Father Joseph Kirkconnell is a professor of Evangelization and Catechesis, and Sacraments of Initiation. He also serves as spiritual director for graduate seminarians. Fr. Joseph grew up in the Cayman Islands, which is under the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Detroit. This last year he finished his Ph.D. in Catechetics at the Catholic University of America.
What excites you most about the Evangelization and Catechesis course you’re teaching and how do you communicate that excitement to your students?
The way that John Paul II defines catechesis in Catechesi Tradendae (Catechesis in our Time), and I love his definition, [is] that catechesis is not only putting people in touch with Jesus Christ, but in deeper intimacy and communion with Christ. We think of catechesis as information, but he's saying that's only part of it. We have to know and understand the faith, but catechesis is really being formed in communion with Christ and going deeper. So evangelization is introducing someone to Christ, helping them to know him, believe in him and commit their life to him in an initial way. But then catechesis is really meant to be taking someone deeper to grow as a disciple and follow him on the way. It’s formation as a whole, not just intellectual information, or ideas, but really conforming our life to him. One of the things that Pope Francis has emphasized, which is in that definition, is the whole accompaniment part—that catechesis is really mentoring and apprenticeship (i.e. discipling). In the Directory for Catechesis, it talks about the different tasks of catechesis, and leading to knowledge of the faith is just one of those tasks, and even that knowledge is meant to foster an experiential knowledge of Christ through his commandments and teaching. The teaching is meant to help us encounter the mystery of faith.
What do you love about accompanying young seminarians as a spiritual director at Sacred Heart? What have you learned about yourself?
I really do love spiritual direction. It's a very personal, interior process. Spiritual direction is like being a spiritual father and accompanying others; it's a kind of mentorship. I’m guiding them to take one step closer to the Lord. You also get to see how God is working in each individual person. When you think of the Church as the body of Christ, every part is unique and the Lord is working in people's hearts in different ways. It's really beautiful, and a privilege, to see what God is doing in each person’s heart and life. When I do spiritual direction, I'm always blessed. I find that God often speaks to me through spiritual directees about things I might be struggling with or things that have been on my mind. The blessings go both ways. I really believe the Lord, the Holy Spirit, gives me some insight, words and questions to ask during spiritual direction, but then he speaks to me too.
This past year I was the undergraduate spiritual director so I was in charge of spiritual formation for the men first entering into seminary. With the passing of Monsignor Trapp, I'm now moving into the position of graduate spiritual director. I have big shoes to fill, but I really feel the Lord has prepared me and blessed me. I certainly have lots to learn and lots to grow in, but I feel very much at peace about it, and I believe Monsignor Trapp is also interceding.
How did Monsignor Trapp impact you as a spiritual director?
Monsignor Trapp was not my spiritual director in seminary, but I did spiritual direction with him on some occasions like the pilgrimage to the Holy Land. As a seminarian you knew that he was a holy man. Even in those few instances where I did have spiritual direction with him, and in his homilies especially, it was always like he was speaking to you. The Holy Spirit really used him. I don't know this absolutely for a fact, but I believe he had a gift of knowledge where the Holy Spirit gave him insight into what was going on in my own heart. He was always able to give wisdom and advice specifically to what I needed to hear. He was joyful and loved to laugh. He was very humble and just loved the Lord and loved people. He was a great brother priest too. When I transitioned and came back to the seminary, he was very kind and generous and helped me to feel comfortable and mentored me. One of the things he organized was night prayer on Tuesday nights for the priests that work and live at the seminary. We would share a challenge of the day and a blessing as part of the Liturgy of the Hours. It was just a simple way to bring us together as priests.
What are the most common reads you recommend to your spiritual directees?
Besides the Scriptures, there’s a book on personal prayer by Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB and Fr. Tom Acklin, OSB called Personal Prayer: A Guide to Receiving the Father’s Love. It’s about being honest and vulnerable in prayer before the Lord and not thinking that you have to have everything perfect before going to the Lord. Instead, we should invite Jesus right into those areas in our hearts that need healing and let him lift us up. One that I’ve actually only recently been reading is Abandonment to Divine Providence by Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade. Father Jacques Phillippe’s books as well are excellent. They’re short, but lots of wisdom and insight. There are several Bob Schuchts books that I tend to recommend that explore wounds and how they affect our spiritual life. Sr. Miriam [Sr. Miriam James Heidland, SOLT] as well.
What do you say to people that are hesitant to address old wounds in their spiritual lives?
I think the main thing I would say is that it’s always something to approach with gentleness, mercy, patience, and wait on God’s timing. We don’t want to force someone along that way; you have to gently guide them and lead them. Ultimately they have to want it and choose it when they’re ready. The guarding of our heart is good and bad. On the one hand, it’s what protects us, what helps us survive and get through things, but it can also prevent us from letting God in as well. So much of spiritual direction is a lot of listening and waiting and asking questions that can help lead others to that realization without trying to strip things away or force someone to face something before they’re ready to—helping them grow in faith, trusting the Lord that he really will heal and provide. He doesn’t want to leave us in our woundedness. He really is the divine physician. It’s really following the Holy Spirit’s lead and asking the Holy Spirit to guide it—he’s the real spiritual director anyway.
What do you see as the biggest hurdles facing men trying to enter the priesthood?
I don’t think this is specific to men, but the way the world is addicted to technology and social media, which causes us to always be going from one thing to the next. We’re not able to just be still, and silent, and receive. There’s always a need for some sort of stimulation. That can be a big challenge. Another hurdle, and I don’t know if it's unique to our age, is the idea that we have to produce or be perfect in order to be loved. Coming to the knowledge of being the beloved son or daughter of the Father in Christ is a tremendous gift, but many of us find it difficult to believe and receive.
What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about seminarians?
Well, this is more of a misconception about seminary and the purpose of it, but I think sometimes people think that you have to know one hundred percent that they’re going to be a priest before they are ready to enter seminary, but seminary is for discernment. It’s more about whether God is calling me to begin this deeper and more focused discernment, to really take time apart to focus on whether he is calling me to priesthood. I think another misconception about seminary and priesthood is that somehow your life is going to be less happy or “less than,” but if you visit the seminary the guys are happy, and they are normal! It’s a real joy and happiness that comes from knowing Jesus Christ and spending time with him in prayer in a community that is trying to do the same. It’s a real brotherhood. Yes, there are struggles and trials, but every vocation has trials and requires sacrifice and has its own forms of suffering, struggle, the cross. When you come to visit the seminary you realize that the guys are joyful, they’re happy, they love their life. Because when you’re giving your life to the one who is love of course you’re not living without love. It is a really great life. I love being a priest. Yes there have been challenges, I am not perfect, but God always provides and sustains you through the crosses you have to carry, and you become better through it. I think that's a big misconception that somehow seminarians and priests are living without love. And that’s not to say we don't have loneliness at times, but again, that's when we go to Christ because he's the only one that can really fill that part of our hearts.