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

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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

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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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mfluence extended from a c1ty to the world, but what really happened was a change not of personallty or heart but of respons1b1l1ty Pope Plus X was first last, and always a pr1est How he longed l1ke David to throw off the heavy armor of the papacy and to go forth as before w1th h1s staff and shng to slay Gohath to fight lgnorance and sm ln the front lmes But armles need a general and the Church needed a Rock And Father G1useppe Sarto became the soverelgn hlgh pr1est of the world re sponslble for all God s chlldren Cath ol1c and non Cathollc allke And Pope Plus X proved to be a great pope-but only because Father Gxuseppe Sarto had been a great pr1est The Master had sa1d to Hls trust worthy steward Because thou hast been falthful ln a few thmgs I wlll place thee over many The motto of th1s heavenly plenl potentlary was 1n Chrlst Where would be a better place to 1n1t1ate h1s ambltlons than upon the prlesthood ltself the funda mental cable from earth to heaven' The letter of Pope Plus X to pr1ests had nts penetratmg success from the fact that lt contalned the fruits of my years 1n the mmlstry To anyone who knew th1s holy man personally If read more l1ke an autoblography Hls exhortat1on took effect because It was enhanced by h1s actlons The word sounds the example thunders The followlng thoughts from th1s letter of a master pr1est to h1s brother clergy w1ll merlt cons1derat1on A well tralned pr1est accordmg to the son of Margherlta Sanson IS one to restore all thmgs who IS personally holy who has a great love for prayer and reallzes the 1m portance of dally medxtatlon, who ap peals to the judgment of h1s consclence dally, and who makes use of all the other helps whlch prudence and 1n genulty can suggest to brlng hlmself and his flock closer to Chrlst Above all else, a pr1est must be holy Our Lord Hlmself spent thxrty years ln Nazareth pI'aCflClI1g hollness of llfe before he went to teach others Teach mg IS almost of no value lf the pr1est does not confirm h1s words by h1s own example St ohn Chrysostom asks about the pr1est Must not the par taker of such a sacrlfice excel every thxng 1n pur1tyP More lustrous than the solar ray should be the hand that dlvxdes th1s flesh the mouth that IS f1lled w1th sp1r1tual fire the tongue that IS reddened wlth th1s most ador able Blood If only pr1ests would reallze the greatness and the dxgnltx of the thmgs whlch God has placed 1n their hands, how much force lf would have 1n urgmg them to lead a l1fe worthy of eccleslastlcsl God has placed H1s only begotten co equal, and co eternal Son 1n the hands of Hls frlend, the pr1est He has placed therem H1s sacraments and graces He has placed there souls Hls dearest posses slons whom He bought w1th H1s blood He has placed Heaven ln the hands of Hls pr1ests to open and close as he sees Ht God can glVC no more The pr1est must strlve vlgorously to guard hlmself not only agaxnst serlous s1ns but even agalnst the smallest so that he may be worthy to d1str1bute the d1v1ne treasures Hollness becometh thy house sa1d Davld to the pr1est 1 a J 9 ' . , . . . J KK !! . SO . - , - . , . J , - . . . . . . . H - , . - . ' 9 . H . . . . ' 9 , - ii !! ' . . . .- . . . 7 . . H . . . . . ,, . . . . n ' , ' . . H . . . 1 . . . H . c , ' y y . . . . H . ' H . . . , . J . . . . . . U . - , , . , . ,, . . . c , , . 2