Priests at a Class

“Almost all problems in the spiritual life stem from a lack of self-knowledge.” St. Teresa of Avila

Along with 30 priests from our diocese, January 29– February 1, I began a 2 year program entitled, “Good Leaders—Good Shepherds”, offered by the Catholic Leadership Institute This is a national program which been in existence for 11 years. The 12th bishop of Pittsburgh, David Zubik is on the board and strongly encourages all his priests to embrace the call to be good leaders, after the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. He believed that it would be beneficial and helpful to all of his priests in order to equip them with the skills necessary to meet the challenging demands of ministry today. The rewards are that we would be more holy happy and healthy shepherds of engaged and vibrant parish communities, to lead effectively with Jesus Christ. This is the 3rd Cohort of priests in the Diocese of Pittsburgh to attend this program. I am glad to be in this cohort, as they keep fine-tuning the skills for this process.
The class is divided into 6 modules:
1. Self Preparation for Leadership: Discovering your ‘DiscPosition’, values, persona (masks), and core.
2. Leadership in Self Context: Time and life balance, self-motivation, solicit and receive effective feedback.
3. Leadership in the One-to-One context: Give effective feedback, conflict resolution, behaviors and versatility among parish leaders.
4. Leadership in the Team Context: Facilitate team dynamics, solve problems and make decisions in teams, structure effective meetings. Leadership in context of coaching clinic.
5. Leadership in the Organizational Context
6. Leadership in the Relational Context

In Module 1, our Learning Leaders were Lucille Smith, a widow and mother of 3 children, from the Diocese of Harrisburg, PA; Fr. Ed Dover, a priest from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, CA and Tim Gavin, a Learning Leader, and a married man from the Philadelphia area. Since I have always enjoyed being a life-long learner, I embraced this call fully, to learn new things and lifeline skills, in order to fall in love again with the vocation that God has called me to in His priesthood. In any walk of life, we must continue to grow. If you don’t know where you’re going in life, any road will get you there.

In the Program of Priestly Formation, 5th Edition, USCCB, 2006, paragraph #238, it states: “To be a true ‘shepherd of souls’ means standing with and for Christ. In the community, the Christ who teaches and sanctifies and guides or leads the community. The grace to be a shepherd comes with ordination. That grace, however, calls for a priest’s personal commitment to develop the knowledge and the skills to teach and preach well, to celebrate the sacraments both properly and prayerfully and to respond to people’s needs as well as to take initiatives in the community that holy leadership requires.”

There is a nice cross-section of priests in our cohort. We learned to be respectful of our personality type after taking a diagnostic assessment. We also had a cross-section of people from work, social and family members do an evaluation of how they perceive us. Lo and behold, Bishop Zubik and I just happen to share the same personality type! It is important to honor who you are and honor who others are. It is important that we don't stereotype or box people in to one label. Each ‘DiscPosition’ works for us and against us. However, our values direct our behaviors. There are 4 basic personality types: extrovert/introvert, and controlling/accepting.

In the fall of 1980, at the tender age of 18, I began the discerning process at St. Paul Seminary, to be a priest. 33 years later, in 2013, at the age of 50, I am coming to get re-tooled, re-equipped, and re-committed to this vocation. Sitting at my table were contemporaries of my seminary days. One comes to a healthy appreciation and respect that we serve the call to serve God’s people in different ways and places. Despite the challenges and changes; joys ad frustrations, hopes and disillusionments, one rejoices that God uniquely called us to the ordained ministry to serve the Church.

There was time for Morning and Evening Prayer, Mass, socialization and meals together. They even served popcorn at the movies we viewed, which were: “Oscar Romero, the Bishop of San Salvador” (19, “12 Angry Men” starring Henry Fonda (1956), “The Lion King” (19..)

On the last day there was ‘Honorable Closure’. They asked each priest: What did you learn? What will you remember? What can you apply to your ministry? I was most inspired by the brother priest who had the courage to say, I’ve been at a parish for several years now. And I felt that I was in over my head there, inadequate and ill-equipped for the large number of souls in that parish. I was a bit apprehensive about leading a large pastoral care team. 

After brooding, loathing, going in circles, and feeling out of his comfort zone, after the first week of the Good Shepherd program, a light switch went off in him, that a new revelation that God put him there for a reason and God will not allow opposition to have the upper hand in his life. That, God, who called him, is with him in the struggle, in times of doubt, fear and discouragement.

God is with us IN the struggle, and has our backs. Even in times when we feel, like Peter, that our efforts are futile and meaningless. We can all become impatient like Peter, easily discouraged, and ready to throw in the towel. Yet, the Lord just wants us to go back and be faithful even when we don’t see apparent or visible results for our efforts. Confession reminds us that God doesn’t give up on us, and we must not give up on others. It’s never too late for salvation.

At the end of the week we were asked to write our own Mission Statements I was asked to share mine with the class so I thought I would share it with you:

“My purpose in life is to use my enthusiasm and care, to help others grow in faith, in Jesus Christ, and His Gospel, for themselves and others, so that they would embrace the Great Commandment to love God and neighbor, most fully in every day life. And that we would pray for each other, as we seek to serve each other out of love for Christ, more gracefully and faithfully, day by day.”

Love’s Call - Deep Commitment

“You are the Body of Christ. In you and through you the work of the incarnation must go forward. You are meant to incarnate in your lives the theme of your adoration-you are to be taken, blessed, broken, and distributed, that you may be the means of grace and vehicles of Eternal Charity.”
—St. Augustine of Hippo

Love’s Call - Deep Commitment 

On Saturday, January 26, 2013, we hosted 68 couples for Pre-Cana instructions and preparation for marriage here at St. Joseph Parish. These classes are held 3 times per year at St. Joseph. It is a tremendous grace to share road maps, important topics, faith witness and wisdom-experience. As one presenting couple said, “You get a university education in having children! We should always bow in respect and appreciation for the 2,000 year history and longevity for the Catholic Church, that guides, teaches and forms us into being the people that God wants us to be.”

Like the call of the Prophet Jeremiah, (Chapter 1), God assures the prophet in many powerful ways by “I” statements: “I formed you;” “I knew you;” “I consecrated you;” “I appointed you;” “I command you;” “I am with you.” As God assures Jeremiah, He assures each of us and supports us to answer the call to be faithful to God, to others and ourselves - for this is the ‘zenith’ of love in any Christian vocation.

We hear of Paul’s “Hymn of Love’ that is often read at weddings. (1 Cor 12:31,13:13) Paul reminds us that Godly love is only possible through the presence and the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit, active and alive in our lives. God’s grace empowers us to love in greater measure. Love is a mystery. It begins and ends with God. Love is the source of the call of every Christian vocation. Love is an awareness of living in the holy presence of God each day. Love is to be free of sin. Love is growing in faith and prayer. Love is not always easy. Love is inclusive, never excluding. Love is the sacred vessel in which hearts heal the world. Love demands sacrifice, suffering, sanctity and service.

St. Paul writes, “If I have no love, I have nothing.” (1 Cor 13:2) “Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous, conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered, selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; its faith, hope and patience never fail. Love is eternal. (1 Cor 13:4-8) ...and three things remain: faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor 13:13)

At the end of the day the participants are invited to give their comments on an evaluation sheet. There, at the bottom of one sheet, where the positive and negative comments, the strengths and weaknesses of the program are stated, was the comment, “Why do we have to go to church?” (The Pre-Cana day begins at 8:00 am and ends at 5:00 pm following Mass.) It made me think about a woman, who went to see her doctor with a whole list of complaints. She gave an “organ recital” of all the ailments plaguing her organs. But the doctor could find no real physical ailment upon examining her. He suspected that the woman’s negative outlook on life was her real problem. The doc got up from his desk and pointed to a shelf filled with bottles and said to the woman, “Look at these bottles. All of them are empty. I can take one of them and fill it with poison, enough to kill a human being. Or I can take the same bottle and fill it with medicine, enough to cure a headache or bring down a fever, or kill bacteria. The next thing, is that I make the choice. I can fill each bottle with something hurtful or with something helpful.” The doctor looked the patient in the eye and said, “Each day that God gives us is like one of those empty bottles. We can choose to fill it with positive thoughts that lift us and others; or we can fill it with negative thoughts that depress us and everyone else. The choice is ours.”

God’s love is the source of our call, the unity of our vocation, and the healer of our souls. I reminded the engaged couples that the closer we are to Jesus, the more loving we will be toward others. At the high points and low points of our lives, God is always with us.

You Build Love

You build in the hearts of fathers
The love for their sons and their daughters.
But infinitely more marvelous, Lord,
Is your love for us, your sons and your daughters.
Thank you for loving us in this way!
You create in the hearts of mothers
The tenderness for their children.
But infinitely more marvelous, Lord,
Is your love for us, your children.
Thank you for loving us in this way!
You raise up in the heart of a husband
The love for the wife of his youth.
But infinitely more marvelous, Lord,
Is your love for your Church, your fiancée.
Thank you for loving us in this way!
You awaken in the heart of all
The desire for a universal family.
But infinitely more marvelous, Lord,
Is your love which gathers all your children
Into Your Kingdom.
Thank you for loving us in this way!
Teach us, O Lord, to take time
To admire the splendor of the lilies of the field,
To listen to the song of the nightingale,
To discover in your creation the signs of your Providence.
We will worry no more about tomorrow
Which will be the first day of eternity.
We will trust in your love
Today, tomorrow, and forever and ever. Amen.
—Fr. Lucien Deiss, c.s.sp.
From the book, “A Garden of Prayers”