St. Peter Parish Welcomes Two Kenrick-Glennon Seminarians
I had the pleasure of attending a meeting on Tuesday, August 24th, at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. There I was introduced to two Seminarians who will be coming to St. Peter Parish this academic year: Mr. Nicholas Reinagel, studying for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri, now beginning his second year of Pre-Theology studies; and, Mr. Gregg “Mike” Elsner, studying for the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas, now entering Theology III.
According to a handout I received from the Seminary:
• Students in Pre-Theology II are assigned to parishes for Sundays only. They are to assist in the sacristy, serve at least one Sunday Eucharist, and be present to the parish community on Sunday.
• Students in their third year of theology focus on Religious Education and Catechesis. Seminarians teach either in an Elementary School setting or a High School setting. They can also contribute on Sundays to the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, Christian Initiation of Children (RCIA/RCIC), Adult Education, Parish School of Religion (PSR, CCD), and Children’s Liturgy of the Word, as their schedules allow. Students in Theology III do 3 or 4 hours of apostolic service a week in the parish. Students will wear their clerical clothes while performing their apostolic service.
It really is quite a privilege for St. Peter Parish to receive the presence, prayers and ministry of two seminarians from Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. I count it a great honor that the seminary formation team would allow us to benefit from, and participate in, the pastoral ministry of these men preparing for the Sacred Priesthood. I am grateful for their confidence in us. Please join me in welcoming Mr. Nicholas Reinagel and Mr. Mike Elsner to St. Peter Parish.
Just a little about Kenrick-Glennon Seminary:
Configuring Men to the Heart of Jesus Christ
The mission of the seminary is to prepare men for the ministerial priesthood of Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church. The seminary program is built upon four pillars of formation.
1. Human Formation is centered on the Person of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, so that each candidate may become an apt instrument of Christ’s grace. By growing in affective maturity, the seminarian is prepared to donate his life in imitation of Jesus, thus becoming a bridge and not an obstacle for others in their encounter with God.
2. Spiritual Formation is centered on living in intimate and unceasing union with God the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit, so that the candidate might be rooted ever more deeply in the foundational call to discipleship and conversion of heart. Those who desire to share the mission of Christ, as the apostles did, must first acquire the listening and learning heart of disciples.
3. Intellectual Formation is centered on deepening each candidate’s knowledge of the Divine Mysteries of the Catholic Faith through a systematic, organic, and dynamically orthodox method of Catholic philosophy and theology. Acquiring a knowledge of Jesus Christ through personal encounter and study, the seminarian will be ready to share and teach the Catholic Faith for the salvation of his brothers and sisters.
4. Pastoral Formation is centered on preparing each candidate to stand and act in the community in the name and person of Jesus Christ, Head and Shepherd of the Church, through evangelization, service, and sacramental ministry, pre-eminently in the Eucharist.
On these four stand the men Configured to the Heart of Jesus Christ, who will serve us as priests of the Catholic Church. Let us pray for our seminarians!
Sincerely yours in Jesus,
Fr. John Seper