Ongoing formation for priests in midlife is especially important in the United States. The ordained ministry has a radical communitarian form' and can only be carried out as a collective work.'" It also becomes an invitation to spiritual growth: greater reliance on God, fuller transparency of the mystery of Christ at work in one's life, a deeper sense of pastoral courage, a more dedicated commitment to intercession on behalf of the community, a strengthened pattern of celibate loving, and more generous self-giving in service. Other tasks and challenges concerning the appropriation of priestly identity are less visible and less susceptible to empirical verification but are critical and urgent because they are so foundational.Practical Tasks and Challenges As one who acts in the name of and in the person of Jesus Christ, Head and Pastor of the Church, the pastor is a sacramental presence who effectively heads this portion of the Church, this community. In effect, as they come to terms with the limits of their lives, they also do so with the limits of their ministry. Indeed, it is quite the opposite of anxious concern about one's adequacy or ability. Another grace evident at priests' midlife and related to the triple grace noted above is the opportunity to renegotiate their commitment and dedication. At the same time, the opportunities for growth that also mark midlife invite a different kind of discernment: How is God calling me to a new responsiveness given my experience, the accumulated graces of these years, and the needs of the Church? Ordination establishes priests in a new way of being in and for the Church by configuring them to Jesus Christ, Head and Shepherd. The newly ordained can share their experiences and so break out of the isolation that can be a hazard of beginning priestly ministry. The bishop, other priests, friends and family of senior priests, and young people need to take conscious hold of the presence and gifts of senior clergy. Spiritual Formation for Ministry Leaders - Gordon Conwell In these new relationships to the church community, newly ordained discover the many ways that the gifts of God are at work; their ministry in the community becomes a source of their edification and inspiration.Discernment Pastors know first-hand how the pressures of life and . Master's in Spiritual Formation Online | Portland Seminary 95) strongly urge ongoing formation for priests of advanced age. The discernment of investment asks the question: Where is God drawing me in this community and through my ministry to give my talents and share my life? The Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests expresses it in this way: "The elderly priests or those advanced in years who merit special consideration, enter in the vital circle of ongoing formation, not so much regarding thorough study and discussion of cultural subjects, but rather the calm and reassuring confirmation of the part which they are still called to play in the presbyterate'" (no. The change of assignment process is not simply an occasion of temptation. The gathering of the newly ordained can have powerful formational significance. Similarly in Pastores Dabo Vobis, Pope John Paul II, speaking of the profound meaning of ongoing formation, affirms, "Ongoing formation helps the priest to be and act as a priest in the spirit and style of Jesus the Good Shepherd" (no. A final grace is hope. Because of their position in the community, pastors ought to have a sense of the whole. Parishioners, who generally take great pride in having a newly ordained among them, can also provide immense formational support through their words and prayers. Often, they need to hear an assurance that there will still be a connection, not as it was but in some altered form. This solitary portrait, however, needs significant qualification in light of Pastores Dabo Vobis's important assertion: "The ordained ministry has a radical communitarian form' and can only be carried out as a collective work'" (no. Midlife brings the offer and the grace of reconciliation, which can assume the form of re-commitment and re-dedication. A deepened spiritual renewal that touches the faith meaning of their lives is an especially important task for senior priests. A pressing need for a new pastor is to acquire the "know how" of being and functioning as a pastor. They make themselves available to God's transforming power at work in their ministry and lives. "14 They were to minister in a special way to those with whom they were united in the body of Christ, a body in which "all members have not the same function. The office of pastor brings the priest into a new set of responsibilities and a new focus for his priestly identity and service. Priests are not simply functionaries, workers, or professionals. It is very important that they revisit in this season of their life the question of integrating who they are and what they do for the sake of missiontheir identity linked to their service for the purpose of the Gospel. The priest-mentor is available to answer questions from the newly ordained or to help them process unfamiliar and perhaps difficult situations. Priests exist as human beings. Priests frequently experience uncertainty about "the next move." The task and challenge is to maintain health and to adapt appropriately to whatever physical limitations may already be present.Psychological Although we are limited in our understanding of the new phenomenon of aging, touchstones of human, spiritual, and priestly formation can still be of help. So, in describing the event of becoming a pastor, it may be helpful to identify some key elements of parish life for which the pastor is responsible. Frank Reale, SJ, Rev. In solitude they can come to terms with the stable center of their lives in Jesus Christ who is beyond all change.Appropriate Breaks Their format and shape, however, vary according to local need and resources, the number of newly ordained, and whether they are older (typically aged 35-50) and in a second career. A Good Beginning: Ongoing Formation in the First Years of Priesthood, B. Priests in Transition: Ongoing Formation and Changes of Assignment, C. Priests as Pastors: Ongoing Formation and the First Pastorate, D. Priests at Midlife: Ongoing Formation after a Certain Number of Years, E. Priests Growing in Wisdom and Grace: Ongoing Formation and Senior Clergy, B. . Spiritual formation is. General Description: Ongoing Formation as the Integration of Priestly Identity and the Tasks of Priestly Ministry for the Sake of Mission The sharing of experiences in a proper spiritual and theological context can also tap a Spirit-prompted wisdom that leads to deeper understanding and an enriched return to priestly ministry. Any description of the event of transition in the life of diocesan priests must also take into account the various forms that such a transition can take: parochial vicar to pastor (more on this later); parochial vicar in one place to parochial vicar in another; pastor in one place to pastor in another; parochial ministry to non-parochial ministry, for example, in education, health care, or administration; non-parochial ministry to a return to parochial ministry; service in the diocese to priestly service outside the diocese, for example, in the military, the missions, or on loan to another diocese; and a return to the diocese after service outside the diocese. The following section will consider the ongoing formation of newly ordained priests in four steps: (1) a detailed description of the event of transition for the newly ordained; (2) an identification of the principal tasks and challenges that the newly ordained face; (3) a naming of their spiritual concerns viewed through the themes of temptation, grace, and discernment; (4) and finally, a consideration of programmatic responses to the needs of transition into priestly ministry.Event In every phase and condition of his life, at every level of responsibility he has in the Church, he is undergoing formation" (PDV, no. They invite pastors to reclaim a singular vision that would guide them through the complexities and vicissitudes of ministry as a pastor. One re-evaluates personal commitments and investments and strives for greater authenticity. In a real sense, they provide a new challenge to spiritual formation in Christian history. God's holy wisdom offers another perspective that enables us to identify God's will and direction. This means that in addition to an internalized sense of self as conformed to Christ Head and Shepherd, an internalized and cultivated disposition to give oneself as Christ did also is present. They also exist as believing Christians or disciples of Jesus Christ in his Church. "Centered in Jesus Christ, the NNU education instills habits of heart, soul, mind and strength to enable each student to become God's creative and redemptive agent in the world." Our heritage as Wesleyans has always been founded on this two-sided ideal: personal transformation and world transformation. Priests' sacramental existence, which precisely as sacramental is exterior and public, gives rise to their identity and is manifested in their service and more general relationship to the Church they serve. So, it is essential that he be alert to the internal movements of the Holy Spirit that may be offering direction for the life of the parish. Spiritual formation as defined by Bob Burns is "the ongoing process of maturing as a Christian, both personally and interpersonally.". . It is important not to lose the central point in considering this complexity. On the contrary, the sharing of experience helps priests to contextualize their own particular journeys and to draw strength and support from others. The fundamental psychological task is to face the issues honestly and directly. (PDV, no. A related though somewhat different temptation is to be overwhelmed by the complexity of parish life and the tasks that belong to the pastor. What should I do with the time and energy allotted to me? The ministerial priesthood experienced and exercised in religious life, although not different in essence from diocesan priesthood, finds its expression in a setting that reflects the charism of the religious community. Sometimes, it represents a brief moment, other times it is more protracted. At its deepest level, presbyteral identity in communion with the bishop has sacramental roots. The responsibility and the agency of individual priests is manifested above all in their deliberate commitment to grow personally, intellectually, pastorally, and spiritually. Francis Tebbe, OFM, Rev. is responsible to equip, empower, and release teams to create and implement a comprehensive Spiritual Formation Ministry that provides a clear pathway to help (3) How shall I move forward toward eternal life? . With time, some inevitable weariness and regret develop. List of Pastors' Retreats and Getaways The process of discernment or maintaining a discerning heart assumes that one is engaged in and faithful to a life of prayer. Priests exercise the office of sanctifying the Christian people in the celebration of the sacraments of the Church. An extended vacation can also be useful. Simply getting to know people, familiarizing oneself with local history, and sensing the culture of the new place and people are practical, necessary, and rather obvious tasks and challenges. In the lived experience of Catholic Christian people, the parish is also the place where the Christian message comes alive, the mysteries of Christ are celebrated, and a sense of mission is reinvigorated. To use integration as a unifying focus of the plan simply follows the overall aim of Vatican II's Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests (Presbyterorum Ordinis) (PO), which by the very deliberate phrasing of its title identified priestly ministry as shaping and giving rise to a new way of life. As members of the one presbyterate gathered around the bishop, priests serve to unite the local church in one great act of worship of the Father. To move to a new place and to begin anew awakens the missionary dimension of priests' vocations, ministry, and lives. ." The temptation to discouragement can be linked to leaving behind one's accomplishments with the prospect of having to start all over again. They also have the task of appropriating and living the more external dimensions of their priestly identity that stem from their unique relationships to the bishop and presbyterate and to the Church. Priests, by their ordination, are configured to Jesus Christ, Head and Shepherd, for the sake of mission to the Church and world. Newly ordained also need to begin to work, that is, to apply the knowledge and skills that they have acquired in the seminary. Although modern psychology has prompted us to consider midlife as a serious and important time, spiritual writers have long understood questions, challenges, and possibilities that touch the spiritual (and ministerial) journey after a certain number of years. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. The task then of ongoing formation is to learn how to do this and to be sufficiently spiritually centered, so that in fact one does it.Spiritual Concerns: Temptations, Graces, Discernment In a way that parallels the mystagogical task of the neophytes newly initiated into the mysteries of Christ on Holy Saturday, newly ordained priests are summoned to understand, claim, and deepen what has already happened to them in sacred ordination.