Mark Joshua A.

Demate January 02, 2022

II-AB Philosophy Existentialism, Phenomenology, and Post - Modernism
To be Formed

Seminarians are young men who responded to God’s call to the sacred vocation toward

the priesthood, they are staying inside the Seminary to be formed and to be ready for their

future ministry as a pastor of the Church, they will shepherd the flock whom God will entrust

to them if they will be ordained as a priest of the Roman Catholic Church.

As a seminarian who is being formed inside the seminary for almost 4 years, I would say

that being one is not easy as eating peanuts and I think it is because of the essence that a

seminarian possessed; generally, that essence is to be formed into three actualities, first is to be

formed as a human being, second is to be formed as a Christian and Third is to be formed with

the image and likeness of Jesus, who called us to take this path towards priesthood.

The first is to be formed as a human being, but of course, seminarians are already

human beings, so meaning what I am saying is that, human beings who are seminarians must

act as authentic human beings and that is to be disciplined in all things that he is doing, saying

and thinking, he must also be open and true to his personality and others, obedient to the civil

law that is being imposed to him and lastly, he is ought to do what is right and to avoid evil;

that is some of the necessary traits seminarians must have to be formed as a human being.

Secondly is to be formed as a Christian, we all know that to be a Christian is to live in

the name of Love like what had Jesus had said, and that is to Love God and to Love others

especially those who have wronged you and also seminarians are ought to obey the Divine Law

that God had given us. As a Seminarian who is a future pastor of the Roman Catholic Church,

we are expected to be formed first as a True Christian so that in the future we will be able to

form others to be true Christians shepherding the flock whom God will entrust to them; as the

saying goes: “We cannot give what we do not have.”

 The third and last is that Seminarians are to be formed with the image and likeness of

Jesus because we all know that Priest is the alter Christus or the other Christ, so, therefore,

Seminarians must be formed according to how Jesus lived his life here on earth, imitating our

lives to the kingly, priestly and prophetic ministry of our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Lastly, my answer to the second question is that for me to achieve my essence as a

seminarian which is to be formed as a human being, as a Christian, and as with the image and

likeness of Jesus; I must submit myself to the Seminary Formation that the Seminary is offering

me, there were times that I will not understand the wisdom behind some of the things that the

formators are asking me, but I know that eventually, I will do realize that all these things are

part of the formation for me to be formed and to be ready for my future ministry if God will

permit.