Welcome to Assumption Seminary!

I am often asked about the mission or purpose of the seminary in the life of the Church, and most especially its role in the life of a young man (young in years or in spirit!) who wants to come and study for the priesthood. My answer is that the seminary plays a vital role both for the Church and the individual seminarian in two important ways.

The first is the more obvious role: the seminary is the place where you study and grow in order to learn how to become a priest. Here the young man will learn what the Church teaches and why, what those who oppose the Church believe and why, and also to learn the practical skills of preaching a homily, offering mass, celebrating the sacraments, etc.

The second role the seminary plays is often overlooked, but it is vital. It has to do with helping the young man to know if his vocation is authentic or not. It is the role of discernment. The recently released general report on the seminaries in the United States has a very important note about the fact that young men will come to the seminary with the possibility of being ordained in the future, but only time in the seminary will show whether they can or should be ordained. This requires a very sensitive awareness of the work of the Holy Spirit in a young mans life. Sometimes men are called to the seminary for some important reason, often a journey of spiritual discovery and personal awareness. But they may discover, over time, that being a priest is not their call. Thats OK! There are many active laymen in the Church who have discovered their authentic vocation only by giving the seminary a try!

The men who come to the seminary are not saints yet! They are regular human beings with a desire to know, love, and serve Christ more deeply. Some have had lots of life experience, and some are young in years and only beginning to know who they are and what God is asking of them. You know, the elevator at the Empire State Building in New York can take you to the top floor, but only if you get on it at ground level when you first enter the building. So, too, the men who come to the seminary. They start where they start in life, with all their very human qualities. Only by praying, learning, and communicating with the seminary faculty will they come to know their calling from God.

Pray for seminarians. Pray for those who are thinking about the seminary but are hesitant. Pray for the priests and faculty members of the seminary that we, too, will listen with open hearts to the authentic calling of the Holy Spirit!

Father Lawrence J. Christian
Rector and President of Assumption Seminary