By Dr. Scott Hahn

I’ve seen the face of the future, and it's brighter and more promising than ever my optimism allowed it to be.

I saw the future's face in the eternal city of Rome, where I worked during my university's spring break.

I'd left soon after the dismissal bell from my classes stateside. And it was a long flight from here to there - with an unplanned and sleepless stop in London. But I didn't have the luxury of indulging my jetlag, because a classroom of seminarians and young priests awaited me at the start of the school week. I would spend a full 24 hours teaching them over the next five days. And what hours those were - an intensive graduate seminar in biblical theology, with both lectures and lively discussions!

The face of the future is the face of those young men called to God's holy priesthood. There they are, brought to Rome from the four corners of the earth - many of them from our own homeland - and there in Rome they're praying and reading, pondering and researching, so that they can return home and proclaim the Word afresh to us and to our children and to our children's children.

My students in Rome were grateful for my teaching. Students usually are, and that is gratifying. But one man can only do so much.

Together, you and I - partners in the mission of the St. Paul Center - are doing so much more. We're preparing the people who will go out tomorrow and tell the good news in our parishes and schools, homes and neighborhoods. We're also preparing the technology they need for support in their mission - free online Bible studies, multimedia programs, books and tapes, journals and more. The technology works around the clock, even if you and I need to sleep every now and then. (My students in Rome, by the way, fell in love with our website, SalvationHistory.com)

We're also showing very ordinary Catholics how to put it all together. In the month of May, we launched a diocesan-wide program in Pittsburgh, at the invitation of the bishop, where we trained parish leaders in the means and methods of running a Bible study. There again, we encountered the face of the future. It’s bright, and it’s eager.

When I was in Rome, I spent most of my non-classroom time telling members of the media and the Vatican curia about all that you and I are accomplishing together. And I know that yours is the greater portion. With your prayers, donations, and words of encouragement, you are propelling us forward as we give deep biblical formation to tomorrow's scholars, priests and lay leaders.

I've seen the face of the future. It's bright, and I have you to thank.

May 2005