Quigley Preparatory Seminary - La Petit Seminaire Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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we gflfttfd 0 ln the education of a future priest all things must be co-ordinated to produce one result- a man who is learned and pious. The education of the future priest, then, is a noble and delicate assignment. ln this modern world, with all its complexities, the role that the priest plays is in- creasingly important. fo stay abreast of the many new social and scientific problems, the secular priest must possess both an alert mind and a gen- eral knowledge of many and varied subjects. This is not to say that the priest must be a genius but rather to say that he must be an understand- ing and sympathetic guide who will do all in his power to help his flock. Such a man was Saint lean-Marie Vianney the Cure' d'Ars. He who was to become a model parish priest had many difficulties in hisseminary days. Philosophy came hard to him as a result of his lack of knowledge of Latin. France was in turmoil politically and this too added to his strife. But through every hardship the grace of God and the Cures perserverance won out. This indeed is a lesson for every seminarian. As Saint ,lean Vianney pilgrimaged to Saint Regis in his darkest hour, so the Quigley boy brings his slightest worry to his waiting Friend in the chapel. The Quigley boy does not have the same hardships which Saint jean Vianney had. The material advances of the age have brought much leisure and with it much distraction. It is for the seminarian to overcome these distractions, to overcome the tendency for leisure so that the 20 LU eCl,l I'lLl'lg priesthood will find him worthy and capable of his duties. The twelve-year course to the priesthood is made both necessary and possible in this era of confusion. The leaders of the people must come from the seminary and not from an atheistic uni- versity. So that the priest might be a pivotal point in this turning point of history, a curriculum which will lead to clear thought is necessary. Thus it is that the curriculum of Quigley has a cultural tone with a yearning for exactness. Latin is not dead at Quigley. The official language of the Church obviously must be known by Her officials who read it in the Mass and in the Office. Syntax and parsing become as in- evitable to the seminarian as his noon-day meal. From the roots of conjugations and deciensions in first year grow the translations of Caesar, Cicero and Virgil. How far off is Hoc est enim . . . from porta, portae, but how necessary the latter! Through the study of God's law and Christ's message we see clearer and have deeper respect for the glory of a Christian. The religion course then, is the center of our planetary system of studies, the sun around which all others revolve. The course is divided into two parts: the study of moral, dogma and worship, and the progres- sive study of the Bible. The riches garnered from these studies both inspire and inform. The priest is expected to solve many doubts, in the confessional and in the rectory office. Therefore he must know and apply Christian law.