At St. Joseph College Seminary, we seminarians share a unique bond of fraternity. This bond is important because it is a means God provides for a seminarian’s formation.
It centers and guides him to fraternal charity and self-sufficiency in matters of virtue.
In the midst of fraternal life, a seminarian begins to discover who he is and the truths of his character. This revelation comes forth as he uncovers the depth of his love for God the Father, the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. Furthermore, living as a community under the same roof provides an opportunity for each young man to recognize the treasures that are sincerity of heart and reciprocated love among members of the community. However, if one of us restricted his fraternal interactions to mere pleasantries and shallow dialogue, how could he begin to understand the beauty or joy to be found in genuine fraternity?
This idea especially holds true with the virtues taught to me by my parents. Two particular virtues cultivated by my parents have prepared me for seminary and have kept me close to God: honesty (with God and my brothers) and courage. Honesty keeps the heart pure of self-deceit, and courage provides the strength of soul to accomplish its purpose – namely, sanctification. Moreover, when honesty is developed in one’s relationship with God, humility begins to take root. Fully realized, humility is the subjection of man to God, for whose sake he humbles himself by subjecting himself to others.
In the pursuit of this virtue essential to holiness, we can be sure that our patience will be tested. St. Thomas Aquinas noted in his disputations on the cardinal virtues that “courage includes patience,” for patience is necessary for perseverance (Disputations, De virtutibus cardinalibus, I, ad 14).
If we lack the courage sufficient to be honest when we speak to another, we should take heart and ask for grace where we fall short. Our Catholic faith is built upon courageous virtue, and it is the truth within us that scatters darkness as it pours forth through our speech.
True Catholic brotherhood is essential to our faith. It draws us towards deeper spiritual joy, provides confidence to be men of God, and inclines us to carry words of peace in a world darkened by love for power and violence. The brotherhood we share in Christ is illuminated by the Light of Lights and impelled by love for God, who anticipates us with heavenly grace.
I pray for you all. Be honest, be courageous, and hold dear to the promising fact that our hope and vocations are secured in Jesus. Pax Christi.
James C. Tweed, a member of Sacred Heart Church in Brevard, is enrolled at St. Joseph College Seminary.
What is the ultimate virus to plague humanity? And is there a vaccine for it?
We, as Catholic Christians, are imperfect. We acknowledge our own sinfulness and are called, as St. Augustine said, to “hate the sin, yet love the sinner.”
Original sin has been so much a part of the history of salvation. Baptism takes away original sin, yet the inclination to sin remains.
Systemic sin among the unbaptized and baptized has been the ultimate virus to plague humanity since the fall of our first parents. Sins such as racism, abortion, human trafficking, theft, false witness, slander, etc., have been evils against the dignity of the human person since nearly the beginning of time.
For us as believers in Jesus Christ, “all lives are sacred,” created in the image and likeness of God as our faith teaches us. In these times – with popular slogans emphasizing the value of life – I’d like to share two key passages from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Sacred Scripture. The Catechism tells us:
“The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to Himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for:
The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God. This invitation to converse with God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being. For if man exists it is because God has created him through love, and through love continues to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and entrusts himself to his creator.” (CCC 27)
And in Jeremiah 1:5, we read again about the dignity of life: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.”
There is hope for all humanity! There truly is a vaccine for all sin, prefigured by the snake mounted on the pole in the desert, as we read in Numbers 21:9. The war against sin – including sin against the dignity of the human person – was fought and won by Jesus Christ once and for all.
Jesus Christ is our vaccine – the answer to overcome all sin. Like St. Paul (1 Cor 1:23), we proclaim Jesus Christ crucified! We have the Good News and are called to proclaim it: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Let us continue to pray for each other and all people in these times.
Father Richard Sutter is the pastor of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte.