Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests (Ascension)

GOFP 65

Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

65 By the time we entered our teenage years, we started to discover our own personality, talents, and weaknesses. We began to differentiate ourselves and were molded by our interests, the influence of our friends, and increasingly, the pressures of social media. Graduating from high school was a significant milestone, but we soon realized that our growth was not complete. We continued to be stretched by continuing our education or starting a career; we acquired more skills, built new friendships, and expanded our horizons. That forward momentum is part of thriving. If humans are not personally challenged, life becomes tedious and flat. Those who have fallen into a rut know the heavy weight of stagnation. Growth, in short, is the dynamic of any healthy life. 66 This dynamic is as true in the life of priests as it is in the life of all. When we entered the seminary, we did so with the understanding that we needed several years of preparation before we would be ready for the priesthood. We received formation in the human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral dimensions. Eventually we came to our ordination, and our lives changed dramatically when we began our ministry. Yet ordination was not the end of our formation, any more than high school or college was. Post-Seminary Formation 67 Growth is a mark of a healthy priesthood. Many spiritual writers have commented that the interior life never stands still. It is like walking uphill on a gravel path. Either we move forward or slip backward. The priesthood, too, is a dynamic reality that, like the interior life, cannot simply stand still. We are always either advancing or backsliding. Ongoing formation proposes a set of guidelines and resources to help us keep growing. It ensures that changes in our life, which are inevitable, are directed well and contribute to our continued

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