ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Father Mahoney,
Faculty and Staff,
Dear Deacons,
Dear Seminarians,

Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and forever!

I greet you with deep affection and am truly pleased to be with you to celebrate the beginning of a new Academic Year. As we enter into this moment, rich with opportunity to study, to serve, to labor for the Kingdom of God, we do so in supplication and in prayer to the Holy Spirit. The Church is ever-conscious of the presence of the Holy Spirit, especially at beginnings of great significance. We consider most especially the presence of the Holy Spirit at the Incarnation, when "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." We recall the presence of the Holy Spirit when Our Lord, during His Baptism at the Jordan River, began His Public Ministry. We are reminded of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the birth of the Church on Good Friday and her great visible manifestation on Pentecost Sunday. In acknowledgment of the workings of the Holy Spirit, the Church entrusts new beginnings to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity so that He will guide all of our activities and bring them to completion.

I welcome you, our Deacons and Seminarians, upon your return as you draw another year closer to ordination to the Priesthood. I extend a very special welcome to our new seminarians, for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and for other Dioceses and Religious Communities. Your "yes" to God, initiated by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, is an inspiration and a source of encouragement to many.

The Liturgy of the Word provides for us a glimpse at the importance of the Holy Spirit in the workings of the Church. At the Last Supper, Jesus stated "It is better for you that I go." Certainly the Apostles were puzzled by this declaration. However, immediately, Jesus added: "For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." The Holy Spirit will bring to completion the work of Jesus, which will be carried on in the mission of the Church.

This passage stirs me at this time in my own life and in the history of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. As my tenure as Archbishop comes to an end and as the Archdiocese prepares for the beginning of Archbishop Chaput's ministry, I am reminded of a beautiful action of Pope Leo XIII. In 1897, advanced in years, Pope Leo XIII thought that the end of his long Pontificate was imminent. He wisely consecrated all of the work of his Pontificate to the Holy Spirit, in order that the Holy Spirit might bring it "to maturity and fruitfulness" (Divinum Illud, 2). Similarly, as I look back upon the years in which I have been privileged to minister as a priest and bishop, and, especially these last eight years as Archbishop of Philadelphia, I entrust to the Holy Spirit all of my labors, in the hope that God will bless with fruitfulness my efforts for the good of the Church and of the souls who have been entrusted to my care. So too, we entrust to the Holy Spirit the ministry of Archbishop Chaput and all that he hopes to accomplish for the welfare of our great Archdiocese. As one era is completed, so a new era begins. All of this is the work of the Holy Spirit who inspires and brings to completion every good work.

The beginning of the Academic Year at the Seminary also marks a deepening in your relationship with God as you discern your vocation through the areas of priestly formation. Added to the field of intellectual formation, you also will be engaged in human and pastoral formation, as well as the all-important spiritual formation. Each of these fields contributes greatly to the preparation of a mature, healthy, holy, zealous priest. Blessed John Paul II, in Pastores Dabo Vobis, emphasized: "And so the future priest also, and in the first place, must grow in his awareness that the agent par excellence of his formation is the Holy Spirit, who by the gift of a new heart configures and conforms him to Jesus the Good Shepherd. In this way the candidate will affirm in the most radical way possible his freedom to welcome the molding action of the Spirit" (no. 69). The entire program of priestly formation, under the care and attention of a highly competent faculty, is the delicate work of the Holy Spirit to form each candidate. As Blessed John Paul II further noted, "the actions of the different teachers become truly and fully effective only if the future priest offers his own convinced and heartfelt cooperation to this work of formation" (ibid.).

During his public ministry, Jesus instructed the Apostles in the Truth. Before the Passion, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, would guide them to all truth (Jn 16:13a). Further, as the passage from The Acts of the Apostles describes, Jesus, before the Ascension, instructed the Apostles to wait for the promise of the Father - the gift of the Holy Spirit. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses ... to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

The Apostles listened and learned, waited and prayed for that gift, for that power, which would transform them and propel them in boldness and zeal from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. So for you, dear Deacons and Seminarians, your time of formation is a time of listening and learning, of working and praying, of patience and perseverance as you prepare for the Priesthood. Is the call to the Priesthood arduous? Is this call challenging? Yes, particularly in our time as the Church seems so battered by the storms of our day. Nonetheless, we must understand that we receive power, the power of the Holy Spirit, and He will guide us in all things.

When we comprehend what is at stake and when we fully realize the great power that is given to us, we know, then, that this is a wonderful time to be part of the Seminary community, an excellent time for you to place your lives at the service of the Gospel, a great opportunity to be part of the renewal of our age. Just as the Holy Spirit formed Jesus in the womb of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, so the Holy Spirit forms Jesus in the minds and hearts of those who place themselves at His service through the hands of our Blessed Mother. We must be in awe of the mystery of the priestly vocation. Jesus declares to you today, "You will be my witnesses to all the world." Be resolved then, at the beginning of this new Academic Year, to allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, to form you, to be the power which sustains you in your vocation.

At a Mass for Seminarians during the World Youth Day ceremonies, Pope Benedict XVI offered the following words of encouragement to those preparing for the Priesthood: "As seminarians you are on the path towards a sacred goal: to continue the mission which Christ received from the Father. Called by him, you have followed his voice and, attracted by his loving gaze, you now advance towards the sacred ministry. Fix your eyes upon him who through his Incarnation is the supreme revelation of God to the world and who through his resurrection faithfully fulfills his promise. Give thanks to him for this sign of favor in which he holds each of you" (August 20, 2011).

Dear Seminarians, may you always know the great power available to you in the Person of the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit brings to completion the divine operations of the Most Blessed Trinity, so may the Holy Spirit bring to completion and perfection the good work which is begun in you!

Be assured, all of you, dear friends, of my gratitude and affection in Christ Jesus. Amen