Sister Patty Helps Seminarians Become Better People

As a 17-year counselor at the St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, Sister Patty Lasher plays a critical role in helping seminarians become the best priests they can be.

She’s a difference-making part of a unique formation team at the school, which focuses on men studying for the priesthood. St. Meinrad Archabbey, a Benedictine monastery that operates the Seminary and School of Theology, is one of only two archabbeys in the United States.

As a Sister of St. Benedict of Ferdinand, Indiana, the irony runs deep for Sister Patty, as her Benedictine community of women religious is only a few miles from the St. Meinrad community of Benedictine men.

So she fits easily into the St. Meinrad way of life.

But what’s highly important to her “is being part of someone else’s growth, watching their potential being developed, and watching people grow.”

She’s in the perfect spot for that as a member of the human formation segment of St. Mein-rad’s four-pillar formation staff. The other pillars are intellectual, pastoral, and spiritual formation.

“My pillar is all about who these men are as humans,” said Sister Patty, “and how to help them become a better human being.”

A licensed mental health counselor, she thinks it’s a privileged position to participate in that process.

Father Brendan Moss, formation dean and director of pastoral formation, said, “Priests are men that dedicate their whole life to their relationship with Christ, to the work of discipleship, which is a continual conversion. That’s what Sister Patty’s work is all about, so these men might be priests who serve God and God’s people. To do that, we have to know ourself. What Sister Patty really does is help seminarians know themselves.”

Sister Patty helps aspiring priests examine their strengths and weaknesses, and how they might help or hinder them as they serve God’s people. How might the truth of their life’s experience help them, or limit them?

Father Brendan points out, “The beautiful thing about Sister Patty’s relationship with the student is that it’s professional, in a protected place, and it’s not judgmental. She helps them in the journey to better self understanding, and that’s not easy work.

“Students have said to me, on multiple occasions, ‘She will not let me get away with something,’ or ‘She will hold me accountable.’ That’s particularly important, because in her work to help people better understand themselves, the challenge is to reach an appropriate level of authenticity. And authenticity is a necessary attribute for ministry.

“The gift she brings as a counselor is the treasure of Benedictine continual conversion. With God, we are pure potential. Her work is helping people grow into that potential.”

Sister Patty’s counseling sessions with students are confidential.

“My best guess,” says Father Brendan, “is that Sister Patty has affected the lives of hundreds of people. Her impact goes far beyond St. Meinrad. She has been affecting the lives of people in dioceses all across the United States, and much further. That’s a powerful impact. Her work not only has present-day benefit, but also reaches into the future.  Her work with seminarians today helps ensure good and holy priests in the years to come.

“Her impact is very much representative of the Sisters of St. Benedict at Monastery Immaculate Conception. They have fulfilled the needs of the church where the church has asked them to do so.”

Sister Patty says the issues that seminarians discuss with her could be anything, from addictions to family issues. They are all very open to working on them to become the best priests they can be in their years at the school.

“I think I see these men at their very best,” says Sister Patty. “They’re open and sincere. I don’t think there’s a more privileged place. I appreciate that it’s part of something bigger.

“I think about what St. Benedict said in his Rule. When you’re forming people, it’s like removing rust from a vessel. Do it gently, so you don’t harm the vessel.

“When I look at people, I see potential. Part of what I do is help that individual see what I see. Sometimes people think they are never going to get through a situation. Part of counseling is seeing the person’s gifts and discussing how they can use them to get where they want to go.

“It’s about empowering them to do what’s necessary to be who they want to be. And getting them to realize they have everything they need to do so, as God put those gifts within them.”

A gift Sister Patty has is a delivery style that is as believable as can be. She speaks softly at just the right times, with uncanny inflection and sincere concern. Her mannerisms combine in a way to make one want to listen, and to quickly realize how sensible her words are. Then, it’s clearly logical to take the next step on the personal path she’s laid out with you. Countless men have successfully taken that next step, and many to follow.

“When men come back as ordained priests and tell me how happy they are, I take a lot of pride in that, just because I’ve been a part of what prepared them,” says Sister Patty. “The most rewarding thing is they have a wonderful life as a priest. I can live on that for the rest of my life, that’s really all I need to know.”

Her biggest challenge is helping the seminarians be patient with their own journey, to help them appreciate their incremental growth, and to have them realize their growth is life-long. All yearn to be a finished product when leaving St. Meinrad, but Sister Patty knows it’s but one step in a life journey.

“It’s not that I bring so much, I’m just helping them to see what’s inside of themselves already. They might attribute something to me, but they do all the work,” she says.

Still, the encouragement, the motivations, and the insights Sister Patty brings lays the foundation for the men to be empowered.

And, as she reasons, when they come back later and are happy with their lives, what’s better than that?