Prayer, Discipline, Study and Apostleship
We have these four emblematic guiding words, which stem from the four dimensions of formation:
- PRAYER. Which is a priority. One cannot be a minister of divine grace without an ongoing experience in Christ. (PDV 45)
- DISCIPLINE. Every human project requires discipline in order to achieve the intended goal. Lacking it, a person’s growth is seriously hindered. (PDV 43)
- STUDY. Faith and reason are always together. The most profound knowledge of the message of revelation is encouraged, a knowledge that leads to collaborate with the People of God and one’s own sanctification. (PDV 51)
- APOSTOLESHIP. The whole preparation of a seminarian is intended to configure the image of our Good Shepherd. Any effort lacks consistency unless the shepherd dimension is achieved. (PDV 57)
These four fundamental experiences are gradually lived throughout 10 to 12 years of formation in the Institutes of the Minor Seminary, the Introductory Course, the Institute of Philosophy and the Institute of Theology.
The number of hours a student will have spent in each experience by the time he completes his formation are as follows:
- 7,800 hours of communitarian and personal prayer, complemented with annual one-week retreats, one two-week retreat and one three-week retreat as an intense prayer experience.
- 11,200 hours of study that allow him to achieve two bachelor degrees (one in Philosophy and the other one in Theology), both recognized by the Education Secretariat.
- 8,000 hours of community service in parishes, jails, hospitals, schools, care homes, specific pastoral activities, etc.
* PDV. Pastores Dabo Vobis, John Paul II