By Thomas Piro
One of the most satisfying duties of a seminarian is being in your home parish during academic breaks. I always enjoy going back home and visiting the parish office on weekdays or visiting my alma mater, Wildwood Catholic Academy. It is a good reminder of where you came from and reminds me why I am spending eight years of my life away from the Diocese.
Every time I go back home, I always hear how much the parishioners appreciate what I am doing, and they always wish me luck. One of my high school teachers, Mrs. Gras, always gave me one of the most important words of advice. Every time I visited the school, and we were wrapping up our conversation, she always looked me in the eyes and said, “Tom, just remember, be a good father.”
These words have been cemented into my prayer life since I was a first-year college seminarian. “Be a good father.” What does this mean?
Spiritual fatherhood is a common phrase we hear in the seminary. A good spiritual father is a priest who loves unconditionally, chastely and non-possessively. A priest who freely gives himself to the community entrusted to his care. A priest who feeds his flock spiritually through the sacraments and preaching, and shares the love of God with everyone he encounters.
Every time that phrase from Mrs. Gras pops into my prayer, I ask the Lord to give me the graces needed to be a good father. I ask that you keep all the men in seminary formation in your prayers and ask the Lord to provide more men to be potential good fathers as priests. Always know of our prayers for you, the people of the Diocese of Camden.
Thomas Piro is second theology, Saint Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, N.Y.
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