Francis P. Havey - Retreat Companion for Priests: Profound Insights for Priests About Their Life, Their Work, Their Spiritual Progress and Their Eternal Destiny

RETREAT COMPANION FOR PRIESTS

by
Fr. Francis P. Havey, S.S

Copyright 1950 by St. Mary's Seminary, Roland Park, Maryland.

Photographically reproduced from the Second Edition (1950) by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., by arrangement with the Sulpician Provincial, Baltimore. (First Edition published in 1946.)

Cover photo from The Making of a Priest, copyright 1957 by Albert J. Nevins, M.M. Used with permission of Fr. Nevins.

Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 9071099

ISBN: 0-89555-406-2

TAN Books
Charlotte, North Carolina
www.TANBooks.com

1990

"For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up."

Psalm 68:10

"Is it a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath spared you from all the people, and joined you to himself, that you should serve him in the service of the tabernacle, and should stand before the congregation of the people, and should minister to him?"

Numbers 16:9

THE VERY REVEREND FRANCIS P. HAVEY, S.S., D.D
18641945

"My sons, be not negligent: the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, and to minister to him, and to worship him, and to burn incense to him."

2 Paralipomenon 29:11

"You shall be holy unto me, because I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from other people, that you should be mine."

Leviticus 20:26

"And the Lord said to Aaron: You shall possess nothing in their land, neither shall you have a portion among them: I am thy portion and inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel."

Numbers 18:20

A PRAYER FOR PRIESTS

O JESUS, Eternal Priest, keep all Thy priests within the shelter of Thy Sacred Heart where none may harm them.

Keep unstained their anointed hands which daily touch Thy Sacred Body. Keep unsullied their lips purpled with Thy Precious Blood.

Keep pure and unearthly their hearts sealed with the sublime marks of Thy glorious priesthood.

Let Thy holy love surround them and shield them from the world's contagion.

Bless their labors with abundant fruit, and may the souls to whom they have ministered be here below their joy and consolation and in Heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown. Amen.

O Mary, Queen of the clergy, pray for us; obtain for us a number of holy priests.

FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION

This volume is the last studied piece of work to come from the author's pen, and for that reason, as well as for its intrinsic worth, will be treasured by his many friends. Several years ago, at the urgent request of one of his old pupils, the Most Rev. John J. Mitty, the present Archbishop of San Francisco, Father Havey undertook to provide some needed conscientious reflections on the round of priestly duties in a parish. The author meant to help priests during the period of retreat by a kind of reading which would stimulate the soul-searching which is difficult and at the same time so necessary for a successful retreat. Even a soul benumbed by routine which menaces the saintliest lives, will appreciate the author's deep psychological penetration of the sacerdotal heart, the oddly turned phrase which arrests attention and startles the conscience and, most of all, the gentle encouragement of the older assisting a younger brother at a burdensome task.

It is again at Archbishop Mitty's urging that this handy and useful work is printed for publication.

THE EDITOR.

CONTENTS

Chapters added to the Second Edition.

PART I

MY PRIESTLY LIFE

I

THE APOSTOLATE OF THE DIOCESAN PRIEST

As silence settles upon the walls of this house, I seek a room apart from the crowd and shut the door. Now I can be myself and make my retreat. Closed in with its solitude and mystery, I can enter into myself by secret reflection. Here I am in the world of spirit left to my own thought and decision. My center is in myself; all others are outsiders to me. My destiny, I know, is in my own hands. It is not death, then, that will make or unmake me the tragedy is not in that; I make or unmake myself. I shall have at last the destiny I choose.

How important it is for me from time to time to leave my parish, which holds me to a round of solicitude for others and to the closed-in perspective of everyday life, that I may take in with a wider horizon as from a height, the enduring realities which bound my life and to which I shall awaken with full realization at my death. With this in view, how short-sighted, shallow, and unreflecting my daily life begins to look! Now, without weakened faculties, toxic condition, or haste, I can survey my life as a whole, see its plan, foresee its outcome, seize its purpose, and, with that, test the trend of the choices that are carrying me on to my destiny. Nunquam eris internus et devotus, nisi de alienis silueris, et ad te ipsum specialiter respexeris (Imitation of Christ, II, v:10). After this awakening I cannot be altogether the same.

To enter into myself is, then, the first step for the general renewal and improvement of my life. I must realize more fully what I am and what God expects of me. I do not make the parish mission with my people or a weekend recollection with devout laymen; I make the priests' retreat because my needs are altogether special.

Before selecting His Apostles, Our Lord is on the mountain in prayer: no sleep for Him that night. He has a mighty affair at heart; His vigil is the prelude to a great event. This is a turning point in the history of the world, an epoch for humanity. He is creating a chosen body who shall preserve His saving action to the world, and by their decisive influence help Him to raise men to their eternal destiny.

Our Lord is not lonely under the oriental sky. This is the mountain of the Lord, peopled by the innocent of hand and the clean of heart. He has the vision of His work usque ad consummationem saeculi. I am now before Him. He looks upon me with desire and fondness. He calls me with the utmost solemnity to be in the reserved inner circle of his own, puts a halo of consecration upon my brow, and touches me with His unction. I am the priest of His making, the replica of Himself. I ask grace to understand what He has done for me, and what He expects of me. I cannot but gather inspiration and strength from realizing more fully what is my purpose in life, my destiny; what Christ would have me to be.

The thought of our vocation is sanctifying. The hope of being a priest kept us from running the full course of sin in youth. It made us noble-minded. It transfigured the monotonous discipline of the seminary with a golden glow of generous devotion. After ordination our priesthood went before us as a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. We realized our high place in God's plan.

From lack of reflection and of living up to our ideal, are we getting dulled to the thought? Do we bear our priesthood, not as a gold vesture, but as common clothes? Has our ministry fallen into an official, unfeeling routine? Have we taken scandal from brother priests and learned from our elders to harden our hearts? Have we let ourselves be smiled or ridiculed out of our truest good? Instead of following the One who said, "Come, follow