Preamble
As a young altar server, my perception of seminarians who normally come for either six (6) weeks or one (1) year apostolic work is that these people do not face challenges and they live a very comfortable life such that everything they need is provided for them without much stress. This was because they looked good in the eyes. I know that in the minds of some lay faithful, seminarians in the seminary are only praying and eating good food. On entering the seminary, I find that the life of a seminarian especially not in the parish but in the seminary is a life of many challenges and difficulties. It is not a life full of roses but a life mixed with difficult challenging tasks. This is because of the type of training given to seminarians.
On July 15th, 1563, the council of Trent ordered the establishment of a seminary in every diocese. A seminary is a school established for the academic, moral and spiritual training of candidates for the priesthood. According to St John Paul II Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis, the seminary life are human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral and the seminary assists the seminarians in these four areas in order to make the seminarians balance, holy, learned, and be good citizens of the world and effective priests of Jesus Christ. Therefore, a seminarian is expected to measure up in these areas of formation. Hence, the journey of a seminarian to sacred priesthood is the journey of “Men” and not “Boys”. By “Men”, I mean, those who have the will to follow the seminary program which is strenuous in nature and one must model himself to suit these activities.
Life in the Seminary and the Nature of its Activities
Life in the seminary is a life full of many activities and therefore, as a seminarian, you are expected to be versatile, that is, you must have the ability to do many things or serve many functions at a go. In the seminary, you have to follow the seminary program and not only that, you have to adapt to it and make it your guiding principle. Your life is regulated by the seminary program. There is this common adage normally used in the seminary which says, “Be where others are”. This is an indication that you cannot risk missing a single activity in the seminary. The seminary activities are organized such that you have to wake up every 5:00am or 5:15am and retire for the day by 10:00pm or 11:00pm. Bear in mind, the time might vary depending on the seminary.
From rising to the time for night rest, you are engaged in one form of activity to another; ranging from morning prayers (Divine office/lauds), meditation/exposition of the Blessed sacrament, morning mass, morning function, breakfast, school, afternoon prayer, lunch, siesta, after studies, games/manual labour, Rosary procession, Evening prayer (vespers), supper, night studies, and Night prayer (compline). After compline, a prayer that marks the beginning of quietness and reflection before rest at the end of the day comes at the beginning of the magna silencia (Holy Silence).
The seminary program also comprises musical practices, formation conferences and liturgical practices. The seminarian must be conscious of following the rules of meditation and silence and making noise at the hours of silence, can attract expulsion for the candidate. Life in the seminary is a life of promptness to every activity such that the seminarians are expected to be at the venue of each activity at least five (5) minutes before the activity begins. Going against the rules, attract corrective measures for the person which include but are not limited to manual labour.
The most challenging aspect of seminary life is the combination of the rigorous academic studies with the formation into catholic spirituality. The seminarian is schooled in philosophy and theology and he is expected to pass all his examinations. The seminarian who is inside the seminary thinks that he is really missing a lot in the world because he has left almost everything he values to follow Christ. Hence, these young men are faced with the challenges between following their desires and impulses or to follow the plan God has for them. With the modern society being highly “connected” as a result of sophisticated devices like iphones, iPods, MP3 players, WI-FI, Facebook, Whatsapp, Wee Chat, Email, etc, seminarians have to deal with each of these Challenges as there are restrictions in the use of those devices and in some places, an embargo is placed on the use of those devices.
The Beautiful aftermath of the Seminary Life
It is noteworthy to state here that, it is only those who persevere amidst these challenges that will enjoy the beautiful fruits of the seminary formation. In the words of St John Paul II, when he defined vocation, he said, “Do not be afraid of the radicalness of its demands, because Jesus, who loved us first, is prepared to give himself to you.” The sure thing is that if you allow the seminary formation and life to permeate into the fabrics of your daily life, you will live as a saint and die a saint and heaven will be your consolation. There is nothing more beautiful than the joy of heaven. This is the highest spiritual benefit of where the journey of seminary life which is rocky will lead you.
You will live your whole life as a priest or not even a priest being happy because you have all it takes to succeed in society. In terms of intellectual soundness, you are there, in terms of spiritual agility, you are balanced. Seminary life is holistic because it touches every sphere of human existence. And so, one will not find it very difficult to adapt to the society's way of life; hence, the seminary equips one to be able to face the society so evil like ours where immoral and inhuman acts are taken as the normal way of living.
Nonetheless, goodness does not repel goodness rather it attracts more goodness. With good morals and virtues acquired in the seminary, one who has lived this life will have the advantages of being able to listen to the signs of the time because of the act of reflection and mediation acquired in the seminary. Society requires promptness; that is, being time conscious. After years of struggling to keep the seminary activities and being at each activity in time, to be conscious of time will not be your problem and this shall be an advantage to you to explore things. When one after passing the crucibles of seminary life finally gets ordained as a priest, pastorship will be easy for him. He will enjoy the prestige of priesthood and it shall be one of his rewards; he will be a king, a prophet and a teacher to the people which are one of the highest professions one can pursue in life.
Conclusion
One of the most difficult things in life is to live a regimented and designed lifestyle which is not coming from you yourself. Seminary life is challenging in the sense that your liberty is only restricted to doing what the seminary rules and regulation stipulates. In the seminary, you sell your personal freedom for the sake of the kingdom of God and dispose of yourself to the voice of God through your formators. Man by nature wants to live a life that is free; where he does whatever he wants and wills but life in the seminary will teach you that you cannot do what you want to at all times.
Modeling oneself to such activity is very difficult but “the journey to the priesthood is not about ‘the now’ but about the ‘lasting now’ (cf. Rev Fr Sylvanus Undiekeye Attoh). The beauty of modeling oneself to such activity is that you will be refined in almost all aspects of life. You will simply become, “Jack of all trade and master of all”, which is what our society today requires from us for survival.
𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓: 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐲𝐢, 𝐇𝐲𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐄𝐛𝐮𝐤𝐚
Comments