Although John Paul II published “Pastores dabo vobis” specifically for the formation of seminarians for Catholic priesthood, it nonetheless contains much wisdom regarding the formation of any young person on the cusp of full adulthood. John Paul outlines a framework of personal formation according to its human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral dimensions. I articulate those dimensions through the lens of a fourfold causal analysis, attending especially to the intellectual dimension and its proper activity, study. My thesis is that study—that is, the serious and diligent exercise of our innate capacity for truth—is the primary driver of successful personal formation.
