Read on Twitter
There are a lot of things both difficult & good to ponder here. I wonder often about the future of theological education, particularly as local formation models spring up. I think a lot about curriculum (Patristics, notably) and mentorship (for women AngloCatholics in particular) https://twitter.com/JoshuaHeavin/status/1294748615047548928
When I think about forming priests, my first hope is that curriculum and patterns of life are oriented foremost toward centering the priest's soul in Christ - and cultivating a deep personal commitment to (striving for) holiness.
A holy priesthood is rooted in Jesus and his Sacraments. Pursuit of Christ is by necessity a pursuit of scriptural fluency and theological/historical inquiry. We don't learn Greek for a grade. We learn Greek because it reveals something to us about Jesus Christ.
How much of my seminary experience was genuinely animated by an invitation to and nourishing of personal holiness? Some, I suppose. But we could've done so much better.
I fear that this mechanistic model of theological education contributes to a mechanistic understanding of priesthood for many following ordination. It's an insidious and quiet plague, because it is so easy to mask its aches with busyness.
How many clergy do I know who seem to wear their ministry like a coat to be deposited on the hook at the door when one arrives home? Too many. I wonder about how formation contributes to this - and how it may be changed to revive a consecrative, sacramental priesthood.
