Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

CHAPTER 6: PASTORAL FORMATION | 87

he is comfortable in multicultural environments. He is collaborative in his ministry, respectfully and gratefully working shoulder to shoulder with lay people, deacons, and religious men and women. Finally, he is actively engaged in the wider community, outside the confines of his parish and the members of his congregation, seizing opportunities to work with ecumen ical, interreligious, and civic associations. The Church offers many examples of holy priests who exemplify the gift of self to their flock. Blessed Michael Joseph McGivney, during his thirteen years of ministry, spent his priesthood in parish ministry and established the Knights of Columbus to build unity and charity. And Venerable Augustus Tolton heroically overcame many obstacles to offer his life as a priest to the Church. He was born an enslaved person but was brought into freedom by his mother a year after the Civil War ended. He was denied entrance into seminary in the United States, so he was sent to Rome, where he completed his studies, thinking he would become a missionary to Africa. Upon ordination, he returned to the United States and ministered to both African Americans and European Americans in his parish—something unheard of at the time in a segregated world. He went from being someone’s property to becoming a shepherd whom other pastors questioned because his preaching was attracting people from not only other parishes but both races. Fr. Tolton is a model for priests of every era, but especially for those who feel persecuted or isolated. Both of these parish priests suffered personal struggles, from slavery to a virus outbreak, from losing the family breadwinner to studying abroad. Both were called by God to serve diverse populations; they both “knew the smell of their sheep” and recognized the signs of the times. The priest today is invited to find in Fr. McGivney and Fr. Tolton inspiration and challenge. They offer inspiration to live life with greater pastoral charity. Following their heroic example and challenge can help us let go of anything that does not conform to serving the Lord and his people. These priests give us great examples of what can be accomplished when we give without counting the cost. 222. 223.