Oblate Seminary in San Antonio, Texas It was a high time to leave Buffalo as the cold front was approaching. The weather forecast for the coming days predicted some snowfall. So quietly in my heart I was saying: “Thank you God that you inspired me to come to Buffalo at the beginning of my trip to America. As I mentioned Buffalo is known as an important piece of the Oblate history in terms of the early days of our priests and brothers. However this city is also the home town of our Superior General Louis Lougen OMI. Fr Louis was born and grew up here. There is a joke circulating among the Oblates at the moment in regards to the high school he attended. In fact there were two high schools. One has given Our Order more than 20 priests and the other only one (Fr Lougen). Apparently the American Oblates took great pride in the first school with so many vocation coming out of it. However when Fr Louis was elected the General Superior for the whole Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 2010 they Oblates started saying that the school that gave us only one vocation was focused on quality not quantity. Anyway with this thought I was leaving Buffalo to fly across the States to San Antonio in Texas. Upon arrival I could feel life coming back into my system. Leaning Buffalo I was wrapped up like crazy due to the temperature that dropped below freezing point. San Antonio welcomed me with pleasant 30 degrees warmth. However the temperature isn’t the reason for my coming here. The American Province of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate runs the major seminary here. It means that the young people after two years in Buffalo where they study Philosophy and a year of the Novitiate in Illinois (which I will visit in December) come to San Antonio for 4 years of their theological studies. San Antonio is known in the Oblate world for the most renowned Oblate School of Theology (OST). The studies are important part of their time here but the focus point is their priestly and Oblate formation. That’s why the place where they live isn’t a simple boarding house but rather a community home. The scholastics (that’s how we call our students preparing to be Oblate priests) live in the community where they grow in their vocation. Of course they daily activates are centered around Jesus. That's why the daily Eucharist is the most important moment of the day. The boys are becoming committed friends of the Lord not workers doing some spiritual job. By becoming Jesus' genuine friends they will be able to bring others to this friendship network. Apart from the daily Mass they meet a few times a ay for other prayers plus for their individual prayer and meditation. At the moment there are 15 scholastics in the seminary here plus 3 Oblate priests who look after them. From what I could see it is a diverse and vibrant community. I had no troubles to recognize the spirit of fraternal charity among those young men, the spirit which St Eugene left to the Oblates on the death bed when he said: “Practice well among yourselves charity, charity, charity, and outside, zeal for the salvation of souls"
From some simple gestures and the way the scholastics treat each other I can tell that they aren’t just a bunch of students happened to live together but they are like brothers for each other. Upon my arrival they had a birthday celebration for Br Dan and it was uplifting seeing them interacting with each other. I pray that as they continue to learn more deeply and profoundly about the Lord Jesus they may continue to be transformed into young priests who draw joy and happiness from living with other Oblates and then taking this joy and happiness into the ministries they will be assigned to.
From some simple gestures and the way the scholastics treat each other I can tell that they aren’t just a bunch of students happened to live together but they are like brothers for each other. Upon my arrival they had a birthday celebration for Br Dan and it was uplifting seeing them interacting with each other. I pray that as they continue to learn more deeply and profoundly about the Lord Jesus they may continue to be transformed into young priests who draw joy and happiness from living with other Oblates and then taking this joy and happiness into the ministries they will be assigned to.
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