Christians of Bota deanery, convened at Holy Trinity Parish in Bota to nourish themselves with the teachings of the church as the chief catechist Bishop Michael Bibi took on the Formation of persons who desire to become Clerics as the focus of the catechetical session of Monday the 19th of February 2024.
Bishop Teaches on the formation of clerics
Reminding participants that receiving the sacrament of baptism is the only way to become a member of Christ faithful and that clerics are part of Christ faithful, the prelate highlighted that clerics, are those who have received the sacraments of holy orders and they constitute the hierarchy of the church. The magisterium he noted refers to the pope and the bishops.
Bishop Bibi teaches.
In the process of becoming a cleric, the prelate told Christians that it is the responsibility of the church to train and form young minds who have shown interest in becoming sacred ministers. In carrying out this responsibility, the church has put in place a structure which allows for adequate education of those who have made the choice to become clerics. This explains why each diocese finds it necessary to run a minor seminary which enrolls young boys with the primary intention of nurturing their desire for priesthood. After attaining the advanced level which is a prerequisite to further studies in becoming a cleric, the student undergoes a pastoral year, during which he is allowed to work in a parish and to put into practice what he learned in school. He further undergoes four years of studies in the major seminary of which he puts in three years to study theology and thereafter is being ordained as a deacon.
Christians nourish their faith.
While in the seminary it was mentioned that the are spiritual directors assigned to cater for the spiritual needs of the seminarians while the rector takes care of the day to day running of the seminary.
Bishop Michael Bibi further reiterated that the seminarians are expected to abide to the rules and regulations of the seminary while also creating time for personal prayers and to belong to prayer groups. In times when the seminarians fail to respect the rules, they are likely to face dismissal from the seminary.
formation of clerics , explained
During his teachings, the chief shepherd called on parents to perform their roles by encouraging children to take up the vocation whenever they show interest in it. Being the first institution for the teaching of the faith, the family he said has key responsibilities in nurturing the desire in young boys who show interest to become clerics in the nearest future. This responsibility is also assigned to priests, bishops and all who constitute the hierarchy of the church, to encourage the vocation to becoming a cleric.
The catechetical session ended with an interactive moment during which faithful had the opportunity to pose questions to the bishop concerning matters of their faith and the prelate gave clarifications as per the teachings of the church.
