THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US, AND WE ARE FILLED WITH JOY (PS 125:3)
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
50 years ago, on November 10, 1974, a cool morning welcomed those who had gathered at the St. Joseph House of Studies in Armada, MI. This would later become St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, but for now, was a two-year program preparing for further priestly studies in Ecône. The chill in the air that morning may have reflected the religious fervor in the Church in the aftermath of Vatican II, but it was not the spirit of the few courageous souls who took action during those years when the fruits of Vatican II were becoming apparent. Behind the resolute will to preserve the priesthood and restore all things in Christ stood Archbishop Lefebvre, who had approved and supported the initiative in Armada. Seeing the wounded and crippled state of the Church, he did not turn away but stepped in to hand on what he had received. Thus began the journey of the seminary.
50 years later, we look back on a journey filled with the infinite mercy of Providence. Humanly speaking, the path has not always been straight or easy, but it matters not because God’s Providence can be discerned to have been guiding those generous souls willing to tread it. So “the mercies of the Lord I will sing forever” (Ps. 88:2).
Let us allow our grateful gaze to look out “horizontally”, as it were. When we look back 50 years at the situation in the Church and in our own country, what do we find? Empty seminaries, priests leaving the priest-hood in droves, and closed churches. The situation was bleak, and we are easily reminded of the same circumstances in which Ezekiel found himself. “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of a plain that was full of bones. And he led me about through them on every side, and behold there were very many upon the face of the plain, and they were exceeding dry” (Ezekiel 37:1,2).
Did God abandon the souls faithful to Him? While men may abandon the good Lord, God never forsakes any soul that relies on Him completely. Archbishop Lefebvre understood this. Here we are, 50 years later, with a seminary bursting at the seams. A mere eight years after the building of a large seminary we are completely full.
We are grateful for all the graces bestowed upon us by the good Lord over the past fifty years, for the divine protection that seems to have safeguarded our seminary, for the many miracles of grace which have resulted in the transformation of souls into an alter Christus. In reflecting on the seminary’s rapid growth Our Lord’s parable of the mustard seed comes to mind, which, having fixed its roots deep in the ground, and sending forth stem and branch, becomes soon a mighty tree.
Let us draw a lesson from St. Paul’s statement that it was he, Paul, who planted and that it was Apollo who watered. Everyone is familiar with the great Apostle St. Paul; his feast is marked and celebrated and his por-traits and statues easily found. But who, to the average reader, is Apollo? Where did he dwell? What labors great or small did he endure for the souls entrusted to him? We only know that he watered, and this solely
because Paul attests to it. Apollo worked for the good of the church in Corinth and was soon called elsewhere afterwards. Thus, he was not later present to behold, to be thanked, or to celebrate the increase of fruit in that apostolate which was partly due to his own selfless generosity.
Similarly, as we consider this mysterious passage of Scripture within the context of the birth and growth of the seminary, there are many “Pauls” whose labors and contributions are known and acknowledged and who are perhaps even reading this newsletter. Yet there are also “Apollos”- those whose names have faded or dis-appeared from our mailing lists – to whom we owe a sincere and deep debt of gratitude as well. Such serv-ants of God may not even see this letter or know of the celebration we are having thanks to their efforts and contributions, but the seminary will never forget to remember all such Apollos in its prayers.
Our gratitude also turns to those who have at some point watered the seeds of our mission and yet have distanced themselves or drifted away from the path of the Society. Whether they find themselves apart from us intentionally or not, they, too, deserve our gratitude for what they once contributed to this “alma mater” of theirs. Like the father of the prodigal son, we patiently pray for and await them to rejoin one day the path and mission of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary.
Whatever be the future of this seminary, we should face it with unwavering confidence in God’s Divine Providence, united to the Sacred Heart, to whom is given all power in heaven and on earth and without whom nothing in this world is or can be. Relying on this confidence and impelled by a new ardor, we should ready ourselves for the new labors and trials that surely await us. May we daily be more inflamed by that fire which blazed in the heart of our founder and which he tried to enkindle in his sons: the desire that the whole world be ignited and inflamed by the Holy Ghost.
In addition to the horizontal view of our gratitude, vertical gratitude is essential. God granted the increase. To the Almighty Father, Who has shown such love and favor towards His children, we must therefore give un-ceasing praise and thanksgiving; for, by His grace, our work thrives beyond our most sanguine expectations. Blessed be His Holy Name, Who in these evil days has set apart this ‘seminarium’ (seedbed) of the Society for such noble work. We have witnessed a marvellous fruitfulness; a fruitfulness which the Divine Mercy seems to assure unto us, since at its very planting He was so prodigal with His blessings.
In light of all this, we find ourselves pondering a singular inquiry: Quid retribuam Domino? What can we offer in return, dear Lord? It is not sufficient to return mere words and pronouncements of gratitude. We must do more. We must show renewed ardour in the service of so good a Master and the service of His Bride, the Church.
Allow me to take this opportunity to promise a Mass for all of you, dear benefactors, that we may all worthily respond to our sublime calling, whatever God has destined for each one of us. Let us pray to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary for this seminary that it may continue to be what He, through our founder, had wished it to be for the restoration of the priesthood.
In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
Fr. Michael Goldade