Mark Hellinger

The Strange and Joyful Life

Mark Hellinger is currently discerning the priesthood at Simon Brute College seminary and Marian University in Indianapolis.

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A Year in the Eternal City

It’s hard to believe, but almost a year has passed since I last saw my beautiful homeland (the United States) and came to Europe. A lot has changed in that […]

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Why you need a rule of life

Socrates famously stated that the unexamined life is not worth living. After 2,500-ish years, those words still ring true. However, the Christian Event (the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus […]

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Are you ready to change?

“Put off the old man who is corrupted according to the desire of error, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind: and put on the new man, who […]

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The Emerald City and fidelity to Christ

Here we are, in an awkward time of the year. Christmas is over, and now it just seems as though we need to sit tight and wait for Lent to […]

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The democracy of the dead: intellectual formation

When I think about the intellectual dimension of priestly formation, my mind instantly turns to my favorite chapter of G.K. Chesterton’s “Orthodoxy,” entitled, “The Ethics of Elfland.” (As an aside, […]

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Pastoral formation: jumping into reality

There were many opportunities for me to grow while I was working construction and out in the field during my high school and early college summers. A common situation for […]

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Human formation and becoming a bridge

One of the titles for a pope that I have always found interesting is “Pontifex Maximus.” This title is translated to “the greatest bridge-builder.” I, of course, have never seen […]

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The spiritual dimension — living in the presence of a friend

One of my favorite aspects of seminary life is one that took me a long time to get used to: that I live in the same house as Jesus in […]

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The four dimensions of formation

The church, in her 2,000-year existence, has acquired a copious amount of wisdom. Part of that wisdom is found in the approach to seminary formation that the last century has […]