Sem life hectic for priest-to-be

"People probably think we're locked away in a big building. It's not like that at all," says James Ebert.

In fact, the future priest of the Albany Diocese says his first year at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore is much like his time as a student at Siena College in Loudonville.

"It's just an extension of Siena -- with prayer and Mass thrown in between," he explained.

Off to seminary

A native of Charlton, Mr. Ebert got a jump on seminary life by spending the previous year living at St. Isaac Jogues "house of discernment" in Waterford, while taking classes at both Siena and St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry in Albany. Jogues House, which opened in 2003, is the Diocese's house for men considering the priesthood.

During his time at Jogues House, Mr. Ebert taught religious education to local children. Now, he tutors children in Baltimore as the "apostolic work" requirement of his seminary schedule.

He also takes courses in fundamental, moral and liturgical theology, Church history, and "the Pentateuch and historical literature" -- basically, the Old Testament of the Bible.

"Church history is a lot of fun. Liturgical theology is good," he said, explaining that he likes learning about the history behind the Mass's format.

Busy times

Mr. Ebert's days at St. Mary's start at 8 a.m. and end around 6:30 p.m. He attends morning prayer, has breakfast on his own, goes to classes, goes to Mass at 11:30 a.m., eats lunch with his 60 classmates, goes to evening prayer at 5:15 p.m. and has dinner with his classmates.

There are also many scheduled events for seminarians, from Christmas parties to alumni dinners. Every other week, the rector (head) of the seminary holds a "rector's conference," an hour-long meeting where he addresses the entire school about different dimensions of a priest's role.

The key to managing all of this, said Mr. Ebert, is keeping to a strict schedule.

"You really have to plan your week out in advance," he noted. "It's hectic."

On the other hand, he said, "it's not all schoolwork." Besides meetings, he enjoys tutoring children, many of whom are Spanish-speaking. "It's good to see new faces," he remarked. "With everything planned for you, it's easy not to get outside."

Classmates

Mr. Ebert sees himself as fortunate to have fellow natives of the Albany Diocese as classmates, including Quy Vo, who is also in his first year, and Matthew Frisoni, a seminarian further along in the process. The trio got together recently with classmates from the Dioceses of Syracuse and Ogdensburg for a "New York night."

"There's a lot of stuff to do" in the Baltimore/Washington area, Mr. Ebert added. Weekends are free for the seminarians, so he and Mr. Frisoni often get together for dinner in the city's "Little Italy" neighborhood or a movie.

The students also get visitors: friends, family and Rev. David LeFort, a priest of the Albany Diocese who is director of formation for the diocesan Vocations Team. He spent a couple of days at St. Mary's in October, checking up on how the seminarians are doing and sitting in on classes with them.

Insights

Discernment underpins all part of seminary life: Seminarians must continually evaluate whether the priesthood is right for them.

"They're constantly putting the mirror up to your face," Mr. Ebert said of his instructors. Between classes, prayer and other activities, it can be hard to find time for discernment, he said, but "you look at yourself through what you do. I'm serious about looking at it; this is what I think I'm called to do."

Besides, he added, "discernment doesn't end when you're ordained. It goes on forever."

When will Mr. Ebert be ordained a priest? "When I say, '2009,' people's mouths drop open," he chuckled. "But it flies by quickly."

(1/20/05)