1 8 8 4

127 Lake Street, Brighton, MA 02135 • sjs.edu • SPRING 2020

ON FEBRUARY 9TH the community of Saint John’s Seminary came together for my installation as rector. It was a joyful and prayerful occasion, with Cardinal

Sean presiding and many of the bishops and religious superiors who send seminarians to Saint John’s attending. The mass and the luncheon that followed impressed on us all that Saint John’s is so much wider in its breadth and scope than just those who live, work, study, and pray within the walls of the building. Less than two months later and now in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all scattered and dispersed to our various dioceses, parishes, pastoral placements, and family homes. We have been challenged to find new ways to appreciate and draw on our community identity as Saint John’s Seminary. Sheltering in place has, in a way, put us in touch with the experience of all those around us who are hungering for communion with those they love and with those with whom they share their faith. With the directives that forbid public gatherings of more than ten people and that suspend the public celebrations of Mass, we are all coming to appreciate other ways that we are united — especially during Easter Season when we are in communion with our Risen Lord and one another. We are most grateful for your continued support of Saint John’s Seminary, and we want you to know that you continue to have our thoughts and prayers during this Easter Season as we weather this crisis — and celebrate in place, yet together. May the Risen Lord blesses and protects us! <

Saint John’s SeminaryB O S T O N , M A S S A C H U S E T T S

Currents1 8 8 4

BO

STO

N

, MASSACHUSET

TS

• SAI

NT JOHN’S SEM

INAR

Y •

Father Stephen E. Salocks lead the faithful in the profession of faith, before repeating the oath of fidelity, under the watchful eye of Cardinal O’Malley during the February 9, 2020 installation ceremony as the new rector.

Currents’ is the newsletter of Saint John’s Seminary in Boston, MA. With this publication, our community, strives to engage current and future supporters of the seminary with important and inspirational content as we live out our mission to educate, form, and support your next generation of priests and lay Church leaders. Questions or comments regarding content may be sent to: contact@sjs.edu <

Greetings to All This Easter SeasonVery Reverend Stephen E. Salocks, Rector

IN THESE UNPRECEDENTED TIMES MAM/MTS classes for laity, religious and deacons have successfully moved online

uninterrupted. It is a new experience for many of the professors and students. I can report that, even though the change is inevitable, we can always find a spark of positive; recently a delighted student commented how nice it was not to have to drive home! Twenty years ago, Saint John’s Seminary began the Master of Arts in Ministry (MAM) program and in 2011, the Master of Theological Studies (MTS). These two degrees are geared toward the formation of laity, permanent deacons and religious to: enable them to both serve the Church and to convey the Gospel to the world. Originally known as the Theological Institute for the New Evangelization, formal degree programs remain at the seminary, while certificate programs now reside within the Archdiocese Secretariat of Evangelization and Discipleship. Students are served by long standing faculty members, both lay and clergy, who provide the gamut of academic, spiritual and pastoral formation. In the past twenty years, almost 250 students have received degrees. These graduates serve across the region in a variety of roles directly supporting the Church, including Associate Superintendent of Catholic Schools, Respect for Life Office and pastoral associates. The critical work of “teaching and learning from the heart of the Church” continues with a rigorous, comprehensive and doctrinally sound formation in the intellectual, human, spiritual and pastoral/apostolic dimensions to an engaged student body. I invite all of you interested in a graduate degree in theology to reach out to us and talk with us about your interests. Please visit the Seminary’s website for more information — www.sjs.edu. <

MAM and MTS Programs: Continuing the Mission in 2020

Aldona Lingertat, Ph.D. Director, MM/MTS Program

Seminarians March to Defend The Most Vulnerable

Prayer to Our Lord Jesus Christ Crucified Behold, O good and loving Jesus, that I cast myself on my knees before you and, with the greatest fervor of spirit, I pray and beseech you to instill into my heart ardent sentiments of faith, hope and charity, with true repentance for my sins and a most firm purpose of amendment. With deep affection and sorrow I ponder intimately and contemplate in my mind your five wounds, having before my eyes what the prophet David had already put in your mouth about yourself, O good Jesus: They have pierced my hands and my feet; they have numbered all my bones. (Ps 21: 17-18) Amen. Thanksgiving after Mass From the Roman Missal

We share this prayer form the Church’s liturgy for your intentions during those times of the coronavirus pandemic. Consider making it a part of your daily prayer.

1 8 8 4

BO

STO

N

, MASSACHUSET

TS

• SAI

NT JOHN’S SEM

INAR

Y •

Members of Saint John’s Seminary traveled to Washington, D.C. in January 2020 to participate in the annual ‘March for Life.’

AS A FRESHMAN COLLEGE STUDENT in Boston, I was invited by a friend for Sunday Mass at Saint John’s Seminary. I was encouraged to return, and many

weeks attended Eucharistic adoration and spent time with the seminarians. Praying in the presence of the Lord, I saw in those men a dedication to God’s call. They were seeking holiness – they were seeking Him, and it was very inspirational. Now, as a Vocation Director, I regularly encourage men to attend Eucharistic adoration as part of a visit to the Seminary, given what a helpful part of discernment it was for me. After a recent such visit, a young college student explained how the experience gave him peace from life’s burdens. He later wrote, “My visit to the Seminary instilled in me a greater confidence in God’s plan for me. I was able to approach my responsibilities and relationships with the knowledge that, with God, I simply have nothing to fear.” I am grateful for the work of the seminary in preparing the next generations of priests, as I know it teaches them to be men whose heart and entire life is centered on our Lord. <

WHEN I VISIT PARISHES and mention that I serve at the seminary, I am always encouraged by how supportive the parishioners are of Saint

John’s mission. This warm outpouring of support, however, sometimes comes with a few requests. One of the most common appeals I hear is “Father, please teach the seminarians to be good preachers!” Preaching is indeed one of the priest’s most important responsibilities. It’s also one of the most difficult. Preaching is the art of unleashing the power of God’s Word in the circumstances of everyday life. In the homily, the preacher must execute a delicate balancing act between passion and clarity, consolation and challenge, accessibility and mystery. We all know how inspiring a homily can be when this is done well. We also know how tedious preaching can be when it’s not. Here at Saint John’s Seminary we strive to help our seminarians grow spiritually, humanly, intellectually, and pastorally. In preaching, each of these “four pillars” of formation must come together as one. To help our men, the seminary first provides a series of classes on basic com-munication skills and Christian rhetoric. Then the men are thrown into the “deep-end” of the preaching pool: they have to deliver practice homilies in front of their peers and instructors. We sometimes joke that preaching at the seminary is like having to stand before the Sanhedrin in the Gospels and Acts. Someone is always bound to object to what has been said and tear their robes in protest! In all seriousness, the preaching practica better identify what is effective and ineffective in a given homily. Through the feedback the seminarian receives, he thus begins to find his own voice, a voice that will help guide his future parishioners into a deeper relationship with Christ and His Church. <

Reflections from a Sending Diocesan Vocations Director

Rev. Donato Infante, The Diocese of Worcester, MA

Priestly Formation: Teaching Moments About the Seminary

Formation from the Vice-RectorRev. Thomas K. Macdonald, Vice-Rector

An excerpt from a letter from Cardinal Sean O’Malley Archbishop of Boston, to Seminarians; Laetare Sunday, March 22, 2020

The truth is the coronavirus is the Lent none of us would have chosen, but in God’s providence, this experience could be our 40 days with Christ in prayer, fasting, and resisting temptations.Let us try to discover what God is calling us to do during this lockdown. Somehow all of this is an opportunity to draw closer to God and to one another. Our world seems smaller, more fragile, and yet more connected. In the midst of all of this, we must grow in our trust in a loving God who is calling us to follow Him. He never promised that it would be easy, but He did promise that He would always be with us.

I am grateful that despite my unworthiness and limitations, God has called me to serve in his Church. I have discovered that the priest’s life is like the rosary that has joyful and sorrowful mysteries, but all of it is a prayer. The coronavirus is part of the prayer, part of the purification, part of a process of learning to trust in God’s love that is beyond all imagining.

1 8 8 4

1 8 8 4

127 Lake Street, Brighton, MA 02135

Saint John’s SeminaryB O S T O N , M A S S A C H U S E T T S

From the left, Right Reverend Mark Cooper, O.S.B., Abbot of St. Anselm Abbey; Most Reverend Peter Anthony Libasci, Bishop of Manchester, NH; Most Reverend Arthur L. Kennedy, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston ; Most Reverend Robert P. Deeley, J.C.D., Bishop of Portland, ME; Very Reverend Stephen E. Salocks, Rector of Saint John’s Seminary; Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, OFM Cap., Cardinal Archbishop of Boston, MA; Most Reverend Thomas Tobin, Bishop of Providence, RI; Most Reverend Peter J. Uglietto, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Boston; Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, Bishop of Worcester, MA; Most Reverend Salvatore R. Matano, Bishop of Rochester, NY

SAINT JOHN’S SEMINARY STANDS TOGETHER with Catholics from across the country during this challenging and uncertain time. Together we will: • Remain faithful to the Church • Remain committed to sustaining prayer • Remain confident in the providence of God

And together, we Remain dedicated to forming your next generation of priests and lay leaders. We must support each other through prayer and sacrifice. <

Together We Will Stand

1 8 8 4

BO

STON, MASSACH

USE

TT

S• SAI

NT

JOHN’S SEMINARY •

When Behold the light of the risen Christ this Easter! When coronavirus makes you

feel frustrated or lonely, find strength and enlightenment in Saint Teresa of Avila’s prayer:

Let nothing disturb you,Let nothing frighten you,All things are passing;God never changes.Whoever has God lacks nothing. God Alone suffices. <

S A V E T H E D A T E

SAINT JOHN’S SEMINARY 19th ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT Tuesday, September 8, 2020 • Black Rock Country Club • www.sjs.edu/golf