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COME AND SEE!
A Vocation Stay-In
Experience at College General
By Joachim Robert
Penang: College General, the inter-diocesan
seminary in Peninsular Malaysia organised a
Vocation Stay-In Experience which was well
attended by young men from all three dioceses. A
total of thirty seven young men, the most in
recent years, participated in the three day
event, which was meant to give them a small
taste of life in the seminary. Kudos to the
parish priests and vocation directors for
enabling them to come. The theme for the
Stay-In, which began from 8 – 10th of August
2008 was “Come and See” (John 1: 39).
The young men began the weekend exposure with
hilarious ice breakers and briefing. Peals of
laughter could be heard as bishop, priests,
seminarians and aspirants bandied with words by
using the names of fruits to introduce
themselves for example I am Jambu-John. The
aspirants found it a very “fruity” affair.
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Many found
the history of College General quite
interesting and informative as Kevin
Eruthayanathan, one of the seminarians,
ran through the establishment of College
General in Penang, two hundred years ago
and how it all began in 1665 in Ayuthiya,
Thailand.
The seminary Rector, Fr. Edwin Paul
briefed the aspirants on the formation
of a Diocesan priest and highlighted the
types of formation they will undergo to
be a priest namely Human formation,
Spiritual formation, Intellectual
formation, Pastoral formation and
Community living. |
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Next, the acting
Dean of Studies, Fr. Simon Labrooy, gave a talk
on “Who is a Diocesan Priest?”. He elaborated on
the charism of a diocesan priest and the
importance of prayer life. He had the aspirants
and seminarians in laughter with his jokes,
anecdotes and frank sharing.
Next came the personal sharings by the formators
and the seminarians. They were open in sharing
about their respective vocation stories and the
aspirants too were not shy to ask questions and
share their struggles and difficulties they go
through in the world today. There were ample
time for sharing and dialogue.
In a seminary one definitely cannot do without
prayer and games, for some aspirants it was the
first time that they had ever prayed Lauds
(morning prayer), Vespers, (evening prayer),
meditation. For some it was a moving experience
as they chanted the psalms in praising God.
During the games we had some aspirants trying to
show off their skills in the football field and
others their agility in the volleyball court.
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The last
night was “Agape Nite” a time of fun and
laughter as groups of aspirants and the
seminary community amused each other
with skits. We definitely had many
talents both young and old that could
qualify for the next Hollywood movie.
On Sunday the Stay-In Experience came to
an end with mass celebrated by
Archbishop Emeritus Soter Fernandez and
in the sermon preached by Fr. Edwin, he
encouraged the aspirants to continue to
grow in discipleship and to persevere
and be courageous to make the initial
step in answering God’s call and serve
in His vineyard. |
After Mass, the
seminary had an open day to promote vocations
and to make known the bicentennial celebration
of the institution of College General in Penang
which will be held on the 2nd October 2008. Many
came for the open day, as the museum and the art
gallery were open for exhibition and the Blessed
Sacrament was exposed for adoration from 11.00
am to 4.00pm to specifically pray for more
vocations. The event ended with a benediction.
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