Program of Priestly Formation (Ascension)

PPF 188

Program of Priestly Formation

motivations, their inclinations, and in general their appropriation of life experience, especially suffering. c. Community life and feedback : “A seminarian who freely chooses to enter a seminary must also freely accept and respect its terms.” 250 The general demands and the rewards of life in community expand self-knowledge and self-control and cultivate generosity of spirit. The community’s attachment to Sacred Scripture and the sacramental life provides a reflective mirror that helps individuals know themselves and summons them to a fuller, more human, more spiritual life. A community’s Rule of Life fosters discipline, self-mastery, and faithful perseverance in commitments. d. Application to the tasks of seminary life : Human formation develops through interaction with others in the course of the seminary program. This growth happens, for example, when seminarians learn to accept the authority of superiors, develop the habit of “using their freedom with discretion,” learn to act on their own initiative and to do so energetically, and learn to work “harmoniously with their confreres and with the laity.” 251 e. Psychological counseling : On occasion, consultation with a psychologist or other licensed mental health professional can be a useful instrument of human formation. Some patterns of behavior, for example, which became set in the seminarian’s early family history, may impede his relational abilities. Understanding one’s psychological history and developing strategies to address elements of negative impact can be very helpful in human formation. This kind of counseling or consultation is distinguished from extensive psychotherapy, which may be needed to address deeply entrenched personal issues that impede full functioning of the person. The seminarian already completed psychological testing as part of the application process. At that time, if extensive and in-depth therapy was necessary, it took place outside of the seminary context prior

250 Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, A Guide to Formation in Priestly Celibacy (1974), 74. 251 Optatam Totius , no. 11.

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