To those of you who are not SJS Seminarians, I wonder whether you have ever thought about what day to day life in the Seminary is really like.
The average day begins with Morning Prayer and Mass at 7:00am, followed by breakfast and classes. At noon seminarians gather in Chapel for a fifteen minute examen, followed by lunch and more classes after lunch. The day concludes with Evening Prayer and a Holy Hour at 5:00pm, followed by dinner.
Then there are formation evenings, meetings with spiritual directors and formation advisors, the process for evaluations, pastoral assignments, etc. Which does not include the special events on the calendar. Here’s how that looks for the next several weeks:
Jan 9-13 - Seminarian Retreat
Jan 13 - Knights of Columbus Degree Ceremonies
Jan 17 - Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity
Rector’s Conference (On Fatherhood and Faith)
Jan 19 - Boston Ordination to the Diaconate
Jan 20 - Saint Botolph Guild
Jan 22 - Board of Trustees Meeting and Saint Andrew Dinner
Jan 24-25 - All Seminarians in Washington D.C. for March for Life
Jan 27 - Presentation on Gifts of the Holy Spirit with Fr. Merdinger
Feb 3, 10, 17 - Presentations on Gifts of the Holy Spirit with Fr. Merdinger
Feb 7 - Rector’s Conference (Preparing for the Passion of Christ)
Feb 12 - International Food Night
Feb 13 - Ash Wednesday (Day of Recollection)
Feb 23 - Day of Recollection for Acolyte Candidates
Feb 24 - Installation of Acolytes with Bishop Coleman
All of this is so that by hard work and prayer these good men might discern whether God is calling them to serve as your parish priest and preparing their hearts and minds to do his will.
Please keep them in your prayers through all the busy hours of each of their days!
