The Priesthood is the God-given link between Himself and us. The Seminary is, therefore, especially the place where man adores God, and its inauguration is a public act of Faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is an occasion for special joy and great gratitude. We are not surprised to encounter difficulties and trials, since, in rendering supreme homage to God, we declare war on the devil. We rather deepen our gratitude and strive to live more by Faith.
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
The holy Curé of Ars was fond of saying that the priest is a necessary link in human history, for he connects men to Heaven by his ministry at the altar and with souls. The holy Curé even said that a parish without a priest is a wasteland where neglected souls would soon fall into idolatry and the worship of animals.
What was no more than a rhetorical image has become a daily and painful reality.
In this context, sometimes so difficult to bear on a daily basis, the inaugural ceremony of a seminary offers a very special joy and leads souls to thanksgiving because this ceremony is a public demonstration of indefectible Faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ and in the means that He has divinely instituted to glorify His Father and to save souls.
Our hope cannot fail: Christ remains the Master of events and of His holy Church.
Despite all the attacks that She has suffered and that have made Her influence in the world today decline, the Church maintains Her supernatural presence and, as a lighthouse in the night, leads souls to safe harbor. The storms raised against the Church hardly astonish Her. Doesn’t She have the promises of eternal life? And, because of that, isn’t She accustomed to being the focus of all the powers of evil? By inaugurating a seminary, the Church renders a testimony of her Faith: she knows that She saves by the ministry of her priests. This is why the Church wants to form those priests according to her own principles, in a house devoted to this purpose. A seminary is a living witness for the world.
A seminary is, par excellence, the sanctuary where God receives the homage of intellects and wills, so that they are consecrated to His love.
Thus, the establishment and blessing of a new seminary, founded upon the timeless Catholic principles of priestly formation, is an act of tremendous importance for the entire world. Besides the homage rendered to Christ, acknowledged and celebrated as the only Savior and Sovereign of men and human societies, it is a declaration of war against the devil, who we know answers these sorts of open declarations with all the malice and aggression at his disposal.
The weeks preceding the day fixed for the blessing of the seminary in Virginia have been an obvious proof of this fact. These days were marked by a series of incidents in which delays, mechanical failures and various unexpected misfortunes followed one another at a frantic – not to say infernal! – rate. Clearly, the devil could not refrain from showing his rage – the expression of his eternal despair. This demonic signature, while always a good sign, is still painful for human nature: but that doesn’t matter! These difficulties can neither tarnish our joy nor weaken our gratitude to God because we see events through the eyes of Holy Mother Church and know there is a supernatural reality behind what we see with our earthly eyes.
In spite of this demonic rage, the event was a success, a triumph of faith and trust in God, a source of graces for all those who attended and for those who, unable to be physically present, prayed and collaborated with this great undertaking. A forthcoming issue of Ad Orientem will give you more details and a visual testimony of this great day.
Because you have helped us so much during all these years, we would like to share with you this joy and to assure you of our gratitude for your immense generosity. During these blessed days, please be assured that it is our heartfelt prayer that our Good Lord shower you and your families with every grace.
In Christo sacerdote et Maria.
Fr. Yves le Roux