Pastoral Department

Director of Pastoral Formation: Fr. Joseph M. Krafft
E-Mail: frkrafft@nds.edu
Ext: 3012/3221

Co-Director of Pastoral Formation: Sr. Theresa Marie Tran, SCC
E-Mail: transcc@nds.edu
Ext: 3017

Department Secratary: Mrs. Sharon Mason
E-Mail: SMason@nds.edu
Ext: 3011

Parish Internship Handbook 2011

The Pastoral Orientation of Seminary Education

The Second Vatican Council Decree on the Training of Priests emphasizes the pastoral orientation of seminary education, stating that a pastoral concern "should characterize every feature of the students’ training." The goal of seminary formation is to prepare priests with a comprehensive pastoral outlook, ready to assume the pastoral duties which their service to the community requires. Pastoral service extends to all individuals and groups, including all social classes, with special concern for the poor and those alienated from society. "Pastoral Formation certainly cannot be reduced to a mere apprenticeship, aiming to make the candidate familiar with some pastoral techniques. The seminary which educates must seek, really and truly, to initiate the candidate into the sensitivity of being a shepherd, in the conscious and mature assumption of his responsibilities, in the interior habit of evaluating problems and establishing priorities and looking for solutions on the basis of honest motivations of faith and according to the theological demands inherent in pastoral work." (PPF #397).

Objectives of Pastoral Field Education

To enable the seminarian to acquire a consciousness of being a shepherd ; to help him see pastoral ministry as a communion and participation in the charity of the Good Shepherd; to give him the knowledge and skill to articulate and model his own priestly identity; to help him develop his sense of self, to acknowledge his strengths, his ideals and what he needs to work on.
To enable the seminarian to establish connections between faith, theology and pastoral work; to help the seminarian develop his communication skills so that he can effectively communicate to others what he has learned in the human, spiritual and intellectual formation at the seminary; to help the seminarian to synthesize what he has learned and to foster an awareness and need for further education and synthesis.
To enable the seminarian to insert himself into the living pastoral tradition of a particular church and into the missionary dimension of the Church’s life; to enable the seminarian to relate with and respond to the human and religious needs of a particular church and to its presbyterate; to enable the seminarian to relate positively to supervision and feedback in his work with communities and church authorities.

In summary, the seminarian will develop the ability to articulate his priestly vocation; he will be able to integrate and synthesize the various pillars of the formation process; he will be able to communicate and relate with others. Cf. Pastores Dabo Vobis, # 57-58.

Pre-Theology

FE 001/FE 002 Supervised Pastoral Ministry

In order for a student to understand adequately the meaning of ministry, he should have some exposure to and involvement in community services. The goal of pastoral work during Pre-theology is to give the individual the opportunity to realize better the needs of a community and his gifts as related to those needs.

First Theology

Fall/Spring

PT 101 Pastoral Theology HSP
101 Teaching and Preaching the Word

Field Education

Students are neither required nor encouraged to engage in pastoral field work during first theology. This year is viewed as a time of transition to graduate studies and an atmosphere that will provide time for personal reflection and a strengthening of one’s prayer life. ANY EXTRA-CURRICULAR PASTORAL MINISTRY MUST BE APPROVED BY THE DIRECTOR OF PASTORAL FORMATION AND FIELD EDUCATION.

Pastoral Exposure Program (PEP)

During first theology students are to participate in the Pastoral Exposure program that will provide students with special ministry concerns.

Mission Experience

Students are required to visit the missions during the Christmas break as part of the "Acompaño Program."

Summer

FE 200 Supervised Parish Ministry

It is required that each student, during the summer of the first year of theology, work and live full-time in a parish setting. The purpose of this field experience is to provide exposure to the work of a parish priest, and the opportunity to develop skills in pastoral care. The student should assist in parish programs such as liturgy planning, visitation to the hospital/shut-ins, organization of religious education programs and involvement in their activities, exposure to the Parish Council/School Board, and participating in the Liturgy according to the ministry he has received. Such experience will give a different perspective to one’s seminary training. If a student is not able to fulfill this requirement during the summer, he must work in a parish setting on weekends during his third year of theology.

Requirements for this ministry are one reflection paper and an evaluation at the end of the summer/school year. Students are to complete a profile of their diocese and of two church parishes within the diocese.

Second Theology

Fall/Spring

PT 202             Pastoral Counseling
HSP 202           Homiletics Practicum I
FE 201/202      Supervised Ministry of Religious Education

Supervised catechetical ministry is selected according to the individual’s previous experience and present interests. Possibilities include: elementary or high school religious programs or parish programs for elementary, high school or adult participants (i.e., RCIA). Seminarians select a teaching site in consultation with the Assistant Director of Pastoral Field Education. On-site faculty supervision and an evaluation are required each semester. (All students are expected to fulfill this requirement in field education. Previous experience in religious education will not necessarily provide exemption. Teaching is an opportunity to articulate the knowledge gained in theological studies and to enable one’s faith stance to be more clearly defined).

Summer

FE 300 Clinical Pastoral Education (C.P.E.)

The seminary does not offer C.P.E. programs but uses this course number to register degree credit for C.P.E. done in approved centers, upon receipt of certification from the responsible officials of the centers. The minimum requirement for the Master of Divinity and for other seminarians seeking the seminary recommendation for Holy Orders is one basic unit of C.P.E. The ordinary time for satisfying this requirement is the summer after the second year of theology. In the choice of an institution for C.P.E., the students are to obtain the approval of the Director of Pastoral Formation and Field Education.

Third Theology

Fall/Spring

PT 303 Liturgy and the Celebration of the Sacraments
HSP 303 Homiletics Practicum II

Fourth Theology

Summer/Fall/Spring

FE 400           Summer Parish Internship
FE 401           Fall Parish Internship
PT 403           Church Administration
PT 404           Global Church Workshop
PT 407           Eucharist/Penance Practicum
PT 513           Pastoral Reflections on Marriage and Family

The summer and fall semesters for the 4th year intern will be spent in a parish where he will engage in full-time ministry. The interim remains in his parish assignment from June through October. This will provide continuity for both the intern and his "Teaching Parish," while at the same time providing an extended opportunity for the intern to develop his skills and abilities in pastoral care and in the administration of parish programs. The intern returns in October as a full-time student to continue the formation and academic requirements of fourth year of theology. In the second semester of his fourth year, he will engage in the necessary proximate preparation for the 4th year priesthood retreat, graduation in May and for his eventual priestly ordination. Ordinarily, diaconate ordination will take place in January after the intern has successfully completed his parish internship. If a deacon wishes to be involved in ministry during the spring semester, he is to present a written proposal to the seminary administration seeking approval.

Theological/Pastoral Reflection Units

In theological field education, reflection and integration are closely related. Theological reflection is critical for practical learning in a formation context. Students perceive how theology and the tradition of the church shed light on the pastoral situations they experience. Theology is illumined in the process. Academic work and pastoral ministry come to reinforce one another. This mutual interaction also helps seminarians to sense the presence of God in these experiences and to relate their life in Christ to the service of God’s people. Such learning can represent a significant moment of personal integration for seminarians as well. (PPF #402).

Each core course in the Master of Divinity curriculum is to include specific classes for "theological/pastoral reflection" in order to insure this integrative process.

The Acompaño Program

All seminarians during the first year of theology are required to visit a mission country, specifically in Granada, Nicaragua, in order to become better acquainted with the missionary activity of the Church.

The mission experience will involve living in a mission country for a week to:

Reflect theologically on the mission of Christ and the Church.
Become aware of the universality of the Church.
Pray for the mission of Christ in the world today.
Study issues of social justice.
Live and work with missionaries.
Be introduced to another language and culture.
Learn from the people.
Provide manual labor to improve the living conditions of the people.
Make pastoral home visits.

The Global Church

Notre Dame Seminary has diverse cultures represented by the seminarians and faculty. This diversity of cultures is also present in the dioceses and religious communities served by the seminary. Recognizing the need to give seminarians a more adequate preparation to do priestly ministry among groups of different people within the Church, the seminary sponsors the Global Church Workshop.

Each year during a four-year cycle, one day will be given to a cultural immersion in one ethnic or other group.
The focus will be on theological, liturgical and spiritual understandings prevalent in the ethnic community and the current pastoral needs.
The seminary community will be required to participate in the prayers, devotions, liturgical style, meals and customs of the ethnic group.