My Dear Seminarians in Christ,
Pax et Bonum. I greet you with heartfelt prayer and trust that the Holy Spirit is animating your hearts and minds as you deepen your engagement with the challenging yet rewarding sphere of philosophical inquiry here at the Spiritan Missionary Seminary.
As your formator and Rector, I want to impress upon you that this Seminary is far more than an institution of learning; it is a domus formationis a home of spiritual and intellectual formation built upon the unwavering foundations of the Catholic intellectual tradition. The pursuit of excellence here must always be tethered to relevance for the Church's missionary work.
We are not merely training scholars; we are forming future priests, evangelizers, and compassionate leaders in the Spiritan tradition those who will boldly venture to the peripheries to serve God’s people. Embrace your philosophical studies not as abstract exercises, but as the essential tool that sharpens your intellect and fortifies your will to live with integrity, compassion, and missionary courage in a complex and ever-changing world.
Whether you are taking your first tentative steps into this academic journey or standing on the threshold of its culmination, remember this: in the demanding work of formation, every perceived challenge is, in fact, a grace-filled opportunity, and every moment of difficulty is a call to begin again with renewed faith.
I urge you to be diligent in your studies, generous in mutual support and fraternal charity, and always treat one another with the respect due to a brother called by Christ. Never minimize the gifts or potential of the person beside you.
Please know that my door, and my prayers, remain open to all. I am here to walk with you to offer guidance, to collaborate in your intellectual pursuits, and to listen to your vocational journey.
May God bless your efforts, and I extend to you my best wishes for a semester rich in grace, wisdom, and profound Spiritan formation.
Yours in the service of the Gospel,
Rector
Spiritan Missionary Seminary