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From our Pastoral Intern Eben MacDonald
People often ask me “What is involved in seminary formation?” Seminaries
in the United States are guided by the Program of Priestly Formation, a
document developed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, now in
its fifth edition. This document is rooted in the documents of the
Second Vatican Council and it is designed to meet the challenges of
priestly formation in the third millennium. Formation of candidates for
the priesthood is focused on four areas or “pillars” of formation: 1)
Human Formation, 2) Spiritual Formation, 3) Intellectual Formation, and
4) Pastoral Formation. Let’s take a look at the first pillar: Human
Formation. The goal of human formation is the development of a mature
person, fully developed in his humanity, in imitation of Jesus. The
candidate should grow into becoming a bridge and not an obstacle for
others in their meeting with Jesus Christ. Just as Christ was the Word
made Flesh, the humanity of the priest is instrumental in mediating
Christ to people today. The priest is to be an instrument of Christ’s
grace to others, and in order to do that, he must be fully developed in
his own humanity.
Human formation aims to aid the growth of candidates for priesthood in
the following ways: helping him grow into a free person, who is free to
be who he is in God’s design, but does not pursue freedom detached from
others. A priestly candidate should be a man of solid moral character
with a well developed moral conscience, and a man open to and capable of
conversion. The candidate should be a prudent and discerning man; a man
of communion, and a good communicator. The candidate should also be a
person of affective maturity, whose life of feelings is balanced and
integrated into thoughts and values; a man who can live well with
authority, can relate well to others, and deal constructively with
conflict and stress. The candidate should take proper steps for physical
well-being and self-care: proper diet, exercise, and rest. The candidate
should be free of prejudice and willing able to work with people of
diverse cultural backgrounds. The candidate should be a good steward of
material possessions, a man who can comfortably take on the role of a
public person, and one who demonstrates an ability to live a healthily
chaste, celibate lifestyle. The seminary aids in the human formation of
candidates for priesthood through academic coursework, seminars and
workshops, an annual review process where the seminarian is provided
feedback on his development, and various seminary community activities.
The seminary also provides professional psychological services. Human
formation is viewed as the foundation of the other three pillars of
formation. |
