Best Practices for Seminary Education and Formation from Home
Timothy G. Lock, Ph.D.†
Director of Psychological Services for Saint Joseph's Seminary
March 31, 2020

Structure – Routine and predictability is good for mental health.  Some seminarians are living in a
rectory, others with family members.  Wherever you are, develop your own horarium. Think of our
horarium at Dunwoodie and then think of the rhythm of the house in which you are currently living.  
Set up a schedule that integrates both and is “doable”.  Include events that have a set time like
classes, Liturgy of the Hours, and assisting at Mass (for those in a parish), and then add in elements that are more flexible like study time and social time, as well as livestreaming Mass (for those at home), rosary, meditation, adoration and weekly confession.

Connection – While hunkering down and practicing physical distancing is good to reduce the spread
of COVID-19, it causes a noticeable amount of strain that conspires with our global anxiety to create an atmosphere of significant stress.  This can be lessened by social connection. We have to reach out to each other and connect meaningfully.  Beyond emails and texts, make a phone call or have a video call.  Invite a few friends to “hang out” together through Zoom (or another video conferencing platform) without any agenda.  Just spend time together.  Consider calling a neighbor, or someone who may be in need or who may be disconnected.  Practice physical distancing but also practice social connecting (WHO, 3/20/2020)

Articulate your emotions – Allow yourself, and your friends, your family, and your faculty, to be
human.  There is no “right way” to respond to a pandemic and the normal human response includes the full range of emotions: some will laugh; some will cry; some will feel panic; some will be irritable. This is a global trauma, and we are all – in some way – traumatized.  People we know and love may have gotten sick, and we may be scared about our vulnerable loved ones who are at risk. Certainly, our living situation and formation are significantly disrupted.  Our lives have been interrupted. There is clearly a spiritual perspective that is true and wise: to trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understand (cf. Proverbs 3:5).  We can view this situation in the light of faith.  We can dive deeper into the Sacred Heart of Jesus during this time that invites us to pray more.  Nevertheless, we are all struggling, and we are weak.  Do not be afraid to be human. Do not be afraid to be vulnerable.  Share how you feel with your closest friends, with your advisor, with your spiritual director. Spend time journaling – writing down your emotional reaction to the events in your life, to how the Coronavirus is affecting you and your family and your friends.  As you articulate your feelings, it allows them to pass and makes it easier to “let them go”. Articulating your feelings doesn’t make you numb or uncaring, it just allows you to see things more clearly and be less rattled by the intensity of the experience.  If you haven’t had  a meeting with Dr. Lock yet, now is the time.  Send him an email and ask to set up an appointment.  COVID-19 is not going away quickly.  Our hunkering down is not  ending any time soon. So, let us use everything at our disposal to cope well, and to flourish.

Limit your COVID-19-media exposure – When we are in times of crisis, we seek information. However, everything in moderation.  Too much time scouring the internet for updates on the Coronavirus, or too much time wandering through Instagram posts about COVID-19 will put us in an unhealthy place. Two main suggestions: get your news from trusted sources (particularly the CDC) and limit the amount of time you are reading/watching/hearing about the Coronavirus.

Create a Study Zone – Designate space for your studying and for being in class. Limit distractions.  Put up a “Do Not Disturb” sign so that people know you are working (and put the sign away when you are taking a break).  If you like to study with people, set up a Zoom meeting.  It may sound weird to study with people through Zoom, particularly if you will be silent most of the time, but sometimes the experience of being with another helps us accomplish our tasks; if it works for your, do it.

“Turn off the noise” – Putting up a “do not disturb” sign may keep your little brother from
knocking on your door while studying, but sometimes even more distracting is what comes through our devices.  When you need to focus on your work/prayer/silence, make yourself “unavailable”.  Turn
off notifications.  Set your device to airplane mode (or the equivalent); turn off the ring, buzz, vibrate, or ‘ding’.  Close out of your email.  Let nothing electronic pop up, make noise, or otherwise grab your attention.  This will give you the freedom to uninterruptedly read that book, or write that paper, or have some silent prayer.  When you want to take a study break and see what your friend is posting on TikTok, set a timer for 10 minutes so you can be focused and so you don’t get lost in cat videos (cf. inc.com).

Take a Screen Break – This month our average time on screens has significantly increased.  We could all benefit from taking a break from our screens.  After silencing them, walk away from your
devices.  Look out the window.  Lay down on the couch and take a deep breath.  Read a physical
book.  Do some laundry.  Have a face-to-face conversation with a person in your house. Water the
plants. Reconnect with the physical world.

Go outside – Fresh air, sunlight, wind, and nature: all good stress relievers.  Stretch your
muscles.  While you are outside, take a walk down the street.  Or around the block.  The World
Health Organization recommends that you go for 30 minutes (3/20/2020).  As of today, most local and
state parks are open, and NY Department of Environmental Conservation is encouraging outdoor
recreation (with appropriate physical distancing).  Go for a hike!  Enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. Take a walk “with” a friend (call a friend and talk while you walk) or meet up at a park to walk together (limit 5 people) – just remember to keep physical distancing.

Enjoy a hobby or start a new one – Many of us have a list of hobbies or activities we would like to
do but rarely get the time to start.  Bake some cookies using grandma’s receipt, try reading for
pleasure (imagine that! Try a mystery or sci-fi or anything that interests you), how about drawing,
or watch one of those movies Fr. Veras recommends (e.g., The Decalogue, which is actually ten
one-hour films).  Ask a brother seminarian for ideas or hobbies they enjoy.

Take care of your body – We are in a crisis situation and our body’s response to crisis is to mobilize.  This, however, requires a significant amount of energy.  Dealing with crisis and stress,
whether we know it or not, causes our body to become depleted.  Exercise, eat healthy (focus on
nutrition), drink water, get enough sleep, and limit consumption of alcohol and sugary drinks: all
of this can help our immune system and replenish our taxed physiology (WHO, 3/20/2020).

†Grateful acknowledgment for the thoughtful feedback of the Dunwoodie Formation Advisors and
Spiritual Directors, as well as the Coalition for Happy, Healthy and Holy Seminarian

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