By Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, OFM
As it is June and the seminarians are assigned to different parishes and institutions for training, life at Holy Spirit Seminary enters another phase. Simply put, it is quieter in an already quiet seminary. However, the absence of daily contact with the seminarians and the time for prayer together in a community is a good opportunity for reflection.
I joined the Holy Spirit Seminary the second year after I was installed as a bishop; the close community life and the regular prayer schedules were something I had lost but had regained, and I was very grateful and amazed at God’s providence. Time flies and I have now been at the seminary for seven years. The seminarian who entered with me is graduating this year and, God willing, will soon be ordained a deacon.
What do I do in the seminary? I am doing the work of vocation formation, that is, accompanying the young people and training them to become diocesan priests. Companionship of course means keeping contact with them, listening to them and guiding them. So, if possible, I try to find time to stay at the seminary, especially on weekday evenings. They all know that whenever I have dinner at the seminary, I will always meet them afterwards for a chat. The meetings are not very long, usually only about 10 to 20 minutes, and we talk about nothing special. Sometimes we talk about spirituality and prayers. Sometimes we watch short news videos, and sometimes we read the Kung Kao Po and explain to them the current situation in the diocese, hoping to increase their understanding of the Church and cultivate a sense of belonging to the Church. Although I am usually the one who talks more, I always invite them to share and respond. Frankly speaking, a one-man show can never work nowadays!
Once a month, we have an in-depth sharing of our lives, like a casual conversation in a family, where everyone, including priests of the formation team, takes turns to share a profound experience from the past month. I am grateful that the priests are very open, give insightful sharings and have set a good example. The seminarians are touched by the love shown by the priests and are thus happy to share their views openly. Such in-depth communication is very important and a must for building up community so that the seminarians can maintain their friendships and support each other on their journey of priesthood after they are ordained.
There is also a need for individual companionship. The spiritual advisors in the formation team and I meet regularly with the seminarians, so that we can address their different needs in specific situations. However, the companionship is not one-way, but two-way. In fact, they have given me a lot of feedback, including care, encouragement and advice, which is, of course, rather subtle!
What is the purpose of companionship? To discover, together with the seminarians, the Lord who is with us all the time, for it is he who calls us!
