Program of Priestly Formation 6th edition

SPIRITUAL DIMENSION | 105

the Church’s understanding of the promise of celibacy and the spiritual motivation for celibacy, growth in the virtue of chastity, and growth in the habit of healthy solitude), growth in the understanding of the priestly vocation, the ability to articulate a relationship with Jesus Christ, and growth in reading and meditating on Sacred Scripture.

DISCIPLESHIP STAGE BENCHMARKS

236. In the discipleship stage, the seminarian demonstrates a growing openness to the Holy Spirit as the primary agent of formation in his life; he recognizes God’s grace enabling him to grow and discern with the grateful assistance of his formators. The seminarian continues to learn from Christ the Good Shepherd to do as he does. His deepening friendship with Jesus Christ and his understanding of the Good Shepherd’s call to ordained ministry will allow him to enter the next stage confident in his vocation to the priesthood. He develops greater insight into why he feels God is calling him to the priesthood and why he desires priesthood. Spiritual benchmarks related to prayer and the spiritual life that the seminarian should achieve by the end of the discipleship stage include consistent participation in communal spiritual exercises and liturgies, including prayerful participation in the Mass and Divine Office (or the Divine Praises, in the Eastern Catholic Churches); a demonstrated habit of regular spiritual reading; the ability to speak with facility about God’s work in his life; and a habit of personal prayer, spiritual direction, and participation in the Sacrament of Penance. By the end of the discipleship stage, the seminarian is able to articulate his understanding and awareness of God’s call to him of a life long commitment to celibate chastity. 307 He continues to grow in the virtue of chastity. He has the ability to articulate and demonstrate appropriate 307 This includes a growing understanding of the positive reasons for a lifelong commitment to celibate chastity. St. Paul VI articulates these as “a real participation in His [Christ’s] own unique priesthood. . . . Christ remained throughout His whole life in the state of celibacy, which signified His total dedication to the service of God and men.” Sacerdotalis Caelibatus ( On the Celibacy of the Priest , 1967), nos. 19, 21; see also no. 23, www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_24061967_sacerdotalis. html . In addition to raising matrimony to the dignity of a sacrament, Christ “has also opened a new way, in which the human creature adheres wholly and directly to the Lord, and is concerned only with Him and with His affairs” ( Sacerdotalis Caelibatus , no. 20). The “free choice of sacred celibacy . . . stimulates to a charity which is open to all” and “manifests the virginal love of Christ for the Church” ( Sacerdotalis Caelibatus , nos. 24, 26). 237. 238.