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

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The foundatron of hrs ltnowledge begrns rn the mrnor semrnary and grows wrth the courses of Phrlosophy and Theology rn the major semrnary Another classrcal language rn the currrculum rs Greelc Canon law states that Greek must be rncludedrn thesemrnarran s course Thrsstudywrth all rts exceptrons has as rts prrme motrve the development of the thrnlcrng process After the essentrals are learned Xenophen SarntMatthew Socrates Demosthenes and Homer are translated Bendrng the wrll to master the aorrst for the love of God rs as pleasrng to l'lrm as bendrng the lcnee rn fhapel proprrate rn a semrnarran s course yet there rs a good reason for these too Algebra and trrg onometry demand precrseness whrle geometry calls for orderly thrnlcrng Thrs rs a good basrs for the exactness of phrlosophy rn later years The perseverance wrth radrcals and obtuse trr angles condrtrons us forgreater problems strll to come General scrence rn frrst year and physrcs rn frfth year answer many questrons of the rn qursrtrve mrnd The wonders of nature unfold lrlce rose petals and reveal the beauty and glory of God The lrngual department rs rounded out rn thrrd year by the addrtron of a modern language French German ltalran Bohemran or Polrsh are offered to the student Another language always rs helpful especrally to a prrest A smrle and come sta or wre gehts mrght have more rnfluence than the greatest sermon Whatcom fort for a person from the old country to be able to go to confessron rn hrs natrve tongue' The hrstory course rn these days when hrstory rs becomrng so rmportant rs very complete From ancrent hrstory rn frrst year through Amerrcan to Modern European the story of crvrlrzatron rs studred and from rt are culled the strength of some men and the mrstalces of others Crvrcs for better crtrzenshrp rs talcen rn thrrd year lnterest rs added by a new drmensron rn thrrd and fourth year The former class goes to Sprrngfreld the latter to Washrngton DC and rts envrrons rn order to see the actual worlcrngs of our govern ment But lcnowrng these subjects rs not enough They must not remarn loclxed up rn the mrnd The prrest rs not merely a banlc vault of Ideas but he must lcnow how to share these treasures wrth hrs fellowman Srnce preachrng rs one of the great powers and prrvrleges by whrch the prrest brrngs the farth to men the student must begrn to prepare rn the semrnary for hrs future taslt of spealcrng A competent course culmrnated rn frfth year by a study of eftectrve preachrng starts the semrnarran on hrs way Thrs rs the currrculum at Qurgley The road to the prresthood rs burlt wrth these studres They may be consrdered as bloclcs ours to burld or to by drlrgently dorng the worlc day after day the semrnarran can reach new herghts both rn holr ness and learnrng The path of educatron rs not smooth Trudgrng rather than sprrntrng the stu dent mrght fall only to prclc hrmself up agarn Two steps forward one baclc learnrng from each fall the student must always lceep hrs eye on the goal Qurgley has met and exceeded all the re qurrements Professors courses and facrlrtres are selected wrth extreme care Yet there rs more to learnrng than the boolc and the teacher There must be a warmness and an atmosphere con ducrve to learnrng Qurgley surely has that The talks by the professors whether they be on the prresthood sports or polrtrcs the helpful obser vatrons of the students and the exchange of questrons and answers lead to fuller understand mg And so by study the semrnarran becomes educated but more than thrs alone he becomes closer to hrs model esus Chrrst 'I I , . , ' r 1 1 - . I 1 1 - ' ' . , . I I . I I 1 ' ' 1 . ' I I Mathematics and science may not seem ap- stumble On- BY Pl0Cln9 them 009 UPON the Other, 1 1 1 1 l - ' I ' , , l . . 1 . 1 1 1 l ' ' ' I - q - .- I I . 1 - 1 I ' 1 1 1 I ' ' I A ' ' I I ' I ' I . . , 1 ' .. . . .. .. . ,. . - - I . , J -

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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.

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QRS. FORMULATES A COURSE THROUGH MATH K - I K, 'Y f ff W