Back to basics: New stage of formation helps shape spiritually grounded seminarians

EMMITSBURG – Standing at the bottom of a 14-foot pit at the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes, John Funk plopped mounds of leafy muck into large buckets.

Working with a team of fellow seminarians from nearby Mount St. Mary’s Seminary on a sunny fall day, the 32-year-old aspiring priest helped hoist the muddy loads out of the pit with ropes.

John Funk, a first-year seminarian in the propaedeutic stage prior to formally entering the seminary in Emmitsburg, walks in the drained Our Lady of the Esplanade pool at National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes on the campus of Mount St. Mary’s University during it’s annual cleaning. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Normally filled with 120,000 gallons of water surrounding a serene statue of Our Lady of the Esplanade, the basin was emptied for one of its periodic cleanups.

“Incoming!” one of the seminarians shouted as he lowered a bucket for a refill after a friend dumped the organic debris along a wooded hillslope.

Funk is one of five first-year seminarians studying for the Archdiocese of Baltimore who have begun preparation for the priesthood in a newly launched “propaedeutic” stage of formation.

Promoted by Pope Francis, the additional year of formation focuses less on academics and more on cultivating virtue and a well-tuned prayer life – along with a sense of service and fraternity.

Seminarians live and pray together while studying the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. They also do a lot of physical chores such as weeding the grounds of the grotto and helping at a local farm with tilling soil and planting garlic bulbs.

Pausing from his work hauling muck, Funk said it makes perfect sense for future priests to have physical labor as a component of formation.

“I think Jesus set the example for priests by being a blue-collar worker and by being the foster son of a blue-collar worker – a carpenter,” said Funk, who grew up at St. Louis Parish in Clarksville. “I think he wants priests who have a blue-collar work ethic, who are willing to get their hands dirty doing work with the people.”

Funk’s labors today are of a very different sort from his former life.

After graduating from The Catholic University of America in Washington with a degree in media studies, Funk worked in the film industry in Atlanta and Los Angeles – first as a production assistant, then as an assistant editor, camera editor and assistant director. Among the movies to his credit are five starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

In discerning the call to the priesthood, Funk visited a variety of religious orders. He worked with the Salesian Lay Missioners in Sierra Leone, where he taught English and made videos for the Salesians and others. He also volunteered in a Mexican orphanage.

“I feel really peaceful and happy with where I am now because I really prayed over the question of why I wanted to be a priest,” the bearded seminarian said. “I felt like Jesus gave me this really strong desire to just accompany the people and to be with whatever people I’m called to serve.”

Rother House

Currently, 29 propaedeutic-year seminarians study at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. In addition to the five from the Archdiocese of Baltimore, others hail from nine other dioceses across the United States.

Ryan Gerbes, a first-year seminarian at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, plays his guitar for relaxation. Behind him are signs from people experiencing homelessness that were shared with him when the parishioner of St. Clare in Essex ministered on the streets of Baltimore. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

The first-year seminarians live in the Blessed Stanley Rother House of Formation. Named for an Oklahoma priest and alumnus of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary who was murdered while serving as a missionary in Guatemala, Rother House is located in a recently renovated wing of St. Joseph House on the grounds of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

The space, which the seminary leases from the Daughters of Charity, was originally erected in 1964 to be the home of more than 300 Daughters of Charity, many of whom received their initial formation in religious life there. Archbishop William E. Lori blessed and dedicated Rother House in September.

“The purpose of the propaedeutic year is to give them a firm foundation in human and spiritual formation,” said Monsignor Andrew Baker, rector of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. “It’s the first step they take before they begin their more intense academic life in the seminary, studying philosophy and theology.”

Father Steven Roth, vocations director for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, said many factors play into how many years a man spends in seminary. Right now, in general, a seminarian can expect to spend one year in the propaedeutic stage, two years studying philosophy and four years studying theology, Father Roth said.

Ryan Gerbes hauls soil at a farm in Frederick County. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Many of the men coming to seminaries today have been influenced by the wider culture, Monsignor Baker said. They sometimes come from wounded families or have been raised without a firm Catholic identity. The propaedeutic year can help strengthen the understanding and practice of the faith, he said.

At Rother House, days include quiet meditation, prayer, Mass and eucharistic adoration.The program intentionally limits seminarian access to electronic devices. Future priests are instead encouraged to use their time to get to know one another and grow in virtue and faith. In addition to studying the Bible and the catechism, seminarians listen to guest lectures on topics such as St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body.

“The idea is that when they leave here, they should be biblically literate, be able to read and pray the Bible, and have a basic sense and knowledge of the spiritual life – of how God works in the soul and how we open ourselves to him,” said Father Daniel Hanley, coordinator of Mount St. Mary’s propaedeutic stage program.

Father Hanley came to Mount St. Mary’s more than a year ago from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, where he worked on the most recent edition of the bishops’ “Program for Priestly Formation.” The program includes guidelines on the implementation of the propaedeutic stage in the United States, outlining benchmarks for human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation.

John Funk carries buckets of mucky leaves during a cleanup of the Our Lady of Esplanade shrine. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)(Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

While a few dioceses in the United States already had programs similar to what Pope Francis called for with the propaedeutic stage, the approach is new to most parts of the country.

‘Exactly what I needed”

Ryan Gerbes, a 23-year-parishioner of St. Clare in Essex, said the propaedeutic year at Mount St. Mary’s is “exactly” what he needs as he discerns the call to the priesthood.

“I know for me and a lot of my peers, it’s just beautiful that we have the chance to spend a lot of time in prayer – deepening our relationship with Christ and growing in brotherhood before we start our more formal studies,” said Gerbes, who had explored several religious orders before deciding to become a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

A graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, who studied mechanical engineering, Gerbes served with the Riverdale Volunteer Fire Department’s fire/EMS crews in Prince George’s County prior to entering seminary. He also ministered to people who are homeless on the streets of Baltimore and had considered becoming an urban missionary with the Source of All Hope outreach based at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Baltimore.

At a weekday Mass a few years ago at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Middle River, Father Kevin Mueller challenged Gerbes to consider the priesthood. Over many months, Gerbes prayed on it before sensing what he called an “unmistakable invitation” from Christ to help him rebuild the church.

“That was right around the time the sexual abuse scandals were picking up,” Gerbes remembered, “and I realized very quickly that rebuilding the church isn’t necessarily just building up the church as an organization. The church lives in us and Christ dwells in our hearts, and by rebuilding the people, that is rebuilding the church.”

He wants others to experience the healing, love and mercy of Christ, he said.

Father Roth sees the propaedeutic stage of formation as a gift to the priesthood.

“Not in any way do I think that the formation program prior to this new implementation was lacking,” the vocations director said, “but this is much more intentional to say right out of the gate that we want to focus on what is most important – prayer and service. It very much has this keen focus on what is essential in being a priest.”

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

Also see: Coming home: First-year seminarians returning to historic Paca Street location

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