Freshman Orientation

This past week, I returned to the Seminary to assist with Transition, a program established to orient the new seminarians as they join this community. (I will still be involved at St. Anne's - more to come on that one!) I remember going through Transition last year. Truthfully with all of the changes in my own life last August, I feel I may have learned more about life in the Seminary this year as opposed to last!

Transition consists of significant information about life in the Seminary and the four pillars of priestly formation. (You can read more about that here and here.) In addition, there is a practical element to Transition – where the library is, how to handle certain situations, going over the seminarian handbook, etc. The hope is that by the end of these days, new seminarians are a little more comfortable with the Seminary and themselves and feel free to ask others if they have questions.

The main focus of the presentations is the four pillars of priestly formation – spiritual, human, academic and pastoral. To present these, Transition includes the following presentations that address a variety of issues related to seminary life (with a brief summary):
-Introduction to the Priestly Formation: On Saturday night, Fr. Peter spoke about the need for seminarians to focus on four specific areas of their own lives in these days ahead: a) the identity of the priest; b) the call to holiness; c) the four pillars and d) the importance of community. Fr. Peter’s talk and presence provided the foundation for the rest of Transition.
-Spiritual Formation: Here, Msgr. Fink and Jason Grisafi, second theologian, presented the spiritual formation program here in the Seminary. This included the importance of daily prayer – private and communal, devotions, Marian prayer, a spiritual director, retreats and so on. Spiritual formation, the work of growing closer and closer to God, provides the foundation for the rest in the life of the seminarian and the priest.
-Liturgical Formation: I worked with Msgr. DeGrocco in this area to talk about both the practical elements of liturgy, the public prayer of the Church as well as some of the internal and personal reflection that must take place. (No one visibly fell asleep during the talk, so that was a good sign!)
-Academic Formation: Sr. Mary Louise Brink and Fortunatus spoke about the importance of study not just for the sake of passing classes but for effective and meaningful ministry as priests in the Church. School work is a large part of this process and Sr. Mary Louise and Fortunatus challenged seminarians to help stay focused on their studies.
-Community Life: Msgr. Swiader, Vice Rector (and my Advisor) and Michael Edathil worked to talk about the opportunities and challenges of human formation, with a special focus on community life. Living in community offers tremendous opportunities for growth and, truthfully, can present some challenges on that as well!
-Pastoral Formation: Msgr. Swiader and Lawrence Onyegu presented this final pillar of formation – the one, some may say, that brings the rest together. Lawrence spoke about his pastoral year at SS. Cyril and Methodius citing how significant his previous work in the seminary prepared him for this experience and how much he learned while on pastoral year.

In addition, we prayed the Liturgy of the Hours as we regularly do at the Seminary, shared meals, and gathered informally to share a little about life here at the Seminary.

Coming to the Seminary for the first time as a seminarian can be daunting. Transition is one effort to alleviate some of the anxiety that can come with this move. I realize how much of a help
it was last year – and how much of a help it has been as I begin my second year in the Seminary!

Today begins our Opening Retreat, led by Bishop Murphy. As we begin this time of prayer, take some time to pray for the new seminarians here at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception as they take a huge step towards priesthood.