A first week at the seminary
Schools all over the world began their new academic year last week, or will do so shortly. Seminaries are not much of an exception. Coming back from holidays, every seminarian will have a different experience, but I’ll write down some of mine.
First of all, being back at the seminary means being back among brothers. I must say that one of the things I have missed most was my fellow seminarians. Despite some minor effects of a jet lag, I stayed up way too late two days in a row just to catch up with some of them. As more and more start coming back, a sense of community life comes back also: the chapel fills up slowly, chatter (and God forbid, laughter) in the refectory, the amount of visitors to your room, just checking in what’s up, and so on…
Second, there is always the “what’s up this year” anticipation. I must admit, this first semester is going to be a tough one. In addition to our regular 3rd year philosophy classes, they’ve given us a few classes usually taught in the theology course. I find it pretty tough to deal with 15 different classes and keep my head on straight. 15 classes will mean at least 12 or so tough exams within 9 days at the end of the semester. I better start planning…
The other thing we all want to know is whether there are any new seminarians, if any have decided to leave and who is getting ordained this year. I cannot tell what it does to you to see no new seminarians come in… and I am not going to discuss it on my website. We have put all our trust in the Lord, and when no one comes, one wonders where and how He is calling people. Let’s just say it makes you think about the future for your seminary and diocese. Then, of course, there are seminarians that have left. This hurts the community also, because these are people you have shared at least one year with, and often quite a lot more. The joy of two new ordinations, however, is something that’s share among students in general 
In our seminary, the first week has a little hectic aura about it. The class-roster isn’t very solid yet. In fact, I find it rather amateuristic to find out 3 classes are cancelled because professors being elsewhere, or other classes suddenly appearing halfway through the week, with professors that only heard a few days ago about having to teach it… well, I guess those things happen and even seminaries aren’t perfect, to say the least. All in all, it’s been a busy enough week and is bound to get busier.
Last but not least, there is the inevitable duty-roster. Each seminarian will receive several task throughout the year that he will perform in service to the community. This could range from a year-long job, such as singing in the choir and locking the doors every night, to tasks that involve organising a specific event, such as an open house day. This year I will be sacristarian (who takes care of all things in the chapel and the sacristy, and is a pretty cool job – although you do have to get up earlier!) and I will organize our seminary’s lent program as well as our Sint Nicolaas celebration. In Holland, Saint Nick doesn’t come on Christmas Eve, but at the eve of his ecclesial memorial, so on December 5. This way, the gift-giving and the religious atmosphere of the Christmas holiday are not so much intertwined. Well, that’s it for this post. I hope everyone has a good weekend and will join me in my prayer for vocations!
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[...] er op, gisteren tot 16.00u college gehad en ik ben letterlijk doodop. De eerste seminarie week is (zoals Sebastiaan ook schrijft) erg rommelig verlopen; roosters die niet kloppen, volle washokken, docenten die nog niet eerder op [...]
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Hoi Sebas!
Ik hoop wel dat je met St.N. thuis kunt zijn, want als het ff meezit vieren we dit at Nini’s-home!, tenminste als je je eigen stoel meeneemt.
Heel veel liefs, mam