Phil Kosloski makes the point today that it could be a great benefit to the spiritual and social development of all young men to spend some time in the seminary. To illustrate this he used his own experiences as example:
I say all of this as a man who entered seminary right out of high school, but who is currently married and the father of five children. Do I regret the three years I spent in college seminary, spending all of that time learning how to become a priest when in fact God was calling me to the married life? Not at all.
When I entered seminary, I hoped one day to celebrate Mass at the altar. I had many doubts and fears, but I entered anyway, knowing that if I didn’t enter I would regret it for the rest of my life.
I knew I had to “try it out” for myself with the full knowledge that God could be calling me to something entirely different (which he did). I may seem like a failure, dropping out of the “priest factory” and not having a collar to show for it, but I don’t see it that way and look at my years in seminary as the perfect preparation for becoming a strong, spiritual leader for my family.
Many young men see the seminary as a “priest-making facility” and don’t realize that there is a lot of opportunity to mature in their faith while exploring a possible vocation. It’s possible that if more young men did attend seminary the next generation may have a much firmer faith. What do you think?
