It might be hard to believe given my silence on these pages over the past several months, but writing is a part of my everyday life. Most of what I write is either between me and God (journaling) or on behalf of someone (or something) else. Professionally, I write for various members of the Church on the topic of vocations and the formation of future priests. It is a great joy to share stories of the grace God is pouring out in the lives of good men discerning the call to configure their hearts after His priestly Heart. I love what I do, the people I work with, and the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Recently, I was asked to write on behalf of the seminary in my own name about a topic (and people!) I am very passionate about: the Feminine Genius, specific to seminary formation. While I have witnessed first-hand the great impact women have in the daily lives of men as they discern the priesthood, for good, at this seminary, I have also witnessed and experienced the pain and disorder that come from misrepresenting, avoiding, and silencing these truths. So I accepted the invitation and wrote about what I see, what I hear, and what I know to be true about a woman’s heart and her great mission of receiving, nurturing, and caring for the souls entrusted to her care, specific to the environment of seminary formation. Here, just as in the rest of the world, the woman’s role is complementary to the man’s – and vice versa.

“Mary, am I a beloved son?” a seminarian asked me one day while he was standing at my cubicle. The look in his eyes told me that he was not seeking simple platitudes or comfort. Instead, he was searching my face for a sign of truth. I spoke his name and looked him clearly in the eye, “Yes. You are a Beloved Son of the Father.” A small smile came across his face, one that has continued to deepen and widen in the following months. His smile is priceless. There is a deep desire in my heart for this young man and every man in the seminary where I work to know the truth about who they are: beloved sons.

The article below is just a sample of the remarkable fruits of complementarity between men and women I witness every single day. In the six years of working at a seminary, I’ve witnessed countless men leave the seminary, some to discern God’s call elsewhere and others to become priests. I am proud of them all for opening their hearts to the healing Heart of Jesus Christ. I have also witnessed 92 men depart to lay prostrate before the altar on ordination day. I am hopeful for them, the women they will minister to, and the Church as a whole. There is healing and hope ahead for you, me, and the world, through the Priesthood of Jesus Christ and the women who stand at the foot of His cross.

Honoring the Feminine Genius in Seminary Formation, published in the Herald Magazine. 

Pray for priests! Pray for seminarians! Do not be afraid to be the women God created you to be.

Love, Mary