The human person is a being who always has the desire to know. The attainment of this knowledge is through the exploration of the reality around the reality in which he is found. This desire for the truth about the immensity and diversity of reality is always an ever-ending desire as far as human existence is concerned. Embarking on philosophical studies implies embracing God’s call of discipleship, whereby the seminarian has to undergo the pedagogical process of growth both spiritually and academically. The essence of philosophical formation is to help the seminarian to encounter the diversity of reality. This desire a seek knowledge that must have its ground in responding to the discipleship entails the seminarian to seek the true knowledge about reality critically.
“Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). The call to holiness in the life of a seminarian at St. Anthony’s Major Seminary cannot be overemphasized. Seminarians, like any other Christians, are called to holiness (CCC # 2013). This is seen in the way we live our Spirituality. Every authentic spirituality is anchored in the human life of Jesus Christ, that is, His words and deeds. The spiritual formation of a seminarian is anchored in Christ, who enables him to respond to the call he has received from God. Therefore, the seminarians are initiated to adhere to the following norms: The Holy Eucharist, Prayer, Daily meditation, Liturgy of the Hours, Devotions, Recollection and Retreats, Spiritual Direction, Sacrament of Reconciliation, Asceticism and Penance, Obedience, Simplicity, Celibacy and Chastity, and Solitude.
Human formation aims to promote the integral growth of the human person. Bearing in mind that, the divine call engages and involves the concrete human person and that grace builds upon nature, the seminarians are trained to develop an integral personality after the model of and drawing from Christ, the perfect man. This integral formation includes the dimensions of physicality, emotional, psychological, sexual (celibacy and chastity), social, aesthetic, intellectual and responsibility.
The pastoral formation orients the seminarians to develop the attitude of what makes a true shepherd of souls after the example of our Lord Jesus Christ; the teacher, priest and shepherd. The pastoral formation of the seminarians aims towards introducing the seminarians to the ministry of Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd, so that they may know how to represent Christ to the people, Christ who did not come to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mk. 10:45).
The community life of seminarians within the seminary is not an end in itself but rather a community journeying towards priestly ministry. The seminary formation community formation aims to enable each future priest to be a “man of communion” wherever he is called to serve. Precisely because within the Church’s life the priest is a man of communion, in his relations with all people, he must be a man of mission and dialogue (Pastores Dabo Vobis, no. 18).