"Seminarian to relate vocational experiences in new CNA column"

From Catholic News Agency

CNA STAFF, Jan 12, 2009 / 05:08 pm (CNA).- CNA is opening 2009 with a new column titled, “Led Into the Truth,” written by fourth-year seminarian, Joshua Allen. His column will discuss his life as a seminarian in Rome and his journey toward truth and holiness.

Allen explains his purpose for writing by discussing the importance of a vocational call. “St. Augustine, the great Doctor of the Church, writes in his treatise de Beata Vita that to live the happy life is to ‘know precisely and perfectly Him through whom you are led into the truth, the nature of the truth you enjoy, and the bond that connects you’ (de Beata Vita, §35).”

“Each person in this life is called to a particular vocation, which encompasses his or her entire life,” Allen says. “This vocation, a call from God himself, finds its roots in the very fact that we are created: ‘For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them’ (Eph 2:10).”

Allen continues, “a vocation is the medium through which we are led into the truth, the truth that is precisely Christ Jesus. Each vocation is unique and unrepeatable; each has inestimable value for the building of the Kingdom of Christ. My column, which I have titled “Led Into the Truth,” is an attempt to relate the source and the process of my particular vocational call as it is manifested in my current situation. I am a seminarian studying for the Archdiocese of Atlanta in Rome, the heart of the Catholic Church. I hope to relate in this column some of my experiences as a seminarian living abroad, seeking holiness, and being formed into the heart of Christ.”

Allen is currently studying at the North American College in Rome and is in his second year of theology, having completed a pre-theology philosophy program at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD. Prior to entering seminary, Allen graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in finance and worked in private equity for several years.

“The column will cover at times the details of the seminary process as I encounter them, my experiences in places and events I am able to witness, and my experience of the Universal Church and her head, the Pope,” he explained. “I hope to reveal to those who read my column a great deal about the particular way the Lord is leading me into the truth and to encourage others to boldly follow the Him in their vocations.”

Allen’s column will be updated on the last Friday of each month and can be accessed here or by clicking the “Led Into the Truth” link in the gray box at the bottom of the page.