What is it like to become a Spiritan? Matt Broeren, C.S.Sp., a 28-year-old Seminarian in Temporary Vows, talks through what's surprised him about his vocation journey so far.
Transcript:
Hello, my name is Matthew Broeren and I'm a Spiritan in temporary vows, early in formation for the Spiritan priesthood. I'm 28 years old and in that short time, I, by the grace of God, have been able to have quite a dynamic missionary experience not only starting off in Pittsburgh and then doing my novitiate in Chicago, spending two years in Trinidad and Tobago studying Theology, and most recently going to Brazil to do two years of pastoral work.
When we look at the Spiritan vocation we have to understand, you know, we're not Mission machines. I'm not created to be a robot that goes to proclaims the gospel. No, fundamentally we are missionary disciples. This means that after entering the Spiritans, we're not just mere statues which one can look at for Mission but no, no, no we have our own deep internal missionary experiences which surprise us in unique ways. For me, I think I can define this in in three words: Community, Spirituality, and Dynamicity.
The first one, what's really taken me about the Spiritan vocation, what has also surprised me, is community. And we can think about this in a couple of levels. Not only in the sense of community and those with whom you live but community in the broader sense of sharing in the collective identity of Spiritan-ness. The amount of Spiritans I've met from other countries that speak other languages who just from our encounter we immediately recognize ourselves as brothers is a really really inspiring and beautiful thing for me. Beyond that when we think of community we think of it as an internal support structure. As Libermann often defines it, community is the perfection of the apostolic life meaning that it is the mode by which we find so much support and so much striving for Holiness within our own Spiritan life. And that has been my own experience... being accountable to one another and also introducing new ideas to one another and supporting one another practically through very difficult moments. Lastly there is also community in the sense of Spiritan Community as being present within another Christian Community that is for example having a group of Spiritans working at a particular Parish. You end up learning that there is such a beautiful connection between the two not only the ways which your own communities inspires the people with whom you are working to equally strive for that Holiness to strive to be missionary disciples as well but also the way that their witness reverberates in your own experience the way that their witness inspires you as well. It's this interplay back and forth which has really been quite beautiful within my own vocational experience.
Secondly, the components of spirituality has deeply inspired me in quite a number of ways. When we go through our novitiates the ideas that we come out Spiritan experts and experts of spirituality. I had one friend who said you know if you were to die the day after your novitiate you would automatically be a saint because you would be so holy. But our novitiates, even by the definition in the Spiritan Rule of Life is just an introduction to the Spiritan tradition and way of life and way of thinking. When in reality, once we go out into the once we go out into the world once we live this pastoral reality we return to those same sources of writing of Libermann, of de Places, of Laval, of Brottier and all the ways they're writing just continually re-inspire us and really deepen our spirituality our connection with the Risen and Living Lord through their writings again and again and again in new and diverse ways. For example, of course in my novitiate we learned all about the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the importance in Spiritan life but during my time in Brazil my devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as my model for Apostolic life, my model of fidelity to the Holy Spirit deepened so intensely.
Thirdly, I found also surprising the dynamicity and I want to use that word dynamicity specifically instead of contextuality. Why? Because, of course, Spiritan mission is always contextually based it's canonic in this sense it is poured out within a particular context. But at the same point, it finds the story in the power of the Holy Spirit, in the dynamus of the Holy Spirit it does find a real real power to it a real New Life to it which constantly is born in is reborn again and again every day in again in that power of the Holy Spirit. That same power of the Holy Spirit that the apostolic community themselves discovered listening to the Apostles teaching, in community, in the breaking of the bread, and in fellowship Acts 2:42.
In short, it is these three elements that I think have really just surprised me about the Spiritan vocation and constantly give life to my vocation and then gives me great hope for the future of my Spiritan vocation.