THE P
RTAL
Aid to the Church in Need
March 2017 Page 20
“ Hope inspired by faith in God ” nurtures seminarians ’ wisdom
Murcadha O Flaherty has an inspiring account from Nigeria
“
We teach and guide young men to the vocation of priesthood ,” said Fr Uzochukwu Jude Njoku , director of the Seat of Wisdom Seminary , describing the daily life of the 600 seminarians in Owerri , southern Nigeria . Fr Jude told Aid to the Church in Need that this large number of Nigerian seminarians is due to their “ hope inspired by faith in God due to the spiritual consciosness of the African people … Africa is deeply religious ”.
He outlined how the seminary ’ s professors strive to “ form the inner person to be open to God … [ and develop ] an openness and disposition for the virtuous life pattern of a priest ”.
Commenting on the seminary ’ s name he added : “ The Seat of Wisdom is the Blessed Mother ’ s lap , where Jesus Christ sits ”.
Fr Jude said : “ At the seminary , the core subjects include moral theology , Catholic social ethics , homiletics and pastoral theology ”.
He said that the subjects facilitate “ the whole process … the spiritual , academic , the ‘ human ’ and psychological or pastoral [ helping the young man ] to become a shepherd of the people of God ”.
The seminarians concentrate on philosophy for the first four years and then , after a pastoral year out , they return for a further four years of theology .
Fr Jude outlined their daily routine at the seminary : the “ students rise at 5am for one hour of prayer with meditation and liturgy of the hours and then there is the Angelus at 6am .”
He said : “ We have holy Mass at 6:30am , after Mass they breakfast in silence … silence helps the student to open himself to God . At 8am they study until the Angelus at noon .
“ The seminarians have their lunch at 1pm in silence
with spiritual readings , which include passages from the Bible , the Lives of the Saints and Imitation of Christ by Thomas á Kempis .”
He added : “ Due to the heat , which can be as high as 45 degrees , they have a ‘ siesta ’ for one hour after lunch with further studies until 6pm where they break for the Angelus and rosary .”
Fr Jude also said : “ After individually assigned chores , there is Vespers or evening prayers with conferences and group discussion with spiritual directors .
“ Compline or night prayer is at 8pm , then allowing for private studies and personal time until 11pm .”
The seminarians schedule includes “ Friday ’ s benediction with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament ” and extends to “ late evening rosary to the Blessed Virgin in May and to St Joseph in October ”.
He said : “ We are forming the character for the Church ’ s mission … growing discernment … waking the spirit … to celebrate the sacraments and his presence ”.
Fr Jude thanked ACN benefactors for their continued support .
For information about Aid to the Church in Need please visit www . acnuk . org or contact us at acn @ acnuk . org or call us on 020 8642 866 .