Joined by bishops, priests, benefactors, seminarians, and their family and friends, Archbishop Ronald Hicks celebrated the Mass of the Holy Spirit to begin a new academic year at St. Joseph’s Seminary in the Dunwoodie section of Yonkers.

Throughout his Wednesday evening homily, Archbishop Hicks emphasized the importance of doing God’s will. 

“As we begin this school year, doing the will of the Father is a lifelong journey for all of us. It is the path to true blessing and true happiness, but it is not always easy. In my own spiritual life, I am coming to realize that doing the will of the Father is the ultimate call that Jesus is asking of all of us,” he said.  

A lesson in surrendering 

To illustrate how God’s will and ours do not always coincide, Archbishop Hicks related how his summer vacation plans were sidelined by a detached retina. Despite having an air ticket in hand and arrangements to spend time with family in the Midwest, an unexpected medical emergency leading to surgery caused a difficult period that affected his vision, ability to sleep, and work. 

“That was my summer. Not quite what I had planned. I had planned things very differently with my family. I had my whole summer planned out, and something completely different happened instead. That was God’s timing. That was God’s will. It gave me time to heal. It gave me time to pray, a lot of time to pray, time that I wouldn’t ordinarily take. And through it, I simply had to surrender and say, ‘Lord, this is your will. Let me follow your will. I am here to do for you whatever you ask,’” Archbishop Hicks said. 

As an example of accepting the will of God, the archbishop pointed to Mary, whose birth the Church celebrated on Tuesday.  

“When you think about it, Mary shows us the perfect following of the will of the Father. We see this simply in her yes, her fiat, when she said yes to being the mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She was following the will of the Father perfectly. And yet there were times [it was difficult], but that is how she followed the Father’s will. If you look at her life, she followed the will of the Father her entire life,” he said. 

Archbishop Hicks recommended a habit to both new seminarians and those in formation, along with others attending the Mass. “I’ve incorporated a personal practice, that I say several times per day. I turn directly to Jesus, and I say, ‘Jesus, unite my heart with your heart, to do the will of the Father, following the example of Mary, our mother.’” 

Archbishop Hicks blesses Redemptor Hominis Center 

Prior to the Mass, Archbishop Hicks was joined by Archdiocese of New York Auxiliary Bishop Edmund Whalen, vicar general, and the rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary, Bishop James Massa, in blessing the seminary’s new Redemptor Hominis Center for Holistic Health.  

“It smells new,” the archbishop said before blessing the freshly painted and carpeted space, which formerly housed the seminary print shop. 

“We’re here to assist seminarians in holistic health,” Sr. Mariana Koonce, R.S.M., M.D., the center’s inaugural director, told The Good Newsroom. “We want the young men to thrive, both as seminarians and as priests.” 

The Redemptor Hominis Center for Holistic Health, funded through Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, will significantly strengthen the Seminary’s capacity to form healthy, resilient Catholic leaders. The center’s mission aligns closely with both the Seminary’s historic commitment to human and pastoral formation and the 2022 Program for Priestly Formation issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

Named for Pope John Paul II’s first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis, the center expresses St. Joseph’s Seminary’s conviction that Christ heals and restores the fullness of our humanity. Collaborating with the Seminary’s formation faculty, the center, under Sister Mariana’s leadership, will position St. Joseph’s at the forefront of holistic priestly formation in the United States. 

The Redemptor Hominis Center will implement a multi-component program designed to support seminarians, clergy, diaconate candidates, M.A. in theology students, and lay leaders across the Church.