Seminary, a seedbed of priestly formation
Perhaps, not all know what a seminary is. It comes from the Latin word “seminarium” which means “plant nursery” or “breeding ground.” Invariably,theseminary is a seedbed of the Catholic priesthood, a place where seeds are nurtured to grow into maturity. But before any seed can grow, it must have a firsthand encounter with soil. It is the meeting of seed and soil that gives impetus to growth. God is the soil, and the candidate is the seed. Furthermore, the seminary is a laboratory where not only the intellect is formed but also the heart. The hearts of men are formed to be pastors of souls.
A seminary is a place of encounter where candidates encounter the Lord in different and varying degrees, but the Lord must be encountered in the process of formation. A seminary is also a place where transformation takes place and a real change in the candidate begins to manifest.
It is a place for transformation where in every candidate there should be a change in attitude; change in mind; change in heart; change in values; change in beliefs; change in speech and even the philosophy of life.
It is about a total change in the candidate who wants to embrace the celibate priesthood of Christ without compromise and when the candidate is docile to this change and transformation, he enters the mystery of God. Suffice it to say that the candidate must change after an encounter with the Lord, because the priesthood is not all about academics or studying the scriptures, neither it is about praying the rosary and making various devotions.
All these constitute the training of the candidate, but he must go beyond reading the word of God and living the word of God and this can be achieved when the candidate embraces the capacity to live in the mystery of God and the capacity to dream dreams and live out those dreams according to the mystery of God he encountered.
Candidates for the priesthood must be ready to offer their lives to God. The vocation is not his, but it is the Lord who calls. In fact, a vocation to the priesthood is a mystery even the candidate himself cannot fathom. So, in the seminary, the candidate must be prepared to encounter the Lord every day and be ready to accept the changes required of him including changing his philosophy of life. As a formator and vocation director, I always remind the candidates that a priest must be a gentleman, a scholar, and a saint.
In the words of Pope Francis, the four pillars of seminary training are — spiritual, intellectual, community, and apostolic. All these must be embraced by the candidate. When the candidate loses sight of these, he experiences a crisis. Crises are natural to everyone. The seminarian is no exception. Sometimes a seminarian experiences a psychological crisis or family crisis etc. and this leads to a vocational crisis.
It is a place for vocation discernment and the long years of formation are designed to help the candidate have proper discernment. That is why the candidate himself is the first agent of formation and the formators are only there to accompany them in their spiritual journey.
The candidate should be willing to embrace his formation or be bold enough to move on in life. The seminary is not a refuge for those who lack the courage to accept God’s call in life whether it be the priesthood or something else. If a candidate is not willing to follow the chosen path or embrace the right attitudes, changes and beliefs, he should find another alternative where he can find fulfillment and happiness.
The truth is that God calls some men to the seminary but not to become priests. Probably He called them to deepen their faith and have an encounter with Him. God leads us one step at a time, and He leads us to where He is calling us to be in life. So, joining the seminary does not automatically make a person a priest. It is a place of discernment first and foremost.
The beautiful thing is that the seminary experience never leaves a man who has left it. The entire experience makes a lifelong impact on the individual. The good news is that many great people are ex-seminarians who never became priests but great leaders in society because of the experiences that made an impact on their life journey to the place where God called them to be.
“The truth is that God calls some men to the seminary but not to become priests.
“A vocation to the priesthood is a mystery even the candidate himself cannot fathom.