Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Prayer Request...
May I ask that if you are reading this you would take some time today to pray for me. I am currently in the process of discerning where God would like me to go to seminary to study for the priesthood. I have pretty much narrowed it down to two possibilities...
A. I go through the Denver Archdiocese which is well known for their orthodox formation and diocese.
OR
B. I go through my own home diocese of Pueblo, which although this diocese is somewhat known for liberalism, we do not have our own seminaries (because we are poor). This means I would go through seminaries which many different dioceses send their students to. I have been told that these seminaries, although they have had troubled pasts, that they have "shaped" up and are producing good orthodox priests. I have seen a couple of these priests that have come out of these seminaries, and although they are not exactly what I would like to be as a priest, they seem to be quite orthodox and faithful to the Church. The seminaries I would most likely be sent to through my diocese are: Conception Seminary College in Conception, Missouri (first 4 years) and then to St. Meinrad School of Theology in St. Meinrad, Indiana (for 2-3 years I think). Have you heard about anything good or bad in any of these two seminaries? If so please leave a comment for my benefit---otherwise please just pray for me in this difficult decision of trying to follow the Lord on the Path He has set before me.
Thank you!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Certainly I will pray for you. But frankly I wouldn't consider a 'liberal' and any second-rate seminary because your faith will be 'water-down' with time. If you really want to be a holy priest - than I suggest St. Thomas Acquinas Seminary Winona
God bless you and guide to the truth, Telesia

Anonymous said...

i've been reading your blog for about a year and orthodoxy seems very important to you; i wont offer any suggestions, because I suspect you already know the answer.

I will pray for you.

God bless you brother.

Martin

Anonymous said...

First off, I want to commend you for your courage in exploring a call to the priesthood in this oftentimes iconoclastic world.

Secondly, speaking as a past seminarian and a young Catholic who strives for orthodoxy himself (The reason I say I STRIVE for orthodoxy is that there will never be an end to learning the tenets of our wonderful and expansive Faith), I would have to suggest that you stay in your own diocese--It's kind of a "be true to your school" mentality...you don't want to just jump on a bandwagon-- YOU ARE a solution to perpetuating and spreading the message of Christ in your local Church. The people of the Pueblo diocese, in one sense, need you more than the people of the Denver diocese (which I agree is great). I'm sure Denver's vocation director would confirm this.

Thirdly, speaking as an alumnus of Conception and a current employee (I'm the Director of Communications), I can vouch for their orthodoxy and adherence to the PPF (program of priestly formation) which you can find here: http://www.usccb.org/vocations/ProgramforPriestlyFormation.pdf. At any rate, I assure you it's not liberal--I come from the Wichita Diocese which is also well known for it's orthodoxy.

Moreover, if you are already a strong Catholic who daily strives for orthodoxy and stays close to our Lord in daily prayer and the Eucharist, it's silly to think that your faith will be watered down by 'liberalism'. If you enter the seminary, no matter which one, take everything you do to prayer, including your studies, and our Lord will guide you according to his will and give you a sensitivity to anything that seems out of whack. This applies even to an 'orthodox' seminary--there is no easy ride, brother, and the devil can get you off track in other ways just as easy at Denver as anywhere else if you become complacent. Pride is a very dangerous thing and, unfortunately, it's an easy trap for our human nature. Rather, take the advice of our saintly forbearers and be humble in everything you do, and you will truly be witnessing Christ. Put yourself into your formation and pray constantly and your spiritual growth will abound, trust me.

I hope some of this helps you in your discernment and if you would like to discuss anything else, feel free to e-mail me at jthome@conception.edu.
Pax.

Anonymous said...

God bless you in your discernment. I think you should remain affiliated with your home diocese and listen carefully to what your vocations director suggests. Trust that he and his (your) bishop are guided by the Holy Spirit. Pray, listen and obey. Saint Meinrad is an excellent seminary. Go there and visit, stay for a few days, if possible, during a time while school is in session and the students are there. Pray with them, go to Mass with them, eat meals with them: you will discover whether or not it is right for you. Also, read their website. www.saintmeinrad.edu

PBXVI said...

Telesia and Martin,
Thank you both very much for the prayers!

Jarrod Thome,
Thank you very much for your input on this--ecspecially with your experiance and thorough knowledge of Conception. I may contact you later! Thank you again!

Anonymous,
Thank you for your input! How are you familiar with St. Meinrad school of Theology? Did you go there or work there or know someone that went there? Is the theology sound and faithful to the Church's teachings? Any more information would be great.

Anyone feel free to email me at ilovethepope@msn.com


God Bless you all!