Human Formation

Human Formation

"The whole work of priestly formation would be deprived of its necessary foundation if it lacked a suitable human formation." (Pastores Dabo Vobis 43)
This requirement does not rest only on rational grounds but on the fact that the priest is called to be a "living image" of Jesus Christ and thus "should seek to reflect in himself, as far as possible, the human perfection which shines forth in the Incarnate Son of God." (PDV 43)
It is in this perspective that St. Joseph Seminary desires to help a candidate to the priesthood in the process of individual and social maturation leading to the gift of himself in the manner of Jesus Christ. The fundamental goal of the human formation program is to assist a seminarian to acquire lucidity and transparency with respect to himself; to favour unity and integration in all of life’s dimensions; and to enable him to make free and responsible decisions.
The Elements
Candidates for the priesthood should, therefore, cultivate a series of human qualities:
- to be educated to love the truth  - to be loyal  - to respect all persons  - to have a sense of justice  - to be compassionate  - to be men of integrity  - and especially to be balanced in judgement and behaviour
Personal Growth Plan
Each seminarian completes, at the beginning of each year, a Personal Growth Plan which includes specific objectives to be pursued in the area of human formation. This plan serves as a grid for an ongoing dialogue between the formators and the seminarian.
Group Advisor and Groups of Seminarians
The formator in charge of a group of seminarians is particularly attentive to the human dimension of the formation. He assumes a specific role as advisor in this regard on both the personal and communal levels. The presentations, discussions and exchanges which take place in groups are another important element in the human formation of seminarians.
Rector's Weekly Conference
In his weekly conference, the Rector also addresses the human dimension of priestly formation; the practice of the human and social virtues as well as celibacy and its preparation is one of the principal issues.
Chaste Celibacy in Priestly Life  Celibate chastity is a mode of Christian existence. It is not just a discipline. It is a way to live the Gospel. With fidelity to the tradition and teaching of the Church, St. Joseph Seminary believes and teaches that celibate chastity is a positive value in the Church and for our world, a gift freely given for the building up of God's Kingdom. A beautiful expression of this belief and teaching is found in Pope Paul VI's encyclical On Priestly Celibacy where he sees priestly celibacy as a gift generously given to the Lord and his Church:
"Once moral certainty has been obtained that the maturity of the candidate is sufficiently guaranteed, he will be in a position to take on himself the heavy and sweet burden of priestly chastity as a total gift of himself to the Lord and to his Church. In this way, the obligation of celibacy, which the Church makes a condition of Holy Orders, is accepted by the candidate through the influence of divine grace and with full reflection and liberty, and, as is evident, not without the wise and prudent advice of competent spiritual directors who are concerned not to impose the choice, but rather to dispose the candidate to make it more consciously. Hence, in that solemn moment when the candidate will decide once and for his whole life, he will not feel the weight of an imposition from outside, but rather the interior joy that accompanies a choice made for love of Christ." (Sacerdotalis Caelibatus 72)
Evaluations
In order to assist the seminarian to take personal responsibility for his formation as well as to further the discernment of his vocation to the priesthood, he is called to measure his progress by evaluations done at different moments of his formation. These evaluations are done during each semester of the Seminary year. Individually as formators responsible for groups of seminarians, and collectively as the Seminary Council, members of the Formation Team are directly involved in the process. In this work, the Formation Team is called to discern the aptitudes of each seminarian in each domain of formation as well as the progress made. The written evaluations are presented to the seminarian. The final version is sent to the Bishop sponsoring the seminarian so that diocesan authorities are guided in their decisions affecting the seminarian.

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