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From our Pastoral Intern Eben MacDonald
Finally,
after all the years of prayer and discernment, and after jumping through
all the hoops of all the forms and applications, psychological and
medical exams, and personal interviews, I entered Saint John’s Seminary
in the Fall of 2006. I began in the seminary’s Pre-Theology program
which is designed to introduce men with an undergraduate college degree
into seminary formation and prepare them to study theology at a graduate
level. Pre-theology was heavily focused on the study of philosophy which
gives one the mental framework to begin the study of theology.
Entering the seminary required a number of adjustments. I had to adjust
to the transition from living in my own home to living in a small dorm
room with other men and sharing a bathroom. It may sound trivial, but
when you reach my age and have lived a certain way for many years,
something small like sharing a bathroom can be a big deal. I also had to
adjust to living by the seminary schedule. Whereas before I was able to
somewhat live by my own timetable, now I would have to adhere to someone
else telling me where I should be and when. Another big adjustment was
giving up my salary from my job. I didn’t make a tremendous amount of
money before, but I was able to live comfortably. Now I would have to
live on a small monthly stipend provided by the Archdiocese. A
seminarian has his tuition, room and board provided for, but still has
to take care of his own personal expenses such as car insurance,
clothing, personal items, and other expenses, i.e. movies, going out to
eat, etc. The monthly stipend helps, but does not go very far! So a
seminarian has to learn to live more simply, and learn to control
expenses. Perhaps the biggest adjustment of all was adjusting to
becoming a student again at the age of 43. I graduated from college in
1987 so when I entered the seminary it had been nearly twenty years
since I had set foot in a classroom! I was very nervous and anxious
about my ability to handle the academic rigors of the seminary.
A short time after I began in seminary, I found that I was able to
adjust fairly easily to seminary life. I didn’t come across any “deal
breakers” that would cause me to leave formation, including the
academics. All of the fears I had during my discernment and application
process just seemed to melt away over time. I had a sense of peace and
calm that indicated to me I was right where God wanted me to be at this
point in my life. While seminary life is not without its daily struggles
and challenges, God gave me the grace to meet those challenges. I felt
truly blessed to finally have the opportunity to be in seminary
formation. |
