Community Life
DESCRIPTION
“The experience of seminary community plays a significant role in the personal and spiritual growth of seminarians. The give-and-take between those who share the priesthood as a common vocation sets the right context for formation. Such interaction provides mutual support, promotes tolerance and fraternal correction, and gives an opportunity for the development of leadership and talent among seminarians. It also can motivate seminarians to develop a sense of self sacrifice and a spirit of collaboration. The seminarians and faculty form the heart of the seminary community, and this reality needs careful cultivation so that the distinctive aims of seminary formation can be achieved.” (PPF #304) The seminary is a faith community comprised of students, faculty, and staff. This community finds its source and sign of unity in the liturgy, particularly in the Eucharist. From this source the community engages in the work of theological and pastoral education, which fosters personal and inter relational growth. On the human level, the Seminary brings together men of varied ages, temperaments, talents and cultures, ethnic and professional backgrounds. This diversity, reflective of the universal church, creates a climate where mutual respect, responsible communication, and purposeful collaboration may take place. The challenge for the seminary is to profit from this diversity while preserving the specific and distinctive focus of seminary life, which is priestly formation.
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In conjunction with the academic, liturgical, and pastoral programs, which comprise the seminary program, an essential element that the community is called to foster is an environment of freedom and responsibility, rooted in Christian charity. Seminarians, collaborating with those entrusted with their formation (Rector, Director of Students, Formation and Field Education Teams, etc.), are expected to share in the daily activities of the seminary community. This overriding principle is at the heart of seminary life which assists in the formation of mature candidates for the Catholic Priesthood.
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