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Student Testimonials
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Rev. Christopher Fadok, OPMA Philosophy (2006), MDiv (2010)
My first assignment as a priest will be to Blessed Sacrament Parish, our Dominican church in Seattle, Washington. I'll begin my service as a parochial vicar in July and I couldn't be more excited! I spent a year of residency at Blessed Sacrament in 2006-2007, and I know the people and the place both to be joyful and holy. After years of invaluable education, I'm eager to put into practice as a priest at Blessed Sacrament all I've learned as a member of the community of scholars at the DSPT. It's impossible to imagine fulfilling the countless roles of the priest in a parish without my schooling in philosophy and theology. Think of all your hopes, wants, and needs as a Catholic. They can vary so much—from what you might traditionally expect of a priest, to novel expectations that could only arise in our time. Traditionally, you want an intelligent, compassionate man in the confessional, for example, or perhaps someone with whom to talk about a personal or family problem. Maybe an ethical question has come up for you in the workplace and you need some advice. The DSPT has given me years of training in moral theology and pastoral counseling. A class devoted exclusively to confessional ministry gave me the chance to apply what I'd learned in “mock confessions” with a dozen different priests representing countless years of experience and wisdom. Alternatively, when Time or Newsweek publishes another article on “the historical Jesus,” painting a portrait that seems so different from Jesus as we know him by faith, you may have questions. My studies at the DSPT in sacred Scripture and in theological areas like Christology have prepared me to help you find answers. Perhaps another issue of Scientific American on the brain has caught your attention, and you're wondering: What ever happened to the soul? With my philosophical studies of nature, the human person, and the intersection of faith and science, I can help you figure it out. In the end, you and I simply want to grow closer and closer to God every day. My formation at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology helps us both along the way. I join the Dominican community in regular thanks to God for the material and spiritual benefits the DSPT enjoys because of the generosity of those who support us financially and in prayer. I would urge all who read this newsletter to support our school. And, if God is calling you to ministry in the Church, or you just want to know, love, and serve God better, I would encourage you to consider a program in philosophy or theology (why not both?) at the DSPT. In one way or another, God is indeed calling you to serve him in building up the Body of Christ in the third millennium. Please join us in our mission to praise, to bless, and to preach! |
I am Br. Christopher Fadok, OP, and I've been in formation as a Dominican friar since I entered the Western Dominican Province in a distant August 2002 eight years ago. Now, in less than two months—God willing!—I'll be ordained a priest. I spent six of my eight years in initial formation as a student at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology. In May of 2006, I graduated from the DSPT with a Master of Arts degree in philosophy. In May 2010, I'll graduate with a Master of Divinity degree. One month later, on 25 June 2010, my four classmates and I will be ordained to the priesthood at St. Dominic's Church in San Francisco.