Sunday Reflection | Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time | Fr. Peter Stamm

When the Church addresses God in her liturgy, she often identifies a divine attribute which inspires her to present her petition with confidence. Such is the case in this Sunday’s Collect: “O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose…” God brings people into union with Himself and one another, enabling them to participate by grace in the mystery of His own trinitarian life. “Amidst the uncertainties of this world,” the Collect goes on to say, the Church desires that the hearts of the baptized “be fixed on that place where true gladness is found.” In other words, we should all have a likeminded and earnest desire for salvation, reflected in how we live.

Faith in the unifying power of God is essential for men pursuing a vocation to the priesthood. Faced with the prospect of one day leading parish(es) made up of men and women of varied ethnic backgrounds, ages, political opinions, economic situations, etc., a seminarian might rightly wonder how it could be possible for him to bring such divergent populations into union. Ultimately, it must be God who causes the minds of the faithful to unite. The priest who wishes to fulfill his vocation well strives to cooperate with the divine unifying initiative through his whole way of life, but especially through his preaching, his pastoral governance, and his generous administration of the sacraments.

One of the joys of serving at Saint John’s Seminary is observing first-hand how God is also causing the minds of his seminarians to unite in a single purpose. Through years of formation, our men develop a deep love for God’s people and an ardent zeal to lay down their lives in order to further the work of salvation. Amidst the uncertainties of this world and the continued crisis in the Church, God still calls. Thank you for the many ways in which you prayerfully support our seminarians, your future priests.