By Julma M. Narvadez
“Boronyog is no longer simply a prayer group. It is now considered as the basic ecclesial community of the seminary. It means it is a microcosm of the whole seminary community. It is our new way of being a church inside the seminary,” writes Fr. Francis A. Tordilla, Rector, as he outlined that new Boronyog system of the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary in Naga City. “The frequency of the prayer meeting provides a promising avenue for faith formation and sharing, camaraderie building and leadership training,” he adds.
Under this system, the Working Committees of the Student Council Organization (SCO) are clustered similar to parish ministries such as Worship, Education, Socio-Pastoral and Temporalities. These committees such as Sports, Academics Documentation & Publication Spirituality Health, Physical Plant, and many others are run by Boronyog. This way, the “former individual-centered committee leadership is replaced by a community-based and collaborative leadership by putting the committee heads of the SCO within the Boronyog.”
This development aims “to synchronize seminary formation with the pastoral thrust of the Archdiocese which is to establish a local church made up of basic ecclesial communities or Saradit na Kristyanong Komunidad.”
Each Boronyog shall be led by a Kapitan or Cooordinator who should be a 12th Grade seminarian. The group will select a Secretary and a Treasurer. The SCO President, Secretary and Treasurer were elected from the Coordinators of the Boronyog.
This structure underscores the strategy that SCO leaders must emanate from the Boronyog groups. This is consistent with the recommendation to parishes that the Parish Pastoral Council should be composed of SKK leaders. If the PPC is composed of lay leaders who are active in their respective barangays or sitios, they will be better equipped to represent the parishioners in the council. The PPC, immersed in the barangays and sitios, will know firsthand the aspirations, strengths and challenges of their fellow parishioners.
Each Boronyog will have a priest-moderator whose primary role is to accompany the seminarian in both Spiritual and Human Formation. In addition, the moderator acts as a mentor in the various leadership roles of the seminarians in their respective Boronyog groups.