Richard also knew the man had come here to Crossroads, a non-profit social service agency at St. Paul Episcopal Church on East Jefferson Street in Detroit, because he needed assistance. Regardless of his irritation, perhaps even his repulsion, Richard's job was to help.

Suddenly, Richard became, in his words, "illuminated." He remembered something he was taught in a class that had prepared him for this, his second year of AEP—Sacred Heart's Apostolic Experience Program.

"I pictured this man coming to me as if in the confessional. I realized my responses would either comfort him or hurt his ability to be open and honest. I calmly tried to work with him and access his needs. In the end it went fairly well."

The session went so well that something surprising happened, which students say occurs time and again in their AEP fieldwork. It was Richard who became the receiver, not the client.

"The man gave me his toothpaste and a shaver," relates Richard. "This may seem trivial, but they were the man's treasure. Parting with them was his wonderful way of showing appreciation.

"Once again, the notion of us getting more from those we attempt to help, more than we can ever possibly give to them, proved itself true."

Service in Light of the Gospel

Seminarians bring Jesus and a listening heart to the inmates of Macomb County Jail.

Sacred Heart bases its seminarian formation program on the "four cornerstones" of formation—the human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral dimensions—as taught by Pope John Paul II and elaborated by the U.S. Bishops. Sacred Heart's Apostolic Experience Program, or AEP, is part of "pastoral" formation: a yearlong curriculum designed to prepare future priests for service to the community, especially to the poor and alienated.

As the bishops' 1992 document Program for Priestly Formation describes, AEP "should acquaint seminarians with the challenges of ordinary life" by providing a "broad introduction to varied situations in society, especially the conditions of minorities, the underprivileged and the homeless."

For undergraduate seminarians in their first and second year of college, and second year of philosophy studies, the culmination of AEP training occurs in Term III. This required four-week period in May includes three weeks of intensive apostolic service at various sites throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit, often in inner-city situations. Service includes jail ministry, working at soup kitchens, door-to-door evangelization, counseling abused teens, and other works of mercy.

The seminarians then return to Sacred Heart for a week of group presentations and private meetings with their faculty mentors. This final week helps students to understand better their deeply emotional, and often profound, experiences encountered in the field, made clearer in light of Gospel teaching.

Seeing Jesus, Being Jesus

"We call them 'urban pilgrims,'" says Sr. Mary Finn, hvm, director of the Apostolic Experience Program. She firmly believes that the city in which the seminarians minister is not a place to be feared, but is instead an "occasion of grace."

"As Catholics, we often talk about the 'occasions of sin.' But every experience of inner-city ministry is an occasion of grace. And it is usually through fear, hate and particularly racism that we block these occasions.

"I tell my students, 'you are not going to be martyred in the city.' People are wanting to participate in your work of evangelization."

Sister Mary's primary lesson for these seminarian-pilgrims, who are never sent out to mission sites alone but in a Gospel-like "two-by-two," is to keep their eyes "fixed on Jesus" (Heb 3:1).

"Jesus set out for the city, Jerusalem. He was a man of the streets," writes Sister in her AEP manual. "He did not see the city as a slum, but as the dwelling place of God.

"Jesus is the centerperson of every Apostolic Experience," she continues. "When you look long enough into the face of folks in your service, you will see Jesus and the healing marks of his life, death and resurrection."

For AEP Term III in 2004, seminarians were assigned to several mission sites. Here is a brief summary of their experiences, all, in Sister Mary's words, avenues of religious wisdom and sacred connection.

St. Rita Parish, Detroit

After helping Fr. Tim Kane of St. Rita Parish bring the Eucharist to St. Michael Convalescence Home, Thai Hung Nguyen makes friends with the residents.

St. Rita's is located in a northern Detroit neighborhood of mixed ethnic families. Its pastor, Fr. Tim Kane, served as on-site supervisor to seminarians Virgilio Guerra and Thai Hung Nguyen.

Father Tim's approach is simple: seminarians accompany him on his daily rounds to gain firsthand knowledge of what it means to be a parish priest.

"I see their training not so much what we are going to 'do.' Instead, I want them to shadow me and observe how I handle things."

Virgilio and Thai Hung's "shadowing" included ministering to residents in a convalescence home, leading prayer at a Detroit City Council meeting, celebrating Mass at Wayne State University, serving meals at a soup kitchen, and meeting former prisoners at a transitional care facility.

"You get book knowledge from the seminary," says Father Tim, "but you need to experience people, too. Priests are spiritual healers. My job is to help them to walk away from here knowing that."

Macomb County Jail, Sterling Heights

"We are told the average person who is incarcerated receives one visit per year," explains Fr. Paul Berg, faculty mentor to AEP students Robert Slaton and Brian Buckley. "Because of the ministry of our two seminarians, that is not the case at Macomb County Jail."

Jail ministry can be somewhat intimidating to novices. Students prepared by first attending intensive training sessions led by on-site supervisor Ms. Jo Kudela, the Catholic chaplain at the jail. Only then were they permitted to do one-on-one visiting with the prisoners, bringing with them spiritual literature and a listening heart. Brian and Robert also participated in Bible study groups and assisted at weekly Communion services.

"We know that Christ, who was incarcerated, explicitly sanctions such visitation. That is why Sacred Heart's AEP program includes jail ministry," says Father Berg.

East Side Evangelization Project Annunciation Parish, Detroit

Fr. Jesse Cox, OP, left, says the "Sign Me Up" program will provide Louis Santellano, center, "a sense the evangelization is an important part of his priestly ministry." "The seminarians really inspire us," says Judy Willis, right, Father's assistant.

In 1996, the archdiocese hired Fr. Jesse Cox, op, to evangelize the African American community on the east side of Detroit. His "Sign Me Up" ministry, which operates from Annunciation Parish, trains parishioners to do door-to-door evangelization. They invite people to join one of the thirty parishes in the West Vicariate.

Seminarians Lee Acervo, Louis Santellano, Jeremy Boguslawski and Bernardo Cruz were incorporated into this program. Louis was amazed how often "the Holy Spirit was able to change hearts and use poor instruments like myself" in his work of personal evangelization. The students also helped Father Cox and Judy Willis, his administrative assistant, with typical parish duties: visiting the homebound and elderly, counseling transitional prisoners, and tutoring school children.

"The seminarians have been formed and changed for the better," believes faculty mentor Fr. Robert Spezia, "by truly meeting and listening to the poor."

Vista Maria, Dearborn Heights

Listening sessions with seminarians such as John David Kuhar help abused girls at Vista Maria relate more positively to males.

Perhaps AEP work at Vista Maria is the most heart wrenching. Operated by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Vista Maria is a home for abused and neglected adolescent girls. Most have suffered emotional, behavioral and sexual trauma, primarily caused by family crisis and much of it caused by men. Seminarians Raymond Arwady, John David Kuhar and Chris Gawel were trained by on-site supervisor Joan Zakoor to engage in the healing work of a "listening ministry."

"Basically, my ministry came down to one task: being present," explains Chris. "To have an adult male to talk to, one who would not hurt them, is a great asset in their recovery program." Beyond one-on-one discussion sessions, seminarians participated in the girl's recreation and group therapy times.

"The terrible circumstances that caused the hurt are the same that I will encounter in my work as a pastor," Chris says. Joan agrees, saying, "Experiencing real life situations here is a piece of learning for which there is no grade. They gain only a heart that is fulfilled and touched."

Crossroads, Detroit

With two locations in Detroit, Crossroads is a ministry of aid to the urban poor sponsored by the Episcopal Church of Michigan. The primary work of seminarians Brian Gerber, Richard Waligora, Francisco Arciniega and Ted Mauch was to counsel clients to make better life decisions or to help resolve immediate crises. Assistance could include providing emergency aid such as food, bus tickets or simply help in obtaining prescriptions. Sometimes they simply prayed with the client if asked to. The seminarians also stocked food bank shelves, served as receptionists and performed other helpful chores.

"They bring a component of spirituality that is an asset to our agency," says Lattoria Glenn, on-site supervisor. "They are quality students and cool guys. I think they are going to make excellent priests."

Says Richard, "Each day was a chance to better someone's life and witness to Christ's love."

Mother of God Chaldean Parish, Southfield

Rodi Mikhali is learning Aramaic, the liturgical language of the Chaldean-rite liturgy, at the Eparchy of St. Thomas. "He is a good representative of the seminary," says Sr. Nada Khubeir, secretary to Chaldean Bishop Ibrahim. "I'm proud of him."

Though not assigned to an urban mission or a helping ministry, Rodi Mikhail's AEP experience was no less critical. His main obligation at the Mother of God Chaldean Parish in Southfield was learning Aramaic, the language used in the Chaldean-rite Catholic liturgy.

Rodi, an American of Iraqi heritage, is being educated and formed at Sacred Heart. His ordination, though, will be for the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, whose see is located at Mother of God. The eparchy, or dioceses' roots extend to the ancient Chaldean Catholic communities of Iraq. Though Chaldeans primarily speak Arabic, their prayer language is modern Aramaic, a variation of the language spoken by Jesus. Rodi also assisted Sr. Nada Khubeir, his on-site supervisor, and Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim with administrative duties at the eparchy.

Chris Gawl shares a moving incident from his time at Vista Maria during a week-four collaborative presentation. Sr. Mary Finn, left, AEP director, and faculty mentor Michelle Szczepanski listen intently.

Men of Communion

The goal of all formation, says Rector Fr. Steven Boguslawski, is to produce "men of communion": priests who pour out their lives caring for the people of God. Sacred Heart's Apostolic Exper-ience Program does just that, forming future priests who, in the words of Dean of Formation Fr. Michael Byrnes, "Listen with an open heart, go beyond what is comfortable for them personally, and learn from those whom they serve."

The end result is priests for the Archdiocese of Detroit who preach the Gospel with their lives as well as by their words.