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IV. Liturgy, Prayer and Spiritual Life

1. Scheduled Community observances:

a. Daily observances:
i. Eucharist with Lauds: Cripta, 06:30 (Sundays 08:00 without Lauds, Saturdays 07:30).
ii. Rosary and Vespers: Cripta, 19:00. In preparation for this, all are encouraged to maintain an atmosphere of silence and prayer starting 18:30.

b. Weekly observances:
i. Saturday Eucharist: Cripta, 07:30. This is our weekly concelebration as called for in Ordinances I.1.
ii. A guest confessor comes on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month.
iii. Thursday Masses are offered for deceased Collegio alumni, staff and personnel.
iv. Thursday Holy Hour: Cripta, 18:30. Thursday is a day especially dedicated to the Eucharist and the Priesthood, as it reminds us of Holy Thursday, the Last Supper, the Institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood, the renewal of our Priestly Promises with our bishops, the Mass in Coena Domini, and the Feast of Corpus Christi.
Directory 68: “It is hoped that the priests entrusted with the guidance of communities would dedicate long periods of time to community adoration – for example, every Thursday…”

c. Monthly Recollection: 3rd Friday at 18:30 to Saturday 07:30 Morning Mass. Absence from the Recollection should be for truly grave reasons (Ordinances I. 3). As a courtesy, kindly advise the Spiritual Director if one is unable to attend any or all of the sessions.

d. Annual Retreat: from Thursday to Sunday of the week before classes start in October. Classes usually start on the first Monday after October 1 each year. Absence from the Annual Retreat should be for truly grave reasons (Ordinances I. 3).

2. If you cannot join the community Eucharist, you may celebrate private Masses in the first floor Oratory or at the side altar beside the Crypt’s Sacristy. Please reserve the time slots of 12:30-13:00 and 18:30-19:00 for concelebrations.
Pope Benedict XVI says: “To this end I join the Synod Fathers in recommending ‘the daily celebration of the Holy Mass, even when the faithful are not present’. This recommendation is consistent with the objectively infinite value of every celebration of the Eucharist, and is motivated by its unique spiritual fruitfulness. If celebrated in a faith-filled and attentive way, the Holy Mass is formative in the deepest sense of the word, since it fosters the priest’s configuration to Christ and strengthens him in his vocation” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 80)

3. Confession: each priest is encouraged to Confess frequently and regularly.
“Like all the faithful, the priest also needs to confess his sins and weaknesses. ‘The whole of priestly existence suffers an inexorable decline if by negligence or for some other reason a priest fails to receive the sacrament of penance at regular intervals…’ (JP2 Reconciliatio et Paenitentia)” Directory, 72.

4. Spiritual Direction: each priest is encouraged right from the start to have his own Spiritual Director and Confessor; this could be the official Collegio Spiritual Director, or some other priest he knows (including a fellow Collegio priest). Some practical suggestions follow:
“In order to contribute to the improvement of their spirituality it is necessary for priests to practice spiritual direction with respect to themselves, because with the assistance of accompaniment or spiritual counsel […] it is easier to discern the action of the Holy Spirit in each person’s life. By placing the formation of their soul in the hands of a wise confrere – the instrument of the Holy Spirit – they will develop, as of their first steps in the ministry, their awareness of the importance of not journeying in solitude along the ways of the spiritual life and pastoral commitment… Priests are to exercise complete liberty in choosing the person who may guide them” (Directory,73)

a. For Spiritual Direction to be effective, it is necessary that it is held regularly, perhaps at least once a month, and that the Spiritual Director he chooses also has in turn his own Spiritual Director.

b. It is the directee who seeks the director, and not the other way around. In other words, it is the directee who approaches the director (and not passively waits to be called), makes sure they meet on another day in case of conflict of an original schedule, initially proposes points for spiritual growth which the Spiritual Director can comment on, and so on.

c. If a priest has a Spiritual Director other than the Collegio Spiritual Director, he is highly encouraged to let the latter know who his Spiritual Director is, and to chat with the Collegio Spiritual Director once in a while as well.

d. One’s Confessor may or may not be the same as his Spiritual Director.

5. You may hang your alb in the Cripta narthex, using the hanger bearing your room number.

6. To borrow a liturgical vestment, book or vessel, please write the following on the Cripta sacristy logbook: your name, the item borrowed and the date borrowed and returned. Please return them immediately after use. Please do not bring out items used for daily and Sunday Masses.