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“To provide a more solid foundation for the students' spiritual formation, and enable them to decide upon their vocation with full deliberation, it will rest with bishops to set apart a suitable interval of time for a more intensive spiritual preparation.” (Optatum Totius, 12)
Our formation program includes an initial or propaedeutic year called the Spirituality Year, in which all seminarians are given an introduction to the life of priestly service through community life and spiritual and intellectual formation. In addition to liturgical and private prayer, retreats, and apostolic activity, each seminarian in the Spirituality Year receives instruction in the Christian life by reading and praying through the entire Scriptures, and by studying the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and some of the great works on Catholic spirituality.
Thirty days of the year are devoted to a special apostolic experience in which Spirituality Year men go to various out-of-state locations to live with the poor for one month. The purpose of this “immersion experience” is to help form them religiously and humanly, especially by simplifying their lives and helping them find Christ “in his most distressing guise.” This experience of the Church's mission aims at fostering a deeper life of prayer and provides another kind of opportunity for discernment of the priestly vocation.
This two-semester course involves a careful reading of the first three pillars of the Catechism of the Catholic Church as an introduction to the dogmatic teaching of the Church. The history and significance of the Catechism will be considered as well.
As the capstone of the Spritualty Year, an Ignatian Thirty Day retreat is offered to deepen devotion to Christ, discernment, and the life of prayer.
The aim of this year-long course is to undertake a first reading of the canonical Scriptures. The manner of reading is lectio divina, i.e., a meditational reading in the same spirit that inspired the writing of the text. A minimum of scholarly apparatus is employed in this first literary and spiritual reading. Conducted in a tutorial style, the governing principles in all discussions of the text are the tradition and magisterium of the Church, the analogy of faith, and the interpretive voice of the Scriptures themselves. A thorough study of the Second Vatican Council document on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, is also initiated in the fall semester.
This course introduces the basic principles of Spiritual Theology as aids for growth in prayer, the way they are presented in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part IV, as well as a sampling of the great art and literature of the Catholic Church. The course aims at exposing students to the dynamism of contemplation, and proposes contemplation of the Trinity and the mystery of Christ as indispensable elements for fruitfulness in ministry and growth in spiritual maturity.
This course builds on the introduction received in the fall course. It surveys both classic and contemporary works on the spiritual life and applies them to priestly spirituality. The course also offers discussion of different kinds of prayer and spiritual movements found in the Church today.
This introduction to the life of priestly service in the Church focuses on two major documents, the Second Vatican Council's Presbyterorum ordinis, and Pastores dabo vobis by John Paul II. An introduction to the Liturgy of the Hours, its structure and practice, is also included. This course is offered in the fall semester.
This semester course, offered in the spring, includes the history and contents of three major constitutions of the Second Vatican Council: Sacrosanctum concilium, Lumen gentium and Gaudium et spes.
This course explores fundamentals of music, vocal technique, and introduction to liturgical music. Students will learn the essentials of music theory as well as their practical application for the Seminary's customs and repertoire, ranging from chant to contemporary music.