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Last week, I mentioned being out of province. This wasn’t for holidays, but actually for a workshop at my seminary in Edmonton. I thought I would share with you a little bit about what that workshop was about. These workshops are specifically offered for more recently ordained priests (5 years or so of ordination and under). This year, there were about 35 or so priests from throughout Western Canada. The goal is to help provide good foundations and ongoing formation for these young priests that will help equip them for a life of healthy and fruitful ministry, and to be a refresher providing a venue for renewal, fellowship, prayer and inspiration. Aside from the conference sessions with the speakers of the workshop, it includes the celebration of daily Eucharist and praying the Liturgy of the Hours in common. These conferences are organized by the Bishops of Western Canada and happen every other year.
This was my second conference, and the title of it was “Living a Shared Vision of the Priesthood- A Workshop for Recently Ordained Priests”. To lead us in the conferences, Rev. Marcus Milless and Rev. Marc Paveglio, priests of the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis were invited. Both priests were ordained in 2014 together, and both are members of the Companions of Christ, a public association of diocesan priests. Not to be confused with the Companions of the Cross here in Canada, a religious congregation of priests.
The Companions of Christ began in the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis in 1992. Any diocesan priest of that diocese can belong to the association, and there have been two other public associations begun by a few priests in other US dioceses that have sought to imitate what the Companions are all about. The name, “Companions of Christ”, comes from the passage in the gospel where Jesus called the twelve to him, to be with him as “companions” and who would be sent forth to preach in his name. This group of priests recognize that in being a companion of Christ they are also a companion of one another and make intentional choices to foster their fraternity and the holiness and goodness of the other. They do this in three primary ways: a commitment to a common life of prayer and fraternity in households; the observance of the evangelical counsels within the context of ordained diocesan ministry; and a dedication to the new evangelization, including catechesis, spiritual renewal, and the fostering of vocations in the local Church. You can find out more about their interesting group at their website: http://www.companionsofchrist.org/.
In our workshop conferences, they covered topics such as the theological foundations for priestly fraternity, what it is and what it is not; how the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience can and should be lived in the context of diocesan priests and not just for those consecrated religious; and how priesthood and Pentecost are bound up in the work of the Holy Spirit. Along with these conferences, we had time to gather in small groups for discussion. Thankfully, there were five of us priests from Manitoba there so we could meet together and talk about how we might be more intentional about good, regular priestly fraternity with one another and in our dioceses, even if it didn’t look exactly like the Companions of Christ. The workshop also included a Reconciliation Service with confessions, a time of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and a communal Rosary. Of course, much appreciated were the conversations with brother priests and some of my former classmates at our meals (the food is really quite good at St. Joseph’s, by the way!).
It was good to be back in Edmonton and at the seminary where I lived for most of my eight years in priestly formation, though after being away from there for four years now, it definitely didn’t feel quite the same anymore. It was a good experience being there, and hopefully will bear good fruit in the future for priests and the people of God in Manitoba and throughout Western Canada.
May you have a blessed rest of your summer.
Fr. Brian Trueman
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