Complement the formation of your Seminarians with our emphasis on encountering the poor
“The intentionality of formation and community life is foundational to the apostolic work of Christ in the City. It has been and I believe will continue to be a most valuable asset in not only ongoing formation of seminarians but an invaluable evaluation tool for the men and the Church. The mission trips allow the men to go deep into the human condition. It is there that they see the face of Christ and their own reflection in His eyes. It is there they are able to find true freedom to say yes to His call.”
– Fr. Neal Hock – Diocese of Grand Island
Propaedeutic | Discipleship | Configuration
Propaedeutic
Discipleship
Configuration
1. Understand the timeline that fits your seminarians best
2. Contact Blake to discuss more as needed
3. Have your seminarians fill out an application
4. Send them out!
Daily: Holy Hour, Mass, Street Min, Community Meals, Night Prayer
Weekly: 2-3 Formation Trainings, Small Groups, Community Bonding Night
“I appreciate many things CiC does for my seminarians. It brings them face to face with the many complications and realities of people struggling on the street. While maintaining an awareness of safety, the seminarians meet people on their terms: in the streets, along the river, out in the open. This requires of the seminarians a greater vulnerability and humility since they are not acting from the safety of a known environment. It teaches them HOW to go out. But most of all, it teaches them to look at the person, not just the problem; to seek to love, not just to fix.”
“I’ve been on numerous mission trips with a variety of organizations, but as soon as I walked in the door at Christ in the City, I knew that this community and ministry is special. Christ in the City is a house of formation for young adults who have a mission to know, love and serve the poor. Their relational ministry to the homeless is incredibly beautiful and gets at the heart of addressing their true sufferings while also remaining evangelical and apostolic.
But that mission is only possible because of the exemplary formation the missionaries receive from their formators and their community life. Such were the missionaries’ maturity, depth of character, and capacity for self-reflection, generosity, prayer, and service, that I often forgot I was interacting with and serving alongside 20-year-olds.
During their 1–2-year commitment, young men and women aged 18-27 receive formation according to the four pillars outlined in Pastores Dabo Vobis, in such a way that diocesan propaedeutic programs around the country would be wise to learn from. Their apostolic work is missionary and charitable, their intellectual formation is sound, their spiritual lives flourish, and the personal mentoring they receive and the community life they participate in produces men and women of virtue and communion.
In Boston, a number of our young men and women who have shared in Christ in the City’s life while on mission trips have started to develop ministries and communities based on what they have experienced, and in which several of our seminarians also take part. I highly recommend Christ in the City’s Year of Service, Summer of Service, or mission weeks to any seminarian or young person so that they may be introduced to authentic Christian life and mission”
If you are interested in establishing a homeless ministry in your diocese as a weekly Apostolate, Christ in the City can help. Inquire with Blake above for more information.
