January 13, 2014
It was a moment that would have made proud the founder of the Paulists, Servant of God Father Isaac Hecker. More than 30 of Hecker’s spiritual sons gathered to discuss something so fundamental to the religious order he founded: preaching.
Paulist priests, students and novices gathered Jan. 6-7 for a preaching workshop at St. Paul’s College in Washington, D.C. to discuss this component of Paulist ministry, collaborate on techniques and share resources.
“We seldom come together as Paulists to compare notes on our preaching, even though we all agree on its importance,” said Father Frank Sabatte, CSP, who leads Openings, an outreach ministry to artists out of the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Manhattan. “It’s almost like we don’t want to interfere [with another Paulist’s preaching].”
The preaching workshop was born out of a 2012 Paulist meeting at the Paulist retreat house, St. Mary’s on the Lake, in Lake George, N.Y. It was at that meeting that a renewed focus on preaching was mandated.
“Sharing our experiences of preaching in all of its forms can only be helpful,” Father Sabatte said.
For Stuart Wilson-Smith, CSP, who is in his second year of theological studies for the priesthood, the workshop is an opportunity “to learn from men I admire and look up to about their motivation to something that is at the core of Paulist ministry.”
Father Steve Bell, CSP, associate director of Busted Halo, the Paulist ministry to spiritual seekers in their 20s and 30s that includes a SiriusXM satellite radio show and Web site, said this preaching workshop has an intrinsic value that goes beyond sharing and discussing.
“By expressing ourselves in a way that reaches people, we strengthen the Paulist community,” he said.