St. Mary’s Spiritual Center — Baltimore, MD

	The Campaign for St. Mary's Spiritual Center & Historical Site St. Mary's Spiritual Center Baltimore, MD St. Mary's Spiritual Center is in the historic district of Seton Hill and the Center’s Old Seminary Chapel— the first example of neo-gothic church architecture in the United States— is a focal point for the neighborhood. The chapel is the only remaining component of the seminary, which was located on the property from 1791 until 1969. Today the Old Seminary Chapel is a sacred space for group programs including Mass, days of prayer and recollection, and Progoff Intensive Journal workshops. about St. Mary's Spiritual Center, click here to visit their website.

Seeking the path he was called to
Fr. John McMurry’s parents were both active in the Catholic Church while he was growing up. "Both my parents were frequent communicants," he remembers. "My father served as an usher at church and was active in the St. Vincent DePaul Society and the Holy Name Society. My mother was active in the Mother's Circle and served as president of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women. My father was always interested in religious discussions. As foreman of the composing room of the Methodist Publishing House, he had many opportunities for such discussion."

Fr. McMurry grew up in Nashville, TN, where he and his family were the only Catholics in the neighborhood. His older brother (a retired Sulpician) entered the seminary, but Fr. McMurry says he did not consciously choose to follow in his footsteps. "I had an inkling in high school that the Catholic Church had the secret to the universe—that it contained what was really important—and I wanted to get at it," he says.

He attended St. Ambrose College in Davenport, IA, where the spiritual director suggested he consider joining the Sulpicians, but he felt strong loyalty to his diocese. After he was ordained in 1956, he returned to Tennessee, where he served in the Diocese of Nashville for 12 years, seven of those years at the Cathedral.

Something was missing
After he had worked for several years as a parish priest, Fr. McMurry felt something vital was missing. He decided to consider the Sulpicians. Then, while on leave for health problems, he became aware of the work of New York psychologist Ira Progoff who developed a program to encourage personal and spiritual growth through structured writing exercises. His work with the program helped him overcome over his physical symptoms and find a way to answer the questions he continued to have about what he was meant to do with his life.

"Through the writing and reflection I did in the Progoff Intensive Journal Program, I was called more deeply into the priesthood. I discovered that it was not academic but spiritual direction and formation, which has always been a strong Sulpician tradition, which I was called to. God led me to this," he explains.

Finding purpose and joy in spiritual direction
"What we do here at St. Mary’s Spiritual Center is not academic teaching. It runs deeper than the head," he notes. "We are open to all spiritual seekers. The early Sulpicians had an awareness of Jesus as an ‘interior reality.’ Through spiritual direction, group activities, and the journal program we strive to help people evoke Christ and become more conscious of his presence within them."

Photos by Alan H. Niebanck.

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