Meet the Dean....but quickly!

Msgr. Swiader celebrates Mass in Bethlehem.

Sorry, in advance, for the long post….

In a number of posts, I’ve promised a post about the Dean, Msgr. James Swiader. I have mentioned him a few times, particularly in the posting about the Alley.  Last Friday, we received some difficult news at the Seminary. On June 22^nd, Msgr. Swiader will take leave of the Seminary to become the Pastor of St. Joseph’s R.C. Church in Garden City.  I have wanted to write this post for a few weeks, but putting it all into words is a little tough.

There have been many people who have been a significant part of the journey of getting to the Seminary and managing life here. Without question or hesitation, Msgr. Swiader has certainly become one of those people. In June 2009, the summer before I entered the Seminary, I met Msgr. Swiader for the first time. When he had come in from outside to meet me he began by saying, “I presume you own the yellow truck.”  My first thought was “Oh man, I’m in trouble.’’ I remember coming with a slew of questions, concerns and ideas about seminary life. In the two hours he spent with me that June day, I met a man who provided the first of many times of comfort, reassurance, direction and support.

When I moved into the Seminary in August, I learned that I was on Msgr. Swiader’s alley (He warned me that it was a quiet and subtle alley – that may have changed a bit since I arrived). And during Transition (Orientation) Week, I learned Msgr. Swiader would be my Advisor – a relationship that would guarantee an important role in this journey.

Over the past two years, primarily as my Advisor but also as the Vice Rector, Dean of Seminarians and Alley Prefect, Msgr. Swiader has provided guidance, challenge, and direction in ways I did not anticipate in June 2009.  I found in my first few days when things were challenging, he listened and provided some good advice. He recognizes, often, when certain times might be a bit uncomfortable or overwhelming for me and is sure to check in with an e-mail or invitation to stop by. When I have fallen short at the Seminary, he’s been there to offer correction but never without encouragement.  At times, when loss or difficult relationships or uncertainty about the future has creeped in to cause fear, anxiety or doubt, he’s always provided confident reassurance.

Msgr. Swiader and I are different in some ways. I had to teach him about Jimmy Buffett and he has taught me to appreciate poetry, great literature, opera (people actually go to the opera?) and many other things. What has united us, though, is this journey in formation. When I first met Msgr. Swiader he assured me that formation is not uniform (i.e. the same for everyone) and requires incredible self-discipline and direction. Those words have proven true, time and time again, largely because of his influence.  Time and again, Msgr. Swiader has always brought my focus back to the habitus sacredtolis – that the sense of priesthood is such an internal part of the seminarian’s, and ultimately, the priest’s being that he cannot be himself without it.  In ways dramatic and simple, he has shown that to me from within himself and called me to the same.

The United States Bishops published the Program for Priestly Formation to guide seminary formation and write the following about the Advisor:

They observe seminarians and assist them to grow humanly by offering them feedback about their general demeanor, their relational capacities and styles, their maturity, their capacity to assume the role of a public person and leader in a community, and their appropriation of the human virtues that make them “men of communion.” These same formators may, on occasion, teach the ways of human development and even offer some personal mentoring or, at times, coaching. More generally, they offer encouragement, support, and challenge along the formational path. (80)

I would say, for sure, Msgr. Swiader has done this and more over the past two years. And while life will change in a few months, I hope in some way, we will somehow continue together on this journey.

Here's the alley - from our Ragtime in the Refectory celebration (It was Msgr. Swiader's idea - including the hats.)