Pope Francis urged seminarians to stay in prayer before God even when it's "boring," as he received the community of St. Mary's Seminary of the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio, on March 6, 2023, at the Vatican on the 175th anniversary of its founding.
During the audience, the Pope drew on the great Synod underway to urge the American seminarians to "listen," especially to the Lord. He invited them to "make room for the Lord every day," and to "spend time with him in prayer, listening to him in silence before the tabernacle."
"Often it is boring to stay there," when God "does not speak," conceded the head of the Church, advising however "to wait."
Listening to "what he wants to tell you" is indispensable, he insisted, "especially when we find ourselves facing urgent and difficult tasks."
The 86-year-old pontiff also urged future priests to walk "with the flock," not "separated from it."
To walk with the people means "with everyone," he said, not just with the group that "thinks like me."l
"Everyone, […] do not forget this word, everyone, good and bad, sick and healthy, all, without excluding anyone," he said.
Finally, Pope Francis called on seminarians to give themselves "completely to God and to his holy people, in celibate love and with an undivided heart."
"The Church needs your enthusiasm, generosity and zeal to show everyone that God is always with us, in every circumstance of life," he concluded.
[A full transcription and translation of the text will be posted when available.]
