priestly life as a continuous configuration to Christ.” For a presentation of the continuity of reform in the creation of the dual name of “configuration stage” to the traditional “theological studies,” see Daniel Ols, “The Configuration of the Priest to Christ,” in Priesthood, A Greater Love: International Symposium on the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Promulgation of the Conciliar Decree “Presbyterorum Ordinis,” trans. Peter Welsh (Philadelphia: Archdiocese of Philadelphia, 1997), 79 where Ols observes, “The documents of the [Second Vatican] council constantly place the priest in relationship to Christ. One aspect of such a relationship, which will be also strongly underlined in Pastores Dabo Vobis and in the Directory for the Ministry and Life of Priests, is his ‘conformity’ to Christ.” 385 Ratio/16, §68. 386 The work of initial priestly formation, and the configuration stage more particularly, can therefore never be divorced from sacramental theology’s presentation of

134 The Ratio/16’s use of the term “configure” underscores, from the Latin root of this verb, the pedagogical journey of transformation and conformation into a man after the pattern of the Eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ. The whole of these seminarians’ persons, on the human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral levels, must now freely assume the manner of leading and serving embraced and modeled by the Lord.387 The Ratio/16 concludes therefrom that the configuration stage “will make the relationship configuration or confirmation to Christ by the indelible, sacramental seals. CCC, 1272 instructs, “Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, the person baptized is configured to Christ.” Continuing the prior work, the configuration stage seeks, therefore, to appropriate the graces of Baptism and Confirmation within the vocation to the ministerial priesthood. Moreover, CCC, §1322 turns to the indissoluble connection between Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist: “Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lord’s own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist.” In addressing whether Confirmation is necessary for the validity of the reception of Holy Orders, St. Thomas Aquinas further explains the relation between Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, teaching, “For the validity of the sacrament it is required that one who presents himself for [Holy] Orders should be capable of receiving them, and this is competent to him through Baptism; wherefore, the baptismal character is prerequisite for the validity of the sacrament, so that the sacrament of [Holy] Order[s] cannot be conferred without it. On the other hand, as congruous to the sacrament, a man is required to have every perfection whereby he becomes adapted to the exercise of [Holy] Orders, and one of these is that he be confirmed. Wherefore, the character of [Holy] Order[s] presupposes the character of Confirmation as congruous but not as necessary.” ST, III Supplement, q. 35, a. 4, trans. English Dominican Province, 2670. For the illicit reception of Holy Orders by a candidate who has not been confirmed, see CIC/83, c. 1033. Concerning the configuration to Christ freely given to those men called to the diaconate and ministerial priesthood, see CCC, 1570 and 1581 respectively. Finally, for the important distinction between sacramental character and sacramental grace, sacramentum et res and res tantum, both of which are suggested by the theological notion of “configuration,” see Ols, “Configuration of the Priest,” 79-81. Since the configuration stage concerns the initial priestly formation of those men who have not yet received the sacrament of Holy Orders, the appellation of this stage as “configuration” connotes only those ways in which men seek with the help of divine grace to be conformed to Jesus in preparation for the reception of the sacramental character and sacramental grace proper to priestly ordination. 387 In the recognition of the value of each of the four pillars of formation in the configuration stage, the Ratio/16 appears to be an application of the wisdom of Cappadocian Father St. cited in CCC, 1589 that respectively infers the four pillars of human, intellectual, spiritual, and pastoral: “We must begin by purifying ourselves before purifying others; we must be instructed to be able to instruct, become light to illuminate, draw close to God to bring him close to others, be sanctified to sanctify, lead by the hand and counsel prudently.”

135 with Christ more intimate and personal and, at the same time, will lead to an awareness and an assumption of priestly identity.”388 The configuration of seminarians to Jesus’s priesthood purports to realize St. Paul’s admonition to the Church at Rome: “For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.”389 Thus, the organic and integral, gradual pedagogy of initial priestly formation once again emerges wherein having made public their discernment of Holy Orders and having solidified their identity as Jesus’s disciples, seminarians in the configuration stage not only remain with, dwell in intimacy with, and listen to Christ, but now seek to be configured to Jesus that Christ’s ministerial priesthood might be present in them.390 While growing in the configuration stage, seminarians receive the ministries of lector and acolyte “according to the maturing of each individual candidate and at an appropriate moment in the formation program.”391 The Ratio/16 thus situates the reception of lector and acolyte as not merely steps towards Holy Orders, but true ministries corresponding to the seminarians’ configuration to the priesthood of Jesus Christ.392 Through the proclamation of the Word of God and service of the Eucharistic Lord at the Altar in the respective ministries of lector and acolyte, seminarians realize “the demands of the configuration stage to be lived more intensely.”393 Either at the end of the configuration stage or during the pastoral stage, as deemed best suited for each candidate, seminarians receive diaconal ordination and therewith entrance into the clerical state and simultaneous incardination into

388 Ratio/16, §68. 389 Rom 8:29. 390 This Pauline vision of conformation, embraced by the Church for the configuration stage, refers not only to being conformed to Christ, but also to self- abnegation and detachment from all that is not Christ: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2). 391 Ratio/16, §72. For the ecclesiastical law concerning the institution of these seminarians as lectors and acolytes, see CIC/83, c. 230, §1. 392 Whereby the Ratio/16 seeks to realize the of the ministries of lector and acolyte as ministries of service ordered that these future priests might “be better disposed for the future service of the Word and of the altar.” Ministeria Quaedam, §11. 393 Ratio/16, §72 (emphasis original).

136 a particular Church, institute of consecrated life, or society of apostolic life.394 According to the ecclesial vision of initial priestly formation proffered in the Ratio/16, seminarians assume a priestly identity insofar as they make present in their words and actions the priesthood of Jesus, a configuration possible only with the aid of sacramental grace, correspondence with the ensuing operative graces of the vocation, and a singular relationship with the Lord continuously nurtured through a virile, dynamic spiritual life.395 The humanity of these future priests becomes the aqueduct of grace for the People of God to the degree that these seminarians assiduously labor with divine assistance to be entirely conformed to Jesus.396 The Virgin of Nazareth, Mother of Priests stands as the

394 Ratio/16, §72. See CIC/83, cc. 265, 266. 395 See Malone, “On John Paul II’s Pastores Dabo Vobis,” 572 where Bishop Malone further expands on the characteristics of a priestly identity: “In the Church, the primary ingredient of a priestly identity is a close relationship with Christ. The priest is like the Church in her close relationship with Christ. Reference to Christ is the absolutely necessary key for understanding the reality of the priesthood. The priest’s relationship with Christ makes present and visible the Church’s intimate relationship with Christ. The Church, as both spouse of Christ and his fullness, is the sign of God’s presence and activity. So too, the priest is a continuation of Christ by being a living and transparent image of Christ. For this purpose, he participates in Christ’s priesthood.” 396 PDV, §43 alternatively refers to the instrumentality of the priest as a “bridge” between the Triune God and souls. Pope Benedict XVI develops this analogy of the priest as bridge to indicate the mission of all priests “to link those two realities that appear to be so separate, that is, the world of God, far from us, often unknown, to the human being and our human world. The priest’s mission is to be a mediator, a bridge that connects, and thereby to bring human beings to God, to His redemption, to His true light, to His true life.” Benedict XVI, Meeting with the Parish Priests of the Diocese of Rome, February 18, 2010. English translation at Libreria Editrice Vaticana, http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2010/february/documents/hf_ben- xvi_spe_20100218_parroci-roma.html. As a spiritual son in the cloister of the Mystical Doctor, St. John of the Cross, the author here ponders the sanjuanist teaching on purgative divine light and graces passing through the human person to either be blocked or enriched by man’s attachments or detachments respectively to the degree of personal transformation in God. Far from needing eradication, a seminarian’s humanity, history, likes and dislikes, passions, talents, and gifts all need integration in the configuration stage that the divine brilliance of the sacerdotal vocation may illumine the Church of God through him and his future priestly ministry. For the full development of the celebrated sanjuanist analogy of light and window, see John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel, in The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, trans. and ed. E. Allison Peers (London: Burns and Oates, 1964), 115-16.

137 evangelical icon of perfect configuration to Christ without hinderance and with authentic human freedom.

4.1 THE AIM OF THE CONFIGURATION STAGE

The configuration to the God-Man, Jesus Christ after which this stage aims and from which it takes its name is not, however, a configuration to only one dimension of the priesthood of Jesus, but rather to “Christ the head and shepherd, the servant and spouse of the Church.”397 This work of configuration to Christ aims to ground these future priests in a ministry of service that both builds up the Kingdom of God on earth present in the Church and labors for the salvation of souls by “becoming a sign of the love God has for each person.”398 Despite the best programs of formation and formators, the configuration envisioned by the Church ultimately arises from “the sacramental anointing of Holy Orders [wherein] the Holy Spirit configures them in a new and special way to Jesus Christ the head and shepherd; he forms and strengthens them with his pastoral charity; and he gives them an authoritative role in the

397 PDV, §3. For the theological foundation for these four notes of the priesthood of Jesus Christ, see PDV, §22. 398 Ratio/16, §40. The Catechism of the Catholic Church further describes the centrality of service in the ecclesial vision of the ministerial priesthood, teaching, “The ordained ministry or ministerial priesthood is at the service of the baptismal priesthood.” CCC, 1120. Paragraph 1551 of CCC further proclaims that the ministerial priesthood “has been instituted for the good of men and the communion of the Church.” The call to Holy Orders, wherefore, is a call to service within the Church, as a minister of the Church, for the salvation of mankind. For an understanding of the Church as the Kingdom of God, see LG, §5 that apropos celebrates the Church as “on earth, the initial budding forth of that kingdom. While it slowly grows, the Church strains toward the completed Kingdom and, with all its strength, hopes and desires to be united in glory with its King.” The Ratio/16 continues by offering a list of some of the manifestations of this radical, evangelical configuration to Jesus that the Church desires to find in these future priests and after which this stage strives: “to preach the Gospel and become an instrument of the mercy of God; to guide and give correction; to intercede and care for the spiritual life of the faithful entrusted to him; to listen and welcome, while also responding to the demands and the deep questions of our time.” Mary enjoys a singular exemplarity amongst all of humanity in realizing these essential indicators of total configuration to Jesus Christ, as each characteristic can be clearly found in the scriptural presentation of Mary.

138 Church as servants of the proclamation of the Gospel to every people and of the fullness of Christian life of all the baptized.”399 The particularly priestly formation of the configuration stage, wherefore, finds its ultimate goal in priestly ordination where the “configuration to Christ and to the Church, brought about by the Spirit, is indelible.”400 With singularity of purpose, the configuration stage intends to advance in the first place seminarians’ spiritual formation.401 While the pillars of human, intellectual, and pastoral formation likewise receive essential and important attention and augmentation in the configuration stage, the Ratio/16 envisages the human, intellectual, and pastoral maturation as a direct consequence of the primacy of spiritual formation during this stage. The Ratio/16 explains, “Gradual configuration to Christ becomes an experience which causes the sentiments and attitudes of the Son of God to arise in the life of the disciple. At the same time, it introduces the seminarian to an appreciation of the life of a priest, inspired by the desire and sustained by the capacity to offer himself for the pastoral care of the People of God.”402 Thus, all

399 PDV, §15. Speaking of the sacramental grace unique to Holy Orders, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches concerning the three priestly functions of sanctifying, teaching, and governing, “The grace of the Holy Spirit proper to this sacrament is configuration to Christ as Priest, Teacher, and Pastor, of whom the ordained is made a minister.” CCC, 1585. Directly building upon the reality of this sacramental conformation to Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI proclaims that the priest when celebrating the sacraments “never acts in the name of someone who is absent, but, rather, in the very Person of the Risen Christ, who makes himself present with his truly effective action. He really acts today and brings about what the priest would be incapable of: the consecration of the wine and bread so that they may really be the Lord’s presence, the absolution of sins. The Lord makes his own action present in the person who carries out these gestures.” Benedict XVI, General Audience, April 14, 2010. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, April 21, 2010, English edition, 15. 400 CCC, 1121. 401 Ratio/16, §69. Although speaking of the Franciscan spirituality of conformation, Dr. Patrick F. O’Connell perhaps suggests why the Ratio/16 greatly emphasizes the primacy of spiritual formation in the configuration stage by looking at the example of St. ’s configuration to Jesus: “It is not merely an external conformity, a kind of legalistic literalism, but a way both of bringing about inner conformation to Christ and of embodying that conformation outwardly.” Patrick F. O’Connell, “St. Francis of Assisi: The Spirituality of Conformation,” Spirituality Today 38 (1986): 308. 402 Ratio/16, §69.

139 maturation during the configuration stage directly arises in consequence of the configuration to the priesthood of Jesus Christ, a celibate priesthood of sacrifice and service for mankind’s salvation. The configuration stage reasons to result in the unified, gradual transformation of seminarians in both the external and internal dimensions of their persons, not solely on the level of feelings nor merely internal dispositions without external manifestations. The Ratio/16, however, recalls that during a well-founded configuration stage, animated by true accompaniment, the presentation and invitation to configure one’s whole self to Christ, Shepherd and Servant, will lead to an awareness by some seminarians that their vocations lie elsewhere or perhaps highlight the immaturity of discernment thus far. In these cases, the Ratio/16 directs the “interrupt[ion of] the journey of formation towards priestly ordination, either on his own initiative or following an authoritative intervention on the part of the formators.”403 If not before, the canonically required scrutinies provide required times for assessment to ensure that the ecclesial vision of initial priestly formation has been definitively realized in the human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral arenas.404 In accordance with the Ratio/16’s strong assertion, these ecclesial evaluations “are not merely formal and bureaucratic acts that employ standard and generic formulae, but give the authoritative assessment concerning the vocation of a specific person and its development, by those who have been authorized to do so by virtue of their office and in the name of the Church.”405 The Marian dogma of the Assumption presents to seminarians in the configuration stage the veracity and realization of the conformation of the disciple to the Divine Master.406

403 Ratio/16, §72. 404 For an exposition on the timing of these scrutinies, their requirements, and their objectives, see Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, Circular Letter on Investigating the Suitability of Candidates for Holy Orders, Entre las más delicadas, November 10, 1997. English translation in Canon Law Digest 14 (1996- 2000): 962-71. 405 Ratio/16, §204. 406 The author here follows the lead of LG, §59 that presents the Assumption within the Christological Mariology of perfect conformation to Jesus Christ: “Finally, the

140 Reflecting upon the mystery of the Assumption from the perspective of human anthropology and discipleship, Pope Paul VI declares, “It is a feast of her destiny of fullness and blessedness, of the glorification of her immaculate soul and of her virginal body, of her perfect configuration to the Risen Christ; a feast that sets before the eyes of the Church and of all mankind the image and the consoling proof of the fulfillment of their final hope, namely, that this full glorification is the destiny of all those whom Christ has made His brothers, having ‘flesh and blood in common with them.’”407 In the mystery of the into heaven, body and soul, seminarians behold their personal destinies as Christian disciples in the unending beatific vision of heaven and the resurrection of the body, but furthermore Mary’s personal triumph over sin and death by the grace of God incite the theological virtues of Mary’s faith, hope, and charity in seminarians in the configuration stage. In their individual battles with sin and the demands of seminary life and formation, including the ever-increasing self-awareness of their respective strengths and limitations, Mary’s Assumption animates seminary formation with hope and nurtures pastoral charity with the goal of saving souls that they too may one day behold the beatific vision with Mary.408

Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all guilt of original sin, on the completion of her earthly sojourn, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe, that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and the conqueror of sin and death.” 407 MC, §6. French theologian and priest, Fr. Louis Bouyer likewise reflects upon the Assumption in its ecclesial significance for the Church’s members, suggesting, “Mary, therefore, should be looked on as the living pledge of Christ’s promises to the Church: that where he is, we also shall be; then the glory given him by the Father he will give to us, as he received it. Consequently, it goes without saying that Mary’s Assumption is, by no means, a kind of apotheosis dispensing her from the common human destiny, any more than the Immaculate Conception was an abnormal privilege designed to emancipate her from the conditions of human life. But, as Mary, by the grace of redemption brought by her Son, a grace to which, in opening herself, she opened the whole of mankind, was the first to be saved, and that more perfectly than any other person, as regards sin, so she is seen as saved the first and more perfectly than anyone else, as regards death, the result of sin.” Louis Bouyer, The Seat of Wisdom: An Essay on the Place of the Virgin Mary in Christian Theology, trans. A.V. Littledale (New York: Pantheon, 1962), 202. 408 Pius XII, Apostolic Constitution Defining the Dogma of the Assumption, , §42, November 1, 1950, in AAS 42 (1950): 769. English translation in Defining the Dogma of the Assumption (Boston: St. Paul Books & Media, 1992):19. “And so we may hope that those who meditate upon the glorious example

141 The Assumption likewise can assist priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians to “be stirred up to a stronger piety toward their heavenly Mother, … [to] be moved by the desire of sharing in the unity of Jesus Christ’s Mystical Body, and of increasing their love for her who shows her motherly heart to all the members of this august body.”409 Thus, the Assumption mystery advances the essentially ecclesial nature of initial priestly formation and purposes to fill these seminarians with an awareness of the Church as not merely a human institution, but their divinely instituted loving mother who accompanies them ever closer to priestly life and ministry with Mary. The application of the Assumption of Mary in the configuration stage attempts to highlight for these seminarians and their formators both Mary’s permanent mission and the active presence of Mary in the project of initial priestly formation. First, the Assumption celebrates Mary’s entrance, body and soul, into the eternal now of God where Mary’s mission therefore cannot cease or change.410 ML links this permanent Marian mission to the Assumption where “[t]he personal intervention of the assumed one on earth looks principally, but not exclusively, at the supernatural life of her children.”411 The permanency of Mary’s mission offers a firm assurance, in a world characterized by change and transitory human relationships, of Mary’s unfailing activity and aid to seminarians who contemplate their approaching ordination with its lifelong commitment and eternal conformation to the priesthood of Jesus Christ.412 Moreover, the Assumption mystery similarly

Mary offers us may be more and more convinced of the value of a human life entirely devoted to carrying out the heavenly Father’s will and to bringing good to others.” 409 Munificentissimus Deus, §42. 410 Jean Galot, “Le Mystère de l’Assomption,” in Maria: Études sur la Sainte Vierge, vol. 7, ed. D’Hubert du Manoir (Paris: Beauchesne et ses fils, 1964), 224: “Marie est l’image de l’humanité parvenue au dernier terme de son existence, dans la condition définitive, éternelle, qui succèdera à l’histoire du monde.” 411 ML, §63. 412 The parallel drawn here between the permanency of Mary’s mission and the indelible seal of priestly ordination finds clearer expression in the catechetical confession that the sacramental character or seal of Holy Orders “remains forever in the Christian as a positive disposition for grace, a promise and guarantee of divine protection, and as a vocation to divine worship and to the service of the Church … [that] can never be repeated.” CCC, 1121.

142 underscores Mary’s related active presence in the lives of seminarians and the life of the seminary community where no one and no thing escapes the maternal solicitude of the Virgin of Nazareth.413 The active presence of Mary directly follows the veracity of Mary’s plenitude of grace according to the angelic salutation at the Annunciation; Mary enthusiastically seeks from heavenly glory to share this fullness of grace she has received from God with all of her children through faith. Configuration to Christ, however, cannot and must not become a selfish or self-seeking endeavor, but rather through seminarians’ conformation to the Lord the Church summons them to a life of service. Without this fundamental reality of Christian service realized in charity, initial priestly formation and future priestly life fail to make present the priesthood of Jesus, who assumed a human nature to his divine person “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”414 Lest seminarians err in believing that a human person cannot enter into this service of Christ, the Marian Mass of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary ought to be generously celebrated during the configuration stage.415 In the midst of the burdens of the human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation of the configuration stage, Mary’s Visitation immediately after the Annunciation to pregnant Elizabeth reinforces priestly formation for service. The collect of the votive Mass of the Visitation draws attention to

For a straightforward defense of the permanency of Mary’s mission, see ISF, §1: “[T]he promotion of knowledge, research, and piety with regard to Mary of Nazareth is not to be restricted to the Marian Year, but must be permanent since the exemplary value and the mission of the Virgin are permanent.” 413 ML, §66 also affirms, “Although her heavenly life is in the Blessed Trinity, she offers a solicitous service of love in favor of all Christ’s redeemed people.” 414 Mt 20:28. 415 While the author likewise confesses the value of the Mass of the Assumption and the Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Gate of Heaven that offer an eschatological for the configuration stage in accord with the abovementioned Marian archetype of configuration found in the mystery of the Assumption, the author here elects to prominently highlight the Mass of the Visitation to inspire seminarians to a life of ecclesial ministry in service that advances the Kingdom of God on earth. The author intentionally seeks to avoid a merely existential or idealistic configuration of these men in the configuration stage by wedding man’s perfect fulfillment in heaven with the mystery of heaven already present in seminal form in this life within the Church and sacraments.

143 union with Christ that “we too may bring Christ to others and proclaim [God’s] greatness by the praise of our lips and the holiness of our lives.”416 Configuration thereby emerges with the dual purposes of holiness of life and evangelization animated by pastoral charity. Moreover, when the configuration stage realizes the ecclesial vision of the Ratio/16, seminarians approach diaconal ordination, like Mary, a “new creation … with the dew of heavenly grace … to [bear] the fruit of salvation.”417 The joy impregnated in the votive Mass of the Visitation calls attention to the joy these seminarians pedagogically discover in making Christ present through word and deed, proclamation and sacrament, to continue the saving mission of Jesus Christ that Mary generously cooperates in and makes her own until the end of time.

4.2 MARY’S PRESENCE AND MISSION

IN THE CONFIGURATION STAGE

4.2.1 Human Formation

The Ratio/16 identifies the necessity of responsibility and commitment to arrive at the ecclesial vision of initial priestly formation in the configuration stage, particularly “in living the cardinal and theological virtues and the evangelical counsels.”418 Whereas the propaedeutic and discipleship stages envisioned human formation in the personality for the sake of identifying obstacles and inaugurating the enduring project of creating the personality of a true pastor of souls, the configuration stage seeks to unify the personalities of these seminarians within the priestly calling, solidifying all previous work within the arena of human formation in preparation for entrance into the clerical state at

416 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 8. 417 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 8. 418 Ratio/16, §69. CCC, 1834 identifies four cardinal virtues: (1) prudence; (2) justice; (3) fortitude; and (4) temperance. CCC, 1841 lists the three theological virtues: (1) faith; (2) hope; and (3) charity. CCC, 2053 lists the three evangelical counsels: (1) obedience; (2) poverty; and (3) chastity that “are inseparable from the Commandments.” 144 diaconal ordination. Herein the Marian permanent mission, introduced above, ensures the continuity of priestly formation lest the progress previously made in nurturing a priestly personality be lost through ignorance, forgetfulness, or abandon. The permanency of the mission of Mary seeks to safeguard against regression by reaffirming the continuity of initial priestly formation in a manner at once organic and measured. Under Mary’s watchful gaze, the permanent mission of the Virgin of Nazareth assists in the envisioned “gradual rereading of one’s own personal history in the light of pastoral charity, which animates, forms, and motivates the life of the priest.”419 Through the discovery of Mary’s permanent mission that originated long before entrance to seminary, seminarians can address deep seated wounds of their past lives and injured relationships, accepting responsibility for the manners in which they have historically failed to live up to the call of Christian discipleship, while likewise engaging the Marian virtues to not only seek but also bring reconciliation and healing.420 Resuming the work of human formation in the virtues enumerated in §93 of the Ratio/16, priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians ought to turn their gaze to the cultivation of right judgment. The virtue of right judgment permits seminarians to arrive at judgments with pastoral solicitude that are in accord with reason enlightened by the theological virtues. CCC presents right judgment, in juxtaposition with an erroneous judgment, as those moral decisions wherein man judges situations and events “in accordance with reason and the .”421 The virtue of right judgment, however, does not mean that seminarians become judges of their superiors, their peers, or others. Rather, the virtue of right judgment summoned forth by the Ratio/16 purposes to remind seminarians that “with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you

419 Ratio/16, §69. 420 The Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Reconciliation with its proper preface can and should be generously celebrated during this stage according to the norms of liturgical law to invite continued healing after Mary’s example and with Mary’s intercession that these seminarians might be transformed into agents of peace and healing in a sinful and divided world. See Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 42-44. 421 CCC, 1786.

145 get.”422 Configured to Jesus, seminarians in the configuration stage cultivate a right judgment that seeks to aid others from the divine perspective. PDV, §43 elaborates that through right judgment “the priest should be able to know the depths of the human heart, to perceive difficulties and problems, to make meeting and dialogue easy, to create trust and cooperation, to express serene and objective judgments.”423 The priestly virtue of right judgment finds inspiration in the right judgment of Mary. More than any other human person who has ever existed or will exist in the future, Mary’s right judgment shines forth in “works for that justice which sets free the oppressed and for the charity which assists the needy; but above all, the disciple who is the active witness of that love which builds up Christ in people’s hearts.”424 Mary evinces her right judgment in her song of praise declaring God’s benevolence towards her in her unique experience as the Mother of God, God’s mercy in redeeming man, and God’s preferential love for the poor and lowly “in remembrance of his mercy.”425 Wherefore, Pope John Paul II posits, “No one has experienced, to the same degree as the Mother of the crucified One, the mystery of the cross, the overwhelming encounter of divine transcendent justice with love: that ‘’ given by mercy to justice.”426 The virtue of right judgment enjoys the possibility of a true cultivation after Mary’s example because Mary reveals right judgment that sees with the eyes of God, seeking to penetrate the mysteries of human life to discover God’s will. Right judgment, therefore, necessitates a careful discernment under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Just as Mary received the Incarnation by the power of the Paraclete,427 seminarians must learn to witness and evangelize, guide and unite God’s people, with the right judgment Mary’s life depicts and which is made possible only with the help of divine assistance. With Mary, right judgment can never become either rigorism or

422 Mt 7:2. 423 PDV, §43. 424 MC, §37. 425 Lk 1:54. 426 John Paul II, Encyclical on Divine Mercy, , §9, November 30, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980): 1208. English translation in Rich in Mercy (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1981), 30. 427 Lk 1:34.

146 laxism, but rather these future priests will witness to the truth as men conformed to God by being conformed to Mary. The Ratio/16 also explicitly identifies the corresponding human virtue of tolerance as desirable of priests.428 Tolerance, however, does not here mean the acceptance of sin, the rejection of the reality of evil and intrinsically evil acts, or weakness and fear in proclaiming moral truths.429 Instead, tolerance, inseparable from right judgment, leads modern men to Christ, the Church, and the sacraments by compassionately and sincerely communicating “the truth in love.”430 Authentic tolerance pierces through the evil of sin to affirm the dignity of the human person, while not contenting to leave nor lead a person in sin.431 Born from Christian charity, tolerance accompanies the People of God in this earthly life. Pope Benedict XVI, therefore, exhorts, “It is important for the priest, who is called to accompany others through the journey of life up to the threshold of death, to have the right balance of heart and mind, reason and feeling, body and soul, and to be humanly integrated.”432 When lived after Mary’s example, tolerance wills the salvation of all humanity and therefore remains firmly

428 Ratio/16, §93. 429 For an unequivocal defense of this moral ethic and against any false conception of a misguided and mislabeled tolerance as “pastoral,” see Veritatis splendor, §67 where Pope John Paul II teaches in accord with the moral Magisterium: “But the negative moral precepts, those prohibiting certain concrete actions or kinds of behavior as intrinsically evil, do not allow for any legitimate exception. They do not leave room, in any morally acceptable way, for the ‘creativity’ of any contrary determination whatsoever. Once the moral species of an action prohibited by a universal rule is concretely recognized, the only morally good act is that of obeying the moral law and of refraining from the action which it forbids.” 430 Eph 4:15. 431 In his letter to seminarians of October 18, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI proposes a definition of tolerance as “mutual acceptance and mutual understanding.” Benedict XVI, Letter to Seminarians, §7. English translation in Origins 40, no. 21 (2010): 324. Responding to the question of whether an excess of mercy is possible within the ecclesial mission of preaching the truth and summoning repentance, Pope Francis expounds: “The Church condemns sin because it has to relay the truth: ‘This is a sin.’ But at the same time, it embraces the sinner who recognizes himself as such, it welcomes him, it speaks to him of the infinite mercy of God. Jesus forgave even those who crucified and scorned him. We must go back to the Gospel.” Francis, The Name of God Is Mercy: A Conversation with Andrea Tornielli, trans. Oonagh Stransky (New York: Random House, 2016), 50. 432 Benedict XVI, Letter to Seminarians, §6, October 18, 2010.

147 grounded in the truth, while likewise accompanying suffering humanity to a renewed encounter and celebration of God’s mercy.433 Reflecting upon Marian tolerance and mercy augmented and evinced on Calvary at her Divine Son’s Crucifixion and words of forgiveness of his persecutors, Pope Francis exclaims, “Mary attests that the mercy of the Son of God knows no bounds and extends to everyone, without exception.”434 Marian tolerance, therefore, emerges from intimacy with Jesus and directly purports to reaffirm and realize the universal vocation to holiness.435 The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Priestly Training, Optatam Totius offers a blueprint of the willing, joyful abnegation which seminarians must embrace as future Ministers of the Gospel and Sharers in the Servant Priesthood of Jesus, positing, “With a particular concern should they be so formed in priestly obedience, in a simple way of life and in the spirit of self-denial that they are accustomed to giving up willingly even those things which are permitted but are not expedient, and to conform themselves to Christ Crucified.”436 Configuration to the priesthood of Jesus

433 Reflecting upon Our Lady of Pity, Fr. Robert Eaton soberly observes, “Because Our Lady is a mother, she has no favorites; she is the same to all and at all times, interested in everything that concerns us, whether for time or eternity, whether for body or for soul. She sees in each of her children a soul for which her Son suffered and died; she knows the price and value of a soul, and would help one as much as another.” Robert Eaton, The Mirror of Justice (New York: Benziger, 1916), 36. Tolerance, therefore, when exercised with Mary’s spirit accords with Mary’s permanent mission that extends universally. Interesting in Eaton’s presentation is the absence of an explicit mention of the Assumption as a defense for this universal motherhood and benevolent look of mercy perhaps attributable to the origins of this work prior to the dogmatic definition of the Assumption. 434 Francis, Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Misericordiae Vultus, §25, April 11, 2015. English translation in Francis, The Name of God Is Mercy, 148. 435 Pope Benedict XVI in Deus Caritas Est, §42 reveals the maternal benevolence of Mary that contemporary society might term “tolerance”: “[T]he devotion of the faithful shows an infallible intuition of how such love is possible: it becomes so as a result of the most intimate union with God, through which the soul is totally pervaded by him—a condition which enables those who have drunk from the fountain of God’s love to become in their turn a fountain from which ‘flow rivers of living water.’ Mary, Virgin and Mother, shows us what love is and whence it draws its origin and its constantly renewed power.” Benedict XVI, Encyclical on Christian Love, Deus Caritas Est, §42, December 25, 2005, in AAS 98 (2006): 252. English translation in God Is Love (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2006), 58. 436 OT, §9.

148 Christ, therefore, necessitates a free and mature living of evangelical obedience to one’s lawful superiors in imitation of Jesus, “the one true Suffering , both priest and victim.”437 In the Ratio/16’s emphasis on the importance of priestly obedience, the obedient presence of Mary becomes a helpmate and constant companion in forming seminarians to live an obedience foreign to servile fear or oppression, while likewise correcting the exaggerated independence of modernity.438 As Turi suggests, Mary’s presence manifests perfect obedience, born of love, to the will of God.439 The entirety of Mary’s life proclaims obedience that joyfully cooperates with the divine will and unites Mary’s will

437 PDV, §21. In following the obedient Christ and being configured to Him, seminarians discover the indissoluble link between obedience and freedom where obedience is seen as true freedom insofar as it necessitates “obedience to objective and universal truth.” PDV, §8. Fr. Basil Cole, OP, offers a contemporary introduction to priestly obedience, which “involves a real ‘submission’ to those whose authority ultimately derives from the apostles. Therefore the priest must form certain attitudes of humble submission to higher authority, e.g., to his bishop and Peter’s successor, just as he asks other people to obey his word… [O]bedience is expressed in co-responsibility regarding directions to be taken and choices to be made. Likewise, obedience is also pastoral. This simply means that the priest must be, in a sense, ‘obedient’ to the needs and demands of the people entrusted to him.” Basil Cole, The Hidden Enemies of the Priesthood: The Contributions of St. Thomas Aquinas (Staten Island, NY: Society of St. Paul, 2007), 19-20. Against a superficial practice of obedience, the Ratio/16 instructs, “He cannot limit himself simply to demonstrating a ‘veneer of virtuous habits,’ a merely external and formalistic obedience to abstract principles. Rather, he is called to act with great interior freedom.” Ratio/16, §42. The obedient presence of Mary demonstrates free, integrated obedience arising from love that transforms and gives life in the Incarnation. For a convincing argument for initial priestly formation to include formation in obedience, which this author suggests can be well realized in the obedient presence of Mary, see Cynthia Toolin, “The Need to Teach About the Authority-Obedience Relationship,” Seminary Journal 19, no. 1 (2013): 59-62. 438 Against the objection that Mary did not live the life of a priest or religious and therefore Mary’s obedience is not relative or formative to them, Dominican Fr. Marie- Joseph Nicolas responds that nonetheless Mary’s obedient presence models what is most essential and characteristic of the obedience of all Christian disciples, namely, “communion de cœur avec le Seigneur, adhésion à sa Volonté, obéissance fondamentale et radicale. De cet acte, le modèle demeure le Fiat de Marie.” Marie-Joseph Nicolas, “L’obéissance de Marie,” Seminarium 7 (1967): 499. 439 Turi writes that the obedient presence of Mary “in un certo senso, caratterizza onticamente l’umanità della madre del Nazareno: Maria infatti, prima di essere Madre del Figlio, e colei che compie, in modo perfetto e permanente, la volontà di Dio perché si lascia plasmare personalmente della vita amorosa e sostanziale dello Spirito.” Turi, “Presenza,” in Mariologia, 1004.

149 with God’s will, actively and uniquely participating in man’s salvation as the Mother of God.440 In the obedient presence of Mary, seminarians develop healthy, candid, loving filial, and cooperative relationships with their proper bishops and superiors to make present in the local Churches the obedience of Jesus Christ who “humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”441 Obedience grounded in charity unites seminarians in the configuration stage to the obedience that characterizes the perfect sacrificial priesthood of Jesus Christ.442 Seeking the model and reward for this obedience, Mary “offers the most shining example and the closest to us of that perfect obedience whereby we lovingly and readily conform with the will of the eternal Father.”443 The obedient Virgin of Nazareth witnesses to these seminarians through Mary’s obedient presence the freedom arising from loving obedience and its spiritual fecundity in the order of grace. The human formation in celibate chastity of the prior stages must not be ignored during the configuration stage, but rather assimilated ever more deeply and personally by these seminarians as they prepare to promise celibacy at their upcoming diaconal .444 In reflecting upon the seminarians’ configuration to

440 The obedient presence of Mary enjoys patristic expression and development in the Eve-Mary typical relationship made famous in St. ’s theories of recirculation and recapitulation: “[T]e knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith.” Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe (Charleston, SC: CreateSpace, 2012), 349. Noteworthy in the appropriation of the patristic development of Marian obedience is the relationship between Mary’s obedience and faith: Mary is obedient because Mary first believes; the obedient presence of Mary is thus faithful. Seminarians as future priests obey the Church’s ministers because they believe that Jesus acts through the successors of the apostles even today. 441 Phil 2:8. 442 Msgr. David Bohr identifies in his study of evangelical, priestly obedience four common characteristics, namely that “it is apostolic, lived without servility, has a community dimension, and is pastoral in character.” David Bohr, The Diocesan Priest: Consecrated and Sent (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2009), 91. Mary’s obedience, graciously awarded and celebrated in the Assumption, demonstrates all four qualities of priestly obedience, as the whole of this thesis attempts to demonstrate. 443 SM, §2. 444 See CIC/83, c. 1037: “An unmarried candidate for the permanent diaconate and a candidate for the presbyterate are not to be admitted to the order of diaconate unless they

150 Christ the Spouse of the Church, the spousal dimension of celibacy merits further reflection in accord with Ephesians 5 that treats of the relationship between husband and wife as an image of Christ’s spousal love for the Church. As head of the Church, Jesus Christ “loved the Church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy.”445 Through configuration to this spousal dimension of the priesthood of Jesus, seminarians in the configuration stage discover that while celibate, priests are not bachelors, but rather their celibacy weds them to the Church and the people in chaste love after the example of Jesus Christ.446 Moreover, in the call to

have assumed the obligation of celibacy in the prescribed rite publicly before God and the Church or have made perpetual vows in a .” 445 Eph 5:25-26. Reflecting upon the nature of the spousal relationship between Jesus and the Church, Pope Francis exclaims, “It is not by chance that there is a wedding at the beginning of Jesus’s public life, because in him, God espoused humanity: this is the Good News, even though those who invited him do not yet know that the Son of God is seated at their table and that he is the true bridegroom. Indeed all the mystery of the sign of Cana is based on the presence of this divine bridegroom, Jesus, who begins to reveal himself. Jesus manifests himself as the bridegroom of the People of God, announced by the prophets, and he reveals to us the depth of the relationship which unites us to him: it is a New Covenant of love.” Pope Francis, Angelus, January 20, 2019. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, January 25, 2019, English edition, 12. 446 PO, §16 teaches that, through the profession of celibacy, priests “profess themselves before men as willing to be dedicated to the office committed to them- namely, to commit themselves faithfully to one man and to show themselves as a chaste virgin for Christ and thus to evoke the mysterious marriage established by Christ, and fully to be manifested in the future, in which the Church has Christ as her only Spouse.” PDV, §22 further reaffirms the priest as spouse of the Church wherein “in virtue of his configuration to Christ, the head and shepherd, the priest stands in this spousal relationship with regard to the community … Therefore, the priest’s life ought to radiate this spousal character, which demands that he be a witness to Christ’s spousal love and thus be capable of loving people with a heart which is new, generous, and pure.” For a contemporary biblical assessment of priests’ gifts of themselves to the Church, see Brant Pitre, Jesus, the Bridegroom: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told (New York: Image, 2014), 164 where Pitre argues that “the priest’s gift of himself to the Church is even more like Christ’s gift of himself to his bride [than that of married spouses in the natural order], because it is virginal, supernatural, and fulfilled above all in the sacrificial wedding banquet of the Eucharist” (emphasis original). Fr. Basil Cole, OP, further highlights the relationship between contemplative prayer and the living of priestly celibacy as bridegroom, writing, “So, the seminarian must learn to become like the young engaged man to his bride the Church, whether he is to be a Trappist monk in the wilderness somewhere, a scholarly Jesuit, or a parish priest to the poor or the rich. The way he does this substantially, but not exclusively, is to acquire the spirit and practice of contemplative prayer. Even the ’s priesthood must in some way become a true contemplata aliis tradere, not in the direct sense of the pastoral

151 supernatural espousal to the Church and the spiritual begetting of children in the mystical order, priests’ masculinity finds realization, as Pope John Paul II affirms, not in the denial of the goodness of matrimony but in embracing celibate chastity as an affirmation “to the nuptial meaning of the body in its masculinity.”447 The previously introduced feminine presence of Mary of Nazareth enriches the understanding of the Church as spouse, not in a carnal manner, but rather in a manner that is entirely pure and divine.448 Celebrated “as a pre-eminent and singular member of the Church, and as its type and excellent exemplar in faith and charity,”449 seminarians in the configuration stage integrate their sexuality into their manly and priestly character through their awareness of the forestudied feminine presence of Mary reciprocated through celibate love.450 By configuring themselves to ministry but in the spiritual communication of his prayer life to his bride living in the world (and out of the world in purgatory).” Cole, Hidden Enemies of the Priesthood, 41. 447 John Paul II, General Audience, May 5, 1982 in Theology of the Body, 287. Earlier in the same catechesis, Pope John Paul II teaches, while nonetheless admitting the renunciation of marriage proper to the celibate vocation, that the chaste celibacy of priests “is an affirmation that arises from the discovery of the gift, that is, at the same time from the discovery of a new perspective of the personal realization of oneself ‘through a sincere gift of oneself.’ This discovery still lies in a profound inner harmony with the significance of the nuptial meaning of the body, bound ‘from the beginning’ to the masculinity or femininity of man as a personal subject” (286). The spousal significance of celibacy, wherefore, must be known, loved, and safeguarded not as a denial of what Pope John Paul II calls the “nuptial meaning of the body,” but rather as a further, albeit supernatural, proof shown by making a loving gift of one’s entire person to God’s people after the manner of the Good Shepherd and the Virgin Mary. 448 The author intends to apply here the words of Bl. of Stella concerning the relation between Mary and the Church within an analysis of the Church and Mary as spouse to advance the ecclesial obligation of perfect chastity in celibacy for Latin priests and transitional deacons. Bl. Isaac teaches, “The result is that in the divinely inspired Scriptures what is true of Virgin-Mother Church in general is true of the Virgin-Mother Mary in particular; and what applies properly to the Virgin-Mother Mary singly is true of the Virgin-Mother Church jointly; and when either one or other is in question there is practically no need to differentiate between them.” Isaac of Stella, The Selected Works of Isaac of Stella, ed. Dániel Deme (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007), 137. 449 LG, §53. 450 For a provocative assertion concerning the relationship between Mary as spouse and priests, see theologian Msgr. John Cihak who builds on the teaching of Deus Caritas Est: “Our Lady herself, in a very concrete way, brings a celibate priest into his spiritual marriage with the Church and his spiritual paternity as he participates in Christ’s spousal relationship to the Church. She engages him deeply in his masculine heart, even in his

152 Christ the Spouse of the Church, seminarians’ real experiences of the resultant aloneness of chastity vanish in a glance that looks outward to God’s people and relishes the feminine presence of Mary to vanquish any tendencies to isolation.451 In fine, the fecundity of celibacy directly corresponds to the celibate man’s free gift of his entire self to the Church.452 A further important component of human formation in the configuration stage concerns the active effort to overcome tendencies to an exaggerated independence that denies or militates against communion, collaboration, and cooperation. The priesthood of Jesus Christ sacramentally associates priests of the New Testament to one another as co-workers with the diocesan bishop, “prudent cooperators of the episcopal college and its support and instrument, called to the service of the People of God, constitut[ing], together with their bishop, a unique sacerdotal college (presbyterium) dedicated, it is true, to a variety of distinct duties.”453 Seminarians in the configuration stage must be prepared to not only daily witness to this communion through words and deeds as future priests, but celebrate this communion that effectively and really builds up the Body of Christ.454 While eros, with her feminine love to bring about this transformation in her priest from a disordered eros to an ordered eros and celibate agape.” John Cihak, “The Blessed Virgin Mary’s Role in the Celibate Priest’s Spousal and Paternal Love,” Sacrum ministerium 15 (2009): 155. 451 Here the author readily concedes the sobering, real confession of Ursuline Sister Elizabeth Lang: “Celibacy has an aspect of solitude and loneliness, but also includes an openness and spirit of expectation.” Elizabeth Lang, “Consecrated Celibacy and the Mystery of Mary,” University of Dayton Review 11 (1975): 45. 452 Wherefore, Msgr. David Bohr notes, “Thus, a genuine vocation to the priesthood requires that one be, first of all, a baptized Roman Catholic male who, in addition, believes he is being called by God to give of himself totally in order to conform himself to Jesus Christ as both bridegroom and shepherd of the Church. In a very real sense, the sacramental ministerial priesthood is a wholly monogamous relationship demanding a total gift of self with an undivided heart and attention. The lived quality of this relationship, nevertheless, like every marital relationship depends upon the individual’s willingness to continue to give himself completely to it.” Bohr, The Diocesan Priest: Consecrated and Sent, 140-41. 453 LG, §28. 454 For a profound theological development of the communion of the priesthood, see PDV, §12 that advances priestly communion within a Trinitarian presentation of the perfect communion that eternally exists between the Divine Persons in the one Godhead. PDV expounds in part, “Through the priesthood which arises from the depths of the

153 communion can and must be taught and instilled in spiritual direction, communion becomes real through witnesses to communion.455 The New Testament manifests Mary as a woman of communion, frequently presenting Mary not in isolation from the other disciples of Jesus, but rather in their midst at the most significant moments of Mary’s life and the life of the nascent Church.456 Entering the configuration stage from a fragmented world fraught with loneliness, Mary’s communion with God and with others summons seminarians to enter into deeper communion with God, the Church, and one another. Moreover, Mary’s maternal presence and maternal mission, introduced previously in the propaedeutic and discipleship stages, unite seminarians amongst themselves and with the whole of God’s people as brothers and sisters who share a common Father in heaven and a Mother by grace who has been assumed into heavenly glory. Through the grace of Holy Orders, these seminarians will be united in communion around the diocesan bishop, thus realizing a still more profound and intimate communion afforded by sacramental grace.457 ineffable mystery of God, that is, from the love of the Father, the grace of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit’s gift of unity, the priest sacramentally enters into communion with the bishop and with other priests … Consequently, the nature and mission of the ministerial priesthood cannot be defined except through this multiple and rich interconnection of relationships which arise from the Blessed Trinity and are prolonged in the communion of the Church, as a sign and instrument of Christ, of communion with God and of the unity of all humanity. In this context, the ecclesiology of communion becomes decisive for understanding the identity of the priest, his essential dignity, and his vocation and mission among the People of God and in the world.” PDV, §12. 455 Deacon James Keating of the Institute for Priestly Formation posits, “In order to become a man of communion, a seminarian needs to ‘see’ – to behold the beauty of Christ’s self-donation, to see the lives of the saints as real, to recognize the truth delivered by his formator as something to be joyfully accepted.” James Keating, “Christ Is the Sure Foundation: Priestly Human Formation Completed in and by Spiritual Formation,” Nova et Vetera 8 (2010): 887. Marian communion places before seminarians the real joys and hardships of a life lived in communion with the Triune God and the Church. 456 See, for example, Jn 19:25 and Acts 1:14 where Mary is enumerated with the other holy women and the other praying disciples respectively. 457 In an interesting essay, Bishop seeks to advance the theological import of communion in the sacramental theology of the priesthood, arguing, “The need of a radical communitarian form of ordained ministry, starting from and in view of ecclesial koinonia, is made more evident through consideration of its sacramental foundation. All those who are united in the order of priesthood are bonded to each other

154 4.2.2 Spiritual Formation

The Ratio/16’s vision of configuration to Jesus originates in the spiritual life where the Church “demands that the seminarian enter profoundly into the contemplation of the person of Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of the Father, sent as Shepherd of the People of God.”458 Contemplation of Jesus, however, intends not to simply create sentimentalism among these seminarians, but rather to augment their relationship with the Lord in a way that becomes “more intimate and personal and, at the same time, will lead to an awareness and an assumption of priestly identity.”459 The term “contemplation” often finds gross reduction in popular imagination to extraordinary graces such as raptures and locutions, while “contemplation” in the language of mystical theology signifies a prayer that originates in God and is sustained by him in those who have passed from the prayer of beginners. The Ratio/16, however, intends a wider focus that accords with the catechetical confession by ‘sacramental fraternity,’ whose root must be located in that ‘common and identical Spirit of the presbyterate’ which, since the time of the Traditio Apostolica of Hippolytus, has been called down upon the person being ordained.” Marcello Semeraro, “Toward a Theology of the Presbyterate,” in Priesthood, A Greater Love: International Symposium on the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Promulgation of the Conciliar Decree, “Presbyterorum Ordinis” (Philadelphia: Archdiocese of Philadelphia, 1997), 190. Archbishop Hurley adds practical characteristics to this theological conception of priestly communion: “The bishop has a special role to play in leading the priestly community and the image of the bishop must change perceptibly if he is to do this well. But each priest has an equally important task in making his contribution to the spirit and life of the priestly community. This requires an abundant measure of fraternal charity, not charity in the abstract but a down-to-earth readiness to understand and make oneself understood, to enter into warm personal friendship with one’s fellow-priests, and to exchange fraternal counsel and correction with them in a complete and open-hearted trust. What laymen find in marriage, priests must be able to find in their priestly community.” Hurley, “Training in Priestley [sic] Fortitude,” 336-37. Since this communion proper to the priestly vocation does not appear overnight, but must be learned and practiced, the configuration stage and Mary’s effective mission in communion afford the ideal opportunity for this work to progress. 458 Ratio/16, §68. Here the Ratio/16 supports the argument of then-Fr. Robert E. Barron for the priest as “first and foremost, a mystagogue, one who bears the Mystery and initiates others into it … In the depths of his being, the mystagogue is conformed to Christ the priest, shaped according to the icon of Christ; the priest’s whole existence is to become transparent to the Mystery.” Robert E. Barron, “Priest As Bearer of the Mystery,” Church 10, no. 2 (1994): 10. 459 Ratio/16, §68.

155 that contemplation “is the simple expression of the mystery of prayer. It is a gaze of faith fixed on Jesus, an attentiveness to the Word of God, a silent love.”460 The spiritual formation envisioned, wherefore, approaches Jesus with the eyes of faith, particularly as Head and Shepherd, Servant and Spouse, for the formation of the interior man. Contemplating the priesthood of Jesus Christ, Mary becomes a teacher in this school of prayer after the manner of Mary’s instructive mission by example at Pentecost. Just as Mary gathered with the apostles in the Upper Room at Pentecost to await in assiduous prayer the gift of the Paraclete, Mary’s spiritual presence instills persistence and perseverance in these seminarians.461 The realization of the ecclesial objective of growth in the spiritual life during the configuration stage necessitates drawing close to Mary as the teacher of the spiritual life.462 By seeking to advance the spiritual formation of the configuration stage in the school of Mary, seminarians realize the conciliar confession that by “[p]iously meditating on her and contemplating her in the light of the Word made man, the Church with reverence enters more intimately into the great mystery of the Incarnation and becomes more and more like her Spouse.”463 Wherefore cooperation with Mary’s pedagogical mission in the spiritual life advances rather than hinders a true conformation to Jesus Christ, the objective of the configuration stage as presented in the Ratio/16.

460 CCC, 2723. 461 See Cole, Hidden Enemies of the Priesthood, 41 where Fr. Cole, OP, remarks with much practical wisdom, “This is his [the seminarian’s] greatest challenge: to be patient with the lack of results from his prayer. He lives in a very pragmatic and practical world and it wants immediate results. Hence, he must try to learn the importance of the contemplative breadth of his presence and future priestly life, which means waiting for the Lord’s gifts.” 462 Reflecting upon Mary’s maternal mission’s effects in the spiritual lives of Christian disciples, Pope John Paul II teaches that “Mary expressed her motherhood towards the community of believers not only by praying to obtain for the Church the gifts of the Holy Spirit necessary for her [the Church’s] formation and her [the Church’s] future, but also by teaching the Lord’s disciples about constant communion with God.” John Paul II, Discourse at a General Audience, September 6, 1995. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, September 13, 1995, English edition, 7. 463 LG, §65.

156 The Word of God must continue to be a source of constant prayer and reading for seminarians in the configuration stage that they come to a true knowledge of Jesus Christ. Corresponding to their institution as lectors, the spiritual formation of the configuration stage necessitates a continual effort “to acquire that increasingly warm and living love and knowledge of Scripture that will make [them] more perfect disciple[s] of the Lord.”464 The centrality of Sacred Scripture presents an opportunity for Mary’s active presence, identified in RM and ML, to be cultivated in a way that “emphasizes Mary’s concern.”465 Through Mary’s aforementioned active presence, seminarians in the configuration stage learn in the school of Mary how to not only hear the Word of God, but more to allow this living and true Word to transform and configure them into the likeness of the Good Shepherd.466 Mary’s active presence, revealing God’s Word as transformational, forms seminarians to penetrate Scripture with Tradition in union with the Church that this Word might be fulfilled in daily acts of missionary discipleship born of love.467

464 Ministeria Quaedam, §5. In his introductory text on the ministry of lector, Redemptorist Fr. James A. Wallace reflects upon the interiorization of the Word of God proper to the lector at Mass, which the Church envisions receiving particular attention during the spiritual formation of the configuration stage, suggesting that the living Word “continues to take flesh again and again whenever a man or woman stands up to proclaim it—at least, it should take flesh, the flesh of that person. It sets before us the goal of a union, a marriage, between the reader and the text, from the inside out, a coalescence on the level of understanding, feeling, and all the other qualities that contribute to making this encounter a true embodiment of the Word.” James A. Wallace, The Ministry of Lectors (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1984), 18-19. The enfleshment of the Word of God, desired of lectors, receives true Incarnation in the womb of Mary of Nazareth in the Annunciation mystery. 465 ML, §66. 466 Wherefore Pope Francis teaches concerning the lector’s proclamation of the Word of God, “The Word of God makes a pathway within us. We listen to it with our ears and it passes to our hearts; it does not remain in our ears; it must go to the heart. And from the heart, it passes to the hands, to good deeds. This is the path which the Word of God follows: from our ears to our heart and hands. Let us learn these things.” Francis, General Audience, January 31, 2018, English translation at Libreria Editrice Vaticana, http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2018/documents/papa- francesco_20180131_udienza-generale.html. 467 RM, §1 identifies Mary’s active presence as essentially ecclesial. Furthermore, RM, §20 suggests that the blessedness of the Mother of God cannot be separated from the veracity that “at the Annunciation she accepted the Word of God, because she believed it, because she was obedient to God, and because she ‘kept’ the Word and ‘pondered it in

157 In their formative journey in view of diaconal ordination, seminarians in the configuration stage “must, above all, be formed in a truly living faith in the Eucharist.”468 The daily celebration of the Eucharist and times of present, make possible, and celebrate these seminarians’ conformation to Christ, Head and Shepherd, while essentially preparing them for future ministerial priesthood.469 In the Eucharistic presence of Jesus, seminarians discover the complete gift of self to which they are called. The ministry of acolyte into which seminarians in the configuration stage are instituted seeks to aid them to “learn all matters concerning public divine worship and strive to grasp their inner spiritual meaning: in that way [they] will be able each day to offer [themselves] entirely to God, be an example to all by [their] gravity and reverence in church, and have a sincere love for the Mystical Body of Christ, the People of God, especially for the weak and the sick.”470 Approaching the Eucharist, seminarians find no better accompanying presence than Mary in whom “we also see perfectly fulfilled the ‘sacramental’ way that God comes down to meet his creatures and involves them in his saving work.”471

her heart,’ and by means of her whole life accomplished it.” Mary’s effective mission permits seminarians to follow the exemplarity of Mary in relation to Scripture to realize that “a relationship with the Word of God holds a preeminent place in the process of spiritual growth.” Ratio/16, §103. 468 John Paul II, Angelus on July 1, 1990. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, July 9, 1990, English edition, 12. 469 LG identifies the importance of the Eucharist in priestly life and ministry wherein priests “exercise in a supreme degree their sacred office; there, acting in the person of Christ and proclaiming his mystery, they unite the votive offerings of the faithful to the sacrifice of Christ their head, and in the sacrifice of the Mass they make present again and apply, until the coming of the Lord, the unique sacrifice of the New Testament, that namely of Christ offering himself once for all a spotless victim to the Father.” LG, §28. Seminarians in the configuration stage prepare for this supreme sacerdotal dignity and duty by their own active participation in the Eucharistic celebration, not simply going to Mass, but praying the Mass with Mary. 470 Ministeria Quaedam, §6. Interesting here is the connection made between the worship of God and works of charity as an application of 1 Jn 4:20: “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.” 471 Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist as the Source and Summit of the Church’s Life and Mission, Sacramentum Caritatis, §33, February 22, 2007, in AAS 99 (2007): 132. English translation in The Sacrament of Charity (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 2007), 29. Here Pope Benedict

158 Seminarians in the configuration stage benefit from learning to attend to Holy Mass and receive the Eucharist with Mary’s spirit, clothed in Mary’s virtues, and aware of Mary’s presence and mission at each Mass’s re-presentation of Calvary.472 Without Mary’s consent at the Annunciation, there would be no Eucharist,

XVI makes his own the earlier confession of RM, §44: “Mary guides the faithful to the Eucharist.” In his celebrated Encyclical on the Eucharist in Its Relationship to the Church, Pope John Paul II devotes Chapter Six to the relationship between Mary and the Eucharist under the captivating title “At the School of Mary, ‘Woman of the Eucharist.’” Therein, Pope John Paul II reflects upon the accompanying presence of Mary at each Mass, teaching, “Mary is present, with the Church and as the Mother of the Church, at each of our celebrations of the Eucharist. If the Church and the Eucharist are inseparably united, the same ought to be said of Mary and the Eucharist.” John Paul II, Encyclical on the Eucharist in Its Relationship to the Church, , §57, April 17, 2003, in AAS 95 (2003): 471. English translation in On the Eucharist (Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2003), 62. The presence of Mary in the celebration of the Eucharist, however, must be essentially distinguished from the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Although essentially different, Mary is nonetheless present at the Eucharistic sacrifice. A. Bossard likewise posits, “Marie ne peut pas être absente. Mais comment y est-elle présente? Ne tentons pas de l’y voir à la manière du Christ. La consécration réalise la présence réelle du Christ de la gloire dans l’acte de son sacrifice, sous les espèces du pain et du vin, avec sons corps, son âme et sa divinité. Rien de tel pour l’humanité de Marie. Et pourtant, la présence de Jésus entraîne à divers titres celle de sa Mère.” A. Boussard, “Présence de Marie à l’Eucharistie du Christ et de l’Eglise.” Vivre l’Eucharistie avec Marie (Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 1981), 22. 472 Ecclesia de Eucharistia, §58 suggests that Mary’s presence and mission in relation to the Eucharist can help to cultivate in seminarians in the configuration stage a “true ‘Eucharistic attitude’” that “praises God ‘through’ Jesus, but she also praises him ‘in’ Jesus and ‘with’ Jesus.” Here the author further wills to apply the practical experience of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the , who reflected, “During much of this time— before, during, and after Mass—I felt and saw clearly that Our Lady was very propitious, pleading before the Father. Indeed, during the prayers to the Father and the Son, and at his consecration, I could not but feel and see her, as though she were part or rather portal of the great grace that I could feel in my spirit. At the consecration, she showed that her flesh was in that of her Son, with so many intuitions that they could not be written.” Ignatius of Loyola, Personal Writings, trans. Joseph A. Munitiz and Philip Endean (London: Penguin Classics, 1996), 78. In a more thorough presentation, albeit dated, of the question of the relation between Mary and the Eucharist than possible here, Fr. Gabriele Maria Roschini, OSM, proposes three manners in which Mary enhances the Eucharistic celebration as (1) supreme model of how to assist at Mass; (2) supreme model of how to receive Communion; and (3) supreme model of adoration. Gabriele M. Roschini, La Madonna del Santissimo Sacramento: Relazioni tra l’Eucaristia e la Madonna (Rome: Angelo Belardetti, 1953), 69-72.

159 so before the Eucharist let these seminarians call to mind Mary’s liturgical and spiritual presence that they might adore and receive Jesus with Mary so their adoration and Communions might find greater favor before God.473 In so doing, the liturgical presence of Mary in Christian worship finds affirmation and receives a greater awareness by these seminarians, which enriches the liturgical celebration and worthy reception of Communion by seminarians in the configuration stage.474 By contemplating the inseparable union between Mary and the Eucharist, the configuration stage invites seminarians to marvel at the Incarnation of Jesus Christ born in time of Mary and born anew at each Mass with the celebrated words of St. Augustine: “Him whom the Heavens couldn’t huddle, the lap of a single woman could easily cuddle. She was toting

473 In his 1988 Holy Thursday Letter to Priests, Pope John Paul II affirms the connection between Mary’s personal vocation in salvation history as the Mother of God and the Eucharist, teaching, “When we celebrate the Eucharist, through our priestly ministry, there is made present the mystery of the Incarnate Word, the Son who is of one being with the Father, who as a man ‘born of woman’ is the Son of the Virgin Mary.” John Paul II, Letter to All the Priests on the Occasion of Holy Thursday 1988, §1, March 25, 1988. English translation in John Paul II, Letters to My Brother Priests: Complete Collection of Holy Thursday Letters (1979-2005), ed. James Socias (Woodbridge, IL: Midwest Theological Forum, 2006), 141. Massimo Cardinal Massimi earlier reflects upon the Eucharist and Mary from the perspective of the Incarnation: “Marie a toutes les raisons de se complaire à la vue du tabernacle, puisque l’Eucharistie est une extension de l’Incarnation et qu’elle reproduit toutes les scènes, si chères à Marie, de la vie de Jésus: à Bethléem, la maison du pain y revit; il y a aussi Nazareth puisque Jésus renouvelle sa vie cachée dans l’Hostie. Devant le tabernacle, souvenons-nous donc de Marie … Marie nous appelle au tabernacle ; elle nous appelle aussi a l’autel, où, se célèbre le sacrifice eucharistique dans lequel elle a une si grande part.” Massimo Massimi, “Perspectives sur les relations de Marie et de l’Eucharistie,” in Marie et l’Eucharistie: Notre-Dame du Très Saint Sacrement (Montréal: Center Eucharistique, 1954), 19. 474 The author intentionally calls to mind the Marian sentiments of St. who posits the merit of preparing for, receiving Communion with, and thanking God afterwards with Mary: “Likewise, there is no better preparation for Holy Communion than offering it all up to the Immaculata (doing of course all we can for our part). She will prepare our hearts in the best way and we may be sure of giving Jesus the greatest joy, to show Him the greatest love.” Maximilian Maria Kolbe, The Writings of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, vol. 1 (Lugano: Nerbini, 2016), 1191. Reaffirming the presence of Mary in the Eucharist, Discalced Carmelite Father Jesús Castellano Cervera upholds, “Tale memoria nell’ambito della liturgia, esprime una convinzione fondamentale: la Vergine Maria e presente ed e attiva (adest et agit) nel mistero del culto cristiano. In questo come in altri aspetti della vita della Chiesa l’esperienza ha preceduto la teologia.” Jesús Castellano Cervera, “La presenza di Maria nel mistero del culto. Natura e significato,” Marianum 58 (1996): 387.

160 about on her hip, Him Who carries her about the universe. Her breasts were running, but they were enriching the Bread of Life.”475 The spiritual formation of the configuration stage strives to cultivate in these seminarians the spirituality proper to the ministerial priesthood that finds itself continually invigorated, renewed, and “actually strengthened by the very pastoral work they do.”476 PO still more emphatically suggests, “Priests who perform their duties sincerely and indefatigably in the Spirit of Christ arrive at holiness by this very fact.”477 First and foremost, however, the spirituality of every priest, whether diocesan or religious, is contemplative because the priestly vocation demands continual transformation into the likeness of Jesus.478 The primary ministry

475 , Sermons to the People: Advent, Christmas, New Year’s, Epiphany, trans. William Griffin (New York: Image, 2002), 60. Contemplating Mary in relation to the Eucharist in the Paschal Mystery, Jesuit John P. Murphy offers a dated, yet unusual and highly spiritual argument for Mary’s presence at the re-presentation of Calvary at each Mass, writing, “Just as Mary stood beside the cross on Calvary sharing with her Son Christ the three hours agony; compassionating in her soul the passion Christ suffered in the flesh upon the cross; dying mystically the death Christ died upon the cross for sin and redemption; sharing objectively, although subordinately, the objective work of Christ’s sacrificial redemption, so too Mary at Mass invisibly stands beside the principal, yet invisible priest as He actually offers each Mass; in the daily sacrifice of her Son, Mary at Mass joins the sacrifice of her soul in gaining grace for men, thus applying the fruits of Christ’s sacrifice to mankind.” John P. Murphy, “Mary and the Mass,” Ephemerides Mariologicae 6 (1956): 79. While some restraint is here warranted against an exaggerated Mariology that confuses the Redeemer with the Mother of the Redeemer, nonetheless Fr. Murphy’s attempt to identify the Marian presence at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass merits continued theological reflection and development as more recently developed by Pope John Paul II in Ecclesia de Eucharistia. 476 OT, §9. Ratio/16, §71. 477 PO, §13. Commenting on priestly spirituality and the call to holiness in light of magisterial teaching, Bishop David Ricken exposes the inseparable relation between configuration to the one priesthood of Jesus Christ and sanctification as a father of souls: “By serving the people with the help of grace, the priest is able to pursue this perfection in Christ, in whose place and person he stands. By being conformed and configured to Christ, is [sic] whose place he specifically lives, works, and stands before the community, the priest is ushered into the opportunity for holiness by the high priest who he serves.” David L. Ricken, “Configuration to Christ and the Priesthood According to Marmion and Pastores Dabo Vobis,” Josephinum Journal of Theology 13 (2006): 203. 478 Fr. Robert M. Schwartz identifies the primacy of the contemplative in the spirituality of priests, writing in a collective text on priestly spirituality, “By the very nature of the presbyteral mission, the spirituality of the priest is contemplative. The priest must study, contemplate, and internalize God’s Word until it becomes the very fabric of his being. The priest must reek with the word and be a living sign of its meaning and

161 of all priests, therefore, consists in the sacred ministry of prayer. The spirituality of priests, moreover, arises from, increases within, and is renewed by those to whom they minister and by “conforming one’s own way of thinking and working in communion with the Bishop and brother priests, for the good of a portion of the People of God.”479 Priestly spirituality, pedagogically and intentionally formed during the configuration stage, cannot exist wherefore “without these two relationships: with the Bishop and with the presbyterate. And they both are necessary.”480 Consequently, the spirituality of all ministerial priests cannot be other than an ecclesial spirituality of communion with the hierarchical Church in union with Mary. The votive Mass of Our Lady of the Cenacle calls attention to the unity of the members of the Church with the pastors, exemplified in Mary at Pentecost, praying, “How wonderful is the example you have given us of harmony and prayer in the Church at its beginning: you show us the Mother of Jesus as she prays with the Apostles in oneness of mind and heart.”481

power.” Robert M. Schwartz, “Servant of the Servants of God: A Pastor’s Spirituality,” in The Spirituality of the Diocesan Priest, ed. Donald B. Cozzens (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1997), 5. While acknowledging that the specificities of priestly life and priestly ministries may vary between religious and diocesan priests, the author here wishes to suggest that there exists a common priestly spirituality that originates in configuration to the one priesthood of Jesus who is head, shepherd, servant, and spouse of the Church. The Ratio/16, §68 calls forth the cultivation and maturation of this priestly spirituality in the spiritual formation of the configuration stage. Remarking upon this unity in diversity of priestly spirituality, Jesuit Fr. Joseph Carola practically comments, “The Church calls you, of course, to a spirit of prayer appropriate to your way of life. You will be ordained members of the diocesan clergy—not of the Carthusian Charterhouse. While you should be no less recollected than the Carthusian in his cell, you will live your life of prayer pastorally engaged in the world. As priests you may regularly break your sleep and rise in the night, but rarely will you do so in order to chant vigils in the parish church. The ring of a telephone rather than the cloister bell will rouse you from your slumber, calling you to a local hospital in order to anoint the dying.” Joseph Carola, Conformed to Christ Crucified: Meditations on Priestly Life and Ministry (Rome: Gregorian & Biblical Press, 2010), 69-70. 479 Ratio/16, §71. 480 Francis, Discourse to the Community of the Pontifical Lombardo Seminary in the Clementina Chapel, January 25, 2016, English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, February 5, 2016, English edition, 14. 481 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 100.

162 Configuration to the priesthood of Jesus Christ remains impossible without life in the Spirit.482 PDV unequivocally affirms, “He, the Spirit of the Son, configures us to Christ Jesus and makes us sharers in his life as Son, that is, sharers in his life of love for the Father and for our brothers and sisters.”483 Accordingly, the Third Person of the Trinity transforms by divine power these seminarians into men aglow with the charity of Jesus Christ and facilitates their personal advancement in holiness.484 Bearing steadfast in mind the primacy of the activity of the Blessed Trinity in conforming seminarians to the priesthood of the Lord, Mary of Nazareth nonetheless exercises an effective mission in accordance with the divine activity of the Paraclete.485 While the Holy Spirit divinely effects the configuration of seminarians in the configuration stage to the likeness of the Good Shepherd, Mary of Nazareth subordinately but nonetheless really cooperates in accord with the effective mission Mary received from God and continues to realize today. The mission of Mary emerges in the configuration stage as efficacious in realizing its purpose of transforming seminarians into future priests with the mind and heart of Christ; just as Mary provided her humanity to verily realize the Incarnation in accord with the divine will, Mary cooperates in giving birth to these seminarians who will become other Christs at

482 PO, §12 wherefore admonishes, “Hence, those who exercise the ministry of the spirit and of justice will be confirmed in the life of the spirit, so long as they are open to the Spirit of Christ, who gives them life and direction.” The Ratio/16 further affirms that the configuration stage’s success “demands a docility to the action of God through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, according to an authentically priestly and missionary mindset” (§69). 483 PDV, §19. 484 PDV, §69 further elucidates this pneumatic reality and identifies priestly formators and spiritual directors as the chosen instruments of the Paraclete in this work: “And so the future priest also, and in the first place, must grow in his awareness that the agent par excellence of his formation is the Holy Spirit, who by the gift of a new heart configures and conforms him to Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd. In this way, the candidate to the priesthood will affirm in the most radical way possible his freedom to welcome the molding action of the Spirit. But to welcome this action implies also, on the part of the candidate, a welcome for the human ‘mediating’ forces which the Spirit employs.” 485 ML, §57: “[T]he progressive transformation of the faithful into Christ is essentially the work of the Holy Spirit; however, the Virgin Mary, remaining within the limits of her sphere of action, acts in union with the Spirit.” The author here clearly intends to avoid any confusion of the divine person of the Holy Spirit and the human person of Mary in the spiritual formation of the configuration stage.

163 the completion of a successful initial priestly formation. Thereby, Mary’s mission realizes its purpose and is rightly denoted as “effective.” Without the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, configuration to Christ remains eternally frustrated and therefore these theological virtues must be earnestly sought in prayer and cultivated through action with special attention in the configuration stage. The theological virtues, “infused by God into the souls of the faithful … make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life.”486 Through belief in God, confidence in God, and love of God that finds expression in love of neighbor, man orientates his life towards the unending face-to-face of heaven and configures himself to the Lord. OT highlights the place of the theological virtues in the project of initial priestly formation that purposes to realize an evangelical life: “The students should learn to live according to the Gospel ideal, to be strengthened in faith, hope, and charity, so that, in the exercise of these practices, they may acquire the spirit of prayer, learn to defend and strengthen their vocation, obtain an increase of other virtues and grow in the zeal to gain all men for Christ.”487 Faith, hope, and charity shine with exemplary and singular perfection in Mary of Nazareth who uniquely “cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the work of the Savior in giving back supernatural life to souls.”488 The theological virtues existent to an extraordinary degree in the soul of Mary offer an impetus to the Universal Church and especially to seminarians in the configuration stage to seek by God’s grace to be strengthened in faith, hope, and charity that finds concrete expression in the exigencies of daily life.489 The

486 CCC, 1813. 487 OT, §8. PDV, §28 goes still further in suggesting that the entirety of priestly life must be characterized “by the hunger for the Gospel and for faith, hope, and love for God and his mystery.” 488 LG, §61. Pope John Paul II, wherefore, declares that “Mary is all-holy. For the community of believers, she represents the paradigm of the authentic holiness that is achieved in union with Christ.” John Paul II, General Audience, September 3, 1997. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, September 10, 1997, English edition, 11. 489 LG, §65 situates the theological virtues of Mary’s soul within relation to the Church and its members, teaching, “Seeking after the glory of Christ, the Church becomes more like her exalted Type, and continually progresses in faith, hope, and charity, seeking and doing the will of God in all things.”

164 Marian presence shows the theological virtues as dynamic realities in which these seminarians are called, after the Marian example, to continually advance in a manner best possible by cooperating with the Marian mission.490 In this spiritual school of Mary, seminarians learn to be like Mary who, Pope Benedict XVI exclaims, “As a believer who in faith thinks with God’s thoughts and wills with God’s will, she cannot fail to be a woman who loves.”491 Returning to the paradigm of the configuration stage, Mary’s Assumption reveals the aim of the theological virtues, the beatific vision, such that by imitating the faith, hope, and charity of Mary, seminarians “strive to increase in holiness by conquering sin.”492 In contemplating Jesus, and seeking to be configured to Him, the celebrated “Marian Consecration of St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort” presents an opportunity to enrich seminarians’ spiritual lives through the renewal of their baptismal vows and a deepened living of Christian missionary discipleship in accord with Mary’s presence and mission.493 Contrary to a Marian

490 MC, §56. 491 Deus Caritas Est, §41. 492 LG, §65. In this introduction to Mary’s faith, hope, and charity with application to seminarians in the configuration stage, the author desires to apply the faithful, hope- filled, loving words of LG, §65 in their entirety: “But while in the most holy Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she is without spot or wrinkle, the followers of Christ still strive to increase in holiness by conquering sin. And so, they turn their eyes to Mary who shines forth to the whole community of the elect as the model of virtues.” 493 Following the lead of RM, §48, the author will refer to “Marian consecration” or “Marian entrustment” interchangeably, while being aware of the continued debate amongst Marian scholars between popular terminology and the importance of theological precision. In all that follows here concerning the so-called “Marian consecration,” the author heeds the admonition of ML, §58: “Strictly speaking, consecration, inasmuch as it is a free, total, irrevocable, and perpetual donation, is directed toward God alone.” By using the term “Marian consecration,” the author intends to underscore thereby that this consecration is in fact a consecration to God, made through Mary’s immaculate hands and in accord with Mary’s presence and mission, but nonetheless one that aims after configuration to Jesus Christ in accord with the ecclesial dream of the configuration stage. In this discussion, the author notes the important contribution of René Laurentin, The Meaning of Consecration Today, 201-2 where Laurentin arrives at a nuanced conclusion: “However, it is not necessary to condemn this mistaken terminology out of hand. Often it is maladroit, ambiguous, or simply very, very loose, rather than actually erroneous … The role of God, primary and transcendent, needs to be put back in its proper place. The role of Mary similarly needs to be situated where a creature belongs, dependent upon

165 accretion in an essentially Christological priestly formation, Marian entrustment aims “to establish devotion to our Lord more perfectly, by providing a smooth but certain way of reaching Jesus Christ.”494 De Montfort himself presents the opportuneness for Marian consecration in the configuration stage to advance the project of conformation to Christ using a syllogistic argument:

As all perfection consists in our being conformed, united, and consecrated to Jesus, it naturally follows that the most perfect of all devotions is that which conforms, unites, and consecrates us most completely to Jesus. Now of all God’s creatures, Mary is the most conformed to Jesus. It therefore follows that, of all devotions, devotion to her makes for the most effective consecration and conformity to him. The more one is consecrated to Mary, the more one is consecrated to Jesus.495

The Marian entrustment made famous by the saint de Montfort affirms the Christocentric nature of the configuration stage, while entering into an abiding reciprocal acknowledgment that Mary “accompanies us in our pilgrimage of faith, hope, and charity toward an ever more intense union with Christ, only Savior and Mediator of salvation.”496 Furthermore, the Marian consecration according to the Montfortian formula reflects a mature decision to live in the Marian presence and cooperate in the Marian mission inseparable from and always subordinated to the Trinitarian

God. Doing these things will restore to the word consecration all of its original mobility.” For a different evaluation of the question of Marian consecration versus Marian entrustment, its historical evolution, and the theological questions undermining this theological controversy including Marian mediation, see the scholarship of Msgr. Arthur Burton Calkins in : John Paul II’s Program of Marian Consecration and Entrustment (New Bedford, MA: Academy of the Immaculate, 1992), particularly 139- 56. 494 De Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, §62. 495 De Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, §120. 496 John Paul II, Letter to the Montfort Religious Family, December 8, 2003. English translation at Libreria Editrice Vaticana, http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul- ii/en/letters/2004/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_20040113_famiglie-monfortane.html.

166 presence and mission.497 Seeking to concretize the firmness of seminarians’ convictions and for seminarians to take an onus for their own vocations to holiness and priesthood, the Marian consecration might be celebrated as a seminary community or by groups organized to facilitate not only seminarians’ renewals of their baptismal promises, but the veracity of Mary’s mission and presence in bringing the project of initial priestly formation to completion and their configuration to the one priesthood of Jesus Christ more particularly.498

497 See the conditions of consecration prescribed in the Congregation for Divine Worship, Orientations and Proposals for the Celebration of the Marian Year 1987-1988, April 3, 1987, §86. English translation in Orientations and Proposals for the Celebration of the Marian Year (Manila: Salesiana, 1987): “The consecration to the Blessed Virgin … must not be the fruit of a passing emotion, as sincere as it may be. Such consecration requires personal decision, made freely and maturely after reflection. This must start from a correct evaluation of the primary and fundamental consecration at baptism, and must reach an exact understanding of the theological meaning of consecration to Mary.” The intellectual formation of the configuration stage, wherefore, directly relates to the spiritual formation ensuring a sound Christian anthropology, Christology, sacramental theology, Christian spirituality, and Mariology wherefrom the Marian consecration draws its merit and enkindles a proper understanding. 498 For the relation between the Marian consecration of St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Monfort and baptismal promises, see de Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, §120 where the saint argues that “perfect consecration to Jesus is but a perfect and complete consecration of oneself to the Blessed Virgin, which is the devotion I teach; or in other words, it is the perfect renewal of the vows and promises of holy baptism.” Furthermore, for the saint’s defense of his Marian consecration as the most perfect manner of renewing baptismal promises, see de Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, §§126-31, particularly where he argues for the perfection of his Marian consecration over other manners of renewing baptismal promises, claiming, “I say ‘in a perfect manner,’ for in making this consecration to Jesus they are adopting the perfect means of giving themselves to him, which is the most Blessed Virgin Mary” (§130). Jean Hémery, SMM, offers a contemporary presentation of the place of baptismal renewal in the Montfortian consecration in Jean Hémery, “Baptism,” in Jesus, Living Mary: Handbook of the Spirituality of St. Louis Marie de Montfort, ed. Stefano de Fiores (Bay Shore, NY: Montfort, 1994), 45-56. Of particular relevance to the pedagogical journey of seminarians, especially the configuration stage’s aim, is Fr. Hémery’s treatment of the renewal of baptism in the modern context: “In fact, the renewal of our baptismal commitment is a necessity in order for the Church truly to be the ‘Ecclesia semper reformanda.’ Montfort’s missionary program for renewal of the Christian spirit among the faithful was characterized by the primary and fundamental importance attached to Baptism. And rightly so, for Baptism, with its new life, manifested by a new conduct and spirit, is the Sacrament that establishes the fundamental identity of the Christian. To renew and strengthen the very root of the Christian life clearly contributes to a growing maturity among the People of God” (53).

167 A final consideration for the organic, integral spiritual formation of seminarians in the configuration stage consists in the recognition of the importance of instilling in these seminarians a genuine Marian piety.499 Piety gives expression to Christian faith, and Christian faith is augmented through expressions of authentic piety.500 Cognizant of the proper place of Marian piety that flows from a recognition of Mary’s presence and mission in initial priestly formation, the Congregation for Catholic Education identifies as a crucial task for seminaries that they be “a school of filial love toward[s] her who is the ‘mother of Jesus’ and whom Christ on the cross gave us as our mother. This must not be merely a pietistic and sentimental note attached to spiritual formation in seminaries. Rather the taste for prayer to the Blessed Virgin, confidence in her intercession, and sound habits in this area are to be an integral part of the formation program of a seminary.”501 According to the ecclesial prominence given to Marian piety, spiritual formation cannot forget, let alone condemn, authentic expressions of Marian piety that ought rather to be generously fostered in the seminary community and the spiritual lives of individual seminarians.

4.2.3 Intellectual Formation

The Ratio/16 offers an extensive presentation of intellectual formation in the theological studies, subdivided into the respective

499 ISF, §33. See also LG, §67 that upholds the importance of expressions of Marian piety promoted and celebrated by the Church. For the characteristics of authentic Marian piety as in accord with Scripture, Tradition, the living Magisterium, and marked by a Trinitarian character, see Directory on Popular Piety, §186. The Directory on Popular Piety suggests a helpful list of expressions of Marian piety in §§192-207 including: (1) lectio divina; (2) the Angelus; (3) the ; (4) the Rosary; (5) the Litany of Loreto; (6) Marian consecration; (7) the Brown Scapular and other Marian Scapulars; (8) Medals of the Virgin Mary, especially the celebrated ; and (9) the ancient Akathistos Hymn of the Eastern Churches. 500 For a theological defense of the proper place of authentic Christian piety in the Christian life and in relation to the liturgical life of the Church, see Directory on Popular Piety, §4. 501 Congregation for Catholic Education, Circular Letter Concerning Some of the More Urgent Aspects of Spiritual Formation in Seminaries, January 6, 1980. English translation in Origins 9, no. 38 (1980): 614-15.

168 theological disciplines in paragraphs 166-185, to assist rectors of seminaries, priestly formators, and those responsible for the development of academic curricula for the configuration stage. While, as has been previously noted, the Ratio/16 stresses the primacy of spiritual formation in the configuration stage, the intellectual formation in the theological disciplines cannot be neglected nor should it be reduced to the merely ministerial subjects and practicums, but rather the Church envisions theological studies that are intellectually demanding according to the very theology of the priesthood and for the sake of greater efficacy of ministry.502 The Congregation for Catholic Education offers a defense for a robust theological formation as directly related to future priestly ministry in the modern world:

As their [priests’] numbers decrease owing to the decline in vocations, they will be obliged to undertake greater responsibilities in a pastoral context where certain ministries will be shared with deacons and the faithful. By virtue of their special character, priests will be called upon to share more intimately in the cares of their bishops, undertaking more complex and general pastoral tasks and at the same time far greater initiatives both within their respective dioceses and outside. Such a great increase of pastoral responsibility demands outstanding competence in theology and sound doctrine.503

502 PDV posits that theological studies are not secondary to the ministerial priesthood, but rather ground intellectual formation of the configuration stage “in the very nature of the ordained ministry, and the challenge of the ‘new evangelization’ to which our Lord is calling the Church” (§51). Lest it be argued that the Ratio/16 downplays the importance of theological studies, §141 states that the “commitment of seminarians to their personal academic work, in all the subjects to be studied, must be considered a criterion of vocational discernment, and a condition for their progressive growth in fidelity to their future ministerial endeavor.” 503 Congregation for Catholic Education, The Theological Formation of Future Priests, §1, February 22, 1976. English translation in Origins 6, no. 11 (1976): 174. For still further development of the relationship between intellectual formation and pastoral ministry, see PDV, §51 where Pope John Paul II teaches, “The commitment to study, which takes up no small part of the time of those preparing for the priesthood, is not in

169

While not all priests exercise the vocation of theologian, priestly ministry nonetheless necessitates a thorough intellectual formation in the theological disciplines to respond to the questions of today and aid the People of God in an ever-deepening understanding of all that the faith proposes for belief.504 Situated within the overarching stage’s theme of configuration, theological studies, as reformed by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, “ought to tend not to a mere communication of ideas, but to a true and intimate formation of the students.”505 The content of intellectual formation in the configuration stage primarily concerns God’s self-revelation in the Incarnation, man’s redemption in the Paschal Mystery, and the divine institution of the Church and the life-giving sacraments “through which He communicated truth and grace to all.”506 Theological formation, wherefore, necessarily purposes according to the Second Vatican Council to assist seminarians in the configuration stage to “correctly draw out Catholic doctrine from divine revelation, profoundly penetrate it, make it the food of their own spiritual lives, and be enabled to proclaim, explain, and protect it in their priestly ministry.”507 No subject matter can, therefore, be neglected in theological studies that holds an essential and vital place in revelation, effects man’s salvation, or advances the ecclesial mission of proclamation and celebration of the Kingdom of God. Since the Christian faith centrally concerns the mystery of the Incarnation of the Eternal Word of God, “born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we fact an external and secondary dimension of their human, Christian, spiritual and vocational growth. In reality, through study, especially the study of theology, the future priest assents to the Word of God, grows in his spiritual life, and prepares himself to fulfill his pastoral ministry.” 504 See the affirmation in the Congregation for Catholic Education, The Theological Formation of Future Priests, §1: “Although not every priest is called to be a specialist in theology, there does exist an affinity between pastoral ministry and theological competence. Priests are expected to exercise a true theological ministry in the Christian community, without it being necessary for them to be professional theologians.” 505 OT, §17. 506 LG, §8. 507 OT, §16.

170 might receive adoption as sons,”508 Mary’s presence and mission in salvation history cannot therefore be neglected if intellectual formation is to be realized according to the Church’s plan for initial priestly formation.509 As the title of Chapter VIII of LG seeks to manifest, the study of Christ and of the Church after the manner called forth by the Ratio/16 necessitates the study of the mystery of Mary.510 The educating mission of Mary, as “teacher of true theology,”511 ensures that theological studies remain Trinitarian, Christological, and ecclesiological; to study Mary and to benefit from Mary’s mission is to know more profoundly the mysteries of the Trinity, of the Redeemer, and of the Church as perfectly revealed by God. Pursuant to Mary’s aforementioned active presence in the life of the Church, the human person of Mary instructs seminarians about the truths of God and of men, serving at once as both a true educator in the intellectual life and a living subject of study who reveals God in the mysteries of her own humanity.512 With the Church, seminarians in the intellectual formation of the configuration stage “[meet] the Virgin at every stage of [their] journey toward[s] the discovery of Christ.”513 In

508 Gal 4:4-5. 509 ISF, §1: “The Mother of the Lord is a ‘datum of divine Revelation’ and a ‘maternal presence’ always operative in the life of the Church.” LG, §65 likewise proclaims Mary’s role in salvation history, namely that Mary “unites in herself and re- echoes the greatest teachings of the faith.” 510 The complete title of Chapter VIII, as chosen by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council after much discussion and prayerful consideration, is “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God in the Mystery of Christ and the Church.” 511 Francis, Address to Members of the International Theological Commission, December 5, 2014. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, December 12, 2014, English edition, 7. 512 The classical identification of Mary as illuminatrix further seeks to highlight Mary’s presence that illumines and Mary’s mission to bring light to others, including seminarians in the configuration stage who study the mystery of Mary. Commenting on Mary, the Illuminatrix, St. explains that “Mary, the illuminated is a light- giver by her example, her benefits, and her rewards. She giveth light by the example of her life, by the benefits of her mercy, and by the rewards of her glory.” Bonaventure, The Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Psalter of Our Lady, trans. Mary Emmanuel (St. Louis, MO: Herder, 1932), 22. Through the study of Mary, wherefore, the intellect of seminarians is not only illumined, but the will enkindled with divine love and the ecclesial vision of the configuration stage better realized. 513 Congregation for Catholic Education, Circular Letter Concerning Some of the More Urgent Aspects, §2.4. Later in the same presentation, the Congregation for Catholic Education underscores that ignorance of Mary is ignorance of Christ: “Christology is also

171 these encounters with Mary as teacher and subject of intellectual formation, Mary reminds the men in the configuration stage that theological study ought to begin and end in prayer in a spirit of awe and contemplation. The question arises in the development of curricula concerning Mary’s presence in intellectual formation of the configuration stage, particularly in view of the competing demands for priests to be better formed for priestly life and ministry.514 Despite the identification of such divergent subjects as Scripture, dogmatic theology, moral theology, liturgical theology, Church history, Catholic social doctrine, and canon law, as well as contemporary courses in ecumenism, history of religions, social communication, and administration, no mention is made in the Ratio/16 of Mary’s presence in theological intellectual formation nor is a standalone Mariology course required. The Marian silence in the Ratio/16 in theological studies, repeating that of its predecessor the Ratio/70, is lamentable, but understandable when the Ratio/16 is understood as providing general norms that require

Mariology…The problems which Christology faces today could find their main solution in a fidelity of this kind. In particular, devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary can and must be a guarantee against everything which would tend to eradicate the historicity of the mystery of Christ. One cannot help but wonder whether the decline in devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary does not often mask a certain hesitation to profess frankly and openly the mystery of Christ and the incarnation” (§2.4). 514 Having completed his own initial priestly formation not so many years ago, the author concedes the reality that time for intellectual formation must be balanced with the other pillars of formation and with so many required, core courses; there is limited time for optional course study in seminarians’ particular areas of interest, intellectual formation best left for ongoing formation. OT sagely admonishes, therefore, against “an excessive multiplication of courses and lectures … [in favor of] the omission of those questions which scarcely retain any importance or which ought to be referred to higher academic studies” (§17). With Pope Francis’s Apostolic Constitution on Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties, , the author here hopes to encourage a reassessment of “the structure and method of the academic curricula proposed by the system of ecclesiastical studies, in their theological foundations, in their guiding principles, and in their various levels of disciplinary, pedagogical, and didactical organization.” Francis, Apostolic Constitution on Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties, Veritatis Gaudium, §4b, January 29, 2018. English translation at Holy See Press Office, https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/01/29/180129c.ht ml.

172 concretization in the Ratio nationalis and seminaries’ curricula.515 Consequently, disparity of practice has arisen amongst seminaries, some of which offer a required, separate course on Mariology, while others profess to integrate Mary into the subject matters of the other theological disciplines of the core curriculum (often Ecclesiology), and others still provide an elective course in Mariology.516 Regardless of approach, Mary’s unique presence in

515 The Ratio/16 does not, for example, indicate how many credits are to be awarded for particular courses, nor how the required theological disciplines are to be arranged in sequential order or might be grouped. More concretely, one seminary might offer two separate, required courses on Ecclesiology and Ecumenism whereas another might offer a unified course “Ecclesiology and Ecumenism.” This legitimate unity in diversity oftentimes reflects the historical approach of a seminary, the mission of its sponsoring institute of consecrated life, and more regularly the pastoral needs and future priestly life of the particular students of that seminary. A seminary primarily forming future monastic priests would, for example, likely not emphasize administrative formation to the same degree as a seminary where the majority of the students will be future pastors of parishes with extensive administrative responsibilities. For one example of a specific mention of Mariology in the Ratio nationalis, see the current Ratio nationalis in effect in the United States where §202 specifies the generic category of “dogmatic theology” to essentially and necessarily include Mariology on the authority of ISF. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Program of Priestly Formation: Fifth Edition (Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2006). 516 For some understanding of the historically different approaches made to the question of Mary’s presence in the theological sciences in seminaries in the United States since the Second Vatican Council, see the dated questionnaire and report of findings of then-President of the Mariological Society of America, Fr. Frederick M. Jelly, in “Questionnaire on Seminaries,” Marian Studies 28 (1977): 22-23 and “Summary Report of Replies to the Seminary Questionnaire,” Marian Studies 28 (1977): 24-26. Fr. Johann G. Roten presents still more current data in his article “The Virgin Mary as Known by Youth, as Taught in Colleges and Seminaries: Part II. Marian Studies in American Catholic Colleges and Seminaries,” Marian Studies 45 (1994): 230 where Fr. Roten reports that of the 26 American seminaries that responded to his survey 11 include Mariology occasionally in the other core courses; 17 do so regularly; 4 offer an independent, required Mariology class; and 20 respondent seminaries have an elective, freestanding Mariology course. Although unpublished, reference is also made to the verbal presentation of a similar 2015 survey undertaken by then-President of the Mariological Society of America, Dr. Robert Fastiggi, and presented to the audience at the University of Dayton’s Marian Forum, Session 1 on October 16, 2015 that continues to suggest the contemporary divergent manners in which bishops, seminary rectors, academic deans, and professors introduce the Marian presence into the theological disciplines. Common manners of integrating Mariology into the other theological disciplines include, as these surveys suggest, Mary’s presence and mission in Scripture, Christology, Ecclesiology, Liturgy, Spirituality, or Ecumenism. In accord with the earlier confession of the limited instruction time and tremendous quantity of material to be covered in the

173 the mystery of salvation makes it impossible for Mary to be altogether neglected lest Christ, the Church, and the dignity of the human person also be confused, misrepresented, or forgotten.517 Wherefore, ISF asserts without equivocation that “it would be unthinkable that the teaching of Mariology be obscured today: it is necessary, therefore, that it be given its just place in seminaries.”518

intellectual formation of the configuration stage, the author confesses much reservation about relegating Mary’s presence and mission in salvation history, the praying Church, and the lives of Christian disciples to brief reference in courses on other theological disciplines. For example, the author wonders how an attempt to assert Mary into an already dense course on Ecclesiology that must treat of the notes of the Church, the members of the Church, the Church as sacrament, etc. will also be able to instruct on the Marian dogma of the Assumption or the Immaculate Conception in such a manner that future priests will be able to not only defend these dogmas of the Church based upon Scripture, Tradition, and magisterial teaching, but proclaim and celebrate these dogmas with God’s people. While there is, of course, a relationship between all of the Marian dogmas and doctrines and the Church, of which Mary is an exemplary member, the question arises whether these dogmas cannot be more comprehensively presented in their Christological, ecclesiological, and anthropological dimensions in a proper Mariology course. 517 ML, §66 proposes what the author here calls the “unique presence” as the “singular and special presence: the presence of the Theotokos—her characteristics, her role, her values—constitute a unique event in the history of salvation.” RM, §48 refers to this same presence of Mary as “special” referring to the Second Vatican Council’s decision to integrate the presentation of Mary into the mystery of Christ and the Church in LG, chapter 8. To underscore the altogether singularity of Mary’s presence in salvation history and the Church today, a true especial presence enjoyed by no other human person, the author of this thesis elects to term this presence as “unique.” 518 ISF, §27. The author notes with great concern the widespread ignorance of, or lack of access to, ISF as documented in the aforementioned surveys, which the author can only opine contributes to the general confusion surrounding the presence of Mary in the theological disciplines and seminary curricula. A future edition of the Ratio/16 or a particular Ratio nationalis ought to make explicit reference to ISF’s wholistic treatment of Mariology within intellectual formation of initial priestly formation to overcome this silence. As this thesis prepares for printing, the author notes with great joy the news that the Mariological Society of America determined at its Business Meeting during the 2019 Meeting in Attleboro, MA, to petition diocesan bishops in the United States for the inclusion of a standalone Mariology course in all diocesan seminaries. The author views this as an extremely encouraging development that invites collaboration between Marian scholars and academics and those responsible for initial priestly formation to identify and maintain Mary’s abovementioned active and unique presence in the intellectual formation of the configuration stage. See Edward Looney to Mariological Society of America mailing list, May 31, 2009, no. 1.

174 A seminary, accordingly, would not be in compliance with the guidelines of ISF were there to be no teaching of Mariology.519 Moreover, ISF insists that Mariology, inserted into the theological curriculum in a manner that is harmonious, must present Mary not from an isolated aspect, but rather seek to arrive at a true knowledge of the human person of Mary in the multifarious dimensions of the mystery of her humanity: “in the whole history of salvation, that is in her relation to God; to Christ, the Word incarnate, Savior and Mediator; to the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier and Giver of life; to the Church, sacrament of salvation; to man – in his origins and his development in the life of grace, and his destiny to glory.”520 The intellectual formation of the configuration stage seeks a “systematic treatment”521 that avoids fragmentation or reduction to isolated Mariological data that does not assist seminarians to come to a “complete and unified vision of the truths which God has revealed in Jesus Christ.”522 The active presence of Mary that is unique and obedient, coupled with the Marian mission that is permanent and effective, advance intellectual formation in the configuration stage where Mary emerges as both teacher and subject, mother and companion in discovering the truths of God, the Church, and man.

519 ISF, §30 emphasizes, “It is necessary, therefore, that every center of theological study – according to its proper physiognomy – plan that in its Ratio studiorum the teaching of Mariology be included, having the characteristics listed above; and, consequently, with the teachers of Mariology being properly qualified.” Concerning the necessary theological preparation of seminary professors of Mariology, the author acknowledges his alma mater, the International Marian Research Institute that has labored to ensure professors are adequately prepared for the ecclesial mission of teaching Mary in a manner suited for future priests. An example of the ecclesial importance given to intellectual formation in Mariology can be found in the Final Report from the Apostolic Visitation of Seminaries in the United States that identifies lacunae in American seminaries at that time: “Mariology and Patristics were frequently mentioned as being among these lacunae.” Congregation for Catholic Education, correspondence to the Cardinals, , Bishops, and Major Superiors of the United States of America with responsibility for diocesan seminaries and religious houses of priestly formation, December 15, 2008. 520 ISF, §28. The same paragraph of ISF establishes three essential dimensions of all Mariology, namely that the study of Mary be “(1) organic; (2) complete; and (3) suited” (§28). 521 ISF, §28. 522 PDV, §54.

175 The author, therefore, urges those responsible for the development of the Ratio nationalis and seminary curricula to include at the very least a required course in Mariology to properly appreciate the sources and methods of Mariology; to offer ample opportunity for the study of Marian dogma and doctrine; to contemplate Mary’s presence in Sacred Scripture, the Church, liturgy, spirituality, ecumenism, Church history, art, and music; and to foster not only an awareness of the Marian presence in the lives of these priestly candidates, but also to solicit an active, filial cooperation in Mary’s mission to bring forth priests configured to Jesus Christ.

4.2.4 Pastoral Formation

Pastoral formation during the configuration stage grounds seminarians in pastoral charity that inseparably flows from seminarians’ personal intimacy with and conformation to Jesus.523 Through configuration to the Lord, a nearness to God’s people results that does not end at the conclusion of the configuration stage, but rather becomes through the reception of Holy Orders “a permanent and irreversible way of life.”524 Formation in pastoral charity in the configuration stage, wherefore, purports to conform seminarians to the selflessness of Christ that they might generously respond to the needs of God’s people.525 Considering Jesus the Good Shepherd, as revealed in John 10, the Ratio/16 proposes that during the configuration stage seminarians are transformed into “the likeness of the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep, gives

523 Ratio/16, §29. Interestingly, Fr. Robert Barron expresses the relationship between priestly spirituality and priestly labors from the perspective of mystagogue, suggesting, “The one who bears the Mystery must be both teacher and preacher. In Christ, God has spoken the definitive word of love. Conformed personally and existentially to that word, the priest speaks of and from the experience of being grasped by God.” Barron, “Priest As Bearer of the Mystery,” 11. 524 PDV, §70. 525 PDV, §13 likewise reflects upon the model of Jesus’s priesthood in relation to a shepherd’s calling, writing, “He [Jesus] is the shepherd who has come ‘not to be served but to serve,’ who in the pastoral action of the washing of the feet leaves to his disciples a model of service to one another and who freely offers himself as the ‘innocent lamb’ sacrificed for our redemption.”

176 his life for them, and seeks out the ones that have wandered from the fold.”526 Pastoral formation in the configuration stage, therefore, seeks that these seminarians come to a more compassionate, wholehearted understanding of God’s people to cultivate accompaniment through self-sacrifice and zeal for souls.527 Seminarians, configuring their minds and hearts to the Good Shepherd, find their perspectives broadened and hearts filled with pastoral benevolence when they see with the Church that through the waters of baptism “the Church, our mother, has given to children of this earth a new birth as children of heaven.”528 The human, spiritual, and intellectual formation of the configuration stage enriches pastoral formation; the maturation realized in these three pillars finds meaningful expression, as well as testing, in the pastoral experiences of the configuration stage. The Ratio/16 identifies some moments for pastoral formation in the configuration stage: in the exercise of the ministries of lector and acolyte, as well as “catechesis, evangelization, and the service of their neighbor.”529 During these formative moments in pastoral charity, the Ratio/16 seeks “to overcome this divorce between theology and pastoral care, between faith and life.”530 While

526 Ratio/16, §69. 527 PDV, §22: “By virtue of their consecration, priests are configured to Jesus the Good Shepherd and are called to imitate and to live out his own pastoral charity.” 528 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 49. Additionally, the Ratio/16 offers a rich reflection on pastoral formation after the example of the Good Shepherd: “The gaze of the Good Shepherd, who seeks out, walks alongside and leads his sheep, will form a serene, prudent, and compassionate outlook in him. He will exercise his ministry with a disposition of serene openness and attentive accompaniment in all situations, even those that are most complex, showing the beauty and the demands of Gospel truth, without falling into legalistic or rigorist obsessions. In this way, he will know how to offer pathways of faith with little steps, that can more easily be understood and accepted” (§120). The exemplarity of Mary’s right judgment, discretion, and tolerance, as previously treated, facilitate the disposition of a personality and pastoral ministry that truly accords with that of the Good Shepherd as envisioned by the Church. 529 Ratio/16, §72. For help with proclaiming the Word of God in accord with the rubrics of the liturgy and in a dignified manner, see the practical works: Jack Hartjes, Read the Way You Talk: A Guide for Lectors (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2004) and the dated, but eminently practical Benedict E. Hardman, Speech and Oral Reading Techniques for Mass Lectors and Commentators (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1966). 530 Francis, Video Message to Participants in an International Theological Congress Held at the Pontifical Catholic University of , September 1-3, 2015. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, September 11, 2015, English edition, 9. 177 human, spiritual, and intellectual formation enrich the pastoral experiences of the configuration stage, in like manner pastoral formation ensures a formation in the other three pillars that advances the Church’s evangelizing mission through nearness to the people and the joys and sorrows of contemporary life. The presence and mission of Mary, considered in the glory of Mary’s bodily Assumption, animate pastoral formation in the configuration stage towards man’s end, thus avoiding a mere functionalism or preoccupation with temporal administration that this stage seeks to overcome through the life project of configuration to Jesus. Paul VI expounds:

Contemplated in the episodes of the gospels and in the reality which she already possesses in the City of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary offers a calm vision and a reassuring word to modern man, torn as he often is between anguish and hope, defeated by the sense of his own limitations and assailed by limitless aspirations, troubled in his mind and divided in his heart, uncertain before the riddle of death, oppressed by loneliness while yearning for fellowship, a prey to boredom and disgust. She shows forth the victory of hope over anguish, of fellowship over solitude, of peace over anxiety, of joy and beauty over boredom and disgust, of eternal visions over earthly ones, of life over death.531

In the pastoral formation of the configuration stage, Mary’s active and unique presence finds expression when seminarians enter into the pastoral ministry of the Good Shepherd through the proclamation of the Good News and a personal responsibility for the Church’s evangelizing mission. During the configuration stage, seminarians form the mind and heart of a pastor who exercises priestly ministry as a true shepherd of the flock. Assumed body and soul into heaven, time and space no longer bound Mary, but rather Mary of Nazareth can be found in the pastoral experiences

531 MC, §57.

178 of these seminarians where Mary exercises a maternal mission of shepherding these future shepherds of souls.532 With Mary’s presence, seminarians find their pastoral labors made extraordinarily fecund as a direct consequence of the permanent mission of Mary in leading souls to Jesus and the efficacy of this mission. In the divergent circumstances of pastoral experience deemed opportune by priestly formators, seminarians learn from Mary how to exercise right judgment and tolerance that leads to the fullness of truth and puts their intellectual studies into practice. Through evangelization and catechesis, the mystery of Mary known by faith is taught. By proclaiming the Word of God and serving at the altar as lectors and acolytes, seminarians celebrate this same Mary of faith with the praying Church to give glory, adoration, and praise to the Trinity with Mary. Having devoted much attention in both the spiritual and intellectual pillars of the configuration stage to the Eucharist, the votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Temple of the Lord suggests in the Postcommunion how the Mother of the Eucharist assists seminarians to contemplate God not only in the Blessed Sacrament but also in those to whom they minister, praying, “Lord our God, you have nourished us with food and drink from heaven; grant that, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may serve you in holiness of life, revere your presence in our neighbor, and with Mary proclaim your greatness with sincerity of heart.”533 Pastoral formation of the configuration stage purposes to form men of

532 Reflecting upon what this author has chosen to term the “unique and active presence of Mary,” Discalced Carmelite Fr. Wilfrid Stinissen similarly notes, “Through Mary’s Assumption, she passed over to a universal presence from the limited presence that characterized her life on earth. Always and everywhere Mary is with us, wherever we may be and wherever we may go. She fills the whole universe…When we pray the ‘’ during the day, on the street or at work, we do not speak into a vacuum. Mary is always present. It can give us great joy to discover that Mary’s Assumption into heaven, which appeared to take her far away, really brought her closer to us. Thanks to the Assumption, she is present at the center of our lives.” Wilfrid Stinissen, Mary in the Bible and in Our Lives, trans. Clare Marie (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2018), 106-7. Furthermore, the author here recalls the marvelous Spanish invocation of Mary as the “Divina Pastora” to signify how through Mary’s maternity Mary reveals herself a shepherdess who attends to the Good Shepherd whom she nurses, protects, and serves with perfect, selfless maternal solicitude and love. 533 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 196.

179 service who find God dwelling in all those they meet and all those they serve; when seminarians exercise pastoral charity in the spirit of Mary, animated by the aforementioned Marian virtues of right judgment and tolerance, they continue Mary’s permanent mission by not only bringing Jesus to souls, but finding the little Jesus dwelling in souls.534 While continuing Mary’s permanent mission, seminarians in the configuration stage, however, likewise benefit from the permanency of Mary’s mission wherein “she continues this of forming Christ in each of us. In order to attain her goal of making us other Christs, Mary has the duty of getting us to live as Christians. And this means living according to the spirit of the Beatitudes. This is her job.”535 As the pastoral formation of earlier stages continues, seminarians in the configuration stage resume the recognition of their own biases and sinfulness that can become a barrier to priestly ministry. Mary therewith unites her spiritual children under her maternal mantle in a common fraternity of mankind that is warm, open, and inclusive. Seminarians in the configuration stage discover how pastoral ministry is enriched with the cooperation of all the members of the People of God: laity, consecrated men and women, and clerics.536 Collaborating in ministry, Mary’s active presence ensures through divine grace a peaceful, loving service to realize Christ’s prayer, made Mary’s prayer, that all may be united in the Kingdom of God.537 After the

534 The author here recalls the Marian mystery of the Finding in the Temple, a mysterious discovery that seminarians now make in their pastoral labors where they find the Child Jesus not in Jerusalem’s celebrated Temple, but in the temple of the souls of their brothers and sisters in Christ. 535 William Behringer, Mary and the Beatitudes (Staten Island, NY: Alba House, 1966), 33. 536 Regarding collaboration, see Ratio/16, §124 that expounds that pastoral experiences “must be guided by priests, consecrated persons or lay people who are truly expert and prudent.” 537 Jn 17:21. See the Postcommunion of the votive Mass of Holy Mary, Mother of Unity that accordingly prays: “Lord God, through your holy gifts which we have received on this memorial of Holy Mary, Mother of unity, pour out upon us the Spirit of gentleness and peace, that we may work together in harmony and so hasten the coming of your Kingdom.” Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 240. Marianist William Behringer cites the active and unique presence of Mary, conjoined to Mary’s permanent and effective mission, as a reason for great hope that peace and harmony may reign: “She is calling us to be peacemakers in the fullest sense by bringing

180 model of the Good Shepherd who “lays down his life for the sheep,”538 pastoral formation in the configuration stage seeks to train future priests in the selfless spirit of sacrifice and generosity that is not only found in Mary’s joys and sorrows, but rewarded and continues in Mary’s glory.

4.3 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the configuration stage of the Ratio/16, as the third stage of initial priestly formation, seeks to conform seminarians to the one priesthood of Jesus Christ: Head, Shepherd, Servant, and Spouse. The conformation of the configuration stage occurs through a personal, intimate, profound, contemplative encounter with Christ Jesus in the realization of one’s dignity as a child of God, in the acquisition of priestly spirituality, by assiduous application to theological studies, and finally through pastoral encounters and service to God’s people in the communion of the Church. Through union with God in the Church, seminarians discover their vocations to offer their lives in selfless service and true Christian charity for others after the example of the God-Man and Eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ. The Marian presence and Marian mission greatly enhance, augment, and bolster the realization of the Church’s vision for the configuration stage as Mary’s presence emerges active, unique, and obedient to realize Mary’s permanent and effective mission within the Church as willed by God. The following charts identify the emergence of these notes of Marian presence and mission within the four pillars of the configuration stage:

MARIAN PRESENCE IN THE CONFIGURATION STAGE Human Spiritual Intellectual Pastoral Obedient Active Unique

the world back to Christ and thus back together. Mary in the role of Mother and Queen of Unity is calling all of us to work for a Better World—a Christian world, a world united in its attempt to live in the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount.” Behringer, Mary and the Beatitudes, 127. 538 Jn 10:11. 181

MARIAN MISSION IN THE CONFIGURATION STAGE Human Spiritual Intellectual Pastoral Permanent Effective

Moreover, the Marian dogma of the Assumption underscores the final aim of configuration to Jesus—eternal beatitude—while the Marian pericope of the Visitation evinces how man is configured to God through love of God and love of neighbor in Mary’s journey to her cousin, Elizabeth, and the sanctification of in Elizabeth’s womb. The human virtues of right judgment and tolerance found in Mary assist in the formation of seminarians whose hearts are transformed in the of Jesus Christ that burns with solicitude for man’s salvation and all of the needs of mankind.

182 Chapter 5

Pastoral Stage

Analogous to the previous two stages of discipleship and configuration, the Ratio/16 proposes dual names for the fourth and final stage of initial priestly formation as “pastoral” or “vocational synthesis.”539 As the concluding stage of initial priestly formation, the pastoral stage begins at diaconate ordination and concludes with priestly ordination.540 The pastoral stage, identified by the

539 Ratio/16, §57. Cognizant of the common denomination since the Second Vatican Council in many places of the final stage of initial priestly formation as “pastoral,” the author elects to refer to this stage as “pastoral,” although the nature of this stage as a synthesis will also be considered. 540 The Ratio/16, wherefore, makes obligatory and an essential stage of initial priestly formation what sometimes was referred to as the “pastoral year” or “diaconal internship,” augmenting the concurrent field education that previously occurred in the earlier stages’ pastoral formation, yet now envisioned as a full-time experience. In “Critical Questions Related to the Length of the Theological Seminary Program and Transition Into the Presbyterate,” 3-4, seminary rectors note three divergent disciplines that emerged for this period of formation generally in the parish and away from the seminary: “(1) One model, sometimes referred to as a pastoral year, is an extended block of time in the middle of the theological program. In this model, the experience can be an instrument for pastoral and professional growth as well as an evaluative instrument for ministerial capability. (2) Another model, generally called an internship, is placed toward the end of the theological program. (It often begins with diaconate ordination.) The student returns to the seminary after the experience with the expectation of reflection and assessment of the experience. (3) The third model, also referred to as internship, takes place after the other elements of the theological program are completed. It usually begins with diaconate or priestly ordination. The student does not return to the seminary setting. The purpose of this internship is to assist the students in their transition to full-time ministry without the necessity of interrupting their academic programs.” “Critical Questions Related to the Length of the Theological Seminary Program and Transition Into the Presbyterate,” Seminaries in Dialogue 3 (1982): 8. In its current form, the Ratio/16 necessitates what these rectors call an “internship outside of seminary” in the “pastoral stage.” Msgr. Dennis M. Regan offers an interesting argument, perhaps rebutted through a comprehensive program of pastoral formation in the earlier three stages of initial priestly formation, against a pastoral stage after diaconal ordination where some men may discern that they are not called to the priesthood, a serious difficulty since the transitional diaconate is not ad experimentum. Regan contends that the transitional diaconate “is supposed to be a permanent life-long commitment. Yet, in some instances, all they [the seminarians] had had up to that point was the field education experience which may or

183 Fathers of the Second Vatican Council as advantageous to initial priestly formation, aims to realize “a suitable introduction to pastoral work, in order that [the diocesan bishop] may more satisfactorily test the fitness of candidates for the priesthood.”541 Generally occurring outside the seminary community, the pastoral stage lasts at a minimum six months and centrally concerns “helping the candidate to acquire the necessary understanding in preparation for [priestly ordination].”542 Since the priestly candidates have entered the order of deacon, the pastoral stage emerges as a period of service of God and neighbor at the service of the Church with each deacon “constituted a living icon of Christ the servant within the Church.”543 may not have brought them into any in-depth relationship with the ministry, the clergy, rectory life, or diocesan reality before they were deacons in a parish and before they had already made their permanent commitment.” Dennis M. Regan, “Alternatives in Pastoral Formation: Deacon Internship or a Pastoral Year,” Seminaries in Dialogue 2 (1981): 19. Fr. Raymond Webb likewise identifies difficulties during the pastoral stage in rectory living, provocatively writing, “The tensions of rectory living may be more significant than the tensions of ministry. In a relatively short time, the newly ordained may have moved from living alone before entering seminary, to living in community at the seminary, to living with one’s pastor, to living alone as a pastor. In addition, priests frequently reside at the church, at the ‘workplace.’ Pastors, associate pastors, and parishioners may have very different ideas about privacy and whether the rectory is a private residence or the ‘parish house.’” Raymond J. Webb, “Transitions into Diocesan Priesthood,” in The Core Elements of Priestly Formation Programs: A Collection of Readings, vol. 1 (Arlington, VA: National Catholic Educational Association, 2005), 56. 541 OT, §12. The same paragraph continues by encouraging bishops to consider “whether it be opportune to rule that students, at the end of their course in theology, exercise the order of deacon for a fitting period of time before being promoted to the priesthood” (§12). The Ratio/16 now makes the pastoral stage obligatory after the successful completion of the configuration stage. 542 Ratio/16, Introduction, 3. For the duration of the pastoral stage, see Ratio/16, §74 and CIC/83, c. 1031, §1. In purposing to assist priestly candidates to better understand the responsibilities entailed in the full care of souls, the Ratio/16 here appears to be an application of OT, §6’s appeal that “to be considered is the ability of the candidate to bear the priestly burdens and exercise the pastoral offices.” 543 Congregation for Catholic Education, Ratio fundamentalis Diacono Permanente, §11. Although the referenced text refers explicitly to the permanent diaconate, the theology remains the same for the one sacrament of Holy Orders to the order of deacons. Earlier, the Ratio fundamentalis Diacono Permanente similarly summarizes the ecclesial vocation of a deacon “as a participation in the one ecclesiastical ministry, he is a specific sacramental sign, in the Church, of Christ the servant” (§5). Practically commenting on the deacon as servant of Christ and servant of the Church, Fr. Paul E. Ritt remarks, “If the deacon is to serve as symbol of Christian service, he needs to develop skills that will enable him to communicate effectively with a wide

184 Throughout the pastoral stage, seminarians, now ordained transitional deacons, exercise the diaconal ministry that they have received and as scripturally founded in Acts 6, a ministry of service and communion configured to Christ the servant. These transitional deacons exercise the triple diakonia or munera of service proper to deacons, namely “of the liturgy, of the Word, and of charity to the people of God.”544 Through diaconal ordination, the candidates have not, however, been configured to Christ the Head, a configuration proper to bishops and priests.545 Within the pastoral stage, the Church envisions a pedagogical journey where priestly candidates here begin a variety of people and other ministers in the Church. The deacon should have basic competence in the full range of theological disciplines and pastoral arts, especially care of the sick, evangelization of the marginalized or unchurched, and liturgical proclamation. Most of all, the deacon should be ready to assist other ecclesial leaders whenever and wherever diaconal assistance is needed.” Paul E. Ritt, “Twenty-Five Years of Restored Diaconate,” Church 9 (1993): 44. 544 LG, §29 that continues with a fuller depiction of diaconate ministry: “It is the duty of the deacon, according as it shall have been assigned to him by competent authority, to administer baptism solemnly, to be custodian and dispenser of the Eucharist, to assist at and bless marriages in the name of the Church, to bring Viaticum to the dying, to read the Sacred Scripture to the faithful, to instruct and exhort the people, to preside over the worship and prayer of the faithful, to administer sacramentals, to officiate at funeral and burial services.” Commenting on paragraph 29 of LG, Deacon Tim O’Donnell adds that the conciliar vision of deacons is “more concerned with implementation than with policy, and where any exercise of leadership over others is limited and performed under supervision. In the tasks of teaching and sanctifying, then, deacons are simply more limited than bishops and priests. But in the focus on works of charity and on the limited and supervised exercise of leadership, deacons are distinctive—indeed unique—within the clergy.” Tim O’Donnell, “Should Deacons Represent Christ the Servant?,” Theological Studies 78: 862. For a biblical understanding of the Greek term “diakonia,” see Avery Dulles, Models of the Church (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1974), 93 where then-Fr. Dulles theorizes on the varied and broad extension of diakonia within the Early Church: “The term applies to all types of ministry—including the ministry of the Word, of sacraments, and of temporal help. All offices in the Church are forms of diakonia, and thus the term, in biblical usage, cannot properly be used in opposition to preaching or worship. Furthermore, the diakonia that goes on in the Church is generally, if not always, seen as the behavior of Christians toward one another. It would be surprising to find in the Bible any statement that the Church as such is called upon to perform diakonia toward the world.” 545 Benedict XVI, Apostolic Letter motu proprio on Several Amendments to the Code of Canon Law, Omnium in Mentem, art. 2, October 26, 2009. English translation at Libreria Editrice Vaticana, http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict- xvi/en/apost_letters/documents/hf_ben-xvi_apl_20091026_codex-iuris-canonici.html.

185 “ministry of love that manifests itself in an intense commitment to the Word of God and to the practice of charity, just like [St.] Stephen and the others who were chosen by the Apostles in the early Christian community. Although [their] time as deacons aims at preparing [them] for more extensive ecclesial service as Priests of Jesus Christ … [nonetheless they] are ministers of the Word.”546 The transitory nature of the diaconate for priestly candidates does not lessen the responsibilities of diaconal ministry nor the veracity of the sacrament and indelible character of Holy Orders received, but rather establishes a sacramental configuration to Christ the servant ordered towards forthcoming priestly configuration to Christ.547 Noteworthy in the provisions for initial priestly formation found in the Ratio/16, the Church seeks for the pastoral stage to synthesize, as the dual name suggests, all earlier formation in the four pillars and stages.548 The pastoral stage, wherefore, cannot and

546 John Paul II, Address to the Community of the Pontifical North American College, April 15, 1983. English translation at Congregation for the Clergy, http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/frt.htm#by. 547 Here the Ratio/16 seems to resolve the practical argument raised by some seminary rectors in “Critical Questions Related to the Length of the Theological Seminary Program and Transition Into the Presbyterate,” 8 that argues against the suitability of using the diaconate as a time for testing of priestly life and ministry, which might appear to minimize the life and ministry of the diaconate, as transitional or permanent, in the life of the Church per se. Interestingly, the rectors who participated considered instead that “since the diaconate for priesthood is, in fact, transitional, perhaps only a short period of time should elapse between the two ordinations. A few weeks or months might be sufficient” (8). By contrast, Fr. Louis Bouyer argues for an extended diaconate, rather than a shortened one, where the diaconal ministry of transitional deacons can assist priests over a lengthened period. See Louis Bouyer, Introduction to the Spiritual Life (Notre Dame, IN: Christian Classics, 2013), 291. CIC/83, c. 1031, §1 legislates, however, “an interval of at least six months is to be observed between the diaconate and the presbyterate.” Ratio/16, §78 affirms regarding diaconate and priesthood that “they are two very different moments.” The pastoral stage of initial priestly training as transitional deacons, wherefore, maintains its own sacramental character and place in the life of the Church that cannot be hastily reduced to a mere step towards priestly ordination, but rather a true sacramental configuration to Jesus Christ the servant. 548 Although addressing the question of ongoing priestly formation, PDV offers a helpful admonition for the synthesis proper to the pastoral stage that “its aim cannot be the inculcation of a purely ‘professional’ approach, which could be acquired by learning a few new pastoral techniques. Instead its aim must be that of promoting a general and integral process of constant growth, deepening each of the aspects of formation—human,

186 must not be reduced to merely pastoral formation, which would fail to integrate the organic, gradual formative process previously begun in its multifaceted dimensions of human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral.549 This synthesis of the varying components of initial priestly formation is necessarily and essentially Christological, since “it is only in the crucified and risen Christ that this path of integration finds meaning and completion; all things are united in him, so that ‘God might be all in all.’”550 The important and dynamic labors of earlier stages here finds solidification in men called to be missionary disciples and at the conclusion of the pastoral stage configured to share in the one ministerial priesthood of the God-Man, Jesus Christ.

5.1 THE AIM OF THE PASTORAL STAGE

The Ratio/16 states two goals for the pastoral stage: (1) introduction to the life and duties of a shepherd of the People of God and (2) deliberate, tranquil preparation for priestly ordination “with the help of a specific accompaniment.”551 The dual names of spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral—as well as ensuring their active and harmonious integration, based on pastoral charity and in reference to it” (§71). 549 The better to overcome this appearance of mere reduction to pastoral formation, the author concedes a hope for greater development in forthcoming Ratios of the precise nature of all four pillars in the pastoral stage. In its current form, the Ratio/16, admitting the divergent practices in the particular Churches, leaves the discernment of “the formative programs in preparation for diaconal and priestly ordination” to the Ratio nationalis and seminary programs (§75). Concerned that such little specificity is given, the author expresses concern for the integral formation of the fourth and final stage, which appears considerably underdeveloped in comparison to the propaedeutic, discipleship, and configuration stages. The author holds that the candidate cannot adequately prepare for priestly ordination, as this stage purposes, without due attention to the four arenas of human formation not in a generic or nebulous sense, but concretely. In all that follows in Chapter 5, the author hopes to offer some potential concretizations from the Marian presence and mission to avoid an oversimplification of the pastoral stage to full-time pastoral experience, mindful however that the author here exercises greater creativity than in earlier chapters. 550 Ratio/16, §29 (emphasis original). 551 Ratio/16, §74. The second aim of preparing transitional deacons for priestly ordination appears to be an attempt to realize the norms of CIC/83, cc. 1027 and 1028, namely that “[t]hose aspiring to the diaconate and presbyterate are to be formed by careful preparation, according to the norm of law” and that “before candidates are

187 this stage as pastoral and vocational synthesis attempt to make clear the final stage of initial priestly formation’s special aims that seminarians, now ordained deacons, draw “towards the Father and towards others, embracing the call to priesthood, dedicating [themselves] to work with the Holy Spirit, to achieve a serene and creative interior synthesis between strength and weakness.”552 The first aim of a gradual, mature, conscientious assumption of pastoral duties necessitates a spirit of openness and lifelong learning that looks outward in caritative service manifesting the Church as servant of the people and witnessing to Jesus Christ “who was known among his disciples as the one who served others.”553 The second aim of the pastoral stage to prayerfully and resolutely prepare for priestly ordination, “to declare freely, consciously, and definitively his intention to be a priest,”554 receives external manifestation in the definitive answers of ordinands to the bishop’s examination within the ordination ritual prior to priestly ordination.555 Concerning preparation for priestly ordination, the Ratio/16 stresses spiritual preparation, which must exceed the canonically obligatory five-day retreat by continued spiritual

promoted to any order, they are instructed properly about those things which belong to the order and its obligations.” Msgr. Dennis M. Regan suggests the merit of the pastoral stage in “Alternatives in Pastoral Formation,” 19-23. Based upon the practical experience of priestly candidates living away from the seminary in a pastoral context, Regan concludes that seminarians “do not have any problem with the priesthood on the theological level, but rather on the experiential level. They are being forced to internalize their own expectations of life- style: what it should be, what structures either inhibit or promote growth in ministry, what am I going to be like at 45, or 55, or 60? … The realization is coming that they are ‘not being prepared for ordination, but they are being prepared for the life of priesthood’” (23). 552 Ratio/16, §29. 553 Ordination of a Deacon, Rites of the Catholic Church, vol. 2, 29. 554 Ratio/16, §74. 555 Ordination of a Priest, Rites of the Catholic Church, vol. 2, 42. Here the bishop makes four inquiries: (1) generous, lifelong priestly service in collaboration with the bishop; (2) celebration of the life-giving sacraments according to the mind and discipline of the Church; (3) proclamation and teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and (4) consecration and complete gift of one’s life to Christ, the Church, and the People of God. In each instance, the candidate unequivocally responds, “I am,” and adds on the fourth inquiry, “with the help of God” (42).

188 formation throughout the whole of the pastoral stage.556 Preparation of the whole man for priestly ordination, however, as envisioned by the Church necessitates that all four pillars of initial priestly formation be advanced during the pastoral stage. The author humbly proposes two Marian pericopes as sources of inspiration and reflection to realize the ecclesial aims of the pastoral stage, corresponding to the dual names of this stage. First, the mystery of the wedding feast of Cana found in Jn 2:1-11 animates the pastoral stage with a spirit of caritative service. In her maternal solicitude for the husband and wife and the wedding’s guests by quietly noticing the shortage of wine, Mary turns to Jesus for a resolution of this difficulty. Mary thus reaffirms a ministry of service wherein the minister does not have all the answers nor can he solve all the hardships he confronts. Instead, Mary reveals the disposition of a true disciple of Christ who turns to Jesus. Despite Jesus’s affirmation that the “hour has not yet come,”557 Mary nonetheless commissions the servants at the wedding feast, just as she does the men in priestly formation, to “[d]o whatever he tells you.”558 The wedding at Cana rightly orders Mary in salvation history as leading to Christ and interceding before Christ in every hardship and difficulty.559 Mary’s presence wherefore solicits

556 Ratio/16, §77: “Those who receive Holy Orders need a suitable time of preparation, especially of a spiritual nature.” For the canonical norm, see CIC/83, c. 1039 that prescribes “a retreat for at least five days, in a place and in the manner determined by the Ordinary. Before he proceeds to the ordination, the bishop must have assured himself that the candidates have duly made the retreat.” The pastoral stage might, therefore, be considered as augmenting the five-day retreat with an extended period of at least six months of preparation for the reception of priestly ordination. 557 Jn 2:4. 558 Jn 2:5. 559 Commenting on Mary at Cana, Fr. Stinissen, OCD, theorizes on Mary’s mission of caritative service in relation to God and man, “Mary’s eyes were opened to the needs of the newly married couple. She showed even here that she was not only the Mother of Jesus, but also the Mother of all people. It is typical of her to be especially attentive to the distress and concerns within the house of the Church. Where there is a need, Mary is there. But is Jesus not enough? Jesus would surely not have performed a miracle at Cana if Mary had not been there. It is true Mary is not on the same level as Jesus. We have only one Savior and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Mary stands between him and us, not in order to separate but to unite. She turns to Jesus so that he will look at us, and she turns to us so that we will look at Jesus.” Stinissen, Mary in the Bible and in Our Lives, 74.

189 Mary’s mission of spiritual maternity into which these future priests participate by their spiritual paternity.560 The second Marian pericope that assists in the realization of the purposes of the pastoral stage can be found in Jn 19:25-27 where Jesus Christ from the cross entrusts Mary to and John to Mary to solicit “the Marian dimension of the life of Christ’s disciples.”561 In this one mystery known as the entrustment or commending, there are dual commendings: one of the disciples and one of the Virgin; both are given, one to the other, “as a special parting gift, by which Christ the Lord ‘entrusted’ to his Virgin Mother ‘all his disciples as her children,’ and entrusted his Mother to his disciples to be honored and revered.”562 The entrustment drama on Calvary extends beyond the person of John the Evangelist to each and every follower of Jesus who receives the duties and dignities of being a son to Mary who takes Mary into his life. In the Johannine account of the double entrustment, Jesus first calls Mary to a new maternal mission as the Mother of the Church becoming the adoptive mother of the brothers and sisters of Jesus through baptism, as well as the universal mother of all of humanity. Having enlarged Mary’s vocation on Calvary, Jesus then turns to the beloved disciple, John, and gives him Mary as his spiritual and adoptive, but nonetheless real, mother. In this final stage of synthesis, the maturation

560 Interestingly, RM, §21 identifies dual Marian doctrines in the miracle of the wedding at Cana, namely maternal mediation that assists Mary’s spiritual children and as the “spokeswoman of her Son’s will, pointing out those things which must be done so that the salvific power of the Messiah may be manifested” (§21). Pope John Paul II identifies Marian mediation as maternal wherein Mary “puts herself ‘in the middle,’ that is to say she acts as a mediatrix not as an outsider, but in her position as mother. She knows that as such she can point out to her Son the needs of mankind, and in fact, she ‘has the right’ to do so. Her mediation is thus in the nature of intercession: Mary ‘intercedes’ for mankind. And that is not all. As a mother she also wishes the messianic power of her Son to be manifested, that salvific power of his which is meant to help man in his misfortunes, to free him from the evil which in various forms and degrees weighs heavily upon his life” (§21). Commenting on Pope John Paul II’s generous use of the theological notion of maternal mediation, ML expounds that “maternal mediation” is but “one aspect of Mary’s universal motherhood in the order of grace.” ML, §52. 561 RM, §45. 562 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 39. Here the author draws much inspiration from the Introduction to the votive Mass of the Commending of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Fr. Ignazio M. Calabuig, OSM.

190 purposed in earlier stages to give and receive love becomes unshakably solidified through the recognition that Jesus entrusts to all his disciples, and especially priests, the gift of Mary of Nazareth, Jesus’s Mother. Wherefore, Pope John Paul II suggests the significance of the pericope of the entrustment to make a good synthesis of the formation process: “Such entrusting is the response to a person’s love, and in particular to the love of a mother.”563 Mary enjoys both an essential presence and an essential mission in the pastoral stage to realize the ecclesial aspiration of vocational synthesis. The essential nature of both Marian presence and Marian mission originate not in Mary herself, but in God who wills that Mary’s presence and mission link the earlier stages of initial priestly formation realized in priestly ordination and continuing in ongoing priestly formation.564 In RM, John Paul II expounds the essential presence of Mary: “[I]n the redemptive economy of grace, brought about through the action of the Holy Spirit, there is a unique correspondence between the moment of the Incarnation of the Word and the moment of the birth of the Church. The person who links these two moments is Mary: Mary at Nazareth and Mary in the Upper Room at Jerusalem. In both cases, her discreet yet essential presence indicates the path of ‘birth from the Holy Spirit.’”565 In the Ratio/16’s vision of the pastoral stage as a vocational synthesis that solicits a definitive answer and finds expression in a budding priestly ministry of service, the essential nature of Mary’s presence and mission safeguards the Church’s dream of initial priestly training for missionary discipleship solidified in configuration to Christ and ordered

563 RM, §45. 564 The author here uses the qualification of “essential,” after the lead of RM, but with much caution lest essential be falsely understood as necessary in a manner comparable to God, which is heretical in its confusion of the Divine Persons of the Trinity with the human person of Mary. LG, §66 affirms, concerning Marian devotion, that “although it is altogether singular, differs essentially from the cult of adoration which is offered to the Incarnate Word, as well to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and it is most favorable to it.” By presenting Marian presence and mission as essential, the author ambitions to impress upon configuration to the God-Man, Jesus Christ—Head, Shepherd, Servant, Spouse—as most and truly essential for priestly life and ministry. 565 RM, §24.

191 towards charity in the heart of the Church. Without Mary, missionary discipleship and configuration to the Lord lack their perfect, sinless model, and Mary’s mission to realize and integrate the journey of initial priestly formation remains frustrated. Although speaking of the mystery of the Incarnation, Pope John Paul II’s confession of the essential presence and mission of Mary remains also true in the pedagogical iter of initial priestly formation, namely that the essential Marian mission and Marian presence “reveals the essential dimension of the event, namely, its supernatural dimension.”566 The presence and mission of Mary, in cooperation with the activity of the Blessed Trinity, brings forth other Christs through priestly ordination; Mary thereby furthers the ecclesial success of the pastoral stage. The Marian votive Mass of Our Lady of Cana confirms the twofold orientation given to the pastoral stage, namely of pastoral ministry and preparation for priestly ordination. Accordingly, wherever the seminarian finds himself sent for the pastoral stage, let the Mass of Our Lady of Cana be generously celebrated according to the liturgical norms, “ask[ing] that, in imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may follow Christ faithfully, provide for the needs of the Church, and together foreshadow the coming of [God’s] kingdom by our unity of mind and heart.”567 Moreover, contemplating the miracle of the water turned into wine at Cana, the Mass of Our Lady of Cana draws attention to this Eucharistic type that aptly prepares these seminarians to celebrate Holy Mass: “Lord, with loving hearts we bring you these gifts; change them into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, your Son, who at the request of his Mother changed water into wine and by this miraculous sign foreshadowed the hour of his Death and Resurrection.”568 In meditating upon the mediating intercession of Mary at the wedding at Cana, the triple diakonia of the Word, liturgy, and charity are celebrated in this astounding miracle wherein “the presence of the Messiah is proclaimed, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is foretold, and the hour of salvation is foreshadowed.”569

566 MD, §5. 567 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 28. 568 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 27. 569 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 90. 192 5.2 MARY’S PRESENCE AND MISSION

IN THE PASTORAL STAGE

5.2.1 Human Formation

The human formation of the pastoral stage generally occurs no longer in the seminary community, but rather in the context of a pastoral assignment typically in the parish.570 Living and ministering outside of the seminary community, no longer with its reliable horarium and likeminded candidates to the ministerial priesthood, brings to the fore areas of formational lacunae in the human arena and invites greater vocational synthesis for fruitful ministry that often requires “extended interaction with parish personnel and parishioners.”571 The Ratio/16 suggests that these pastoral experiences will “make a great impact on the personality of the candidate.”572 Now, the concrete experiences of the pastoral stage test the character formation of previous stages and underscore the vital importance of the essential presence and mission of Mary, applying the words of the Epistle to the

570 PDV, §58 expresses a preference for the parish setting: “When it comes to choosing places and services in which candidates can obtain their pastoral experience, the parish should be given particular importance for it is a living cell of local and specialized pastoral work in which they will find themselves faced with the kind of problems they will meet in their future ministry.” The Ratio/16 identifies the pastoral stage as occurring “in the service of a community” (§75) and specifies that each seminarian will be delegated “to a community where he will offer his pastoral service” (§76). Referencing §21 of OT, however, the Ratio/16 seems to suggest that other possibilities for placement during the pastoral stage exist, including “suitably chosen parishes, meetings held at stated times, and appropriate projects whereby the younger clergy would be gradually introduced into the priestly life and apostolic activity, under its spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral aspects, and would be able, day by day, to renew and foster them more effectively.” 571 Robert L. Anello, “In the Beginning Were the Bells: The Development of Human Formation for Priests,” Seminary Journal 19, no. 3 (2013): 54. Noting that some seminarians left their vocations when encountering the difficulties of parish life, Fr. Anello, MSA, proposes as one cause, amongst many of course, that priestly candidates still “had not previously dealt with the challenges of parish life or even life in a parish rectory” (54). 572 Ratio/16, §75.

193 Philippians to Mary that she “who began a good work in [them] will bring it to completion.”573 In the pastoral stage, the virtue formation of previous stages continues, now turning its attention to the final three virtues identified in Ratio/16, §93, namely the human virtues of discretion, honesty, and transparency. These three virtues are not arbitrarily proposed by the author, but rather envisioned by him to assist these seminarians who now find themselves completely immersed in pastoral ministry where they seek to proclaim the Good News, but need to exercise great virtue that their preaching of Jesus may not become a stumbling block, but a help to souls. Their discretion, honesty, and transparency, when actualized in pastoral ministry, enjoy the possibility of enriching pastoral ministry by drawing the minds and hearts of the people with tenderness, compassion, and mercy. Within the pastoral stage, the human virtue of discretion suggests the integration of earlier formation in pastoral action that works for God’s glory in a manner that corresponds to the particular circumstances with zeal tempered by humility. CCC presents moral discretion as enriched by “life ‘in Christ,’ who enlightens him and makes him able to evaluate the divine and human realities according to the Spirit of God.”574 Discretion, wherefore, necessitates discernment how best to respond and accompany the People of God and is often met by disappointments, weariness, and frustrations. The discreet presence of Mary, identified in ML, §66, assures that men in the pastoral stage prepare for priestly ordination and embrace priestly life and ministry in a spirit of service that seeks not their glory and praise, but the praise and glory of God after the manner of the humble Virgin of Nazareth. Chosen by God in God’s infinite love, mercy, and wisdom, Mary reveals to these seminarians in the pastoral

573 Phil 1:6. The prayer of consecration at diaconal ordination suggests a program of virtue proper to the pastoral stage: “May he excel in every virtue: in love that is sincere, in concern for the sick and the poor, in unassuming authority, in self-discipline, and in holiness of life. May his conduct exemplify your commandments and lead your people to imitate his purity of life.”573 Ordination of a Deacon, in Rites of the Catholic Church, vol. 2, 35. The aforesaid virtues find exemplarity in Mary of Nazareth’s charity, humility, chastity, sanctity, and all the other Marian virtues that adorn the soul of the Mother of God. 574 CCC, 2442.

194 stage that through the exercise of the virtue of discretion “the Holy Spirit can use the humblest to enlighten the learned and those in the highest positions.”575 As Mary confesses in all truth, God “has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.”576 Through Marian discretion, seminarians bring light to the world in such a way that the light can be received, known, and loved, therewith removing their own pride and inopportunity as stumbling blocks to the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Much related to discretion, the virtue of honesty ought to be cultivated and practiced in seminarians in the pastoral stage who have now taken a still greater responsibility for their formation and will be called at the end of the pastoral stage to continue their lifelong formation with freedom as priests of Jesus Christ. Having learned previously how to love the truth, seminarians learn in the pastoral stage through the practice of honesty and discretion “the just mean between what ought to be expressed and what ought to be kept secret.”577 In Mary, transitional deacons find the exemplary model of how the truth can and should be proclaimed as Mary did at the Annunciation event and also how to remain silent affixed with a contemplative gaze or to better show charity as in Lk 2:51 where the evangelist reports that Jesus’s “mother kept all these things in her heart.” Through preaching and pastoral charity, the honesty and discretion of transitional deacons will be tested; sometimes they will say too much, sometimes not enough. Contemplating Marian discretion and honesty, seminarians in the pastoral stage discover the essential presence of Mary that avoids both extremes to evince the genuine character of a shepherd conformed to Christ: Head, Shepherd, Servant, and Spouse. Formation in the corresponding human virtue of transparency enhances collaboration in mission by inviting dialogue and partnership while being aided by open friendships characterized by trust. Transparency, understood as clarity and candor to safeguard the truth and permit the light of truth to freely

575 CCC, 2442. 576 Lk 1:51-53. 577 CCC, 2469. 195 shine forth, offers credibility of priestly witness and avoids the moral malaise of duplicity of character and conduct. Transparency, however, necessitates the aforesaid virtues of discretion and honesty lest too much or too little be said. Then-Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger defines the virtue of transparency within a Christological framework as “not to represent oneself, not to establish one’s own greatness, fame, and significance, but rather just the opposite—to step back so that Christ is wholly able to speak to us, to be nothing else than a voice for the Word that Christ Himself is, an instrument so that He can be heard—not to be a wall that places itself before Him, but instead, a window that allows Him to appear.”578 In the catechetical presentation of Mary and prayer, CCC teaches that Mary of Nazareth, “his mother and ours, is wholly transparent to him: she ‘shows the way’ (hodigitria) and is herself ‘the Sign’ of the way, according to the traditional iconography of East and West.”579 Priestly transparency, after the Marian model, manifests divine truth and engages the People of God in the pursuit of truth by leading always to Jesus and allowing Jesus’s sacred life and teaching to be reflected in priestly life and ministry. In her lyrical verse, the founder of the , Chiara Lubich uniquely sings of Mary’s transparency:

This marvelous shade that contains , losing and finding itself therein; this white background so immense, almost an abyss that contains the Word which is Christ submerging itself in him, light in the Light; this lofty silence is silent no more, for within it sing the divine harmonies of the Word and in him it becomes the note of notes,

578 Emery de Gaál, ed., Homilies at a First Mass: Joseph Ratzinger’s Gift to Priests, trans. David Augustine (Omaha, NE: IPF, 2016), 75-76. 579 CCC, 2674. 196 almost setting the tone for heaven’s endless song; this scene majestic and fair as nature, synthesis of the beauty and Creator lavished throughout the universe, a little universe for the Son of God, which is seen no more because it yields its interests and its parts to the One who was to come, and has come, for what he had to do, and did; this rainbow of virtue that says “peace” to the entire world because Peace it has given the world; this creature, first thought of in the mysterious abyss of the Trinity and given to us, was Mary.580

The transparency compared by Chiara Lubich to a blank canvas on which the divine splendor can appear reaffirms the earlier personality and character formation that sought to be a bridge, an aqueduct between God and men. Transparency ensures that these future priests, after Mary’s example, do not obscure public revelation, but rather transmit this revelation in its entirety in a spirit of pastoral charity that is warm, integral, and suitable to be received by the People of God. Just as Mary brought forth the Divine Child to the world through Mary’s essential mission in salvation history, seminarians in the pastoral stage discover that they are called to enter into Mary’s essential mission by bringing forth Jesus in pastoral ministry characterized by a spirit of discretion, honesty, and transparency. Sacred Scripture readily confesses the virginal presence of Mary celebrated in the Marian dogma of the perpetual virginity: “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose

580 Chiara Lubich, Mary: Transparency of God, trans. Eugene Selzer, Thomas Michael Hartmann, and Jerry Hearne (Hyde Park, NY: New City, 2003).

197 name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.”581 The presence of Mary in the pastoral stage, like Mary’s presence in Sacred Scripture and throughout salvation history, is characterized as virginal, being entirely pure, integral, and untouched by the three enemies of man’s salvation: the world, the flesh, and the devil.582 Moreover, the virginal presence of Mary, a historical fact known by faith, dogmatically defined by the Church, and liturgically celebrated witnesses to Mary’s free and complete gift of her entire person to God in faith.583 As Tommaso

581 Lk 1:26-27. This text serves as merely one text of many that might be used to support the Marian dogma of the perpetual virginity, particularly here Mary’s virginity before the birth of Jesus. For a contemporary introduction to the second Marian dogma, the perpetual virginity as virginitas ante partum, virginitas in partu, and virginitas post partum, see O’Carroll, Theotokos, 357-62 where Fr. O’Carroll studies the biblical, patristic, and magisterial teaching on the virginity of Mary. Of particular interest, Fr. O’Carroll emphatically upholds the Second Vatican Council’s defense and promotion of the perpetual virginity of Mary as a dogma of the Faith, especially in LG, chapter 8’s presentation of Mary. O’Carroll writes, “The Council texts refer over thirty times to Mary as Virgin, Virgin Mother, ever-Virgin. Three passages are strongly worded: ‘This association (between the Mother and the Son) was shown also at the birth of our Lord, who did not diminish his Mother’s virginal [integrity] but sanctified it’ (LG, §57); ‘For believing and obeying, Mary brought forth on earth the Father’s Son. This she did, knowing not man, but overshadowed by the Holy Spirit’ (LG, §63); ‘In a similar way [to Pentecost], Christ was conceived when the Holy Spirit came upon the Virgin Mary’ (AG, §4).” O’Carroll, Theotokos, 359-60. 582 The virginal presence of Mary, however, must not be viewed as yet another Mariological datum, but rather, as Fr. Thomas Dubay, SM, suggests, as one mystery of Mary that “enters into all the other mysteries. The Incarnation, for example, calls for a virginal motherhood; the virginal motherhood of God calls for an immaculate conception, and all of these point to the fittingness of incorruption for this spotless virginal body, Mary’s assumption into glory after death.” Thomas Dubay, “And You Are Christ’s:” The Charism of Virginity and the Celibate Life (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1987), 67. 583 For a further development of the relation between Mary’s virginity and Mary’s faith, see CCC, 506 that establishes on the authority of St. Augustine’s De Virginitate, “It is her faith that enables her to become the mother of the Savior: ‘Mary is more blessed because she embraces faith in Christ than because she conceives the flesh of Christ.’” Commenting on virginal integrity, Marianist Fr. Patrick Bearsley observes, “The virgin in this sense is one who has not dissipated himself or herself with temporary liaisons, but has maintained a personal integrity to be given totally to another person. Virginity is thus not simply a matter of bodily integrity; rather, bodily integrity is a sign of the personal integrity that the virgin presents to the beloved to whom he or she totally commits himself/herself. Virginity is thus a gift of the whole self.” Patrick Bearsley, “Mary, the Perfect Disciple: A Paradigm for Mariology,” Theological Studies 41 (1980): 499. Seminarians, wherefore, who have lost their bodily integrity receive great healing and integration through the virginal presence of Mary that invites them to find themselves

198 Turi writes, Mary is simultaneously the “bride-virgin of Joseph who lets herself be married virginally by God for a fruitfulness of grace upon grace.”584 The virginal presence of Mary, wherefore, evinces the clerical obligation of perfect continence in celibacy as fecund: “The spousal character of the human vocation in relation to God is fulfilled perfectly in Mary’s virginal motherhood.”585 In the virginal presence of Mary, seminarians discover the fruitfulness of celibacy in the order of grace as generating spiritual children and realizing the spiritual paternity of priests.586 By contemplating the virginal presence of Mary in the pastoral stage, the ecclesial provision of the Ratio/16 is more readily realized: “In order for celibacy to be a truly free choice, seminarians must be led to understand, by the light of faith, the evangelical power of such a gift.”587 In the pastoral ministry proper to the pastoral stage, seminarians will find their celibate identities tested in their interactions with women, but the virginal presence of Mary will model for them a manner to interact with all women that is pure, chaste, and proper to the ministerial priesthood.588 Moreover, through a complete gift of self in the commitment to celibacy proper to Latin Rite transitional deacons and priests. 584 Turi, “Presenza,” in Mariologia, 1004: “Ella è la promessa sposa-vergine di Giuseppe che si lascia sposare verginalmente da Dio per una fecondità di grazia su grazia.” 585 CCC, 505. 586 In the commitment to celibacy at diaconal ordination, the bishop declares, “You shall exercise this ministry in the celibate state for celibacy is both a sign and a motive of pastoral charity, and a special source of spiritual fruitfulness in the world. By living in this state with total dedication, moved by a sincere love for Christ the Lord, you are consecrated to him in a new and special way. By this consecration, you will adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart; you will be more freely at the service of God and mankind, and you will be more untrammeled in the ministry of Christian conversion and rebirth.” Ordination of a Deacon, Rites of the Catholic Church, vol. 2, 30. 587 Ratio/16, §110. 588 Commenting upon the hardships of preserving celibacy in priestly ministry, Dominican theologian Fr. Romanus Cessario practically elaborates, “The cultural peculiarities of the present period do not favor a widespread recognition of celibate love. Priests therefore must exercise considerable prudence when they engage women, especially those whom they come into contact by reason of their pastoral responsibilities…When a priest discovers himself drawn emotionally toward a woman, or sees himself given to drinking too much (which means that he finds in the liquor an escape from the burdens of rational consciousness), or finds himself driven to being critical about everything, such a priest should seek assistance to escape the downward

199 through Mary’s virginal presence seminarians who have been wounded or are weak in this area will be fortified and their original innocence restored by God’s grace.

5.2.2 Spiritual Formation

In the twofold aims of the pastoral stage of measured immersion in priestly life and ministry and the adequate provision for priestly ordination, spiritual formation remains integral and essential to the success of the pastoral stage. The Ratio/16 stresses the importance of a “spirit of prayer, founded on a relationship with the person of Jesus, and an encounter with exemplary models of priesthood, should accompany an attentive reflection on the ordination rites which, in the prayers and liturgical actions, synthesize and express the profound meaning of the sacrament of [Holy] Orders in the Church.”589 The spiritual formation of the pastoral stage wherefore identifies three fundamental dimensions of reflection: (1) prayer that continues to cultivate a living relationship with Jesus Christ; (2) a spiritual accompaniment by priestly role models; and (3) a continued prayerful reading of the ordination rites themselves both to better understand the dignities and duties of the order of deacons received and to prepare for forthcoming priestly ordination. Continuing to grow in their relationships with Jesus Christ through the spiritual life that encompasses the whole of one’s life and extends far beyond the chapel walls into the mundane and ordinary events of life, Mary’s essential presence and essential mission lead souls into a deeper encounter with the one God, living spiral of destruction. In other words, he should talk to somebody. He should find someone to help him. In principle, this person should be a fellow priest. In any case, the distressed priest must find someone who can help him. When the fear of embarrassment and the calculations of human respect begin to deter the wobbly priest, then he should consider the negative consequences that sex, alcohol, and bitterness impose on the Catholic priest. One does not easily include unchastity, drunkenness, and cynicism among the qualities of a man who, because of his sacramental ordination, serves the Christian people as a bridegroom of the Church, a teacher of divine truth, and a loving shepherd of God’s flock.” Romanus Cessario, The Grace to Be a Priest (Providence, RI: Cluny Media, 2017), 97-98. 589 Ratio/16, §77.

200 and true. George Basil Cardinal Hume argues for confessing, celebrating, and cooperating with the Marian essential presence and essential mission: “We make a grave mistake in our spiritual lives if she has no part. It is at our peril if we fail to understand her role in the life of her Son and in our own lives. Immaculately conceived, she is able to love as can no other creature: she has loved the God whom – tradition tells – she served from early childhood, the Son whom she bore, and ourselves who, by this same Son, were commended to her at the most solemn moment of his life.”590 The essential nature of Mary’s presence and mission, according to Cardinal Hume, derive from the entrustment of Mary by Jesus to all Christian disciples as liturgically celebrated in the Mass of the Commending of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The maternal love of Mary, extended to all of Mary’s adoptive children by grace at the Lord’s bidding, leads men in the pastoral stage into deeper prayer and charity that they may become animated with the Spirit of Jesus by coming to know Jesus, born of Mary, and serve the Lord in their brothers and sisters. Moreover, Mary advances the realization of the pastoral stage by mirroring in her person all that the Church hopes to realize in seminarians during this stage: “controlled, free, noble, sensitive in her capacity to listen, quick to notice the needs of others, generous in her practical help, keen in her perceptivity.”591 The spiritual formation of the pastoral stage necessarily includes the centrality of the Liturgy of the Hours, a clerical obligation promised at diaconal ordination.592 Suggesting the

590 George Basil Hume, Searching for God (Herefordshire: Gracewing, 2002), 198. 591 Hume, Searching for God, 198. Although not a deaconess, Mary nonetheless witnesses to a life of service as the ancilla Domini, and Mary incites in the pastoral stage a spirituality of service proper to the diaconal ministry. See Basic Norms for the Formation of Permanent Deacons, §11 that affirms for the permanent deacon, but nonetheless for the transitional deacon, “The spirituality of service is a spirituality of the whole Church, insofar as the whole Church, in the same way as Mary, is the ‘handmaid of the Lord,’ at the service of the salvation of the world. And so that the whole Church may better live out this spirituality of service, the Lord gives her a living and personal sign of his very being as servant.” 592 Ordination of a Deacon, Rites of the Catholic Church, vol. 2, 31-32: “Are you resolved to maintain and deepen a spirit of prayer appropriate to your way of life and, in keeping with what is required of you, to celebrate faithfully the Liturgy of the Hours for the Church and for the whole world?”

201 relationship between the Liturgy of the Hours and witness to the servanthood of Jesus during the pastoral stage, Pope Benedict XVI expounds, “We can serve others and give to others only if we personally also receive, if we do not empty ourselves. That is why the Church offers us free spaces, which on the one hand allow us to ‘breathe in’ and ‘breathe out’ anew, and on the other hand become the source and center of our service … [One] free space to which the Church, so to speak, obliges us, and in so doing liberates us, is the Liturgy of the Hours.”593 In the Liturgy of the Hours, deacons, joined in prayer with and on behalf of the whole People of God, “are united to Christ our high priest, by the prayer of the Psalms, meditation on the Word of God, and canticles and blessings, in order to be joined with his unceasing and universal prayer that gives glory to the Father and implores the gift of the Holy Spirit on the whole world.”594 Seminarians in the pastoral stage learn how to integrate the Liturgy of the Hours into their daily pastoral duties.595 In the Liturgy of the Hours, candidates discover the aforementioned liturgical presence of Mary in the Word of God, the sanctoral cycle, and the liturgical prayers invoking Mary’s

For the canonical norm concerning the obligation of clerics to daily pray the Liturgy of the Hours, see CIC/83, c. 276, §2, 3˚. Underscoring the importance of the Liturgy of the Hours in the life of the Church, Timothy Cardinal Dolan posits “that the renewal in the priesthood for which we all long will not occur until we return to a fidelity to the promise we made as deacons to pray daily with and for the Church in the Divine Office” (emphasis original). Timothy M. Dolan, “The Divine Office Our Duty: The Priesthood’s Renewal Won’t Occur Until We Pray the Office Daily,” The Priest, December (2006): 29. 593 Benedict XVI, Address to Priests and Permanent Deacons at the Cathedral of Sts. Mary and Corbinian, September 14, 2006. English translation in L’Osservatore Romano, September 20, 2006, English edition, 13. 594 CCC, 1196. 595 Msgr. David Toups practically observes concerning the spirituality and discipline of the Liturgy of the Hours, “At times this sacred duty may seem burdensome; however, it is always a moment of grace when one is called to go beyond oneself and pick up the Breviary, which bears more fruit than will ever be known. Contrary to what some might say, the expectation for daily Mass and recitation of the Hours is not unrealistic for the busy parish priest. God doesn’t ask us to do that which he doesn’t give us the grace to do. I know many busy parish priests who heroically and faithfully fulfill their spiritual duties and see them as the sine qua non of their day, which at times takes planning and sacrifice. Seminary formation helps teach seminarians to arrange every day around the ‘source and summit.’” David L. Toups, “Training in Priestly Spirituality,” Seminary Journal 19, no. 3 (2013): 68.

202 intercession. The Liturgy of the Hours affords opportunities for seminarians to not only prayerfully consider Mary and the Marian virtues as celebrated by the praying Church, but to pray with Mary through the cultivation of an awareness of Mary’s liturgical and spiritual presence. The living Word of God must continue to be a true Word that illumines, transforms, and enkindles seminarians in the pastoral stage to realize the bishop’s exhortation at the reception of the Evangelium or the Book of the Gospels during diaconal ordination: “Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”596 In the study of the Old and New Testaments, transitional deacons in the pastoral stage discover the mystery of Mary and Mary’s essential mission in salvation history as the Mother of God and spiritual mother of all humanity. The Ratio/16 particularly recommends the practice of lectio divina, inseparable from the liturgy, consisting of a “profound daily meditation, practiced with fidelity and diligence, in which study and prayer come together in a reciprocal fruitfulness, [to] ensure an integral approach to both the Old and New Testaments.”597 In their daily practice of lectio divina, biblical pericopes on Mary, such as the wedding at Cana or the entrustment on Calvary, offer rich moments to encounter the spiritual presence of Mary in relation to Christ and mankind. PDV posits that through lectio divina the priestly candidate’s “entire existence finds its unifying and radical meaning in being the terminus of God’s word which calls man and the beginning of man’s word which answers God.”598 Lectio divina, wherefore, affords great assistance in realizing the ecclesial

596 Ordination of a Deacon, Rites of the Catholic Church, vol. 2, 36. For the importance of lectio divina in priestly formation, see Verbum Domini, §82 where Pope Benedict XVI admonishes, “Those aspiring to the ministerial priesthood are called to a profound personal relationship with God’s word, particularly in lectio divina, so that this relationship will in turn nurture their vocation: it is in the light and strength of God’s word that one’s specific vocation can be discerned and appreciated, loved and followed, and one’s proper mission carried out, by nourishing the heart and thoughts of God, so that faith, as our response to the word, may become a new criterion for judging and evaluating persons and things, events and issues.” 597 Ratio/16, §103. Moreover, CCC, 1177 teaches that “lectio divina, where the Word of God is so read and meditated that it becomes prayer, is thus rooted in the liturgical celebration.” 598 PDV, §47.

203 dream of the pastoral stage as a synthesis of initial priestly formation. Moreover, as proclaimers of the Word of God and preachers of this same living Word, deacons in the pastoral stage “must hold fast to the Sacred Scriptures through diligent sacred reading and careful study … that none of them will become ‘an empty preacher of the Word of God outwardly, who is not a listener to it inwardly,’ since they must share the abundant wealth of the divine Word with the faithful committed to them, especially in the sacred liturgy.”599 The accompaniment of the pastoral stage, as the Ratio/16 exhorts, “is important for the very effectiveness of the whole process of formation.”600 Accompaniment during the pastoral stage, most often outside the seminary community, aims at solidifying prior vocational discernment that seminarians can offer a definitive answer to their priestly callings at the conclusion of the pastoral stage.601 The accompaniment of the pastoral stage, however, will only be successful to the degree that the “seminarian should know himself and let himself be known, relating to the

599 DV, §25. Here the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation applies the sobering admonition of St. Augustine in Sermon 179 to the diakonia of the Word proper to the order of deacons. Commenting on priestly spirituality in relation to proclamation of the Word and celebration of the sacraments, Fr. Louis Bouyer argues that “it is clear that the essentially pastoral role of the priest, for the sake of which he has been entrusted with the power to teach and the power to consecrate, imposes on him, above all, a very special duty personally to assimilate the holy realities of which he is to be not only but the transmitter. Charged with proclaiming the Word, more than anyone else he must have begun by examining it, penetrating it, making it his own. Charged with dispensing the mysteries of Christ, he must have begun by the first to live them.” Bouyer, Introduction to the Spiritual Life, 274. In the primacy suggested by Fr. Bouyer, Mary’s presence as first and perfect disciple appears. 600 Ratio/16, §107. 601 Ratio/16, §75 stresses the importance of a carefully selected agent of accompaniment for the pastoral stage in view of the vital role of accompaniment in realizing the ecclesial vision: “Consequently, it is recommended that the Pastor, or whichever person is responsible for the pastoral setting that receives the seminarian, should be aware of the formative task entrusted to him, and should accompany him in his gradual entry to pastoral ministry.” The author does not wish to here seem to suggest that accompaniment has not occurred previously, for indeed it must, but in the pastoral stage accompaniment assumes a new character in the full-time exigencies of pastoral life and duties. See Ratio/16, §48: “Accompaniment must be present from the beginning of the journey of formation and throughout life, even if it requires different approaches after ordination.”

204 formators with sincerity and transparency.”602 In Mary’s transparency before God, seminarians find a pristine, brilliant model upon which they can form their own transparency to those responsible for their accompaniment in the pastoral stage, living in honesty that they might be most aptly prepared for priestly ordination. Moreover, the accompaniment proper to the pastoral stage is not merely personal, but communal. Since the pastoral stage occurs in community according to Ratio/16, §§75 and 76, personal accompaniment is enriched and augmented “through interpersonal relationships, moments of exchange and discussion which result in the development of that ‘fertile soil,’ in which a vocation matures concretely.”603 In the accompaniment summoned forth by the Ratio/16 as essential to the pastoral stage, the accompanying presence of Mary appears as developed by Pope John Paul II in the concluding prayer of PDV: “[A]ccept from the beginning those who have been called, protect their growth, in their life ministry accompany your sons, O Mother of Priests.”604 To the degree that seminarians cooperate with the accompaniment of those responsible for their formation and the accompanying presence of Mary, the pastoral stage succeeds in forming men of pastoral charity, selfless and self-sacrificing men of service after the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In addition to accompaniment, the Ratio/16 exhorts seminarians to prayerfully consider the liturgical rites of ordination, both of diaconal ordination already received and priestly ordination to be received at the conclusion of the pastoral stage. Lamentably, however, both the rite of ordination of deacons and the rite of ordination of priests in their current form make no explicit mention of Mary’s presence or Mary’s mission.605 Nonetheless, the Marian presence and mission can be reasonably deduced and discovered in the prayers and rites of both

602 Ratio/16, §45. 603 Ratio/16, §50. 604 PDV, §82. 605 Here the author expresses a hope that those responsible for the continued renewal of these rites might consider the insertion of an explicit Marian reference, such as the common chanting of the Salva Regina before the conclusion of the rite or mention of Mary’s intercession within the proper prayers of the rite of ordination such as invoking Mary, handmaid of the Lord in the rite of ordination of deacons and Mary, Mother of Priests in the rite of ordination of priests. 205 ordinations, including the promises of celibacy and obedience, the reception of the Book of the Gospels, or the call to Christian discipleship and configuration, as this thesis has previously sought to demonstrate and draw out. Furthermore, membership in societies engaged in corporal and spiritual works of mercy with a distinctly Marian charism and apostolate, such as the , the Militia of the Immaculata, or the Third Orders of institutes of consecrated life with a markedly Marian spirit and apostolate606 present an opportunity for seminarians in the pastoral stage to not only know and teach about Mary, but to grow in their love of Mary and their appreciation of Mary’s essential presence and essential mission not only in salvation history, but in the life of the praying Church and individual Christian disciples.607 Those responsible for formation

606 For example, the Secular Order of the Servants of Mary seeks to make present the Servite charism with its particular devotion to the Sorrowful Madonna, admitting not only members of the laity, but diocesan priests. The Rule of Life states, “The secular Order of the Servants of Mary consists of lay men and women who, united by their Christian baptism and directed by the Holy Spirit in the path to holiness, wish to align and unite themselves in the Service of Christ and their sisters and brothers in the world by drawing on the inspiration of Mary, the Mother and Servant of our Savior Jesus Christ.” Rule of Life of the Secular Order of the Servants of Mary, §5 (Rome: Curia Generalizia, 1995), 13. §§41-42 describe the apostolic labors of Secular Servites, including, “Through devotion to the Mother of Sorrows, the Secular Servite acquires a particular interest in service to the sick, the infirm, and the most needy, whether physically, spiritually, or morally. In this commitment of service, the figure of Mary at the foot of the Cross will be their guiding principle. Because the Son of Man is still being crucified daily in his sisters and brothers, the secular Servant of Mary wishes to be present with Mary at the foot of these infinite crosses” (§42). 607 The Official Handbook of the Legion of Mary treats of seminary praesidia or local associations of the Legion of Mary that have seminarians as members either within the seminary or external to it and are “grounded in the theory and practice of the Legion and given what one might call a complete philosophy of the apostolate. When eventually they proceed to their assignments [in parish ministry following priestly ordination], they will have a good grasp of how the Legion and other apostolic groups should operate.” Official Handbook of the Legion of Mary (Dublin: Concilium Legionis Mariae, 1993), 229. For the particular apostolic spirituality of the Legion of Mary, see Frank Duff, The Spirit of the Legion of Mary (Glasgow: John J. Burns & Sons, 1956) and Leon-Joseph Suenens, Theology of the Apostolate of the Legion of Mary (Techny, IL: Divine Word, 1964). For additional information about the Militia of the Immaculate Conception founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe, see William F. Keegan, “Marian Associations,” in Mariology, vol. 3, ed. Juniper B. Carol (Post Falls, ID: Mediatrix, 2018), 242-43 where the aim of the

206 in the pastoral stage may find great benefit in creating these Marian societies and encouraging the seminarians’ participation to offer regular opportunities for both continued spiritual and pastoral formation under Mary’s mantle and in view of Mary’s maternal and essential mission in the heart of the Church.

5.2.3 Intellectual Formation

Curiously, the Ratio/16 makes no explicit mention of the content of intellectual formation within the pastoral stage. Unlike the propaedeutic, discipleship, and configuration stages, the Ratio/16 contains no lists of thematic topics of study for the pastoral stage. Can it be concluded therefrom that intellectual formation ceases during the pastoral stage? The author definitively responds in the negative lest the final stage of initial priestly formation compromise the formation of the whole of priestly candidates in the integrity of their humanity.608 Intellectual formation, wherefore, necessarily must and does occur in the pastoral stage, albeit outside the seminary community. In the parochial setting to which most seminarians in the pastoral stage are sent, intellectual formation emerges as a response to lacunae identified through pastoral experience, perhaps thus explaining the silence of the Ratio/16 concerning the particular subject matters of intellectual formation in the pastoral stage. Here, the intellectual formation clearly purposes to supply “the rational tools needed in order to understand the values that belong to being a pastor, to make them incarnate in daily life, and to transmit the content of the faith appropriately.”609 The exigencies of the field experience amongst the People of God, and in service to them, will dictate the intellectual formation necessary to appropriately engage in pastoral ministry. For example, one assignment during the pastoral stage might identify the need for greater intellectual formation in administrative and financial

Militia is identified as to “conquer souls for Christ through absolute self-dedication to Mary Immaculate.” 608 Ratio/16, §89 confirms, on the authority of PDV, that “there are four dimensions that interact simultaneously in the iter of formation and in the life of ordained ministers.” 609 Ratio/16, §89.

207 matters; another assignment might expose the importance of intellectual formation in the practical trades of maintaining a parish; still another might highlight the value of intellectual formation concerning a particular ethnic or cultural community’s history, way of life, and customs.610 If, for example, a seminarian found himself in a predominantly Jewish community, the pastoral need would suggest greater intellectual formation concerning the Jewish people than perhaps provided in an earlier elective course on inter-religious dialogue. Pastoral experiences in the parish setting such as biblical and catechetical instruction, as well as the preparation of homilies and conferences, will likewise identify areas for continued intellectual formation to better realize pastoral ministry and respond to the pressing questions of place and time. Thus, the intellectual formation of the pastoral stage avoids easy categorization, but rather looks outside of pure academia towards the pastoral needs of the people. PDV affirms, “Hence on the one hand, a respectful study of the genuine scientific quality of the individual disciplines of theology will help provide a more complete and deeper training of the pastor of souls as a teacher of faith; and, on the other hand, an appropriate awareness that there is a pastoral goal in view will help the serious and scientific study of theology [to] be more formative for future priests.”611 In the intellectual formation proper to the pastoral stage, Mary of Nazareth exercises her didactic mission, earlier presented in this study as a mission of teacher, catechist, and educator. Having identified the need for continued intellectual formation, a lifelong endeavor, seminarians in the pastoral stage continue to learn from Mary the Teacher and to study Mary. Under the guidance of those appointed for their accompaniment, Mary

610 In an interesting and important article on how pastoral ministry may necessitate cultural education, see Philip J. Murnion, “Culture, Priesthood, and Ministry: The Priest for the New Millennium,” The Core Elements of Priestly Formation Programs: A Collection of Readings, vol. 1 (Arlington, VA: National Catholic Educational Association, 2005), 46-53 where Msgr. Murnion argues that there “is the increasing variety of cultures represented in most parishes, even among the active parishioners. This entails not only racial and ethnic multiculturalism, itself more common since dioceses stopped establishing national parishes, but also the obvious and consequential differences among genders and generations of Catholics, among Catholics whose socio-economic statuses are widely separated, and among spiritualities of Catholics” (47). 611 PDV, §55. 208 instructs seminarians in matters of faith, spirituality, liturgy, art, and music, as well as in the practical arts of administration and duties of ordinary life. Seminarians in the pastoral stage discover Mary not only in response to the pressing theological, philosophical, and anthropological questions of the day, but still more Mary educates them in the mundane where they learn from Mary how to practice the presence of God, how to instill balance in the competing demands for their daily time, and how to maintain a healthy, integrated, mature identity as disciples of Jesus, configured to the Lord for service in pastoral charity. The intellectual formation of the pastoral stage also suggests the importance of priestly models, not merely those assigned for personal accompaniment, but the saints in heaven. During the intellectual formation of the pastoral stage, the Ratio/16 proposes “an encounter with exemplary models of priesthood.”612 The Roman offers numerous examples of priestly life and virtue animated by charity, and the biographies of these heroic priests of God not only model pastoral ministry, but offer heavenly assistance. In studying the lives of these priestly heroes, seminarians in the pastoral stage discover the maternal presence of Mary and the filial relationship cultivated by the saints to come to better know and love the Mother of God and the Mother of Priests. Deepening their spiritual lives with the saints, these seminarians discover the forestudied dynamic mission of Mary concretized in the priestly lives and ministries of the saints. Countless examples of the relationship between Mary and canonized priests might be here proposed according to the inspiration and devotion of the seminarians themselves. One example for spiritual formation in the pastoral stage would surely be the Curé of Ars, St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney and of parish priests who suggests the benefits he received from studying the maternal presence and mission of Mary in another glorious priestly saint, St. Charles

612 Ratio/16, §77. The author concedes that the underdevelopment of the Ratio/16 makes it difficult to understand completely whether the authors intend these priestly models to be the saints in heaven, priestly models in the presbyterium here on earth, or both. Since the author sees value in both models, and moments for the Marian presence and mission to be reinforced, he will treat here of priestly saints as models and under pastoral formation of the models of soon-to-be brother priests in the presbyterium.

209 Borromeo.613 St. Joseph Cafasso also draws attention to the benefits that inure to priestly life and ministry from Mary’s presence and mission, asserting, “Not only would it be a rare and difficult thing, but it would be almost impossible to imagine a good, virtuous, devoted priest, a priest who serves God, the Church and souls, without a tender affection for this beloved Mother; a priest who, according as this love goes on increasing in him, will at the same time make progress in the whole series of the other virtues, becoming more detached from the world, more zealous, patient, humble and pure.”614 More recently still, the celebrated preacher and television personality, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen underscores the aid afforded to priests who are mindful of Mary’s presence and cooperate in Mary’s mission, commenting on Eve’s creation in the Book of Genesis: “‘It is not good for man to be alone.’ That verse of Genesis applies just as much to a priest as to the laity. There must be a Woman in the life of a priest. That Woman came into my life at birth. When I was baptized as an infant, my mother laid me on the altar of the Blessed Mother … and consecrated me to her. As an infant may be unconscious of a birthmark, so I was unconscious of the dedication—but the mark was always there. Like a piece of iron to the magnet, I was drawn to her before I knew her, but never drawn to her without Christ.”615 These are but only three examples of countless others that might be suggested and that the author leaves for others to discover. An intellectual formation studying the lives of the saints unveils the

613 The Curé of Ars confesses: “[L]et us follow the footsteps of all those true servants of Mary. Belonging to this number were St. Charles Borromeo, who always said his Rosary on his knees. What is more, he fasted on all vigils of the feasts of the Blessed Virgin. He was so careful about saluting her on the stroke of the bell that when the Angelus rang, wherever he was, he went down on his knees, sometimes even in the middle of the road when it was full of mud. He desired that his whole diocese should have a great devotion to Mary and that her name would be uttered everywhere with the utmost respect. He had a number of chapels built in her honor. Now then, my dear brethren, why should not we imitate these great Saints who obtained so many graces from Mary to preserve them from sin? Have we not the same enemies to fight, the same Heaven to hope for? Yes, Mary always has her eyes upon us. Do we suffer temptations? Let us turn our hearts towards Mary and we shall be delivered.” Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney, The Sermons of the Curé of Ars, trans. Una Morrissy (Charlotte, NC: TAN, 2013), 214-15. 614 Joseph Cafasso, The Priest, The Man of God: His Dignity and Duties (Charlotte, NC: TAN, 2012), 225. 615 Fulton J. Sheen, Treasure in Clay (New York: Doubleday, 1980), 334. 210 presence and mission of Mary in a manner that often impresses the memory, moves the heart, and leaves these seminarians different men seeking to follow after examples of priestly virtue seldom, if ever, found without Mary.

5.2.4 Pastoral Formation

In the pastoral stage, through immersion in pastoral experiences and the assumption of a pastoral lifestyle, the formation in all four pillars and in all four stages coalesce to realize the diaconal resolution “to hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience as the Apostle urges, and to proclaim this faith in word and action as it is taught by the Gospel and the Church’s tradition.”616 The pastoral formation of the pastoral stage becomes no longer merely moments of pastoral experience, but a lifetime of pastoral charity that gives meaning to each priestly day. During the pastoral formation proper to this stage, the seminarians gradually assume ever greater pastoral duties in preparation for priestly ordination “that the candidate for the priesthood begin to develop methodologies that can be used for a lifetime in order to integrate various factors, such as academic learning, spiritual formation, and experience in ministry.”617 The pastoral formation immerses these priestly candidates in the many dimensional life of a parish, but must necessarily extend beyond parochial confines to those who have not yet heard the Good News or wait to be invited into the communion of the Church as an application of the admonition given at diaconal ordination: “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are.”618 In a word, the pastoral formation of the pastoral stage matures the priestly hearts of these men to be true fathers of souls

616 Ordination of a Deacon, Rites of the Catholic Church, vol. 2, 31. 617 “Critical Questions Related to the Length of the Theological Seminary Program,” 2. 618 Ordination of a Deacon, Rites of the Catholic Church, vol. 2, 35. Wherefore Fr. Aidan Nichols, OP, suggests three dimensions of priestly pastoral ministry purposed to be synthesized in the pastoral stage: evangelization of the unbaptized, catechetical instruction of the baptized, and preparation of Christians to proclaim the Good News to others. Aidan Nichols, Holy Order: The Apostolic Ministry from the New Testament to the Second Vatican Council (Lancaster, PA: Veritas, 1991), 142. 211 who selflessly lay down their lives with Jesus for the salvation of God’s flock in charity. Deacon Tim O’Donnell, in his study on diaconal caritative service, importantly expands the understanding of the ministry of charity, arguing, “[T]he ministry of charity as a central function of deacons must be understood in its fullness, and not narrowly defined as referring only to hospital and prison ministry, working in soup kitchens, visiting the sick, and similar ‘charitable work’ as commonly understood. Diaconal ministry frames all such activities as present signs of the kingdom that incorporate, at least implicitly by their integration into one office, aspects of sacrament and witness. Moreover, in light of the Church’s social doctrine, this focus on caritative service must include activities aimed at promoting social justice.”619 The ministry of service proper to these transitional deacons that will receive a priestly character at priestly ordination cannot be grossly reduced to merely apostolates of service, but rather as a pastoral identity and ministry nurtured and sustained on a daily basis by divine grace in prayer. Mary’s witness of loving service as the handmaid of the Lord affirms the unification of previous pastoral experiences. In her essential presence and essential mission, Mary manifests the perfect cooperation with God’s will and others that the Church purposes to congeal in the pastoral stage that Christ may be born in souls through the proclamation of the Word of God and the celebration of the sacraments. The Mass of Holy Mary, Handmaid of the Lord suggests in the collect Mary’s essential mission as the Mother of God that now invites these seminarians to pastoral ministry: “Lord our God, in your loving plan of redemption, you chose the Blessed Virgin, your lowly handmaid, to be the Mother and companion of Christ your Son; grant that by constantly looking up to her we may give you wholehearted service in untiring care for the salvation of the world.”620 In the pastoral ministries proper to the diaconate in the sacred liturgy, these transitional deacons discover Mary’s essential mission to help them to better understand Christ’s promise, “For

619 O’Donnell, Theological Studies, 866. 620 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 193.

212 my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”621 As an ordinary minister of the sacrament of baptism, an important pastoral work of the pastoral stage consists in the baptizing of infants and catechumens that they might be cleansed of original sin and made children of God.622 In the Christian mystery of baptism, Mary enjoys a celebrated role acknowledged throughout antiquity: In the womb of Mary the Divine Child grew and in the baptismal font of the Church, a new womb of maternal protection and grace, the baptized are born brothers of Jesus and sons of the Eternal Father and of Mary.623 The Preface of Mary, Fountain of Light and Life celebrates the Marian presence in the sacrament of baptism ministered by the transitional deacons of the pastoral stage: “By the marvelous gift of your [God’s] loving kindness, you decreed that the mysteries accomplished already in the Blessed Virgin should be accomplished in sign through the Sacraments of the Church: for from the baptismal font the Church brings to birth new sons and daughters conceived in fruitful virginity through faith and the Holy Spirit. These newborn children the Church anoints with the precious oil of sacred chrism, so that the Spirit who filled the Blessed Virgin with an abundance of gifts, may come down to bless them with an outpouring of grace.”624

621 Mt 11:30. 622 For an identification of the ordinary ministers of baptism, namely bishops, priests, and deacons, see CIC/83, c. 861, §1. Moreover, CCC, 1213 offers an introduction to the sacramental theology of baptism as “the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through baptism, we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church, and made sharers in her mission: ‘Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water and in the word.’” Ministering the sacrament of baptism, seminarians in the pastoral stage discover that just as they administer the gateway sacrament, they are called to be doors through which the people enter the Church, not obstacles. 623 Commenting on the relation between Mary and baptism in patristic sources, particularly Ss. Irenaeus and Ephrem of Syria, Msgr. Tullo Goffi summarizes, “Los padres estiman que el Espíritu perpetua la virtud caritativa pascual de María dentro de la experiencia sacramental de la iglesia. Consideran la obra regeneradora de la iglesia en la Fuente bautismal como la continuación de la obra generadora virginal de María.” Tullo Goffi, “Espiritualidad,” in Nuevo Diccionario de Mariología, ed. Stefano de Fiores, Salvatore M. Meo, and Eliseo Touron (Madrid: Ediciones Paulinas, 1988), 669. 624 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 98.

213 Another important dimension of the life and ministry of these transitional deacons in the pastoral stage consists in the preaching of the homily. CIC/83 c. 767, §1 prescribes the importance of the homily, an integral part of the liturgy and a great privilege for seminarians in the pastoral stage who have been ordained transitional deacons: “Among the forms of preaching, the homily which is part of the liturgy itself and is reserved to the priest or deacon, is preeminent; in the homily, the mysteries of faith and the norms of Christian life are to be explained from the sacred text during the course of the liturgical year.”625 Once more encountering the liturgical presence of Mary, these seminarians now synthesize the Marian presence and mission known, loved, and celebrated in their earlier formation by teaching about the mystery of Mary, Marian devotion, and Mary’s presence in Christian spirituality. The living human person of Mary who accompanies seminarians now accompanies these transitional deacons to the pulpit. As celebrated in the Preface of the Mass of Mary, Queen of Apostles, “In our own day, the Blessed Virgin inspires by her example new preachers of the Gospel, cherishes them with a mother’s love, and sustains them by her unceasing prayer, so that they may bring the Good News of Christ the Savior to the world.”626 Pastoral ministry during the pastoral formation will bring these priestly candidates into close, regular, familial contact with the priests of the presbyterium into which they will soon be incardinated. This contact invites collaboration and fraternity, as an essential element of the spirituality of the priesthood. In their interactions and cooperation with priests, seminarians will discover the presence of Mary cherished and cultivated by these priests. In beholding their brother priests kneeling in prayer before an image of the Madonna, or fingering the Rosary beads, seminarians in the pastoral stage find their earlier formation reinforced in lively Marian devotion, the devotion of priestly sons towards their Mother, the Mother of Priests.

625 CIC/83, c. 767, §1. 626 Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vol. 1, 102.

214 Finally, in accord with the diaconal ministry received, deacons are permitted by the Church “to administer sacramentals.”627 Sacramentals, differing essentially from sacraments, have been instituted by the Church and “do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it.”628 Popular piety holds in high estimation and love the sacramental life of the Church. Nearness to the People of God, wherefore, necessitates an appreciation of the sacramentals beloved by the people which have been “recommended by the magisterium of the Church toward her in the course of centuries be made of great moment.”629 Of particular mention, the Marian sacramentals of the Rosary, Brown Scapular, and Miraculous Medal will be among those sacramentals regularly placed before transitional deacons.630 In these celebrated Marian sacramentals, seminarians discover not only popular piety and genuine Marian devotion that is scriptural, liturgical, and enjoys a rich historicity in the life of the Church, but the free presence of Mary by which the faithful are summoned by motives of love for Mary of Nazareth and “by its intrinsic appeal.”631

627 LG, §29. 628 CCC, 1670. 629 LG, §67. 630 Space prohibits an extensive consideration of the historical origins and theological significance of these Marian sacramentals or a presentation of their acclaim. As a client of the Brown Scapular, the author’s Carmelite affiliation, personal devotion, and priestly zeal necessitate, however, a reminder of the rich spiritual significance of the Brown Scapular that affirms Mary’s Divine Maternity clothing the Word of God in his humanity and that now clothes Mary’s spiritual sons and daughters in this sacramental of brown wool. Fr. Edward Killian Lynch, O.Carm., expounds upon the spiritual significance of the Brown Scapular thus: “The moment our Blessed Mother clothes us in it we become hers and from henceforth we are known as belonging to her. Every time it catches our eye, we are reminded that it is our whole life we have given to her and that she has promised to keep her eyes of mercy fixed upon us in life, in death, and even in purgatory. When we wear the scapular, there can be no doubt to whom we belong. History has fixed its meaning and it is known to friends and foe alike as the sign of devotion to Mary. It is her habit; and just as the livery will point out the house, the firm, or the family to which one may belong, so does the scapular announce to all that those who wear it are the seed which Mary has blessed and made her own in time and in eternity.” Edward Killian Lynch, Your Brown Scapular (Westminister, MD: Newman, 1950), 131. 631 MC, §55. For a more comprehensive presentation of the Rosary in the life of the Church and in accordance with the conciliar teaching of LG, chapter 8, see MC, §§42-55.

215 5.3 CONCLUSION

The Church envisions the aim of the fourth and final stage of initial priestly formation, the pastoral as the time wherein seminarians who have been ordained deacons commence a permanent life of pastoral, caritative service while simultaneously preparing for forthcoming ordination to the ministerial priesthood. Characteristic of the pastoral stage, accompaniment at the beginning of full-time pastoral ministry brings new insights and challenges, while likewise utilizing the formation of the previous stages of initial priestly formation in its human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral dimensions. In the pastoral stage, Mary’s presence emerges as essential and virginal within the context of Mary’s essential mission willed by God as the biological mother of Jesus and the adoptive mother of all humanity. The following charts depict the emergence of the essential and virginal presence of Mary and Mary’s essential mission within the pastoral stage:

MARIAN PRESENCE IN THE PASTORAL STAGE Human Spiritual Intellectual Pastoral Essential Essential Essential Virginal

MARIAN MISSION IN THE PASTORAL STAGE Human Spiritual Intellectual Pastoral Essential Essential Essential

Pope John Paul II draws contemporary attention to the Marian Rosary in his Apostolic Letter on the Most Holy Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae summarizing the importance of the Rosary in the Christian life: “The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb. With the Rosary, the Christian people sits [sic] at the school of Mary and is [sic] led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary, the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer” (emphasis original). Rosarium Virginis Mariae, §1. 216 The dual Marian mysteries of the wedding at Cana and the double entrustment on Calvary correspond to the dual aims of the pastoral stage to respectively embrace a life of caritative service and the concluding preparation for ordination to the ministerial priesthood. Additionally, the Marian virtues of discretion, transparency, and honesty advantageously characterize the pastoral stage with candor, pastoral prudence, and truthfulness both concerning one’s self and others. The final stage of initial priestly formation, like the three stages prior, is enriched and its potentiality for realization enhanced through the Marian presence and Marian mission in pursuit of the Marian virtues under Mary’s maternal mantle of accompaniment as willed by God and the Church.

217 Chapter 6

Conclusion

Since the Second Vatican Council, the veracity of the relationship between Mary of Nazareth and seminarians has been repeatedly confessed by the Church. The conciliar Decree on Priestly Training, Optatam Totius admonished seminarians to “love and venerate with a filial trust the most blessed Virgin Mary, who was given as mother to the disciple by Christ Jesus as He was dying on the cross.”632 The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Presbyterorum Ordinis encouraged priests to “love and venerate with filial devotion and veneration this mother [Mary] of the Eternal Highpriest, Queen of Apostles and Protector of their own [priestly] ministry.”633 The reform of ecclesiastical law in the drew attention to the link between Mary and initial priestly formation prescribing that “veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary, including the Marian rosary, mental prayer, and other exercises of piety are to be fostered; through these, students are to acquire a spirit of prayer and gain strength in their vocation.”634 The Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day, Pastores Dabo Vobis underscored at greater length still the Marian dimension of initial priestly formation:

Every aspect of priestly formation can be referred to Mary, the human being who has responded better than any other to God’s call. Mary became both the servant and the disciple of the Word to the point of conceiving, in her heart and in her flesh, the Word made man, so as to give him to mankind. Mary was called to educate the one eternal priest, who became

632 OT, §8. 633 PO, §18. 634 CIC/83, c. 246, §3. 218 docile and subject to her motherly authority. With her example and intercession, the Blessed Virgin keeps vigilant watch over the growth of vocations and priestly life in the Church. And so, we priests are called to have an ever firmer and more tender devotion to the Virgin Mary and to show it by imitating her virtues and praying to her often.635

The 2013 Directory for the Ministry and the Life of Priests affirmed the pedagogical value of Mary who “because she is Mother, is also the most eminent formator of his priesthood, since it is she who knows how to model his priestly heart, protect him from dangers, fatigue, and discouragement, and, with maternal solicitude, watch over him so that he may grow in wisdom and grace before God and men.”636 Most recently, The Gift of the Priestly Vocation, Ratio fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis of 2016 voiced a contemporary appeal that priestly candidates “ought to cultivate an authentic and filial devotion to the Virgin Mary, both through her liturgical celebrations and through popular devotions, particularly the recitation of the Holy Rosary and of the Angelus.”637 Despite the prominence given by the Church to Mary in initial priestly formation, the divergent practices of priestly formators, seminary programs, and seminarians themselves suggest lingering questions of how the aforesaid ecclesial appeals for love of Mary, Marian veneration, Marian devotion, and Marian formation can best advance the ecclesial vision of initial priestly formation in all four stages and all four pillars as proffered in the Ratio/16. How can the initial priestly formation of seminarians occur and be enriched “beneath the shadow of her virginal mantle,”638 that is to say from Marian accompaniment, inspiration, model, and intercession? The theologically robust notions of Marian presence and Marian mission, encompassing dogma,

635 PDV, §82. 636 Directory, §85. 637 Ratio/16, §112. 638 Thérèse of Lisieux, Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, trans. John Clarke (Washington, DC: ICS, 1996), 123.

219 devotion, liturgy, and spirituality from the perspective of Mary of Nazareth’s relationships to the Trinity, Christ, the Church, and mankind, suggest manners in which “[e]very aspect of priestly formation can be referred to Mary.”639

6.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

The Ratio/16 and forthcoming development of amended Ratio nationalis and seminary formation programs affords an urgently needed moment to reassess the relationship between Mary and seminarians wherein the questions must be asked whether Mary is secondary and whether initial priestly formation can realize its ecclesial vision without Mary. The foregoing systematic exploration of the four stages of initial priestly formation— propaedeutic, discipleship, configuration, and pastoral—each consisting of four pillars—human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral—has sought to show that under Mary’s mantle of Marian presence and mission initial priestly formation enjoys the greatest possibility of realizing the pedagogical journey desired by the Church in the Ratio/16. More specifically, the Marian presence— active, exemplary, essential, maternal, permanent, unique, feminine, free, discreet, obedient, virginal, ecclesial, liturgical, spiritual, and as first and perfect disciple—and the Marian mission—dynamic, essential, maternal, permanent, unique, ecclesial, intercessory, effective, accompanying, and as teacher, catechist, and educator—rather than distracting from the journey towards priestly ordination instead enrich this didactic itinerary with an augmented Christological, ecclesiological, and anthropological character. A terrible disservice is done to seminarians by absenting from priestly formation, the seminary program, and seminarians’ lives the presence and mission of Mary of Nazareth that potentially jeopardizes the Church’s dream for initial priestly formation as an integral, organic pilgrimage of faith towards missionary discipleship and priestly configuration to Jesus Christ.

639 PDV, §82. 220 The chapters of this thesis have sought to initiate a dialogue and invite collaboration between theology and ministry, Marian scholars and priestly formators. Chapter One began with an assessment of Marian presence and mission as found in Scripture, Tradition, and magisterial teaching, as well as developed and categorized by theologians. Chapter Two proposed Mary’s exemplary, maternal, feminine, ecclesial, liturgical, and spiritual presences as beneficial for the inchoate propaedeutic stage wherein Mary exercises a dynamic, ecclesial, and accompanying mission as teacher, catechist, and educator. Chapter Three discovered in the Church’s dream for the discipleship stage of philosophical studies Mary’s presence as permanent, free, discreet, and as first and perfect disciple to realize Mary’s maternal, unique, and intercessory mission. In the third stage of initial priestly formation, the configuration stage of theological studies reviewed in Chapter Four, Mary’s presence emerges as active, unique, and virginal corresponding to Mary’s permanent and effective mission in salvation history and in the life of the Church. The final stage of initial priestly formation, the pastoral developed in Chapter Five, reveals Mary’s presence as essential and virginal, while Mary’s essential mission likewise surfaces. While other notes of the Marian presence and mission surely abound and might be advantageously applied to the ecclesial vision of initial priestly formation, the author introduced the aforesaid to suggest one way in which PDV, §82 might be concretized: “Every aspect of priestly formation can be referred to Mary.” The appropriation of Marian presence and Marian mission to the four stages of initial priestly formation in the foregoing chapters of this thesis can be graphically depicted as follows:

221 MARIAN PRESENCE Propaedeutic Discipleship Configuration Pastoral Stage Stage Stage Stage Exemplary Permanent Active Essential Maternal Free Unique Virginal Feminine Discreet Obedient Ecclesial First and Perfect Disciple Liturgical Spiritual

MARIAN MISSION Propaedeutic Discipleship Configuration Pastoral Stage Stage Stage Stage Dynamic Maternal Permanent Essential Ecclesial Unique Effective Accompanying Intercessory Teacher, Catechist, Educator

The Chapters have further sought to systematically build up priestly formation by suggesting Marian pericopes and mysteries for sustained reflection during each of the four stages. Seeking to further explore the mystery of the human person of Mary in relation to Christ, the Church, and most particularly seminarians, the Marian virtues identified in Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium were examined in their exemplarity that seminarians might be formed in the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity as well as the human virtues identified in Ratio/16, §93: “humility, courage, common sense, magnanimity, right judgment and discretion, tolerance and transparency, love of truth, and honesty.”640 Proposing a plan for virtue formation, each stage sought to highlight, albeit limited by space and introductory in certain instances, some of these virtues to find in Mary a model of

640 Ratio/16, §93, 222 their perfection. The following chart depicts the division of virtues amongst the four stages of initial priestly formation in accordance with the ecclesial vision of each respective stage:

MARIAN VIRTUES Propaedeutic Discipleship Configuration Pastoral Stage Stage Stage Stage Humility Common Right Discretion Sense Judgment Courage Magnanimity Tolerance Transparency Love of Honesty Truth

In Mary, the priestly virtues desired by the Church to be born and cultivated in seminary formation appear without obscurity and in a free, loving response to the primacy of God’s grace and call. Moreover, the author, following the conciliar desire that the “liturgical cult of the Blessed Virgin be generously fostered,”641 appealed to the forty-six votive Masses of the Virgin Mary contained in the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary to suggest how these Masses might be celebrated not simply to know and love Mary, but to simultaneously progress the apprehension of each stage of initial priestly formation’s respective goals. While the oft used expressions of “Marian devotion,” “Marian veneration,” or “Marian formation” impress upon the reality of the relationship between Mary and seminarians, these terms likewise risk becoming trite or appearing to relegate this relationship to merely devotional life or dogmatic and doctrinal instruction. This thesis has attempted to employ the more theologically demanding, because more theologically broad, terms of Marian presence and Marian mission to invite those responsible for initial priestly formation to consider the place and role of Mary that surpasses any one of the four pillars—human, spiritual, intellectual, or pastoral—while enhancing them all. The author concludes this thesis with an appeal for consideration by those responsible for any forthcoming Ratio fundamentalis, Ratio

641 LG, §67. 223 nationalis, or seminary programs to consider whether “Marian presence” and “Marian mission” might more accurately approximate the mystery of Mary in relation to God, the Church, and men, as well as advance the Church’s dream for integral, organic initial priestly formation. With profound humility before such an awesome living reality in the Church as Mary and initial priestly formation, the author renews at the conclusion of this work his original posture of awe and his earnest desire to be of loyal service to the hierarchy and the People of God. The want of theological treatment in the main on the topic of this thesis has resulted in many occasions of novelty, such as the lack of development of the notes of Marian mission, so the author hopes to have simply begun an academic discussion, not to have the final word. Attributable to the newness of the Ratio/16 and the appropriation of Marian presence and Marian mission to initial priestly formation, this study will be best tested by priestly formators, seminary communities, and seminarians, which will further enrich this thesis and may necessitate adaptation according to the successes and difficulties concretely experienced. While great effort has been expounded since the Second Vatican Council to reform initial priestly formation, contemporary crises and malaise demonstrate the need for continued renewal and reform, which the author opines greatly benefits from fresh attention to the question of Marian presence and mission in initial priestly formation. The author awaits with great excitement and anticipation the contributions of others to continue the modest conversation begun within these pages that initial priestly formation might be abundantly enhanced by the presence and mission of the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, Mary of Nazareth.

224 6.2 EXAMPLES OF MARIAN ASSESSMENT

AT THE CONCLUSION OF EACH STAGE

The Ratio/16 makes explicit that initial priestly formation consists not merely in the accomplishment of a duration of prescribed time in the seminary community nor in the successful completion of required philosophical and theological courses. Instead, the Ratio/16 argues that “ordination is the goal of a genuinely completed spiritual journey, that has gradually helped the seminarian to become aware of the call he has received and the characteristics that pertain to priestly identity, allowing him to reach the necessary human, Christian and priestly maturity.”642 Accordingly, initial priestly formation, not unlike ongoing priestly formation, necessarily must assess the realization of the afore defined formation objectives in the ecclesial vision of initial priestly formation contained in the Ratio/16. Nonetheless, however, formation remains necessarily personal and individual such that much caution must be employed in not creating unduly burdensome, idealistic, or geographically or culturally particular benchmarks. The Ratio/16 leaves to the Ratio nationalis and individual seminary programs the further development of the particularities of these criteria of assessment. This scientific study of the presence and mission of Mary in initial priestly formation, however, suggests possible examples of assessment in accordance with the example of Mary of Nazareth and in accordance with Mary’s presence and mission in its divergent, yet interconnected dimensions. More concretely, while the assessment of a candidate’s humility for example can only be done with great difficulty and often with prejudicial biases, Mary’s example suggests how humility can and should be concretely proven by acts in the life of seminarians. The author, wherefore, opines the utility of suggesting some examples of Marian assessment for each stage, while likewise maintaining that the aforesaid study does not purpose to establish exacting benchmarks such that, for example, a seminarian who has not made the Marian

642 Ratio/16, §58. 225 consecration or joined a Marian solidarity ought not to advance to the subsequent stage of formation. This thesis instead seeks to realize the ecclesial vision of initial priestly formation through the application and appropriation of Marian presence and mission to the four pillars in the four stages of initial priestly formation expounded in the Ratio/16. In assessing seminarians’ maturation during the propaedeutic stage, the seminarian needs to have embarked upon the spiritual life. A seminarian’s fidelity to the spiritual exercises, both of the seminary community and those personally encouraged by his director, must be assessed to ascertain whether he not only earnestly seeks a life of holiness, but believes that holiness is possible as evinced in the Marian dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Moreover, seminarians’ humility can be concretely evaluated when considering the ability to be instructed and corrected in all four pillars of formation. Without indications of humility inseparable from truth, later stages of formation will be thwarted. Finally, seminarians’ courage in following Christ’s call must be realistically considered, both as concerns the joys and crosses of the ministerial priesthood, without overlooking the concrete challenges of perseverance, maintaining communion and healthy relationships with superiors and inferiors alike, and the demands of an integrated sexuality in chaste celibacy. While those responsible for assessment of men in the propaedeutic stage must never forget the importance of the gradual transformation envisioned by the Church for initial priestly formation and should therefore not have unrealistic expectations, nonetheless reservations seem appropriate towards men who have not discovered something of Mary’s presence at the conclusion of the propaedeutic stage or are unwilling to cooperate with Mary’s mission, such as those who have an unhealthy attitude towards women contrary to evangelical values. Experience suggests that as seminarians relate with Mary, so they will relate with the women to whom they are sent to minister and serve as ministerial priests. In considering the benchmarks of the discipleship stage, Christ’s admonition offers eternal wisdom: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one

226 another.”643 In imitation of the preeminent and perfect discipleship of Mary, repeated, spontaneous, free acts of charity suggest the realization of the formation objectives. Seminarians who, for example, avail themselves of quiet moments for prayer and likewise joyfully volunteer for humble works of charity such as cleaning the seminary or pastoral endeavors outside their previous experience seem to suggest men seeking to be identified as Christian disciples and to build the ministerial priesthood upon this fundamental dimension of discipleship shared by all the baptized. Seminarians at the conclusion of the discipleship stage ought, wherefore, to have gained some degree of self-knowledge such that they both recognize the veracity of Christ’s call and the talents they have received from God, while likewise humbly and sincerely confessing their own sinfulness and weakness. Seminarians found repeatedly lacking common sense, magnanimity, or docility ought to be encouraged to grow by being mercifully corrected, including by fraternal correction that will test the veracity of their humility. If concerns arise about a seminarian’s freedom or maturity, he ought to be challenged to form a healthy understanding of Christian freedom and to respond with selflessness to the priestly vocation as a pastor of souls. Since the configuration stage purposes to unite seminarians to Christ, seminarians at the conclusion of the configuration stage should be found men of the sacraments and prayer. They ought to be advancing in the life of prayer, finding God in the ordinary and mundane activities of daily life and seeking to constantly grow in love by embracing life’s routine crosses that invite greater union with Jesus after Mary’s example. A particular Marian benchmark suitable to the configuration stage is a seminarian’s obedience to his superiors. Is his obedience merely functionary and accompanied by murmuring, or rather is his obedience joyful, spontaneous, and generous as an opportunity to prove his love of God and neighbor? In the midst of the demands of theological studies, seminarians of the configuration stage ought to evince Mary’s obedience in seeking to conform their minds and hearts to the one deposit of faith entrusted to the Church. The obedience expected of a candidate to the ministerial priesthood in the

643 Jn 13:35. 227 configuration stage ought to be modelled on Mary’s obedient presence. Wherefore, a seminarian who willfully persists in error or espouses teachings contrary to Christian faith ought not to be advanced, since such a position cannot be reconciled with the obedient presence of Mary. Finally, the presence and mission of Mary likewise suggest some possible examples of objectives of assessment for the pastoral stage. Immersed in the life of a particular Church and amongst the people of God, seminarians ought to indicate through word and deed their proper identity as men of the Church who have been called into communion with God and neighbor. Seminarians who are unable or unwilling to be accompanied by those responsible for their formation in the pastoral stage, those who refuse to live in transparency and honesty, as well as those who persistently reveal immaturity or a character unbecoming or contrary to the priesthood of Jesus Christ ought to be carefully examined and wisely delayed or deterred. Moreover, seminarians in the pastoral stage who relegate Mary’s presence and mission as superfluous or optional must be carefully considered because of the real and serious repercussions to their ability to celebrate and proclaim Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, within the communion of the virginal and maternal Church.

6.3 FURTHER POSSIBILITIES OF

INVESTIGATION

The aforesaid study represents an introduction to an intellectually demanding, often overlooked area of theological investigation: Mary’s presence and mission in the lives of members of the Church. The author has herein sought to begin a dialogue on Marian presence and Marian mission, as taught by Scripture, Tradition, and the living Magisterium, in relation to only one segment of the People of God: seminarians. The insights and contribution of this prolonged investigation suggest the theological and pastoral utility of similar investigations to enrich the formation of other members of the Church such as the episcopacy,

228 consecrated men and women, permanent deacons, husbands and wives, and young people. By considering Mary’s presence and mission in relation to the pedagogical itinerary of the Church’s members, these same members not only come to better know and love Mary through awareness of Mary’s presence and cooperation with Mary’s mission, but the ecclesial aims of formation appear in greater clarity and are enhanced by the countless benefits of Mary’s presence and mission that she has received from God. With Mary, the iter of formation remains inseparable from the mysteries of Christ and the mysteries of the Church wherein Mary serves as a safeguard of this authenticity. Of particular mention, the author expresses an earnest desire that theologians will explore Mary’s presence and mission in the ongoing formation of priests. By identifying the dimensions of Marian presence and mission found in the ongoing formation of priests, the fecundity of priestly ministry increases in accordance with the mind of the Church and the priesthood emerges not as functionality or administration, but missionary discipleship and configuration after Mary’s immaculate and stirring example. The limitations of this investigation have necessitated that some respects of Mary’s presence and mission can only be briefly introduced without full exposition that would require much additional study and research outside the scope of this thesis. Possible areas of continued reflection include the practice of the presence of Mary, Mary in relation to the priest as spouse, Mary and the theological virtues in their exemplarity, Mary as shepherd of the Good Shepherd and the people, and countless other topics broached in this investigation, but far from exhausted. Again, with much humility, the author confesses the great work that remains undone to bolster Mary’s presence and mission in seminary communities and the lives of seminarians. Finally, the author acknowledges the utility of the future development of an action plan with concrete steps that the birth and cultivation of Marian presence and mission might be followed in the daily lives of seminarians and seminary formators. Such an action plan will make clear how to daily live according to the theological truths this thesis has sought to illuminate. As a cloistered, contemplative monk without years of seminary experience and living a unique vocation in the heart of the Church,

229 the author believes that the development of such an action plan will be best accomplished by one more familiar with the exigencies of the contemporary diocesan seminary and the men dwelling there. To those valiant, magnanimous souls who might undertake these critical academic pursuits, the author humbly invites collaboration and most especially extends the promise of his prayers.

6.4 IMPLICATIONS FOR A MARIAN CHURCH

The recent promulgation of the obligatory feast to the universal calendar of Mary, Mother of the Church has renewed appeals for a “Marian Church.” Earlier, in Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis readily confessed that in the Church “a woman, Mary, is more important than the bishops”644 and acknowledged “a Marian ‘style’ to the Church’s work of evangelization.”645 A Marian Church brings forth life with Mary, nurtures the little ones with Mary, remains pure with Mary, visits the peripheries with Mary, follows Jesus with Mary, proclaims the Good News with Mary, prays with Mary, suffers with Mary; in a word, a Marian Church makes Mary present and realizes Mary’s mission. A Marian Church, however, necessitates Marian pastors who evince the maternity and virginity of the Church through their personal discipleship and configuration to Jesus, modelled after the discipleship and configuration of Mary. Marian pastors in a Marian Church exercise Marian virtues, celebrate the Marian mission, and practice the Marian presence. For the Church, wherefore, to truly embrace her identity as a Marian Church, Marian priests are urgently needed who are formed in the school of Mary to recognize the Marian presence and cooperate with the Marian mission. This thesis has sought to begin a dialogue of renewal of initial priestly formation precisely to realize a Marian Church of

644 Evangelii Gaudium, §104. 645 Evangelii Gaudium, §288.

230 Marian pastors who have heard and responded to Jesus’s final bequeathal from the tree of the cross: “Behold, your mother!”646

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281 Biographical Note

Fr. Simon Mary of the Cross, M. Carm., was born Nicholas Todd Maroney in Bennington, Vermont, on January 26, 1984, the oldest child of the late George and Maureen Maroney. After attending school with his two siblings in the small farming community of Cambridge, New York, he entered the Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, a public association of the Christian faithful in the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 2004. By the grace of God, on the Solemnity of the Assumption, August 15, 2010, Fr. Simon Mary professed perpetual vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty and was subsequently ordained to the sacred priesthood by Bishop David Ricken on December 14, 2016, the Carmelite Feast of St. John of the Cross. He graduated with a ninety-credit MA in Theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut, in 2016, having had the great privilege to study with renowned Thomists Fr. Brian Mullady, OP, and Dr. Cynthia Toolin-Wilson. Fr. Simon Mary’s academic pursuits continued in the areas of Marian Studies at the International Marian Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio, beginning in 2017, as well as Canon Law, with a concentration in religious and clerical law, at Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Ontario, where he earned a JCL (2018). He presently serves his cloistered, contemplative community as Vocations Director, , and seminary professor in their cloistered monastery situated in the silence and solitude of Wyoming’s Rocky Mountains.

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