Meet our seminarians: Adrian Milik (Archdiocese of Boston)

Home Parish: Boston. Where did you grow up? Radom, Poland and San Diego, Calif. Seminary: St. John’s Seminary. High School: UC High. College: University of California, San Diego; Jagiellonian University, Poland. Hobbies: Computers, miniatures, disk golf, role-playing, reading.

When was the first time you thought of priesthood?

The idea has been in the back of my mind since childhood. But then I began serious consideration during my master's program in Krakow.

What were major Catholic activities you participated in prior to the seminary?

A vocational retreat in San Diego. I was also present during the current pope's Mass in Krakow as well as at events commemorating John Paul II's death.

What is your favorite Scripture passage? Why?

Christ's discussion with the rich youth. It's a hard passage, but it has a lot to teach us and shows the extent of God's call to man.

Who influenced/inspired you to priesthood? Please explain.

Some of the priests in Poland inspired me the most. Hearing them expound on love and truth made me want to serve God in that way.

What would you say to a young man who thinks he may have a vocation?

To pray about it and to speak to priests and religious about it. If God is calling him, he will find that feeling reinforced. Some form of spiritual direction would be helpful too.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

Depends on how well they know me. I try to be a fairly open person to those that know me.

What activities would you recommend in order to foster a culture of vocations?

Vocation is such a personal thing, just encouraging people to follow God's guidance is key, I think.

Did anyone invite you to consider priesthood? Please explain.

The pastor of my church in San Diego invited me to the discernment day of that diocese. Several other people just said that they thought I would be a good priest.

What influence (if any) has Pope John Paul II had on your vocation?

As a Pole, Pope John Paul II's influence in my life is strong, but hard to describe. He helped me realize how important and human Christ's service is in people's lives.

How did you come to know Jesus Christ?

At my first year confirmation retreat in San Diego there was a form of charismatic prayer. During this prayer I felt Christ's presence in a very real way for the first time.

What were the spiritual events or activities that helped you develop and shape your personal relationship with Christ and his Church?

Religious youth communities helped me find myself within the Church and helped me protect myself from the pull of popular culture.

Please describe the importance of prayer in your life.

Daily prayer has been a part of my life for a long time, but it is hard for me to keep from letting it fall into routine. Adorations and charismatic prayer help me open myself up more.

What are some of your favorite and most important spiritual readings/books/passages?

St. Augustine's quote about the unease of the soul before it rests in the Lord helped lead me to the seminary. St. Faustina's prayer and journal have been very inspiring to me as well.

What is your day like in the seminary?

Prayer, meals, Mass, and classes communally. Some time for private study, recreation, and devotion.

Through the cardinal, God is calling you personally to help rebuild his Church. How must the priest respond to this mandate today?

By living in a way that helps the Church regain the trust of the people. By fulfilling the mission Christ set out for us. Anything else?

I think vocation offices need to work closer with youth ministries and support them. Vocations are strengthened in places where youth can protect themselves from the negative sides of today's culture.

Religious youth communities helped me find myself within the Church and helped me protect myself from the pull of popular culture.

This is the way we're trying to bring up our children, as well. If they associate with good, religious young people from families who we know are serious Catholics, it really reduces (although it doesn't eliminate) the potential moral disasters during their adolescence.

I appreciate his remarks on the Charismatic movement. We are also Charismatic, and I think it's a very valuable form of spirituality for some.

Interesting that he seems to gotten so much of his spiritual formation in Poland.

Speaking as a lifelong Roman Catholic now practicing my faith in the Maronite Catholic Church, I can assure you that the formation of priests outside the US (that would be Lebanon for the Maronites) is decidedly more orthodox. To cite an example, my pastor (a polyglot who speaks 8 languages) has shared his seminary experiences with some of us. There was one priestly professor who inisisted that his charges maximize their God given abilities daily. "Idle hands do the devil's work", he explained. The priest then taught them how to knit! In his late teen years, my pastor volunteered to assist a community of Maronite monks with their Spring planting. The topography of that monastery was rocky soil that had been crafted into steps. Since this land has been worked for thousands of years, you can imagine how little soil still remains. The volunteers were instructed to remove all the rocks from the soil to enable the monks to plant their crops. To this day my pastor has visibly strong arm musles, testimony to that one summer when he cleared the soil at the monastery.

Priestly formation in other lands is both physical and spiritual. They do not enjoy the luxuries of an American lifestyle. When my pastor began attending Boston College, he showed up for class on the first day, dressed in a suit. He was shocked by the attire of others in the class. To this day, he wears his clericals at all times (except on those occasions when we gather to clean the Church). The bishop has also insisted that his clergy dress as priests (i.e. in clerical garb) at all times.

This week our pastor was called away to a mandatory clergy conference and retreat. It just happened to be the very week when we commit ourselves to a novena to our patron saint, St. Ann. In his absence, a visiting retired RC priest offered to continue nightly Benediction. What a blessing! However, he arrived each night wearing khaki pants and a sport shirt. (He is 87 years old.) I had to remind him to bring a shawl to wear during Benediction. Our altar server, an awesome young man only 15 years old, offered to assist with the incensing of the monstrance. Each night, Salim would light the charcoal, place the thurible on the stand and, when the time was right, take the thurible from its stand, along with the incense boat. He waited patiently for the RC priest to bless the incense but the priest would walk past him. Salim has been trained by the pastor and knows the importance of blessing the incense. But, when the RC priest neglected to do so, Salim sprinkled the incense on the charcoal and incensed the elevated monstrance. God bless this kid! He is 6'+ and presents an imposing image in his cassock and surplice. Our pastor has taught him well and he impressed the visiting RCs. He is an awesome young man of whom we are all most proud. He and his younger sister will be my students this year as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.

This is a good thread to tell you about a visiting priest we had a few weeks ago. He was retired from the Cleveland Archdiocese, and from the references in his sermon I would guess he was a very vigorous 80 or so.

The sermon was on bringing back shame, that we SHOULD be ashamed of our sins, and then he said (I am not making this up), “Monica Lewinsky! She should be ashamed of what she did! Instead, she went on a book tour!” He then segued into a story about how when he was a young priest serving in Spain the big hotel in Madrid wouldn’t allow Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner (who were living in sin) to stay there. It was quite the talk of Madrid, and the hotel manager told him, “Father, how could I allow such people to stay at my hotel? They have no shame!”

All in all, it was a VERY fine homily! Of course, probably 2/3 of the people had no idea who Ava Gardner was, but I sure enjoyed it!!

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