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Companions seminarians receive their intellectual formation at Sacred Heart, shown here at their monastery on the grounds of St. Scholastica Parish.
“ Most people think they’ re doing just fine,” Father Scherrey explains.“ In some ways, your heart has to be on fire. Being a Catholic is not something to do— it’ s something you are. You’ re called to live it. If you’ re not living it, you’ re not really being Catholic.”
Reaching Out to College Students
Similarly, the Companions work with Wayne State students has centered on“ intentional discipleship,” says Fr. Jim Lowe, CC, the university’ s Catholic chaplain. He and Fr. John Fletcher, CC, staff the Newman Catholic Center in the student center on campus.
In addition to celebrating daily and Sunday Mass and hearing confessions, the Companions use the campus ministry to lead students to a personal encounter with Christ.“ You’ re forming disciples so they can go out and make disciples themselves,” Father Lowe says.“ It’ s telling ordinary students that they can go out in their ordinary lives and encounter other ordinary students, and they can evangelize, lead them into an encounter with Christ themselves.”
The Companions are currently taking about forty students through the Catholic Christian Outreach Faith Studies series. Each of the five levels takes six weeks to complete, and then the Companions invite students to move on and help lead the next session.
Father Lowe says students are also encouraged to discover their own charisms.“ People have gifts of the Holy Spirit that are given to them by God. Unless they’ re
“ Sacred Heart’ s focus on the New Evangelization lines up perfectly with the Companions’ charism.”
given opportunities to exercise those in the Church, they may never discover them.”
Case in point: One day while Father Lowe was in the Newman Center chapel placing the new crucifix, a student came to stand beside him and admire it. Leya Maliekal then began telling him about her desire to go into the streets and work with the homeless. He asked her to write a report and, as a result, a group of students traveled with Father Lowe to John Carroll University in Ohio to learn about the Labre Project and begin the ministry at Wayne State.
“ Every other Friday, we make food and go out into the streets,” says Leya, a sophomore.“ Already, we know people’ s names. It feels like a mutual friendship.”
She adds that the
Companions try to get to know all students in a non-pressuring way.“ Father Jim loves to talk, and he loves to listen,” Leya says.“ He allows people to see that he’ s there for them, and when they’ re ready for the next step, he’ s there to guide them.”
Active in the Community
Each Sunday, the Companions’ seminarians are assigned to parishes the community is associated with— which besides St. Scholastica and the Wayne State Newman Center includes Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, where one of the Companion priests often assists. After serving in the sanctuary during Mass, the seminarians participate in a ministry of“ presence and fellowship,” says Daniel Ramos, who is in his second year of Sacred Heart’ s pre-theology program.
“ We try to get to know more of the parishioners on a personal level,” he explains.
Father Scherrey confirms that the seminarians’ presence at each Sunday’ s Mass at St. Scholastica is valuable.“ Our congregation loves the seminarians,” he says.“ They really touch the hearts of the people.”
The experience of living in Detroit has not been void of opportunities for the men studying a Sacred Heart. The seminarians serve at soup kitchens and in prison ministry, assist with retreats, participate in pro-life events, and give talks at parishes on topics like evangelization and the charismatic renewal. These experiences complement their academic formation, according to the seminarians.
“ Studying the New Evangelization at Sacred Heart and then applying what I’ ve learned in concrete pastoral contexts has helped me to become both a better student and a better minister,” says Alex Colautti, who is completing his fourth year of study at the seminary and preparing for diaconal ordination later this year.
Bonds of Brotherhood
Seminarians for the Companions comprise nearly twenty percent of the men studying for the priesthood at Sacred Heart. Although they live in community at St. Scholastica and are only at the seminary for academic formation, the men have formed bonds with their classmates working toward ordination to the priesthood for Detroit and other dioceses and religious communities.
“ We all share a love of the Lord and a desire to give our lives completely over to him,” says Isaac Longworth, who is in his second year at Sacred Heart. He and his fellow Companions spend time with fellow students outside of the classroom setting, such as at basketball games, prayer meet-
34 Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Spring 2017