{"id":292,"date":"2009-08-25T22:14:00","date_gmt":"2009-08-25T22:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/08\/answering-the-call-in-columbus-an-extraordinary-series-unfolds.html"},"modified":"2009-08-25T22:14:00","modified_gmt":"2009-08-25T22:14:00","slug":"answering-the-call-in-columbus-an-extraordinary-series-unfolds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/08\/answering-the-call-in-columbus-an-extraordinary-series-unfolds.html","title":{"rendered":"Answering the call in Columbus: an extraordinary series unfolds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Columbus Dispatch has done something quite remarkable — and possibly, unprecedented — for a secular paper, devoting a lot of ink and newsprint to a series following a year in the life of seminarian.<\/p>\n

The entire series (so far), complete with pictures, can be found right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An excerpt, from Tuesday’s installment<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Traffic snaked along N. High Street near I-270 in a bumper-to-bumper line of frustration as the sun rose over the Pontifical College Josephinum.<\/p>\n

The taillight-flashing bustle of commuters contrasted with the serenity a few hundred yards away, where students flowed quietly into a chapel inside the seminary’s College of Liberal Arts building.<\/p>\n

Some carried Bibles, others small prayer books. Each was bleary-eyed and silent.<\/p>\n

The mid-February morning was like every morning for those men studying to be Roman Catholic priests at the Vatican-owned school on the North Side.<\/p>\n

The students were gathering for the 7:30 a.m. recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours, a quick prayer they also gather to say in the evening – and offer in private three other times each day.<\/p>\n

“It sets a rhythm to your day,” said Deacon Robert Bolding, a fourth-year theologian assigned this day to lead the undergraduates in prayer. “It sanctifies time.”<\/p>\n

To help replenish its thinning ranks, the Catholic church needs men willing to dedicate nearly a decade to priestly training that is disciplined, demanding and, at times, as slow as a stalactite’s growth.<\/p>\n

“That’s one of the great challenges,” said the Rev. Jeff Coning, vocations director for the Diocese of Columbus. “That’s eight years that you need a student to sit there and work, and kids today are used to living life by a Palm Pilot. “<\/p>\n

Seminarians say the adjustment doesn’t come easy, and even those close to becoming priests struggle at times with the rigid structure.<\/p>\n

“It’s like a real, long boot camp,” said Robert, a Phoenix native. “Sometimes, I feel choked by the whole routine of it.”<\/p>\n

His routine has been basically the same – prayer, Mass, classes, homework – since he entered the University of St. Thomas College Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., eight years ago, and enrolled in the Josephinum’s School of Theology in 2005.<\/p>\n

To describe seminary life, he uses the analogy of a tree being surrounded by other trees: it only has one place to grow, and that’s up.<\/p>\n

“It helps discipline your soul and helps us grow to God,” Robert said. “That’s the value of formation and living accordingly to the external rules. That’s part of what makes you a priest. That’s part of learning obedience and self-sacrifice. But it gets old.”Robert, 27, lived his final seminary year alone in an undecorated room without a TV or stereo (although Josephinum rules permit both) in a dorm hall with a community bathroom.<\/p>\n

He owned few clothes other than his black clerical garb. He drove his parents’ car because he has never owned one.<\/p>\n

“Somebody sets my schedule,” said Robert, bound by the Josephinum’s curfew of 11 p.m. weeknights and midnight on weekends. “If I miss something, I have to have an excuse. It’s understandable why it has to be like that in the seminary, but I’m approaching 30.”<\/p>\n

Still, Robert considered seminary life to be a great blessing, enabling him time to concentrate on studying and discerning God’s call.<\/p>\n

Each Josephinum student is assigned a Director of Spiritual Formation from the faculty to help guide him through the four pillars of formation – spiritual, intellectual, pastoral and human – directed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.<\/p>\n

“You spend hours in prayer to give your will over to God: Is this what you want for me?” Robert said.<\/p>\n

Mystery is part of that divine process and also part of this place.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Check out the rest<\/a> — including more pictures, video and an interactive multimedia site. Very impressive. And very well done, too.<\/p>\n

Kudos to the Dispatch, reporter Todd Jones, videographer Kristen Russo, and photographer Fred Squillante for presenting this story with such evident thoughtfulness and care. I look forward to the rest of the series.<\/p>\n

PHOTO:<\/b> Robert Bolding takes part in the “Liturgy of the Hours” evening prayers with fellow theologians in March. (Dispatch photo by Fred Squillante).<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Columbus Dispatch has done something quite remarkable — and possibly, unprecedented — for a secular paper, devoting a lot of ink and newsprint to a series following a year in the life of seminarian. The entire series (so far), complete with pictures, can be found right here. An excerpt, from Tuesday’s installment: Traffic snaked…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media","category-vocations"],"yoast_head":"\nAnswering the call in Columbus: an extraordinary series unfolds - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/08\/answering-the-call-in-columbus-an-extraordinary-series-unfolds.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Answering the call in Columbus: an extraordinary series unfolds - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Columbus Dispatch has done something quite remarkable — and possibly, unprecedented — for a secular paper, devoting a lot of ink and newsprint to a series following a year in the life of seminarian. 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