Serving in the Lord’s pasture

Starting in first theology at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary, all seminarians receive a pastoral field placement. Depending on their year in seminary, a seminarian spends a few hours each week doing ministry in a school, hospital, prison, or a local church.

Unlike college, which focuses generally on intellectual learning, seminary has a broader focus. The four areas—or dimensions—that seminarians are formed in are spiritual, intellectual, human, and pastoral. While there was a heavy emphasis on the first three dimensions in my pre-theology years, this is the first year that the pastoral focus really kicks in. It is daunting and exciting.

My pastoral placement is at a local K-8 Catholic school near the seminary I attend. So far, I’ve had the opportunity to work with the third, sixth, and eighth grade students. One of the main challenges has been learning to think in pedagogical (teaching) terms. It is one thing for me to sit in the classroom and learn about the Trinity at a university level. It is quite another thing to concisely teach an 8-year-old about the Trinity at a level he can understand.

I enjoy how quizzical the students are. When Halloween preparations were in full swing, I was asked a lot of questions about spiritual things and scary things (are ghosts real?). This has helped me think about how to integrate what the culture emphasizes (graveyards in front yards appear to be rather popular this year) and use it to emphasize the truth about spiritual realities, like life after death.

Besides being in the classroom, I have the opportunity to be at lunch and recess with the students. While teaching is important, even more important is for us to encounter Christ and to share Christ’s gift of love. By no means is knowledge unimportant, but to have an encounter with the Lord is key. I hope that by these little encounters of eating lunch, playing Four Square, and learning together we will be brought closer to Christ.

When I try to understand what the mission of God is supposed to be in my pastoral placement, two things come to mind. The first is to shepherd. The word “pastor” comes from a Latin root that means “to lead to pasture.” What does it mean to lead others to pasture? It means to feed their souls. Like the first disciples, I have little to offer, yet what I have to give is multiplied if I unite it to Christ, the Good Shepherd.

The second thing that comes to mind is clinicals. I know, that is a big jump from Christ the Good Shepherd, but hear me out. Before a nurse gets their license, they must participate in clinicals where they work under a mentor for a set number of hours in a clinical environment putting into practice what they learned in the classroom. I think this is an appropriate analogy for my pastoral placement. I have been sent to put into practice what I have learned from the heart of Mother Church.

I am thankful for this opportunity. When I graduated college and began my first full-time job, I discovered that there were several things college did not prepare me for. One of these gaps was how my supervisors expected me to proactively handle problem solving by doing as much to find the solution as I could before coming to them and asking questions. I had to change how I worked. While I did not switch careers because my job was not quite what I expected, many people do today.

Because of this gift of working in pastoral fields before my possible ordination to the priesthood, I am confident that I am being well prepared to discover and discern the priesthood. It is a particular blessing this year to encounter God’s children and assist in guiding them towards heaven. Please pray for us, your Fargo seminarians, that we may have a fruitful year of learning and serving in the Lord’s pasture.