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formation is the pursuit in everyday living no matter of what level you are in as long as you hold
this identity. In the formation, there are rules and regulations set to promote order and to
uphold common good within the community. This order creates peace and harmony in
seminary community. However, the rules are not created for the reason of its existence alone.
It is created to aid the seminarians have a good life. Good life here means: making everyone
virtuous. In Christian perspective, this means that we are formed to become holy people. It is
Thus, the rules then are not the ends in itself but the means to attain the very purpose
of the seminary. In the walks of life, there are no such absolute mean presents in the history. All
means are prone to mistake and failure but what upholds man to be virtuous is the
commitment of himself as created in the image and likeness of God. Living a life of virtue and
commitment is the end in itself. Thus, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said that man
seeks the highest good and must live in a virtuous life. The highest expression of virtue is love.
Like in the seminary, my action must be motivated by love not just to follow the rules; however,
rules are necessary for every institution to maintain harmony and tranquility. It is because if our
existence in the seminary is sustained only by the rules and regulations, the tendency of self-
transcendental being created in Love. The seminarians will turn into a reactive machine that
design to execute the action that is set to him. The programs are the rules, we are the
computer, and the programmers are the formators. I wish it will never happen.
What I am trying to connote is that love must be the rationale behind our vocation not
the rules and regulations. If the judgment of my vocation is based on the rules I violated, then,
Thus love must be above the law, and it is love that makes me good seminarian and
motivated me to live in the seminary. Love makes the saints holy. It is what our Master, Jesus
Christ, said: Love conquers all; love God above all; love your neighbor as you love yourself.
And as seminarian, the challenge to love must be the dominant factor that makes me
good not the laws; love must be the one that sustains my priestly vocation not the laws. It is
because if I forget to love my vocation the tendency to violate the rules and regulations are
very present. To make judgments based on rules are not in contrary; however, the worst
potentials are put into restrictions to the worst that there is nothing improvement at all. Such
concern leads to immaturity to the worst possible. We all know immaturity leads to nothing.