Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

CHAPTER 5: INTELLECTUAL FORMATION | 75

generously to God, the Father plants in the priest’s mind the seeds of a desire to know him still more profoundly. 162 This desire is the most precious sign of being “transformed by the renewal” of the mind, in the words of St. Paul; it cannot be secured by our effort but can only be received in love. This desire is the reward of fidelity and a gift that God promises to every humble believer. No matter what our intellectual capacity or educational background, another tier of wisdom is always waiting for us. God stretches our desire to seek that wisdom, to seek himself, through the gift of intellect.

MEANS OF INTELLECTUAL FORMATION

PERSONAL MEANS

196. The most important means of growing in the intellectual dimen sion is very practical: establishing regular habits of personal study. St. Francis de Sales called study the “eighth sacrament” in the life of the priest. 163 There is simply no substitute for doggedly setting aside time for daily reading, making it a priority, and using it effectively. In the busy life of a priest, this is no easy task. Our daily goal cannot be so trivial that we make no progress, but neither can it be so ambitious that we soon grow discouraged. Even fifteen or twenty minutes a day is often enough to keep alive the spark of intellectual growth. As priests, our primary intellectual interests will likely be in the areas of theology, catechesis, and apologetics. Twenty centuries after Christ, we can be sure that we will never run out of worthwhile material. The DMLP mentions several categories: “The first place among reading mate rials must be occupied by Sacred Scripture; followed by the writings of the Fathers, the Doctors of the Church, the ancient and modern Masters of spirituality, and by the documents of the Magisterium of the Church , which constitute the most authoritative and updated source of ongoing forma tion; the writings and the biographies of saints will also be most useful.” 164 197.

162 “Let no one think that it is enough for him to read if he lacks devotion, or to engage in speculation with out spiritual Joy, or to be active if he has no piety, or to have knowledge without charity, or intelligence without humility, or study without God’s grace, or to expect to know himself if he is lacking the infused wisdom of God.” St. Bonaventure, quoted in PDV, no. 53. 163 St. Francis de Sales, quoted in E. J. Lajeunie, Saint Francis de Sales: The Man, the Thinker, His Influence, vol. 2 (Bangalore, India: S. F. S. Publications, 1987), 36. 164 DMLP, no. 105 (emphasis original).