From the desk of Rev. Msgr. Gregory J. Schlesselmann, Rector
Spring 2011
The closing of a seminary for any diocese occasions sorrow at the loss of a treasured institution. The closing of Cardinal Muench Seminary is no exception to that rule. The number of faithful who have expressed this sentiment has been numerous since the announcement of its closing was made in April 2010. At the same time, there has also been genuine understanding of the real circumstances which have brought about the decision. In the midst of our preparations to conclude our seminary program, it was noted that we are finishing in our 49th year of operation. Our final academic year is the 7th year in the 7th set of 7 years. Scripture sheds light on this situation by calling for a “jubilee” year in the year following, the 50th. We read in the book of Leviticus:
“Seven weeks of years shall you count—seven times seven years—so that the seven cycles amount to forty-nine years. Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month let the trumpet resound; on this, the Day of Atonement, the trumpet blast shall re-echo throughout your land. This fiftieth year you shall make sacred by proclaiming liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when every one of you shall return to his own property, every one to his own family estate. In this fiftieth year, your year of jubilee, you shall not sow, nor shall you reap the aftergrowth or pick the grapes from the untrimmed vines.” (Lev 25:8-11 NAB)
The jubilee system was the crowning of the Sabbath rest (in addition to the weekly Sabbath and the 7th year as a Sabbatical year) and entailed a year of emancipation when captives and slaves were to be set free, debts wiped away, the land allowed to lay fallow (cf. also Lev 25:1-7), and family property holdings returned to original owners (with a view to alleviating their poverty). It was a reminder to Israel that the many blessings they enjoyed were gifts of the Lord and that all were equal in His sight. It represented a liberation from bondage and a return to total dependence upon the Lord’s providential care. It was meant to be a Sabbath of Sabbaths, a rest of rests. Let us consider the closing of CMS in light of this passage.
First of all, we can be deeply grateful for the many blessings and sacrificial efforts of so many to provide priestly formation at CMS since 1962. The seminary has been the place where future priests were given their initial formation, faculty and staff bore witness to the gift of faith, and generous supporters gave sacrificially to further the mission of the Church.
Secondly, this “jubilee” can remind us to continue to heed the call of Christ to sound the “trumpet” of prayer for vocations, for if we ask, we shall receive (cf. Mt 7:7). A renewed focus upon the spiritual means of prayer and sacrifice to promote holy vocations is needed today more than ever.
Finally, in a spirit of hopeful trust in the Lord’s providential love, we are invited to live more deeply our dependence upon His goodness in the future formation of our seminarians as we entrust our priestly candidates to other seminaries. Since the Trinity’s desire for plentiful and well-formed priests is much greater than ours, we can rest in God the Father’s love for the Diocese of Fargo as He continues to bless us in new ways in the days ahead.
As our seminary lies “fallow”, let us ask the Lord to “enlighten the eyes of our hearts” (Eph 1:18) with the hope and blessings He holds out for us, “to the praise of His glory” (Eph 1:14).