Weeks after I applied for the Diocese of Raleigh, the Vatican announced that June 2009 to June 2010 would be the Year for Priests.  I was excited that I would be discerning my vocation at the seminary while the Church encourages priests toward interior renewal.  I was looking forward to the priesthood-related activities that would be occurring throughout the year.

At the Opening Day Mass, Monsignor Prior announced the theme for the 2009-10 academic year, one of St. John Vianney’s aphorisms: “Priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus.”  This simple statement reveals the great sacrifice that is required of priests, reminding us that the vocation to the priesthood is death to self in the same manner as Christ: for the salvation of souls.  As Pope Benedict said, we should reflect “with heartfelt gratitude on the immense gift which priests represent, not only for the Church, but also for humanity itself.”

The following Monday, Cardinal Rigali celebrated Mass in St. Martin’s Chapel and declared St. John Vianney as a secondary patron of the seminary, joining St. Joseph, St. Patrick, and St. Thomas Aquinas as secondary patrons.  As one looks at these secondary patrons, different aspects of the priesthood are present: caring for Jesus and His Blessed Mother, working with missionary zeal and charity, educating the Church, and shepherding souls.  May we seminarians grow to embody all of these saintly qualities as we prepare for the priesthood, the love of the heart of Jesus.

St. John Vianney, ora pro nobis!