SALT LAKE CITY — "Donec formetur Christus in vobis" – "That Christ may be formed in you" – is the theme for the course of study priests go through before they are ordained. This past May, the Diocese of Salt Lake City ordained four new priests, the single largest ordination of priests in at least 50 years. Next year, the diocese expects to ordain two more men to the priesthood at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, hopefully under the direction of the ninth bishop of Salt Lake City. For all men discerning a vocation to the priesthood, the experience of life at a seminary is a defining time in their formation. "We are prepared here not only as philosophers, but theologians also," said Deacon José Rausseo, now in his last year at Mt. Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Ore. "We are well prepared in the knowledge of our theology, and they are training us and preparing us in a ministerial way. "Even though I really enjoy my life in the seminary, it is what comes next that we are working for. My pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Salt Lake City, Fr. Diaz, told me once, ‘Enjoy your life at the seminary, because later you have to work.’ "This year is very exciting, because we’re expecting how life as a pastor will be. Our classes are tuned to the practical aspects of life as a pastor. Also, it’s very exciting simply because it’s the last year. It’s like we want to be ordained tomorrow." Fellow seminarian Deacon Manuel de Jesús Cerón, also in his final year of formation at Mt. Angel, shares Deacon Reausseo’s expectation for the future. "Now we have a greater responsibility with the testimony we give as ministers because all the seminarians look to the deacons as points of reference. This year is different in that aspect, because now we have to be like a model for the seminarians who are in the lower years; now we must be leaders. "Now is a time of transition, of realizing that we will be leaving the seminary and living in a parish in the near future. I look forward to the emotion of the first parish to which I am sent, to finally begin to serve. It is exciting to imagine where I might go, to imagine where I will serve the people of the Church in Utah," he said. Michael Ortega studied as a seminarian after high school from 1978 to 1980 at Mt. Angel but left to pursue other interests. After experiencing a renewed call to the priesthood, he again entered the seminary, this time with a graduate degree. "It’s different when you’re out in the world with a job and getting a degree, because you can balance things out easily," he said. "Here, although it’s just one formation program, there are many things which require specific attention. It’s quite a challenge to create a balanced lifestyle. There’s morning prayer, evening prayer, Mass, Monday night conferences, school work, homework. On Wednesday night I participate in an RCIA group at a nearby parish as a ministerial assignment." Ortega is studying in the first of four years of theology. Before that, seminarians in the United States are guided through a four year undergraduate program in philosophy, or, if they have completed baccalaureate work elsewhere, a two year pre-theology course. Currently, seminarians for the diocese are studying at Mt. Angel in Oregon and St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, Calif. Fellow first-year theologian Joseph Frez sees this year as a transitional year from the pre-theology curriculum to the more rigorous theology track. Recalling last year specifically, Frez said, "The classes we have here are very interesting because they give an in-depth knowledge about the faith and about the church. In my introduction to theology class last year, our professor, Fr. Jeremy Driscoll, one of the monks at Mt. Angel Monastery, spoke about the Eucharist in a way I had never heard before. Classes at the seminary open our eyes to information about our faith." Tai Nguyen arrived in the United States only 10 months ago, but had previously completed one and a half years of theology in the Philippines. This year he is working through an intensive course in English. According to Nguyen, "The community here is good because I can encounter different seminarians from different countries, not only the Vietnamese, but also Mexican, American, African, and South American so I can learn and appreciate the different cultures. "We Salt Lake Seminarians talk every week. Every day we see each other in passing, but we do not have much time to have discussions. So we have one dinner each week were we eat together and every Tuesday and Thursday we have morning prayer together," he said. In describing his call to the priesthood, Ortega joked he received his call, by name, from the pulpit one Sunday at St. Ann church. Deacon Rausseo sees the events in his life, coming from Sacred Heart Church in his hometown in Venezuela, to learning of the Catholic Church in Utah, to becoming active in the ministries at Sacred Heart Church in Salt Lake City as steps that led finally to his study at the seminary and his expected ordination to the priesthood in just a few months. According to Deacon Cerón, "Whenever I think about my vocation, I find the answer is more and more distilled. I believe the vocation comes from the earliest childhood, a Christian education, my parents and their devotions, going to Mass. I felt it more concretely in my adolescence. However, it was the testimony of priests, men who are joyful in their ministry, who raised my attention and made me ask and begin to discern more, and inspire me to discern." For images of seminary life as seen through the eyes of the seminarians of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, check our website, www.iCatholic.org.
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