As a nursing mother cares for her children, with such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well. What would St. Paul think about our current seminary system? Young men (and it is only men currently) are trained in theology, trained in philosophy, trained in scripture, trained in liturgy, trained in preaching. While those are all great skills to have in ministry none of them have the personal touch that St. Paul thought was essential to his life as a missionary. If those in ministry don’t care about what the people are going through, don’t treat them with affection, aren’t willing to be vulnerable, they are not following the Pauline model. Priesthood and religious life can become so professionalized that it lacks the warmth and human connection that made Paul such an effective missionary.
