Seminary Life

The spiritual life of the seminary shares both similarities and differences to other Christian communities. In some ways it could be compared to a monastery. Every day of the week starts with meditation (compulsory for the first two years) and Morning Prayer of the Church. However, unlike a monastery the prayer of the Church does not shape the entire seminary timetable. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is appropriately both spiritually and literally at the centre of each each day given that this will be the heart of any good priest’s spiritual life. For this same reason we pray a Holy Hour together each Thursday. For the most part the official prayer of the Church, or the Divine Office, is prayed alone by the seminarians, unless they choose to pray it together. Likewise other devotions and prayers are, for the most part, said alone. In this way the seminary reflects something of the realistic situation of most priests who live and pray alone in their parishes. This spiritual independence is something which needs to be prepared for and seminary is the place for that preparation.

Every seminarian is given a spiritual director who they can speak to in absolute confidence concerning their ongoing spiritual development. Their spiritual director will help them to establish a pattern of prayer and spirituality appropriate to their year in seminary and personal situation. The seminary’s spiritual directors are also able to hear the confessions of seminarians as they are not involved in the ongoing assessment of seminarians. Every year seminarians take part in a regular days of recollection and also participate in a five day silent retreat.

There is a wide variety of different spiritualities and worship styles present in the seminary community. The rector, Fr David, tells the new men when they arrive that he doesn’t mind how they pray, only that they do pray and that they develop a personal friendship with Christ.

The spiritual life of a seminarian should not be seen as something completely separate to the other aspects of seminary life. A seminarians pastoral work in hospitals, schools, prisons or care homes should feed into the life of pray. What is taught and learnt in lectures is not done for its own sake but is at the service of growing in knowledge of the truth so that seminarians can themselves draw closer, and draw others closer, to the one who is the Truth. Finally, it is impossible for there to be any true motivation for human growth unless one is seeking to be the best version of themselves for the Lord and for those whom we will be serving in the name of the Lord.

Seminary is a place where friends for life are made! It goes without saying that it is highly likely seminarians will meet similar and  like minded individuals amongst those who have also responded to the call of God in priesthood. Here at Oscott College the community, both staff and students, are incredibly diverse in a number of different ways. Perhaps most importantly there is a great diversity in spiritualities but the diversity extends also to ages, backgrounds, ethnic and national origins and academic abilities and qualifications. This gives the college community a real vibrancy and means that there are a great breadth of non-timetabled community activities and events arranged throughout the college year. Community life is encouraged as one of the most important aspects of the formation process. For this reason it finds a more formal expression in the house group system. A house group is a small group composed of seminarians from each year who meet together regularly for prayer and social occasions. and even go on a short holiday together once a year!

From the common room bar, to the table-tennis table. From the TV room to the sports field. From afternoon tea to community nights there never seems to be moment when there isn’t something social going on within the college grounds. In fact, one of the things that surprises new seminarians most about life at Oscott is that rather than returning home in the holidays in order to pick up their social lives from where they left off, they more often tend to return for something of rest!

The process of formation is not about completing an obstacle course in order to reach ordination as though it were the prize at the end. Nor is it about meeting expectations and participating in the life of the community as though they were the ends in themselves. Rather it is about seeking to grow holistically as an individual into the best version of oneself possible; spiritually, humanly, academically, and pastorally. Given that formation involves the whole man, we can draw two conclusions. Firstly, the seminarian is, on the most fundamental level, in charge of his own formation. Others can only help him in this process but the responsibility cannot be taken from him. Secondly, formation includes the private and the personal just as much as it involves the visible and the public. Building and maintaining relationships with friends and family outside of the seminary is therefore an important part of formation. Good self-care, diet and exercise is part of formation. Even spending days off and the summer holidays well is part of formation!

It is for this reason that the College seeks, without removing the  the role of expectations and assessments, to create a space for men in formation to take appropriate charge and responsibility for their own formation. At times seminary has been compared to a boarding school for adults but it is in the area of personal life and responsibility that such a comparison falls most heavily.

One of the most important signs that must be present in a man who thinks God is calling him to the priesthood is a desire to serve his people. The college organises different weekly pastoral placements each year for every seminarian in order to ensure that a well rounded pastoral formation takes place. Seminarians also go on a month long parish placement once a year as well as a six month parish placement halfway through their formation. Very often these opportunities serve to build on the experience of apostolic work which seminarians were involved in and passionate about before they started seminary. Even during the years of formation in the seminary it is not uncommon for seminarians to be involved in apostolic initiatives, striving towards social justice and evangelisation. This may include serving the homeless, prayer and witness outside of abortion clinics or street evangelisation.