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

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Once weekly each class at the sem mary makes a chapel V1S1t 1n a body At this V1S1f the sem1nar1ans make a short med1tat1on and hear a sermon from their spiritual d1rector This weekly VlS1t IS not only a prayerful per1od spent 1n chapel but also a be gmners lesson IH med1tat1on The sp1r1tual director guides the thoughts of the sem1nar1ans and they become accustomed to the most fruitful of prayers, med1tat1on Mental prayer is a fundamental part of the priestly life, and the sp1r1tual director sees to lt that every sem1nar1an becomes ac qua1nted w1th it early 1n h1s career These are the spiritual CXCFCISCS at Qmgley, every one 1mportant, and every one the concern of the sp1r1tual director Th1s IS certa1nly a most pressing respons1b1l1ty, for holy pI'lCStS are the l1fes blood of the 'Vlyst1cal Body and holy priests are, in some way, due to the efforts of good spirit ual directors Among sp1r1tual dlrec tors, the one in the m1nor semmary IS of paramount lmportance, for he IS the first direction glven, the first marker, the first help on the way to the priest hood The spiritual director IS the first judge of a cand1date and the first adv1ser of every candidate He IS the leader, who shows by his own life the worth of a holy priest He IS the en couragement and the comfort so neces sary to sem1nar1ans The life of Don Sarto, the l1fe of every splrltual director, IS one of sac FIHCC for those closest to the heart of Christ No prlest gives more freely of h1s time and talent, or 1S more s1n cere 1n his assistance Certainly no one will ever know completely how done, for h1s IS no showy sacrifice, but qu1et, smcere help given in con fidence with love for Christ and His sem1nar1ans as ltS motive The Splfltual director, to whom the priesthood IS an accomphshed reallty, must prepare those for whom It IS a distant dream The hollness of future priests IS hlS constant concern The boys who leave him and the qulet of their semmary must be the men who will one dav restore all thmgs 1 Christ 19 . . , - , , D . , . . . . . . . . - much good the spiritual director has - . . 3 - . , . f - ' ' L 3 I c I Q ' c ' Q . . . - I 44 ' 'n ' ' n

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spend the entxre lunch perlod 1n the confesslonal, together wlth a long per lod after school Certalnly Qulgley s confessors are worthy successors to thelr patron salnt' As a confidant and adv1ser, the sp1r1t ual dlrector shows hlmself more clearly as a real fr1end At least once yearly the sp1r1tual dlrector calls ln each boy for a prlvate VlS1t Here, wlthout the solemnlty of the confesslonal the sem 1nar1an can discuss any problems that he may have or slmply get to know h1s sp1r1tual advlser better Don Sarto, as sp1r1tual dlrector at Trevlso, made tallored clothlng avaxl able to needy semmarlans, although they never knew that he was their benefactor At ulgley lf a semln arxan IS 1n any such d1Hiculty the slstance, and he IS no less qu1et about lt than was Don Sarto Th1s and the other asslstance that the sp1r1tual directors glVC seem to make thexr tltle just a bxt mlsleadmg, for they are more than dlrectors, much more They are fr1ends P1us X was a smcere, movmg speaker, whose own holmess was ev1dent to h1s llsteners He was an excellent retreat master as one of h1s blographers says, He took part ID the students retreats as though he were one of them A sp1r1tual dlrector 1n a semlnary must be a good retreat master, for the an nual retreat 1S an lmportant part of the semlnary year Here at Qu1gley a four day retreat opens the year of study and prayer Th1s retreat IS a prlmary concern of the spmtual dlrec tor, for the retreat must gxve the sem lnarlans a good start on another step I8 toward the prlesthood After a summer m which the dally routme of semmary llfe had been forgotten, the retreat IS a txme of prayer and sllent medltatlon to msplre the semmarman and renew any lost fervor The splrltual dlrector leads the retreat, and he IS an II1Sp1I' atlon to the young men who would one day jom h1m as leaders for Chrxst Besldes conduct1ng the devotlons of the retreat and speaklng, the spmtual dlrectors hear the confesslons of all the retreatants during the three days be fore 1ts concluslon In the retreat the sp1r1tual dlrectors are true leaders, for they conduct themselves more as part ners than overseers Another s1m1lar, but shorter help to holmess for the semmarlans IS the Day of Recollectlon held four t1mes 1n the lectlon IS a small retreat, a tlme for renewal of the resolutlons made at the start of the 5 ear 1n the full retreat The Day of Recollectlon IS the perfect endmg of one scholastlc quarter, and the perfect start of another I IS a short pause 1n the busy pursult of the prlesthood a deep breath a time of med1tat1on Th1s day long retreat IS agam the concern of the splrltual dxrector, for he calls on one of the dlocesan prlests to conduct lt, and helps ln every way he can to make every Day of Recollect1on a splrltual success Blessed PIUS X, the sp1r1tual dlrector who ascended to the papacy, m h1s Letter to Przests quotes St Charles Borromeo Brethren, understand that nothlng IS so necessary as mental prayer, It should precede, accompany and follow all our actlons . . I. Q ' , ' ' - a u . n l I n c , , sp1r1tual dlrector IS the channel of as- Course of the year, The Day of Reqol- ' . . t ' D 3 . . -. U . ,

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mafomng jkzngd ARGHERITA Sanson attlred ln her best clothes and accom panled by all her chlldren had come from RICSC to Castelfranco early m the morn1ng Today was the zemth of her l1fe today she was to become the mater sacerdotls Lrke another woman of almost two centur1es past she had brought forth a son who was to be a mlddle man between heaven and earth she had brought forth an other Chrlst The day of the ordma tlon was September 18 1858 and th son was Gluseppe Sarto What a blissful thrxll she felt when God s new herald called upon h1s Com mander to bless and strengthen her Hands that would brmg Omnlpotence down to earth were lald on her thought ful head Wlth her cooperatlon Chrlst ness a new prlest On the followmg day Father Glu seppe Sarto recelved a letter contalmng h1S first asslgnment After a short vacatlon he was to go as curate to Tombolo a poverty strlcken vlllage nor far from Rlese I shall l1ke It there he told h1s mother Its people are mostly poor and I have always hved among poor people and am poor myself I understand them and I know they w1ll understand me I+rom Tombolo to Salzano to Trevrso to Mantua to Venlce to Rome the humble peasant prrest was forced up the eccleslastlcal ladder untll the parrsh prlest of Tombolo had become parrsh prlest of the world C luseppe Sarto 20 who wlshed to love and serve God from the bottom step of the sacerdotal starrway had been called upward l1ke the boy Samuel G1useppe sought the w1ll of God ln da1ly prayer and medl tatxon and wlth Samuel begged Speak Lord for Thy servant heareth Then takmg the wlsh of h1s superlors as the w1ll of God he resrgnedly ac knowledged Not my w1ll but Thlne be done' The Heavenly Host had no lnclmatlon to let so valuable a servant as thls modest son of RICSC reclme at the lower end of the ban quet table It was lnevltable that the 'Vlaster should beckon to h1m Frlend come up hlgher The l1fe of Blessed Prus X IS a story of fascmatmg romance the romance of a prlest madly xn love wlth the pontxif the prlest we have sum mar1zed all h1s characterlstlcs If we ask what fitted h1m so slngularly to grasp the tlller of the whole Church there IS only one answer h1s zealous follow up of Chrlsts 1nv1tat1on to be a worthy prlest Come follow 'VIC' -Xnd agam 1f we wonder at the source of the power the wlsdom and the ln splratlon for the astoundxng achleve ments of h1s pont1f1cate Or better yet of h1s consp1cuous personal sanctlty we shall not go far wrong IH answerlng the holy prlesthood When on August 4 1903 Cardinal Sarto was elected successor to Peter h1s powers were enlarged h1s v1s1on broadened hxs dutles multlplled h1s C I 3 3 3 5 a 5 KC ' H ' ac n . , , . 3 3 , - . . H . . . Y! , - . Q ! S , I X - u .lc I - I . , ' H c n u J A I ,. . . . . . ' 9 had a new representative, a new l1ke- prlesthoodf' If we call thxs samtly , . KK ,Yi - , - . ' Q , : . . . , . . . , - - ' tc ' ' ' ll H n , , L n il ' sc ' ' , . . 3 7 3 '- ' D 3 . ,, . . . ' x ' ss ' ar I , . . , . ' 3 7 Y 9 ' J a 9 1