Seminarians preparing for priesthood in the Archdiocese of Vancouver are welcoming the extra “Spirituality Year” introduced after the 2016 Vatican document The Gift of the Priestly Vocation. The “propaedeutic stage” is intended to “provide a solid basis for the spiritual life and to nurture a greater self-awareness for personal growth.” Here’s what they had to say about the period, when they are immersed in personal development, spiritual direction, time in prayer, and a month of full-time service in the community before they dive into eight years of academic study.



Michael Roy

I’m so thankful I was given a year to become familiar with the community life and prayer schedule of seminary before beginning studies. Moving from the autonomy and comfort of home life to the more communal and structured seminary was, for me, a massive transition. If I had had to begin studies immediately on top of navigating that transition, I would have become overwhelmed and burnt out very quickly.

Due to the extent of our studies and other duties this year, we are left with little time for “on-the-ground” pastoral experience. And yet, this is arguably the area that encompasses the majority of the priest’s day-to-day life. 

Thus, I’m very glad my spirituality year offered frequent opportunities for service in Catholic ministries and communities.

During my spirituality year, I spent a full month in a Calgary L’Arche home living alongside and serving disabled adults, and for the rest of the year I volunteered weekly with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul sorting donations in their warehouse and delivering furniture to those in need.

Both experiences gave me invaluable understanding of the pastoral life of a priest. They allowed me to discover my own strengths and weaknesses in pastoral settings as well as grow in appreciation for the charitable efforts of so many lay faithful.

It was also an incredible blessing being at St. Joseph’s for numerous reasons. I saw great value in being immersed in the Archdiocese of Edmonton, learning what the Church is like there and seeing how it differs from Vancouver.

I also got to experience a significantly different style of formation. The diocesan priests at St. Joseph’s and the Benedictine monks at Christ the King have different spiritualities, formation styles, and teaching methods, both of which have borne fruit for my vocation in different ways.

Perhaps the greatest blessing of my time at St. Joseph’s was the community I was immersed in. I bonded deeply with the men there, especially my spirituality year brothers.

Beginning a journey together as monumental as priestly formation gave us a profound kinship that we continue to share despite being separated. Leaving such an amazing community was a great difficulty. However, a priest I was discussing it with told me that the sorrow of leaving one seminary for another is not that different from the sorrow of leaving one parish for another as a priest. In that sense, the pain of this transition is itself deeply formative in preparing my heart and mind for the struggles I’m bound to encounter in priestly life.

 

John Krump

Spirituality year was transformational for me – a reset from the kind of life I had while helping me reorient my priorities around prayer.

Now that I’m in class I see how the year has helped me to put prayer at the centre, be more focused, and know that when needed I can put distractions away to focus on work.

Each Tuesday during the year was a silent day when we didn’t talk for 20 hours with the exception of community prayer and morning class time. This gave me appreciation for silence and meditative prayer. With classes, homework, and community prayer, there’s not a lot of time left in my schedule. Meditative prayer is my recharge, and without it, I probably would have left the seminary.

Classes during the year included basic Catholic teaching, much of it eye-opening, from Jeff Cavin’s Bible Timeline to John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and papal documents on priesthood. Without these foundational stones of Catholic teaching, I couldn’t appreciate what I’m learning now.

We also read spiritual classics like St. Teresa of Avila’s Way of Perfection and St. Ignatius of Loyola’s autobiography, starting a habit of spiritual reading for me.

Thursdays were dedicated to apostolic work – in my case with St. Vincent de Paul delivering furniture and sorting donations in the warehouse. I also lived with a L’Arche community in Calgary for a month, working with people with intellectual disabilities. 

This humbling and inspiring work helped me to step out of my comfort zone. A theme of seminary life is being more comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Our year-long media fast meant no movies, computers or phones except for a limited time on weekends when I used it to talk to friends and family. This was fruitful because it removed distractions and allowed me to focus on prayer, especially meditative. I had a lot more time on my hands, which I used for new hobbies and being more intentional about relationships with others, especially my brother seminarians.

Christ the King in Mission is a different seminary than St. Joseph’s but it still has a recognizable rhythm to it. Learning the value of silence helped me understand the value of community and importance of integration, not to mention making me more aware of my technology usage.