In the Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis of St. John Paul II emphasize the importance of the study of philosophy. He states that “a crucial stage of intellectual formation is the study of philosophy, which leads to a deeper understanding and interpretation of the person, and of the person’s freedom and relationships with the world and with God. A proper philosophical training is vital, not only because of the links between the great philosophical questions and the mysteries of salvation which are studied in theology under the guidance of the higher light of faith but also vis – a – vis an extremely widespread cultural situation which emphasizes subjectivism as a criterion and measure of truth: …..Nor must one underestimate the importance of philosophy as a guarantee of that “certainty of truth” which is the only firm basis for a total giving of oneself to Jesus and to the Church.”

On this year, on the months of June and July, we had the course and examination of Universa Philosophia, here in Our Lady of Sheshan Seminary, in Philippines. The course was given to 5 seminarians by Fr. Omar Mazzega, IVE, PhL. We had almost 3 weeks of classes and then one month of personal studies. We used as our material for studies the notes entitled Universa Philosophia prepared by Fr. Bernardo Ibarra, IVE. It consists of 20 chapters which summarizes the whole Philosophy, these studies (as Fr. Omar said before the examination) is not just a mere repetition of what we studied on our three years of philosophy but it consists of studying the topics of philosophy under a single perspective, that is of the Notion of Participation. Therefore, we follow the doctrine of St. Thomas, for it was him who brought the notion of participation in the highest and deepest degree. We also follow Fr. Cornelio Fabro, who was a great Thomist and his understanding of St. Thomas was outstanding. The examination was in two parts: the first one was a written exam in which we draw one chapter and explains that chapter. The second was the oral exam, which happened the following day, again we draw one chapter and had one hour to prepare the exposition and present it, in this oral exam the whole religious family was present. After the presentation, the professor asked the examinees questions about different chapters of the Universa Philosophia.

As it is written in the foreword of the notes, Fr. Bernardo states that “our founder, Fr. Buela, knew how important this course was for priestly formation and fid not hesitate to give enough time and preference within the formation program of the Seminary, but his was not simply his ideas but it was the Church’s idea.”

We thank God for all the graces we had received in these time of studies and we continue asking Him through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the graces we need in this time of formation.