“In these days he went out to the hills to pray” (Luke 6:12).
Our Infallible Lord desired silence and prayer away from the chaos and noise of the world. In doing so He showed us the importance of humbly taking time away from our busy routines to listen for the subtle and beautiful voice of God present within our souls, which allows us to do the will of the Father.
With this in mind, the seminarians within the Discipleship and Configuration stages of formation travelled to St Paul’s Retreat Centre in Wantirna South for a couple of days, undertaking some formative sessions and embracing more opportunities for reflection.
The Very Rev. Dr. Cameron Forbes led three sessions that focused on the way His Holiness Pope Leo XIV has addressed seminarians and priests within his short pontificate. Emphasising the need for abandonment of oneself within the spiritual life, especially as a priest.
The Holy Father warned against indulging in the “hyper-connectivity” of the world, as it can disrupt the interior life and distract us from the substance of God. The Pope suggested prayer as the antidote to this corruption from noise. He stressed that contemplating the will of the Father will make one more aware of the need to entirely depend upon Him for guidance.
The Rector reinforced this message by encouraging us to abandon ourselves like clay in the hand of the potter (cf. Jeremiah 18:6). This abandonment of oneself is essential as it provides the Lord with a vessel He can use to accomplish His heavenly will here on earth.
Therefore, it became clear through the words of the Holy Father and reflections from the Rector; that a sign of advancement in the spiritual life is a decreasing of ourselves and an increasing of God within us, as priests are “not masters but guardians.”
Leo XIV, Homily for Priestly Ordinations (31 May, 2025), https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2025/documents/20250531-ordinazioni-presbiterali.html.
Leo XIV, Meditation for the Jubilee of Seminarians (24 June, 2025), https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2025/june/documents/20250624-giubileo-seminaristi.html.
Leo XIV, Address to the Seminarians of Triveneto (25 June, 2025), https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2025/june/documents/20250625-seminaristi-triveneto.html.