Priestly Identity Seminar
The seminarians of St. Francis De Sales Theological Seminary had a three-day seminar entitled “Priestly Identities: The Ways of Being in Relationship with Jesus Christ. The priesthood of Christ is not” incidental but integral to his identity as the Son-Incarnate, God-made man” held at St. Thomas Aula from October 2 to 4, 2023. The said seminar was facilitated by Rev. Fr. Joden Tenorio, Head of Spiritual Director of the Theology Department. As part of the seminar, we had daily Holy hour every 8:00-9:00 am in the morning at the Chapel. In the first session, Fr. Joden started by stressing that becoming a child of God through baptism is the primary identity of the priest. In the introduction, his discussion centered on expounding on the interrelatedness of relationships, identity, and the mission of the priest. As he mentioned, relationships give one a new identity, which is strengthened and nourished through the sacramental life of the church and thus lives the church mission as part of the body of Christ. We had five sessions with different topics . The topic consisted of Christ the Beloved Son, Christ the Chaste Spouse, Christ the Spiritual Father, Christ the Divine Physician, and Christ the Head and Shepherd. After a series of courses on this priestly identity, the seminarian concluded in a silent prayer and writing of reflection. In order to balance the perspective on priestly identity, this seminar ended with the sharing of Mr. Russell Sebolino’s life experience as a member of a married couple.
