SVD seminarians at Dorish Maru College in Melbourne have put aside their textbooks for the winter academic break and have begun a program of formation workshops alongside parish pastoral placements.
The students, who come from a variety of different countries, say the workshops and practical pastoral experience is helping them to discern and prepare for life as a Divine Word Missionary.
Province Formation Director, Fr Yon Wiryono SVD, said the winter program of workshops focused on two things - workshops deepening the students’ human maturity, including psychosexual and psycho-spiritual aspects, and professional competence in communication.
“The goal of all formation programs in our Society is to form young men ready to embrace this missionary vocation in the spirit of the evangelical counsels embodied in their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, as well as living in intercultural communities, and being ready to participate in the missionary service and charism of the Congregation,” Fr Yon said.
“Missionary work is, therefore, the goal of our formation. In doing so, we focus our Religious Missionary Formation on the four significant dimensions - the Human Dimension, Spiritual Dimension, Intellectual Dimension, and Pastoral/Missionary Dimension.
“Our formation is total and integral; it seeks to bring about human maturity, professional competence, and committed faith.”
Seminarian Khoa Quoc Duong characterised the workshops in the winter program as being “meaningful, insightful and enriching”.
“Each day we were offered valuable insights that deepened our formation and strengthened our brotherhood in this home,” he shared on the Dorish Maru College Facebook page.
The first workshops were on Psychosexual awareness, led by Br David Leary OFM and Psychospiritual awareness, by psychologist Gerard Koe.
Br David’s topic, ‘Fully Alive’ helped the students understand they should not be fearful of their materiality, their bodies. He told them that we know we are fully alive when we: Know ourselves; Understand who we are in all our complexity; Can be fully ourselves; Understand that this is a journey that takes a lifetime; Are growing in our acceptance of who we are, in all reality.
Khoa said that Gerard’s workshop on Psychospiritual awareness “invited and guided us to understand the deeper dimension of human growth and maturity”.
“On the second day, we were brought into the world of modern communication and Artificial Intelligence which is growing significantly,” Khoa said.
“We were privileged to learn about communication in AI era from our keynote speaker, Mr Cruz Ignatius. He helped us to reflect and reevaluate on how we can engage responsibly in today's digital landscape.”
On the final day, the students dug deeper into their academic skill with theologian Dr Cecilia Francisco-Tan.
“She invited and encouraged us to think critically and creatively and to grow in discipline and excellence.
“We ended with a joyful and helpful session on Ongoing Learning in English with Fr Kevin Hennessy CP, who reminded and guided us to read and preach with clarity of pronunciation and self-confidence.”
Fr Yon said the winter program’s practical component aims to develop the pastoral dimension of the students’ formation.
“Ministry Immersion in the multicultural parish is designed to help our seminarians to experience a real missionary/pastoral work in the multicultural parish setting,” he said.
“It is a process of incorporating pastoral character into our students to live missionary life as a commitment to service, able to see the work of God in the hearts and lives of the people with effective listening skills and pastoral sensitivity.”
Fr Yon said the program seeks to inspire and cultivate into the hearts of the seminarians a “Pastoral Spirit”, since their formation is to prepare them to become shepherds in the image of Christ, showing the same compassion, generosity, love for all, and zeal for the kingdom that characterised the public ministry of Jesus.
“The first-hand experience of actual missionary activity/work will help the students to gather a realistic idea of what to expect in the ‘mission field’ and help him to develop necessary and important skills for effective pastoral ministry in the future,” he said.
The winter program would also help the seminarians to prepare for their upcoming diaconate ministry in multicultural parishes and learn more about how parish ministry works while engaging actively in parish life.
“They will learn how to work cooperatively with everyone; parish priest, staff, volunteers, parishioners and provide pastoral care for the community,” Fr Yon said.
Some students will undertake their pastoral work in a nursing home, while others will undertake courses in music or driving.
Student Felix Infant, who is in the Australia Province as part of the SVD’s Overseas Training Program, and is currently assigned to Good Shepherd Parish in Townsville, said the Winter Break Program was “effective, informative, and inspiring”.
“It set the tone for adapting to rapidly changing times,” he said. “A few thought-provoking questions were raised: As a seminarian, how effective can I be? What impact can I make on modern society? How does my formation prepare me to become a good priest?”
Felix said the four-day program was packed with a holistic approach to growth and formation.
“I personally viewed it as a journey from the inside to the outside—from knowing oneself to living out the mission as a seminarian,” he said.
Felix said that in addition to the workshops on Psycho-Spiritual Growth, Affection and Psycho-Sexual Maturity, AI, Communication and Public Speaking for Effective Ministry, and Academic Formation, he found sessions on Formation by the Rector of DMC, Fr Elmer Ibarra SVD, and the interactive English learning session by Fr Kevin Hennessy CP, were both enriching and encouraging.
“The days were marked not only by these intellectually stimulating and relevant sessions but also by moments of community through group dinners, games, work, and recreation,” he said.
“I missed this latter part of the program as I am currently enjoying my "home away from home".
“Although Melbourne is a long way from Townsville, the brothers at DMC made it possible for me to participate in the sessions via Zoom with the help of Fr Yon. Thanks to their support and advancing tech, distance seemed almost non-existent.
“My key takeaway from these four days is the importance of continually updating oneself in every aspect of life—spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and psychologically. Otherwise, we risk becoming irrelevant and less effective.”
Meanwhile, following delays on obtaining visas for Australia, two of the SVD Australia Province’s seminarians, Van Thong Phan and Dinh Hung Nguyen have arrived in the Philippines Central Province (PHC) to continue their initial formation in Tagaytay.
The two young men made their first profession of vows as Divine Word Missionaries last year after completing the Novitiate in the Philippines.
They had been hoping to join the Province’s other seminarians at Dorish Maru College and begin studies at The University of Divinity – Yarra Theological Union, but were pleased that they could continue with their formation in the Philippines for now.
PHOTOS
TOP RIGHT: Fr Yon Wiryono SVD and presenter Mr Cruz Ignatius and SVD students (including Felix Infant on the laptop via Zoom from Townsville) at the seminar on Artificial Intelligence and Communication.
TOP LEFT: Fr Kevin Hennessey CP helped the students with learning to preach with clarity and self-confidence.
MIDDLE RIGHT: The students at Mass together.
MIDDLE LEFT: Dr Cecilia Francisco-Tan addresses the students on bringing excellence to their academic skills.
BOTTOM RIGHT: The seminars were interspersed with fellowship and fun, including a night of ten-pin bowling.