Vocations
Office
Pope John Paul II Residence
INTRODUCTION
The Pope John Paul II Residence was founded by Most Rev. Edward D. Head, D.D., Bishop of Buffalo, on March 9, 1983. From 1983 to 1989 the Residence was located at 62 Titus Avenue, Buffalo. In the Fall of 1989, the Residence opened in a larger facility at 217 Winston Road, Buffalo. The Residence is a diocesan response to assist college and graduate students in discerning a vocation to the diocesan priesthood. There has been a growing awareness that there are students attending local colleges, seriously considering the possibility of a priestly vocation, but who are not ready to make a formal commitment or application to a seminary program. The Residence exists to provide a community of prayer, support and discernment. It expects each Resident to participate in the normal life of a college lay student. He will be involved in the same academic programs, the same extra-curricular activities and campus life as his peers at the college of his choice. But, in addition, he will be seriously concerned with discerning the possibility of priesthood in his life, as well as striving for an intense Christian living in the Residence community.The Residence community offers a small and intimate gathering of men committed to a common purpose – the discernment of a priestly vocation. The community, however, is not a static reality. Each Resident must strive to renew it constantly. The Residence community becomes an important element in discernment. It offers each Resident the necessary context for the development of his unique personality through self-understanding, mutual support and encouragement, as well as through daily prayer and the "breaking of the bread."
Community life demands certain human values: fidelity, gentleness, tolerance, thoughtfulness, courtesy, and a readiness on the part of all to serve one another.
OUR MISSION: DISCERNMENT
Have you ever thought of becoming a priest? If you are like other Catholic young men, the answer may be "yes." Perhaps the thought has crossed your mind or the feeling has entered your heart. However, not everyone pursues the idea to a resolution.The Pope John Paul II Residence offers you a unique opportunity for the kind of serious reflection needed to make this important decision. If you believe you may have a vocation to the priesthood, the Pope John Paul II Residence can be an ideal place for you.
The Residence is not a seminary. But it will be an occasion for you to live in a small community of young adult men with similar interests, aspiring to a common goal. In this supportive environment, you are encouraged – and challenged – to examine your desire to be a priest in a prayerful and realistic way. You do so while attending the college of your choice and even keeping your part-time job.
The Pope John Paul II Residence offers the prayer, fellowship and flexibility needed to explore a life commitment. It will provide you with an opportunity to consider if Christ may be calling you to the extraordinary adventure of sharing in His priesthood. It will enable you to discern if Christ wants your person, your intelligence, your energy, your faith, your love, your holiness. It will give you a chance to reflect and pray over these moving words of Pope John Paul II:
"If it is to priesthood that Christ is calling you, it is because He wishes to exercise His priesthood through your dedication and priestly mission. He wants to consecrate the Eucharist and forgive sins through you. He wants to save through your efforts. Think about it carefully. The response you give is given personally to Christ."
COMMUNITY
The Pope John Paul II Residence offers an experience in community living. Each Resident is expected to contribute to the building up of community. We are mindful of Jesus’ pledge: "Wherever two or three gather in my name, I will be there in your midst!"THE EUCHARISTIC LITURGY
The community of the Pope John Paul II Residence is composed of people of diverse personalities, backgrounds, training and talents. But we have a common task: helping each other develop fully our potential service to God and others. This task can only be accomplished when all members work together. To develop such a community, we need God’s help. The Eucharistic Liturgy provides this. It is the source of God’s love and grace, His strength and inspiration; it is the sharing of His Heavenly Banquet; it is the sign and source of unity of Christ for all Christians; but especially for the community dedicated to discern a priestly vocation. Since the Eucharist is the heart of Christian formation and strength, daily participation is expected of each Resident.PRAYER IN PRIVATE
In following the example of Christ and in fulfilling His command to pray always, we strive to grow in Christian virtue. A scheduled time each day for personal prayer allows us to grow in the knowledge and love of God and to evaluate our lives in service to others. Prayer enables us to know the life of Christ and to use this knowledge as a means by which we become more Christ-like.PENANCE
The Gospel summons us to repentance. This means that the Christian life requires constant growth in self-awareness including an awareness of personal failure and imperfection. In the course of his time at the Pope John Paul II Residence, the student should deepen the realization of his own need for continued conversion, and see the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a celebration of Christ’s peace and an instrument of personal and communal growth.SOLITUDE AND SILENCE
The Resident must place a priority on being alone with himself and God. Practically speaking, this means setting aside definite times of quiet and reflection each day. Reading the Sacred Scriptures, meditation and intercessory prayer will provide the basic structure for these times of solitude. The periods of time just prior to and following Liturgical Prayer also will be opportunities for reflection.LOVE FOR THE CHURCH
Each Resident is called upon to develop a personal reverence and fidelity to the Holy Roman Church and to the person of the Holy Father, our Bishops, Priests, Deacons and all God’s Holy People. Each Resident must seek a profound understanding of the Catholic dimension of the Church. Each Resident must bring himself to share ever more fully in the life of the Church by listening to what the Holy Spirit has spoken through her in times past and down to our own day.To be a priest is to be a man deeply committed to the Church, her teaching and her ministry. This deep love and respect for the Church must ever be a basic element in the discernment process.
OBEDIENCE AND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Obedience and personal responsibility are not mutually exclusive. They presuppose a deep spiritual maturity which is acquired only gradually and with considerable difficulty, learning how to listen and discuss in candor and humility; how to overcome one’s stubbornness in sincere giving and docility; and how to trust all who are given to us in community.POVERTY: FREEDOM FROM SELF
The Gospel invitation to poverty grows out of the grateful awareness that everything belongs to God. Jesus Christ loved the poor and strangers, that he might invite all of us to follow such an example.Freedom from selfish pursuits, together with a sense of true humility, is the fruit of a life sustained in Gospel poverty. In a special way each Resident should be responsive to the needs of the poor who surround us. We are to serve our neighbor in response to the love we receive from Christ. Through this simplicity and concern, through our lifestyle, we are all children of God.
CELIBACY: GIFT OF SELF FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS
The Resident of the Pope John Paul II Residence is seriously considering a permanent commitment to a celibate diocesan priesthood, even as he lives in a community with men who aspire to the same goal. The bishops of the United States in their recent Program of Priestly Formation write: "A college student prepares best for the life of celibate priesthood by working to achieve emotional integrity. This maturity can be reached only through contacts with others: in friendships, conversations, working together, recreation, and sharing mutual interests…APOSTOLIC LIFE
An essential element in the process of discernment is a ready and generous dedication to the service of Christ and the Church.The prophet, Isaiah, announced: "Learn to do good, search for justice, help the oppressed, be just to the orphan, plead for the widow." (Isaiah, 1:17) As a future leader of a faith community, the Resident must begin early to listen and respond to the cries of those in pain or in need. The Apostolic Program of the Residence is our communal witness to the healing power of God at work in our society.