According to the “Decree on Priestly Training” of the Second Vatican Council, seminary life is the entire program in which a person with the gift of vocation to the priesthood is being trained and formed as future minister of the Church. It further states that “the entire training of the students should be oriented to the formation of the true shepherds of souls after the model of our Lord Jesus Christ, teacher, priest and shepherd.”
As a response to this exhortation of the Second Vatican Council, the Pope Paul VI Minor Seminary offers a holistic formation in the seminary life. Thus, seminary life focuses on five major aspects of formation, namely, Community Life, Human Formation, Intellectual Formation, Pastoral Formation and Spiritual Formation (CHIPS). Community Life. Seminarians are formed to be in a community and to foster good relationship with other persons. This is to prepare them for their ministry in the community of the Church. The vocation to priesthood grows within the community of faith, hope and love in the context of seminary life and formation. Human Formation. Seminary life is an avenue for a person to develop his personality and identity for the priesthood. A seminarian is expected to share his whole self by sharing his talents and skills for the development and growth of the entire community. Intellectual Formation. As a requirement for ordination, a seminarian undergoes two major studies, namely, philosophical studies and theological studies. The philosophical studies are taught in such a way that the students are, first of all, led to acquire a solid and coherent knowledge of man, the world and of God. The theological studies are taught in way that seminarians will correctly draw out Catholic doctrine and make it the food of their own spiritual lives and be ready to communicate them in a way suited to men of our day. Pastoral Formation. Following the examples of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, all seminarians are being formed to be ready for pastoral ministries in all levels of communities. They are to be carefully instructed in the art of directing souls, whereby they will be able to bring all the sons of the Church to a fully conscious and apostolic Christian life and to the fulfillment of the duties of their state of life. They are trained to have good dialogue with men, such as the ability to listen to others and to open their hearts and minds in the spirit of charity. Spiritual Formation. Seminarians are taught in the seminary to seek Christ in the faithful meditation on God’s Word, in the active participation in the sacred mysteries of the Church, especially in the Eucharist and in the Liturgy of the Hours. Through his prayer life, seminarian builds an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ who called him to the priestly vocation. All the other four aspects of seminary formation mentioned above, should be rooted on the spiritual life of a seminarian. |