The following is an attempt to capture a typical day for a seminarian at Bishop Simon Bruté. It is by NO means exhaustive, but simply provides the general structure of seminary life here.
 
Daily Mass and Eucharist
   Daily Mass and reception of the Eucharist are central to the life of a seminarian at Bruté. Therefore, we attend Mass every day of the week. With the exception of Thursdays, Mass on weekdays is at 6:45 a.m. with Morning Prayer. Morning Prayer is part of the Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office. At Bruté, we also pray Evening Prayer and Night Prayer as a community. The Liturgy of the Hours, in addition to the Mass, forms part of the public prayer of the Church, and is required to be prayed by all priests and religious. It is often referred to simply as “the Breviary.” In the course of the formation, seminarians are expected to work up to praying all of the “hours” of the Breviary, so as to prepare them for major seminary, and ultimately, priesthood. Each “hour” of the Breviary –– Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, Daytime Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer –– takes about five to 15 minutes.

Weekdays
   On weekdays, most of the men wake up between 5:45 and 6:15 a.m. Mass usually concludes at about 7:20 a.m., at which point most men head to the kitchen for breakfast. For those who have class at 8 a.m., breakfast usually consists of cold cereal, fruit, or other grab-and-go items. Those who don’t have class until later typically cook their own breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon, oatmeal, etc. After breakfast, seminarians have either class or free time until later in the afternoon. A typical class schedule consists of two to three classes per day, totaling two to three hours of actual in-class time. In between classes, it is common for the men to study or do home work, socialize in Alumni Hall on campus, work out at Marian’s gym, and eat lunch at the cafeteria, Subway, or Papa John’s. Every Thursday, we attend Mass at 4:30 p.m. with other university students in Marian’s chapel. We have a mandatory holy hour with Eucharistic adoration on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and optional holy hours on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we attend Night Prayer together at 9 p.m.
    After classes, we typically have Evening Prayer together at 5:15 p.m. Following prayer, men usually head back to Marian’s campus in groups of four or five to eat dinner. Most of the men also have a “diocesan night” one day a week, when they eat supper with the other seminarians from their diocese, either at Marian or a nearby restaurant. The purpose of this is for each seminarian to foster friendships and fraternity with the men whom he will one day (God willing) serve alongside as a fellow priest of the same diocese.

House meetings & Formation Conferences
    On Wednesdays, we have our weekly house meeting at 4:30 p.m, in which we briefly address concerns and upcoming events at the seminary and university. After the house meeting, we have Evening Prayer, followed by a community dinner, in which we eat together at either Marian’s cafeteria or the seminary’s dining hall. On nights when we eat at the seminary, our meal is typically prepared by generous volunteers from parishes in the area. After this community meal, we have formation conferences about every other week. Formation conferences are presentations, typically given by the rector or a guest speaker, which serve to inform the seminarians about topics relevant to their formation as men and as future priests in the Church. In addition to individual formation meetings that each seminarian has every two to three weeks, these formation conferences are the primary means of teaching the seminarians how to grow as men and disciples of Jesus Christ, and help prepare them to become more effective leaders in the Church.

Weekends
   On Saturdays, we gather for Morning Prayer at 9:30 a.m, followed immediately by Mass. After Mass, seminarians grab a quick breakfast and head to one of four groups for their weekly “work session.”  The four groups for the work session are: indoor, outdoor, kitchen, and chapel. Each group has a seminarian leader who assigns the other men tasks, in order to clean and maintain their areas of responsibility at the seminary. The work session normally lasts about one hour. Following the work session, there is a community lunch, which is prepared by the parents and (usually) other family members of one the seminarians. These community meals offer a great opportunity for the family of each seminarian to meet the men whom their son is in formation with and to tour the seminary. After this community meal, the seminarians are free for the rest of the day. Most men find something fun to do, such as play sports like football, soccer, or ultimate frisbee, watch a movie, play music, go for a run or bike ride, read a book, or just take a nap!
   On Sundays, all gather for Morning Prayer at 9:30 a.m., followed by Mass. After Mass, most of the seminarians are free until holy hour at 7 p.m., but some have ministry assignments to teach CCD classes at local parishes or otherwise work at a parish. Those who are not assigned to ministry cook breakfast at the seminary or go out to eat. Often, coffee and doughnuts are available in the kitchen after Mass. The rest of the day is open for rest, relaxation, and prayer. We gather again for Holy Hour at 7 p.m., during which we also pray the Rosary together.

    This again is only the basic skeleton of a day in the life of a Bruté seminarian. Of course, there are countless different experiences that fill in all the gaps - experiences of fun, work, laughter, challenges, friendship, and above all, great joy! To get a glimpse of this joy, one must come and see the seminary and meet all of the great men in formation here. The men here are are full of life, a love for Jesus Christ and each other, and a strong desire to do the will of God by serving His Church. In the words of our beloved rector, Fr. Joe Moriarty, “Who has more fun than we do?”