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

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It was 1n hls lectures 1n the semmary that Fr Gluseppe astonlshed everyone by the man1fest breadth of h1s knowl edge and the profund1ty of h1s scholar shlp The unassumlng erud1t1on of th1s obscure country prlest, together w1th hls characterlstlc slncerlty, s1mpl1c1ty ready wrt, and unfalllng good humor capt1vated h1s students They had never suspected that the unknown country prrest would be l1ke th1s expe clally s1nce they themselves had pre vxously heard Father Gluseppe say ln hls first chapel talk Perhaps you expect to find ln me a man of profound learmng and wlde experlence ln sp1r1tual matters, one of those fathers who are capable of dlrect 1ng and counsell1ng you But let me tell you plamly that I possess noth1ng a country prxest come here by the mll of God and s1nce Our Lord has wllled lt so you on your part must be ready to lrsten to my words and be indulgent w1th me From th1s hls very first day at the semlnary Fr Sarto s humxllty was con spxcuous It was planted 1n hrs soul as a chlld ln RICSC under the mfiuence of h1s humble home envlronment and was character1st1c of h1m all durmg hls llfe Humlllty' VVhat sweeter vlrtue can keynote the professor s second and foremost capaclty that of nurturrng the soul of the sem1nar1ans? Wlth Fr Giuseppe p1ety came first True h1s new respons1b1le ofiice was an opportun1ty for personal sanct1fica tlon Cand he took advantage of ltj but moreover lf was an opportun1ty to sanc txfy hls sem1nar1ans, to share w1th them the frults of hxs da1ly Mass commun 44 lon and medltatxon Here was the chance to mold a manly Chrlstllke character ln h1s sem1nar1ans at the most lmpresslonable and formatlve tlme of thelr l1ves Hos aetatls' How well he remembered the pr1ests who had taught h1m twenty years before ln the semmary at Padua where he had spent elght fru1tful years How well he remembered partlcularly Fr Anselml h1s rel1g1on teacher how rev erent he was whlle saylng Mass how Interested he was IH everyone how cheerful he was after a long try1ng day' Lxttle Gluseppe found h1mself1m1tat1ng Fr Anselml he made Fr Anselml hls model prlest And now just as a prlest professor hlmself Fr Gluseppe real1zed that he was not only a teacher of Church law or llturgy durmg class the tlme Professor Sarto the mstructor, was complemented by Father qarto, the frlend and advlser After school hours he would Slt ln h1s room and hear con fesslons hour after hour The students loved their sp1r1tual father VVas there ever a need of thelrs whlch he dld not satlsfy or a problem wh1ch he d1d not solve? H1s was the work of the sculp tor Chrlst through the blshop had glven Father Sarto the rough but prom lSlI1g marble of sem1nar1ans Vhth the ch1sel of secular learnmg and the ham mer of God s truth Father Gluseppe Sarto proceeded to ch1p away the jagged edges searchmg for the lmage of Chr1st ln hrs students Xrvlth esus Chrlst as the Model Father Sarto worked to complete masterplece after masterplece He confirmed th1s objectlve by what . . . , . . ' 3 - . . . .- . . . J . ,, , . . . . , - ., . . - - - 5 Q : , - . . . .3 . ' 9 - - , , or almost nothing of that. I am only time, but also a teacher of virtue all 1 y ' 5 1 , . . ,, . . . . , . . i , 0 Q I . . n . , . , . . , u 0 u a yn . . , . ' Q 3 . . 3 . , , -

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of office but rather an augmentatlon Besides teachmg 1n the semmary the professor has an added functlon I the case of Fr Gluseppe lt was h1s work ln the Cathollc courts ln the case of the Qulgley professor nt ms hrs num erous parlsh dutles Now he must play a dual role-that of car1ng for the flock and that of teach1ng others to do the same But even m the semmary he has a dual role As a teacher he seasons lmmature m1nds as a pr1est he nur tures asp1r1ng souls And Fr Sarto was well aware of thls twofold task Father Gluseppe rose at four o clock each mornmg to say Mass ln the Cathe dral A fellow pr1est once sald that no matter how early he came to Church Father Sarto was already at h1s thanks g1v1ng In the qulet Church after Vlass he woud medltate on the l1fe of Chrlst Thus before the weary c1ty awoke thls zealous pr1est had set the pattern for h1s day The pr1est at Qulgley must also rlse early Before he even begms h1s day as 1 professor, he already has offered Mass m h1s parlsh made h1s thanks g1v1ng and medltatlon and read a part of h1s Dlvme OHice not to mentlon such obv1ous thlngs as eatmg break fast and travelmg from two to ten mlles Thls hidden l1fe ln the morning before n1ne o clock IS the part ln whlch the teacher at Qulgley dlffers from an ordlnary professor The Qulglew ln structor lb a pr1est professor one who teaches flrst the thmgs of God then those of men It was Fr Gluseppe s m1ss1on to lec ture h1s students on dogma morals Church law and llturgy Thls IS what he was to lmbed m the mmds of hrs students thrs IS the part he was to play 1n the formatlon of new prlCStS Fr Gluseppe fully reallzed the lmport ance of h1s part 1n the co operat1ve fashlonmg of a pr1est At Qulgley, each professor deals ln a certaln field Each IS a spec1al1st m a certaln branch of studles whlch sub ject he endeavors to replant ln the mmds of h1s students each professor realxzes that he IS addmg h1s own spe CIHC mgredlent to the process of trans formlng the semmarlan mto a pr1est Accordmg to the standards of the Church a pr1est should be possessed by no less knowledge and culture than IS usual among the well educated people of h1s t1me VV1th thls as the ldeal and pr1nc1ple, the sem1nary professors rn struct the students ln the certalntles of Mathemat1cs the 1nev1table laws of Sclence and Physlcs the lessons of Hls tory the fine po1nts of Enghsh and Speech the 1ntr1cac1es of forelgn lan guages especlally Latm the language of the Church and the beauty of lNIllSlC No means of enrlchmg the mmds of the students IS neglected from sc1en tlflC expenments to movmg p1ctures from makmg tape recordlngs of volce to learn1ng forelgn languages from phonograph records But they also reallze that a pr1est must have full grasp of the Cathollc teach1ng on falth and morals he has to be able to glve the reasons for the dogmas laws, and observances of h1s Church Every semlnarlan must there fore be well acqualnted wlth Fr Sarto s field of studles Chrlstlan Doctrlne wh1ch IS the groundwork for the later study of Phllosophy and Theology 4 . 9 a . fl . 0 A - 9 , ' l . , - 4 N . . . . .r , - 9 9 ' QA u ' . , . 3 , - , . 1 J 9 Y , - s a n , - J Q . , . C x ' 9 ' y s , - . . , . . . . 1 . . Y.- . ' J ' N s 3 9 ' ' . . , . . ' 9 J . . . V J Q , , , . 3

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he sald m class, ln the confesslonal, and ln h1s chapel talks But even more than that he confirmed lt by hls actlons, by hxs example How could the students fa1l to admxre, and consequently to 1m rtate hrs deep seated humlllty hls Slm pllC1ty h1s subm1ss1on to authorlty hrs devotlon to work, h1s extraordlnary charxty maword,hlsprlestlysanctlty' The professor IS always on the alert to pour 1nto the soul of the young sem marlan prlestly sanctlty Twlce weekly a professor glVCS a chapel talk on prlestly vlrtue A number of professors hear confesslons at noon t1me and after school and lend prlestly advice, eager to sanctlfy every need, to solve every problem, to share the frults of thelr da1ly Mass The Mass' Every mornmg the pro fessor effects the most subllme act ln the world when Chrlst humbles Hlm self so much as to place Hlmself under the power of the prlest to be sacr1flced once agaln to God the Father The prlest talks to h1s Creator W ho knowledge and VV1sdom YV1th God as hls counselor, he sets forth to 1n struct the prlests of the future Could there be a better teacher than one whose relatlons Wlth God ln dally Mass are so 1nt1mate, so dellcate, and so frequent? The prlme concern of the professor IS the soul of the semmarlan He IS mterested ln cultlvatlng m lt hablts of prayer and med1tat1on, wh1ch w1ll blossom 1nto a close unlon w1th God 1n the sol1tude of the major semmary he IS mterested 1n xmplantlng a v1r1le character xn the soul of the sem1nar1an, deeply rooted ln purlty, humlllty, and char1ty and he IS mterested ln mstlll mg the Splflt of team work and sports manshlp on the basketball floor, he IS mterested ln moldlng a sermnarlan who IS respectful, obed1ent, and submlsslve to authorlty, ln short, he IS mterested ln another Chrlst Th1s IS h1s motlve when he teaches a semlnarlan how to smg or how to play a muslcal lnstru ment, how to edxt a newspaper, how to run a yearbook, how to swlm, how to manage a llbrary, and best of all, by h1s own splrltual ardor, how to pray But even after the school day IS over, the semmary professor finds no rest, for there IS no rest for those who love God He has confesslons to hear, con verts to mstruct, test papers to correct, h1s oHice to say, a sermon to prepare Hrs head IS heavy, h1s eyes tlred h1s body exhausted But he has to keep golng Perhaps It IS hls lntense love of the D1v1ne VV1ll perhaps It IS h1s un y1eld1ng vlrtue of perseverance that he has always prayed for and actlvely cul tlvated, perhaps lf IS the consolat1on, msplratxon, and encouragement he re celves from a reflectlon on the llfe of Don Gluseppe Sarto, who eXper1enced the same tr1als and troubles, who faced the same temptatlons, who underwent the same tolls and hardshlps The grace of God takes many dlfferent forms Another day has been spent for Chr1st, the first Teacher of semmar 1ans, the first Prlest Professor Years from now when the Qulgley professor stands before h1s Creator, may Chrlst repeat those thr1ll1ng words wh1ch he Sald to Fr Sarto th1rty erght years ago Well done thou good and falthful ser vant Enter mto the jov of the Lord 45 l . . I . - . . . . , I . - . . . . I I . 9 D I , I . , , ' God that impels him to comply with . . 5 ' ' ' ' is . ' . . . ' S . . . u n J Q ' 3 - 1 - n 1 - 0 i ' ' 1 .ll