Summer at IPF, The Institute for Priestly Formation Summer Seminarian Program

By: Mark Searles

Seminarian, First Theology

At the start of this ten week program back in June, I did not know what to expect besides a trip to Omaha, NE and an opportunity to grow in my relationship with God and to take some courses on spirituality. Now just beyond the midway point of the summer it is amazing to think about how much I’ve grown and the many blessings I have received.

We live on the beautiful campus of Creighton University right next to downtown Omaha and after a weeklong introductory course on the basics of prayer to start the program, we entered into an eight day silent retreat. To use some IPF terminology, this retreat began a “radical reorientation towards Christ” in my life and in the lives of the 175 other seminarians gathered here from all over the country. The retreat was an awesome opportunity to establish a more in-depth relationship with God and in my personal experience, a great new bond with the Father. The spiritual directors and other priests gathered at IPF are some of the finest in the country and it has been an amazing privilege to be with them so far!

After a very powerful retreat experience, the next eight weeks consist of one or two daily classes and eventually an afternoon apostolate assignment at a local nursing home or hospital. The quality of priest and lay faculty has also been superb as we’ve discussed a wide range of topics such as the spirituality of a diocesan priest, the Ignatian rules for discernment, and the healthy integration of celibacy and the priest’s love for his spouse, the Church. The apostolate assignment then is a great opportunity to put our prayers and studies into practice, not just giving and doing for the people we meet, but an opportunity to receive God’s love through others and to see Jesus in them.

The program also allows for some fun as I had the chance to visit Denver, CO over the 4^th of July weekend and might get in a trip to Kansas City before it’s time to drive back to PA! Omaha has also been a very friendly and welcoming place for us this summer plus we haven’t had the 100+ temps that PA has had to endure! The cornfields and cattle farms are beautiful out here too, but I haven’t officially been converted to a “Cornhusker” just yet (watch out Penn State)!

Thank you for your prayers for all of us out here and we are praying for everyone back at home in our beautiful Diocese of Allentown!