January 2015
Although not all St. Francis parishioners may be aware of the fact, we have a seminarian who recently began his studies. We have asked Dillon Bruce to write about his life in the seminary:
Dear Parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi,
My name is Dillon Bruce, and I am a seminarian for the Diocese of Richmond. St. Francis of Assisi has been my home parish my entire life. In this, my first year of seminary, I have been extremely blessed by the generosity of all your prayers and encouragement. I am very proud to be a seminarian from St. Francis’s parish, and thank God often for your witness of fidelity to the Catholic faith and example of living the Gospel. When I first began to discern the priesthood, I knew nothing about the process of priestly formation or seminary life. Although most of you probably know more now than I knew then, I would like to give a brief description of how college seminarians are now being formed for the priesthood.
To begin with, my seminary is called a college or minor seminary. This is because all those who attend have not yet acquired an undergraduate degree. To begin major seminary, one must have obtained at least a bachelor’s degree so that they may begin working on a master’s in theology. Since I attended Virginia Tech for only two years before transferring to seminary, I must get a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. I will be at Saint John Paul II Seminary in Washington, DC for a total of three years before I, God willing, attend major seminary. After my time at SJPII Seminary, the bishop of Richmond will decide which one of three major seminaries I will attend that our diocese sends to: St. Mary’s in Baltimore, MD, Theological College in Washington, DC, or the North American College in Rome, Italy.
Saint John Paul II Seminary is the minor seminary for the Archdiocese of Washington. Since college-aged seminarians are somewhat rare today, many dioceses do not have one in their own diocese. SJPII Seminary currently has seminarians from the dioceses and archdioceses of Richmond, Arlington, Washington, Baltimore, Bismarck, and Wheeling-Charleston. I am one of five Richmond seminarians at SJPII Seminary. As college seminarians we also attend our philosophy classes at Catholic University of America. We attend class with other students and those in religious life on campus and will sometimes join in on campus events when our schedule allows. To give some idea of what we study, my courses this semester are: medieval philosophy, philosophy of human nature, history of modern Europe, Latin, and foundations of Catholicism. Many, though not all, of our professors are Catholic and a few are priests or religious.
In conjunction with academic formation at CUA, we receive the bulk of our spiritual, human, and pastoral formation at the seminary itself. For spiritual formation we have Mass and Adoration every day. Each seminarian has a spiritual director that he meets with every two weeks. Spiritual direction helps guide us in discerning God’s will and growing in holiness by discussing what is happening in our spiritual life with the director. Spiritual direction is very much like confession, but is not sacramental and is meant to be a time when you can discuss any detail of your spiritual life. Pastoral and Human formation are carried out in a variety of ways. After their first semester of seminary, each seminarian is assigned an apostolate, or job, that he must volunteer at for at least 12 hours in a semester. SJPII Seminary sends seminarians to many places, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Missionaries of Charity, or tutoring at nearby Carroll High School. Each seminarian is also assigned a formation advisor who helps shape the man into a well-rounded individual. Some topics that may be covered in human formation meetings are manners, speaking skills, social skills, etiquette, personal health, and academic success.
In the little free time that we have, Saint John Paul II Seminary loves to do a variety of activities. We have taken hiking trips, gone to ropes courses, and visited historic sites. Our seminary plays many sports on the weekends such as football, soccer, Frisbee, basketball, volleyball, and baseball. In our game room you can often find a handful of seminarians playing pool or foosball. We love to watch movies and go to events happening in downtown Washington, DC. Being in DC gives us many opportunities to attend events and experience different cultures. I have found that being a Catholic in DC has thus far been rather encouraging. This may be because the seminary is right near the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest church in North America, and we are surrounded by many religious orders and Catholic students on campus.
My first semester of seminary has been extraordinary and life changing. Not only am I receiving a quality education, attending many great cultural and social events, and living with some of the best brother seminarians one could ask for, but I am also being given an opportunity to focus on growing in my relationship with Jesus Christ and learning how to share that experience with others. Just two years ago, I never would have had a thought about the priesthood, but God is great and His plans will prevail, we just have to be willing to give Him a little something to work with. I pray that each of you at St. Francis will continue to find Christ in all you do and never cease to desire that intimate relationship He calls each one of us to. Please continue to pray for me and my brother seminarians of the diocese as we continue to discern God’s will. Know of our prayers for you and your families. God bless.
If you would like to contact me or if you have any questions, feel free to use the following contact information:
Address:
Dillon Bruce
Saint John Paul II Seminary
145 Taylor St. NE
Washington, DC 20017
Email: [email protected]