Quigley Preparatory Seminary - La Petit Seminaire Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

Page 34 text:

The umor and Senior Retreats at Quigley mght rightfully be called the hub of the seminary lrfe All the actrvrtres studies and other worlcmgs of the semmarlan depend a great deal upon hrs yearly retreat The retreat rs a means of sanctufrcatron and Pope Plus an has encycllcal on the Catholic Priesthood urges everyone especrally semrnarrans to malce use of this means to the best of their ability The purpose of a retreat rs to deepen one s convvctrons To explarn these words let us talce this example Every semmaraan rs convinced that hrs must be a life ol obedience to hrs parents and superiors He may be obedient slmply because nf he rs not he will be punrshed How ever when he attends the retreat exercises at our semmary he wrll medrtate on the Idea of obedaence Talcmg as hrs model the boy Chrrst he wrll meditate on Hrs life wrth Mary and oseph Now he will realize that he IS strlvlng to become another Chrrst that he must be obedient because Chrrst was obedient The order of the day for the retreats begrns with a community Mass whrch all the students attend After Mass a series of tallcs or con ferences talces place In the chapel Here rt rs where the students receive enlightening advice and countless Ideas Quret rs a necessary factor an a retreat srnce our Lord wrll not spealc to a drsturbed soul HHH

Page 33 text:

From the moment a future priest enters Quigley he is able to see that one sort of priest stands out from the rest in aiding him spiritually. There are three such priests at Quigley, Fathers Graff, Fitzgerald, and Mohan. These are the spiritual directors. They have charge of the spiritual exercises of the seminarians while the students are at Quigley. The saying, a young man according to his way, even when he is old, he will not depart from it, shows the need for the proper spiritual care of seminarians to make them holy priests. Careful above all should be the choice of a superior and professors, and in a special manner, of the spiritual father, who has so delicate and so important a part in the nurture of the priestly spirit. Yet it should not be forgotten that all the professors at Quigley also share in the forma- tion ofa Christ-lilce character in the seminarians. They do this by their example and any hints they may pass along in class. Assuredly, Holy Mother the Church has really seen to the imparting in her candidates for the sanctuary a training correspondingly superior. She has shown for nothing all through the ages ci more tender solicitude and motherly care than for the training of her priests. She is not unaware that, as the religious and moral conditions of peoples depend in great measure upon their priests, so too, the future of the priest depends on the training he has received. And it is through just such reverenced and reverential men as Quigle-y's professors and spiritual directors that the Church effects the demanded training and piety.

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It would be a grave error fraught wrth many dangers both to hvmself and to others should the prnest carrued away by false zeal neglect hrs own sanctlfucatuon and become overlmmersed In the external worlcs of the priestly mnnvstry Pope Plus XII The personal sanctnflcatlon of the priest therefore ns of prrme Importance rn order that he may retain that unctnon of the Holy Splflf whuch gives such a marvelous force and efficacy to the external apostolate A prlest does not attaun holiness overnrght ln has seminary days must the seed of sanctity be cultivated The Sacraments of penance and Holy Eucharist are the prlme means of attaining sanctity Sanctnty ns the struvrng for the perfectuon of Chrnst Chrnst IS the Ideal of the semlnarran Through Communion Christ Hrmself as present In the heart of the semlnarlan ln weelcly Confesslon the semrnarran roots out the habnts of sun In order that he may become more like Chrust In perfec tlon and that the flower of virtue and holiness may bloom ln this matter St Bernard tells us Examine your lrfe dauly as a curuous explorer of your own nntegrnty Wengh carefully how much you are advancing or how much you are receding Strrve to lcnow yourself Put all your transgresslons before your eyes place yourself before yourself as before another and thus weep over yourself