Laking Guadalupe... Maipagmamalaki!

today is the 56th foundation anniversary of our lay of guadalupe minor seminary, my high school alma mater. 11 years after graduating, it's nice to take a short walk down memory lane through some pictures posted by my friends in facebook about our experience of the minor seminary, accompanied by an excerpt from my canon law paper entitled "THE RELEVANCE OF MINOR SEMINARY FORMATION TODAY: A Reflection Paper on Canon 234 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law."

first year in olgms, circa 1996. this was inside dorm 1!

I entered the minor seminary at the tender age of twelve years. Since my childhood, the attraction to the priesthood was present as I simulated “saying mass” with my playmates in my younger years, using Marie biscuits and Haw-haw flakes for the host and a small amount Coca-Cola for the mass wine. Such desire eventually developed when I became a member of the Knights of the Altar in our parish and in school. Through the help of my religion teacher, I took an exam at the Our lady of Guadalupe Minor Seminary and I managed to pass the exams, interviews, and live-in screening process. Despite the contention and hesitation of my mother, I decided to enter the minor seminary for high school.

one of the visiting sundays in olgms, also when i was in first year.

Initially, I felt the initial signs of the vocation to the priesthood, but I wasn’t very sure about it when I entered the portals of OLGMS. At first, I found it difficult for me to adjust to an entirely new and different environment, away from the confines of my family whom I only see during Sundays for a few hours allowed for visiting. We were only allowed to go home once a month, but the following year, we were allowed to go home every other week, from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. Our interaction with the family also increased as they were also invited during activities like recollection, family mass, and community gatherings. My dealings with the opposite sex somehow developed as we were given avenues for interaction with fellow high school students in other schools. I think that my experience in the minor seminary made myself aware of the vocation that I have, and now I continue to pursue the call to the priesthood fifteen years after entering the minor seminary.

one of the "agape nights" (community bonding activity) in olgms, also in first year high school.

Time and again, I encounter arguments and discussions subscribing the abolition of the minor seminary, ranging from reasons like the “artificial environment” provided to young boys early in their lives to the various “suppressions and repressions” of people who came from the minor seminary later on in their lives. There are salient points in their arguments that I somehow agree with, but I think that the minor seminary is an institution in the Church that is in the constant process of renewal and change.

olgms batch 2000, with the late jaime cardinal sin and bishop jesse mercado, my bishop

Like any other institution, the minor seminary must be sensitive to the signs of the times and the individual development of the young boys who are undergoing formation in this institution. It must cater the psycho-social maturity of the adolescent male seminarian, who must continually be in contact with his family and other influences in the world without compromising the climate suitable for fostering the vocation to the priesthood. And even if the seminarian decides to take a different path after the minor seminary, the positive impact of the formation underwent in the minor seminary ought to be considered in the development of the person apart from the seminary structure.

with fr. rany geraldino, the first priest in our batch. who knows, the second and the third could be in this picture (not mark, baka magalit si chewey. hahaha)

The relevance of the minor seminary lies on the fact that it is able to form and equip young men that are able to discern and respond to their chosen path of life. Indeed, the minor seminary is a seedbed where the vocation to holiness in general – whether it is the priesthood or another path – is nurtured. Such an institution must therefore be fostered yet be subject to constant scrutiny and renewal.

deo gratias.