College Propaedeutic Year
I am Father Buck, the director of our college propaedeutic stage. Along with our Rector, Reverend Keith J. Chylinski, Spiritual Director Father Dennis Carbonaro, priests, faculty and staff we eagerly anticipate your arrival.
This is the first stage of formation, designed to provide the basic groundwork a seminarian will need to engage in priestly formation. This groundwork consists of prayer, study, fraternity, and docility to formation. The Propaedeutic stage will teach the seminarian how to pray with intensity. Likewise, classes are focused on sacred scripture, history of Christian spirituality, virtuous living, and pastoral Spanish. These classes count towards twelve credits each semester.
There are many opportunities for parish experiences, service to the poor and vulnerable, brotherly comradery, outdoor excursions, recreational sports, learning new hobbies, and growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
This stage of formation will require the seminarian to go without his cell phone and computer, except on Saturdays. This detachment is designed to break free from the reliance on social media and worldly distractions. In addition, during the week you will go through a media fast, that means no TV, YouTube, or Netflix.
By the end of this stage, you will make a firm resolution to dedicate yourself to priestly formation or follow a different path as a faithful lay Catholic.
We are excited to meet you,
Father Jason Buck
Key Components
Men in each of the Propaedeutic Year programs will share in a life of prayer, study, recreation, and fraternity within a more intimate setting. Those who enter College Seminary reside in a distinct wing of the main campus.
Their life together includes their own distinct horarium, under the supervision of a Priest Formation Director and Spiritual Director. The calendar and daily schedule will strengthen men in faith-filled communal life, personal responsibility, self-initiative and discipline, joyful fellowship, simplicity, silence and detachment. Other activities include days of service, excursions, pilgrimages, and retreats.
During the Propaedeutic Year, men will have extensive restrictions placed on their media use, including phones, tablets, computers, television, radio, music and movies. An appropriate amount of technology use will be allowed at various intervals. This “fast” facilitates freedom to be guided by the Holy Spirit, quality interpersonal interactions and conversations, the capacity to be present to others in the present moment, and fortifying healthy leisure activity. While encouraging a balanced approach to internet use, the fast also promotes recovery from addictions to it or excessive reliance upon it.
The Four Dimensions
As part of the foundational growth as a human person, the men will attend workshops, seminars and conferences that focus on self-awareness, self-knowledge, social intelligence, self-discipline, emotional intelligence, time management and communication skills.
Through the accompaniment of a formation director, and with the availability of a house counselor, the men will be offered a safe and nurturing environment in which to develop their identity as Catholic men who are beloved sons of God the Father.
Familiarity with Christ is the essential component that supports the period of ascertainment of a vocation. It allows for the hearing of the Lord’s call. Training in a personal spiritual life is a priority. The men will focus on the basic principles of prayer and spiritual direction. They will follow a schedule for liturgy, communal and individual prayer and devotions. Particular attention will be given to the importance of silence in developing an interior life. Scriptural meditation and the art of Lectio Divina will be taught. They will also be introduced to a history of the major schools of spirituality and spiritual masters that have blessed the Church over the last two millennia.
The propaedeutic year is “an ideal opportunity to acquire an initial and overall familiarity with Christian doctrine by studying the Catechism of the Catholic Church” (337 Ratio Fundamentalis, no.59). A varied program of courses, conferences and workshops will offer the men a solid foundation of the basics of Church teaching. They will also be immersed in introductory scripture study, the spiritual traditions of the Church, the lives of the saints, and classic faith-filled literature. Intercultural competency will have a high priority, particularly through the study of the Spanish language. Through reading assignments, interviews, reflection papers, journaling assignments, and other means of assessment, the men will be offered a solid foundation from which they can enter philosophical studies.
Emphasis will be made on further developing the capacity for self-gift, as well as opening oneself to differing cultures. “Pastoral charity is at the heart of the Church and the priesthood; so demonstrating a genuine concern for others, a spirit of generosity, and a developing habit of self-donation” (PPF #373) will be at the heart of this foundational stage of pastoral formation.
Daily Rule of Life and Schedule
*Tentative, daily schedule subject to change
7:00 AM Morning Meditation and Benediction
7:15 AM Morning Prayer
7:30 AM Morning Mass
8:10 AM Breakfast
8:50 AM Classroom Instruction
12:30 PM Lunch
1:00 PM Unconstructed Time for Spiritual Direction, Formation, House Jobs, Recreation,
Opportunities for Counseling, Sports
5:00 PM Lexio Divina
5:30 PM Evening Prayer
6:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Discretionary Time, varies by day
9:30 PM Night Prayer, Grand Silence