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

Page 15 text:

.fd myafzca HE work of the semlnary IS twofold to sow the seeds of knowledge 1n the lntellect of the sem1nar1an, and to sow the seeds of sanct1ty IH the soul of the sem1n arlan The semmary must 1nst1ll learn mg 1n the future pr1est to Ht h1m for h1s ollice of teach1ng truth But the paramount task of the sem1nary IS to nurture and cultlvate the soul of the sem1nar1an, to br1ng lt to matur1ty The semxnary IS the bullder of manly character deep rooted v1rtue, and, 1n short Chr1stl1ke sanct1ty That IS essentlally the nature of the semlnary s work reproduc1ng Chrlst s other Self The sem1nar1an does not acqulre pr1estly sanct1ty merely through the deslre for It HIS soul must be com pletely remodeled developed, and transformed The boy who enters the sem1nary W1th a comparatlvely malnu tr1t1ous soul, must leave the semlnary w1th a completely renovated soul, a soul well advanced towards pr1estly perfectlon But between these two ex tremes, there l1es a per1od of conver s1on as It were Subject to the IHHUCIICC of the sem1nary, the sem1nar1an IS con stantly undergo1ng changes, the fore most of wh1ch takes place 1n h1s splrltual l1fe H1s soul, under the effects of the Mass, Holy Commumon, Confess1on, sp1r1tual dlrectlon, and the example of h1s teachers and fellow semlnarlans, IS 1mpregr1ated w1th hol1 ness, pr1estly hol1ness H1s mlnd takes on a completely d1fTerent att1tude the sensus Chr1st1 He gradually K W0l0l'0L!llCtl0l'l and labor1ously assumes a v1rtuous dls pos1t1on Everythmg about h1m IS undergo1ng a drastlc change, for he IS 1n the process of putt1ng on the new man Early youth IS the age of deep and last1ng 1mpress1ons, the tlme when strong and permanent hab1ts are formed, when a d1rect1on wh1ch fre quently proves final, IS g1ven to the young sem1nar1an s soul It 1S, there fore, the age when the pr1estly sp1r1t should be mfused 1nto h1s soul Th1s IS the tlme of h1s l1fe ln wh1ch h1s soul w1ll e1ther be lmmersed 1n Chr1st and thereby conduct a frultful pr1estly m1n 1stry later on, or It w1ll be left cold and barren of all hol1ness and thereby produce no good or even cause detr1 ment durmg h1s pr1estly m1n1stry PFICSKS who have an exter1or m1n1stry cannot do good for souls 1f they do not possess an mtense 1nter1or l1fe Salnt Paul says speaklng of pr1ests, We are the good odor of Chrlst The pr1est IS constantly to be g1v1ng off the fragrance of sanct1ty that others may breathe If 1n And for 1fS d1H'us1on 1n all d1rect1ons, lf IS absolutely neces sary that the pr1est be deeply pene trated w1th Hlm and closely un1ted to Hlm, that ls, he must have a dellcate sp1r1tual l1fe The true efficacy of the pr1estly m1n1stry depends upon fh1S mgrown personal hol1ness of soul, and a souls worth IS 1n d1rect proport1on to the 1nt1macy and 1ntens1ty of IES relatlons w1th God 11 Q O . . . . . . U . . . . H ' Q . - . J - . . . . . . . , . I 0 - , u , . . . , . . . . . . . , . . . ' - , . J ' H ' U . . - . . . . . . . . . . , . H ' ' H 7 ' . .

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slgnor Sarto was appomted Canon of TTCVISO, a lawyer for the Church s law courts Slmultaneously he was made sp1r1tual dlrector and professor at the dlocesan sem1nary of Trevlso Now Gluseppe Sarto carrled the most re sponslble of dutles As a professor he was charged w1th developlng young boylsh mlnds 1nto manly pr1estly mlnds as sp1r1tual dlrector he was charged w1th develop1ng 1mmature souls 1nto burnlng furnaces of pr1estly sanctxty W1th1n a short tlme Mons1gnor Sarto was made rector of the semlnary By th1s promotlon the dlrectxon of the studles and the d1SC1pl1RC of future pr1ests was put xnto hrs hands Th1s was a task after h1s own heart If there was anyth1ng that characterlzed h1m It was h1s paternal mterest 1n pr1ests and semxnarrans As rector of the semmary he had the tremendous task of pI'OVldlf1g a corps of pr1ests steeped 1n holmess and knowledge, for h1s d1ocese Hrs lnfluence on the d1ocese was ln creased when he was made chancellor and vlcar general of the d1OCCSC Hrs dUt1CS were always takmg on a larger scope Now he was a key man 1n the adm1n1strat1on of the affalrs not only of the sem1nary but now of the ent1re d1OCCSC of TFCVISO But he was not to keep these offices very long For 1n 1884 at Rome he was consecrated a b1shop the fulfillment of pr1estly power and the apparent culmlnatlon of h1s pr1estly career Hls eplscopal see was Mantua a goodly S1ZCd c1ty outslde of Venlce There for n1ne years he labored as shepherd of the flock m1n1ster1ng to 10 thelr every need But to h1s dlspleas ure B1shop Sarto was destlned t ascend even hlgher on the ecclesrastlcal ladder After n1ne most fru1tful years as ordlnary of Mantua he recelved the purple at the conslstory held 111 1893 and thereby became a member of the Sacred College Three days afterward he was made Card1nalPatr1arch of Vemce The pr1ests and fa1thful of Mantua wept when they saw thelr b1shop go the b1shop Whose zeal and klndness had won the hearts of all In Yenxce he was recelved wxth great enthusiasm by the people The renown of h1s act1v1t1es of h1s unbounded chants, and h1s endurlng am1ab1l1ty had pre ceded h1m and had won the hearts of the Venetlans even before havlng en tered the c1ty of lagoons For ten years he preached con firmed ordamed and adm1n1stered m h1s dxocese In 1903 upon the death of Pope Leo XIII he left for Rome to attend the conclave never to return Upon ascend1ng to Peters Chalr Pope Pxuss d1ocese took on global proportlons Immed1ately he set out to accompllsh h1s goal to restore all thlngs 1n Chr1st -Xfter eleven years spent 1n reorgan 1Z1Hg and redecorat1ng Chrlsts Mys tlcal Body, Gluseppe Sarto s 11fe came to a close At the outbreak of XX orld VVar I Pxus X who had spent not only h1s papacy but a l1fet1me ln br1ng1ng back all thlngs to Chrlst, was hrmself brought up to Chrnst Is there a slmpler solutlon to the ev1ls of modermsm than th1s objec t1ve h1s motto our object1ve restore all thlngs IH Christ? I n' . , . . , O . . . Q L , - t . , L 1 I , - , . . . . . . 7 . . Q . 0 - . Y . . , . u , - 9 Q s s ' s . . Y x . , . . . . . . , . - 1 . , . . . . Y. . . U 9 . . . . H . . L! '- . . . . . . , . . . . , . . 7 . . Q a 9 . . . - . H - - - to . . . . . . ,, , L n

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It IS 1n the sem1nary that these re lat1ons Wlth God are developed and lI'lfCI'lS1f'iCd It IS there that the sem 1nar1an reahzes that he must beg1n the long journey to perfectlon He reallzes too that personal perfectlon IS not h1s goal, but the means to h1s goal that the acqu1s1t1on of v1rtue IS not an end but a requ1rement for 1nt1macy w1th God That IS hlS goal un1on Wlth God' It IS w1th th1s goal constantly before h1m that the sem1nar1an hears Mass, rece1ves the sacraments prays mortlfles h1mself and cultlvates vlrtue These are the means God IS the end In real1ty the b1rth of pr1estly sanc t1ty IS not found 1n the sem1nary nor can the sem1nary really be called the sower of sanct1ty For the soul of the semmarlan felt ltS first seed of hol1 ness planted ln It at the t1me of Bap hol1ness was lmbedded 1n h1s soul by h1s home envlronment It was really at home where the seeds of sanctlty were first sown It IS 1n the sem1nary where these seeds are nurtured, cult1 vated and made to grow lt w1ll be 1n the pr1esthood where the rxpened sanctlty w1ll bear ltS frult G1useppe Sarto was born of God fear1ng parents Blessed 1n h1s b1rth and surround1ngs Beppo as he was called had from the outset full l1berty to learn of God It was 1n h1s ch1ld hood 1n the humble town of R1ese that Beppo was 1nst1lled Wlth the be glnnlngs of a hol1ness pr1estly sanc t1ty that was destlned ever to grow unt1l lt would reap 1tS reward 1n heaven 1n glor1ous un1on w1th h1s Creator Perhaps Beppo d1d not real1ze then how blessed he was to have such par 1 ents who placed an atmosphere of f1l1al fear of the Lord about the Sarto home Perhaps h1s parents never reallzed how much they were mfluencmg h1m when every n1ght they would read from the B1ble to Beppo h1s brother and h1s seven s1sters perhaps they never re ahzed that they were weld1ng character to the souls of the1r ch1ldren by teach 1ng them to pray Perhaps they never reallzed how much the1r ch1ldren looked to them for example But no doubt they were aware of the fact that they, by the1r prayers works, and suffermgs held a m1ghty sway over the tender souls of the1r ch1ldren Truly h1s Chlld hood was the b1rthplace of h1s pr1estly sanct1ty As soon as he was b1g enough Beppo was put 1nto a cassock and served Mass or carr1ed a taper or a censer fam1l1ar w1th the house of God The par1sh church of R1ese became a fav or1te spot for Beppo often he would spend a spare moment there, talk1ng to the Pr1soner of Love chamed to the altar After he made h1s FIFSC Holy Commumon h1s customary v1s1ts to the Blessed Sacrament took on a new meanmg They were both a pro longed thanksg1v1ng for the Great G1ft and a premature preparat1on for the next recept1on Beppo longed to re CCIVC the Blessed Sacrament It grleved h1m that he had to Walt unt1l he was eleven years old before he could re CCIVC Chrlst for the first t1me L1ttle d1d he reallze then that as Pope Plus X he would send out a decree to all the world statlng that no longer would a chlld be kept from Holy Commumon unt1l he was eleven years old that . . . . , . , . J Q Y . 3 3 3 ' 3 Q . x ' ' ' 5 ' 9 tism. Perhaps he never realized it but As he grew he became more and more . . 4 Q ' x 1 Q - 3 . , , . 9 ' ' , . . 3 . . ' , - . , 2