Join us for Compline on the Sundays of Advent, 3 December – 17 December, at 7p.
The official public night prayer of the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours, Compline is a time where we gather as Christians to examine our conscience, sing psalms with their proper antiphons, and listen to the Word of God. The highlight of the service is the Anthem to Our Lady, in which we process to the Lady Altar and the faithful are sprinkled with Holy Water.
Seminarian talk can often sound like its own language, since seminary is so unique, and usually the only people who understand it perfectly are the ones who have been seminarians. For this reason, I have written a quick Everything-You’d-Ever-Want-to-Know-About-Seminary.
Basic Requirements
To qualify to be considered to be a Catholic seminarian, one must be a single, Catholic male of at least eighteen years of age. Oftentimes there is not an age limit on the men entering, as the oldest seminarian studying for the diocese right now is 62.
Who the Seminarian Studies For
A seminarian is always studying either for a diocese, a particular see tasked with parishes over a certain geographical area, e.g. the Catholic Diocese of Charleston oversees all of the Catholic parishes in the state of South Carolina, or a religious order, a group of priests, brothers, and/or sisters who live in community, take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and have their own particular charism, or work. For example, the Dominicans are a religious order of priests whose charism is preaching. Once a seminarian is accepted by a particular diocese or religious order, his education is typically all paid for by that diocese or order.
The Application Process
The application for seminary is notably thorough and lengthy. First, a candidate must reach out to his vocation director, a priest given the job of interviewing candidates, to speak with him and let him know he is interested in seminary. If he commits to applying, the director will give him a list of things he needs to get done. The requirements depend on who he is applying for. However, A seminary application almost always includes references from friends, family, and coworkers, an autobiography, a psychological evaluation (this one is particularly joked about in the seminary because everyone has had to go through the weirdness of the psych eval), and a health physical. There is also usually an interview of some kind, which may just be with the vocations director. However, the Diocese of Charleston interviews candidates with a board of the bishop, the vocations director, as well as priests, religious, and lay expects from around the diocese. This is not as common but is sort of unique to our smaller diocese.
Seminarians Today
In recent decades, the men entering the Catholic seminary have come from more and more diverse backgrounds. There are eighteen-year-olds entering right out of high school, college students transferring in to finish their undergrad (such as myself), men entering right out of college, men entering after a few years in the workforce (which is probably the most common), but then even men entering the seminary after having already worked several careers over many years (these men are typically called late vocations), oftentimes never having married,
sometimes having being widowed, and even in some cases having been divorced. Most of them are born Catholic, but still some are converts, and some may have even been away from the Church for a time and struggled with serious sin. The diocese when considering an applicant only looks at if the man is devoutly practicing his faith now and has done so in a stable way for at least a few years. His family is also normally Catholic and supportive, but could just as well be non-Catholics who are bitterly opposed to his decision. What is important to know is that seminarians are not perfect men who grew up in perfect settings. They are otherwise normal men, except that at one point or another they felt a call from God to serve Him in the Catholic priesthood.
Where the Seminarian is Sent
Once a seminarian is accepted and needs to be sent for studies, his diocese or order must send him somewhere to do his formation and studies. This mostly comes down to the closest seminaries and which the bishop and vocations director prefer. For a diocese to have its own seminary, it must have the money, the available priests to serve as formators, and the amount of seminarians to sustain the seminary. Typically, only big dioceses have their own seminary, and only the largest have seminaries for both college and theology. Because of this, many seminarians will have to attend at least two seminaries before ordination.
The Diocese of Charleston is particularly spontaneous with where it sends seminarians because there are no seminaries close by. The closest is the newly-opened St. Joseph College Seminary in Charlotte, but it currently only has Diocese of Charlotte seminarians. Other than that, some of the closest seminaries would be in Ohio, Maryland, Indiana, DC, or Pennsylvania. As you can see, pretty much all the options for the Diocese of Charleston are not close. This upcoming year, ten seminarians will be studying theology at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, PA, five will be doing either Propaedeutic, philosophy, or theology at St. Vincent de Paul in Boynton Beach, FL, four will be doing either propaedeutic or philosophy at St. John Vianney in Miami, FL, and one will be doing philosophy at Theological College in Washington DC (yours truly), for a total of twenty seminarians.
Some things the diocese may look at in a seminary other than its proximity are how strict or loose the formation is, how good the priest formators are at the seminary, how liturgy is done and taught, how much it emphasizes learning Spanish and Hispanic culture, how good the academics are, how much it emphasizes learning Latin, if the classes are taken in-house or at a co-ed university, or how much it costs to send a seminarian there. Each diocese has its own specific needs for future priests to meet.
Studies and Process
The Catholic Church mandates that for a man to become an ordained priest, he must study first philosophy, then theology. In the Diocese of Charleston, the seminary process has always been about 6-8 years: 2-4 years of philosophy and 4 years of theology. However, the United States Bishops decided in 2022 to mandate a year of prayer and service called “The Propaedeutic Year,” before a seminarian goes full force into studies. This change goes into effect August 2023 and makes the formation process now 7-9 years at the minimum.
Once entering studies, a seminarian will take one of the following paths: If you are entering out of high school, you must study philosophy for four years as your major in college to get your undergraduate degree. For transfers, you will just need whatever amount of time left to finish undergrad with a major in philosophy, which of course may put you behind your original graduation date. If you already have an undergraduate degree, then you study philosophy for two years, which is sort of like getting a graduate degree, but since the classes are undergraduate, it typically doesn’t equate to anything in the real working world other than a certificate. Studying philosophy is one feature that makes Catholic seminary unique, since Protestant denominations don’t require philosophy. However, the Catholic Church still firmly believes philosophy is necessary to gain a solid ground in thinking and reasoning in order to study Sacred Theology.
Regardless of how one does philosophy, each seminarian must study theology for four years afterwards to get a theology degree, usually in the US it is what’s called a Masters in Divinity. Theology studies are mostly intellectually centered but also include some practical how-to classes on things like Baptism and Confession. When the seminarian has finished the first three years, and the seminary and diocese both decide he is ready, he is ordained a deacon. After the fourth and final year of theology, he is ordained a priest.
What I have just laid out is a pretty typical seminary process. However, many exceptions may come into play, such as if the seminarian is studying for a religious order. Additionally, many dioceses mandate what’s called a pastoral year during theology, in which a seminarian works in a parish for a year to gain some experience of what that’s like. For those dioceses, the now 8-10 years.
At the Seminary
The seminarian must live in a seminary institution, in which he lives with other seminarians, often from other dioceses, in a building set for that purpose. The seminary usually has its own kitchen, cafeteria, library, work-out room, classrooms, and conference rooms. Each seminarian typically has his own room, although the living situation of course depends on the seminary. At the seminary, he is obliged to attend Mass and some communal prayers every day. Other than the Mass each seminary prays the Liturgy of the Hours together, which is prayed by religious sisters, brothers, and priests, as well as diocesan priests, deacons, and any others who may pick it up around the globe. No matter where you are or what language, the readings and psalms for a particular hour on a particular day are the same. There are five different hours to be prayed in a day, but the most important are Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, so they are usually the ones prayed in community.
A seminary may be a completely self-operating institution, in which all the classes are taught in- house, the professors are employed by the seminary, the seminarians only take classes with other seminarians, and the seminary offers the degrees. Or, it may offer no classes of its own, but have a nearby co-ed university where the seminarians take all of their classes along with non- seminarians.
One common misconception is people think that if a man is in seminary then he is going to for sure be a priest. However, it cannot be stressed enough that seminary is a process, and part of the daily life of a seminarian is praying to discern the call. Just like in dating and marriage, you just don’t know for sure if a man is going to stay in or out until he is up there on the altar. When someone leaves the seminary, it’s called discerning out. I have heard of one man who discerned out during his first week of orientation at the seminary, and I have also heard of men who have discerned out right before being ordained a deacon. Seminarians in college are especially known to discern out, as usually rates of around 50% of college seminarians are not ordained priests. We shouldn’t be too surprised at this, since these seminarians are young and college age people are known to change majors and career paths rather rapidly. Usually seminarians entering after college and especially seminarians in theology tend to stay in seminary and have much higher rates of ordination. But this goes to show that the men studying to be priests are completely and totally free to stay or leave at any time.
A formation staff of priests lives at the seminary and oversees the formation of the seminarians. These priests often come from the diocese that owns the seminary.The seminarian meets with one priest, a spiritual director, who hears about his spiritual and moral life in confidentiality and is not allowed to say anything about the seminarian to others. The seminarian also has regular meetings with a second priest, a formation advisor, who talks with the faculty and helps to evaluate the seminarian’s progress. A seminarian does have to be asked back to return each year to the seminary, and it is possible he is forced out by the faculty. This, of course, is more rare and most seminarians leave on their own.
The United States Bishops have for a while set out four dimensions of formation: intellectual, pastoral, human, and spiritual. The Catholic seminary is unique in that it focuses on growth in every aspect of the seminarian’s life. Many Protestant denominations only require intellectual studies, but do not have a set living space where the potential minister is evaluated daily in their personal growth. It is not uncommon to hear a seminarian say that he picked up on some ordinary practical skill while living in the seminary, such as cooking, video editing, lifting weights, etc. I myself learned Spanish in the seminary without having taken an academic class for it there.
From the Diocese of Charleston
Interest in the priesthood, diaconate and religious life is increasing in our diocese! Please continue fostering the openness to serve God and his people. The most fruitful environments for religious vocations are always with faithful priests celebrating reverent liturgies with quality music. In addition, let us promote prayer time in front of the Blessed Sacrament and invite young people to take those graces out to serve the people of God.
If we can be of any assistance in resources or information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Rev Rhett B Williams, Director of Vocations, by email at vocations@charlestondiocese.
Sunday, 24 December-Christmas Eve
Monday, 25 December-Christmas Day
Tuesday, 26 December-Holy Family
Wednesday, 27 December– Blessing of Wine
Thursday, 28 December-Blessing of Children
Friday, 29 December
Saturday, 30 December
Sunday, 31 December-New Years Eve
Monday, 1 January- New Years Day – Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Tuesday, 2 January
The Christmas season is a time for holiday cheer, friends and family. As Catholic Christians, we have a unique way of celebrating Jesus, Who is the reason for our season.
Advent
ChristMASS Schedule
Are there any who are sick among you? Let them send for the priests of the Church, and let them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the LORD, and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the LORD will raise him up, and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. James 5. 14-15
This sacrament instituted by Christ for the salvation of man has been historically known as Extreme Unction, although the contemporary liturgical books refer to it as the Anointing of the Sick. When a loved one is sick, family and friends often call for a Catholic priest to give comfort and prayer. The principal means by which the Church is present to the sick is through this powerful sacrament administered by her priests.
Like all the sacraments, to benefit from it one must have faith in God and His Mercy. It is not magic. But it often results in physical healing and always results in spiritual healing when received with faith. Only the baptized can receive the sacrament, and generally it is only offered to those in communion with the Catholic Church. It is offered to those who are gravely physically ill, of an advanced age, or preparing for surgery or some kind of risky event. It is not received validly under any other condition. It is not the sacrament for old folks or for those who feel “down.”
When a person is in danger of death, family and friends often call the priest to administer what is popularly referred to as Last Rites or Last Sacraments. Last Rites is not an antiquated term referring to the Anointing of the Sick, but refers to several things. If there is doubt as to whether the sick person is baptized, the priest administers a conditional baptism. Then, the priest encourages the sick person to make a good confession. Often this is not possible, and so the priest will ask for a sign of repentance like kissing a crucifix or blinking. If even this is not possible, the priest will administer absolution and often what is referred to as the Apostolic Pardon, a special grace from God and His Church to absolve sinners. The priest gives the person the Anointing of the Sick, and if he has not received it, the sacrament of Confirmation if there is time to complete the sacraments of initiation. Often if the person is in an irregular marriage and is capable of contracting a sacramental marriage with his partner, the priest will encourage that sacrament as well. Finally, the priest administers what is referred to as Viaticum, “food for the journey” by giving him Holy Communion. These actions together are what are called the Last Rites.
Sometimes it is not feasible to perform all of them for some reason or another, but the priest will always attempt the prayerful and fruitful completion of all of them.
When the person is at the moment of death, if a priest is present, he will say the Prayers of Commendation and commend the soul to God and His angels and saints. Deacons and laypeople are encouraged to say these prayers even when a priest is absent. Encouraging the sick person if conscious to make acts of faith, hope and love and to repeat the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary is a laudable practice. These prayers are not part of the Last Rites. Sometimes it happens that a priest has not been able to get to the body by the time of apparent death. He will then give absolution and anointing on the condition that they be alive, as we have no certainty when the soul leaves the body.
Every Catholic home should have a prayer book with the Prayers of Commendation as well as the following items: a crucifix, blessed candles, holy water, and either cotton balls or a Q-tip which can be buried or burned after the anointing. Catholic tradition holds that the priest bless the sickroom with holy water if it is available; Catholics should always meet the priest at the door with blessed candles and accompany him to the sick room if he is carrying the Blessed Sacrament; the cotton balls or Q-Tip are there to facilitate the ease of the anointing and to avoid contaminating the sacred oil itself. In historically Protestant countries and where the faith has been weakened, these customs are impossible, impractical, or imprudent to observe by priest and faithful, and even though no mention is made of them in the modern liturgical books, they are still praiseworthy customs to integrate into our lives.
Catholics should always contact the pastor of their parish if they or a loved one is sick, but they should never wait until it is dangerously close to death. The business and the scarcity of priests make it very difficult for them to respond with alacrity sometimes, even with the best of intentions. Catholics who are aware of fallen away Catholics should approach their pastor so that he might come to offer the sacraments, even if the person in question seems unwilling to receive them. Non-Catholic Christians who spontaneously request the sacraments in danger of death may be given them if it is clear that they have Catholic faith in the sacrament and it is not in any way against their will to receive them.
In case of medical emergency for parishioners of Prince of Peace or others living in Taylors, please call
Click to read this week’s bulletin: 10 September 2023 Bulletin
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