Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

100 | GUIDE TO ONGOING FORMATION FOR PRIESTS

recently ordained priests. Any and all programming proposed below should include opportunities for fraternity and communal prayer. Educational programming should make use of insights from adult education. With adults, mere lecture is far less effective than programming that incorporates discussion and case studies. The program also needs to allow participant feedback and be responsive to that feedback. Content that draws upon experience is especially effective with adult learners.

RETREATS AND TIMES OF RECOLLECTION

251. Many young priests look forward to the opportunity to participate in a diocesan retreat or to plan their own retreat after ordination. A retreat with the other new priests in the first years is a valuable tool for building fraternity and helping young priests to form the habit of an annual retreat. The choice of director or preacher for a group retreat is very important; planners will wish to consult young clergy about which preachers move them. In this instance, and in crafting the content of other areas of the program, planners need to understand and respect the perspectives of the new priests. Although presbyterates sometimes experience “generation gap” tensions in matters such as liturgical style or clerical attire, the retreat is not the place to attempt to “fix” the new priests or indoctrinate them into the perspective of their elders. The content of the retreat is a good place to address some challenges of the first years of ministry from biblical and spiritual perspectives. In addition to the retreat, for these same reasons, the diocese is advised to plan one or two days of recollection for recently ordained priests in the first years.

ATTENTION TO PHYSICAL HEALTH AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

252. Studies indicate that Catholic priests in the United States of America contract chronic illnesses in middle age at twice the rate of the general population. In part, this high rate is due to factors like high stress, low physical activity, and ignorance of proper nutrition. Programming for the recently ordained should assist new priests in establishing good nutri tional habits as well as incorporating physical activity into their schedules. These programs might link individuals to already existing resources in the diocese, such as a Catholic clinic or volunteer medical professionals.