Throughout the Gospels, Jesus and his apostles withdrew to the wilderness to grow nearer to God and strengthen their bond with each other. In like manner, seminarians from St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver headed to the mountainous wilderness at the culmination of their propaedeutic or spirituality year.
The multi-week backpacking trip, organized by the Office of Vocations in partnership with COR Expeditions, aimed to bring the men closer together in community and devotion to the Lord Jesus amid the challenges of wilderness expedition.
As the seminarians hiked the 110-mile path through mountainous terrain at over 10,000 feet elevation, guiding themselves with compasses and maps, they spent time in prayer, reflection, Eucharistic Adoration, Mass and community. The inaugural trip encouraged the seminarians to lean on their brothers and forge ever-deeper bonds of mutual support through life’s challenges.
“The hope for the trip was that the men grow in their human formation and their ability to do difficult things,” said Father Jason Wallace, archdiocesan director of vocations. “The backpacking trip was strenuous, so they were pushed to their limits, perhaps even beyond the limits they thought they had for themselves.”
As the men were led outside their comfort zones, they could turn to their brothers for support, encouragement, and exhortation: a dynamic that will be necessary as they continue their formation, Father Wallace said. “When guys are going through difficult moments, you have to learn how to motivate them, talk with them and empathize with them. You have to learn how to walk with them and be their brother.”
“They’re pursuing that goal of becoming a priest, of sanctity, together and not by themselves. So, they can rely on each other,” added Father John Stapleton, who joined the seminarians on the backpacking trip. “It’s so important to rely on each other, especially in their studies and in pursuing the priesthood, because they aren’t becoming priests by themselves but together. They’re pursuing this goal with each other.”
Cemented in community after a year of living, praying and working together even before they headed to the mountains, the seminarians were able to confront whatever challenges came their way during the adventurous backpacking trip.
“If I had to sum up the backpacking trip in two words, I would say challenge and brotherhood,” said Cooper Eitel, one of the seminarian backpackers. “It seemed like there was often some challenge facing us, from the unrelenting mosquitos to the heavy packs. Through it all, however, I always had a brother close by who was suffering the same things. This experience of challenge and brotherhood, encapsulated by the incredible beauty of the Wind River Range, brought us closer than anything else throughout the year. I think our class is going to have a uniquely special and lasting bond that will endure to ordination and beyond because of this experience.”
“The seminarians grew closer together to their brothers in this moment because they got to see everybody’s strengths and weaknesses, and they were able to walk with each other in that,” Father Wallace said, reflecting on the newly deepened fraternity among the seminarians following the expedition.
The seminarians’ experience of brotherhood and humble reliance on community will be pivotal as they continue their formation for the priesthood, Father Stapleton added.
“As a priest, the temptation you can get is that it’s all on you, or ‘I have to do everything’ or ‘I have to make sure everything goes well,’” he said. “But, for example, as a priest, you don’t know everything. We have the theology and understanding and can celebrate the sacraments, but maybe the priest doesn’t know how to fix a boiler, do maintenance or manage finance reports. So, then, he needs to rely on people with those skills to actually help, to succeed, to lead the parish to where it needs to go. You need humility to recognize your skills and ask for help.”
In short, the challenging trip was a fitting bookend to their first year of intentional prayer and formation for the priesthood.
“Bringing us together to do and experience something difficult and physically demanding honestly made each one of us better men. It helped us understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses, too,” said Tommy Myers, another seminarian on the backpacking trip. “Doing this at the end of the year ensured that there was already a foundation of relationship. We’ve already gone through the whole year together. We know each other to an extent. That foundation of relationship allows for something to be deepened and built upon.”
As these men return to St. John Vianney to begin classes and formation during the new academic year, they do so as a solidified community moving towards a common goal. While twists, turns and other challenges may present themselves along the way, the strengthened brotherhood affords the seminarians a support system to fall back on during times of adversity.
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