The Quadrangle

Issue date: 10/11/06 Section: Features

Justin Cinnante visits Manhattan College weekly to provide students with guidance and help them with their spiritual needs.

Every week in Dante's Den between 1-2pm, Deacon Justin Cinnante is available to assist all students with their religious and spiritual needs. Cinnante is a full-time seminary student preparing for the ministry. As a part of his apostolic mission, he visits Manhattan College once a week to teach classes, talk with students, lead prayer services, and preach at mass on campus during the last Sunday of every month.
Picking up the torch of service from last year's resident seminarian Brendan Gormley, Cinnante took up "The Seminarian Is In." The premise of this forum is to provide students with greater access to religion and God. Cinnante said, "A lot of students have questions, some just want to talk, and some just say hi." It also does not hurt to have "goodies for the body and soul," free cookies, candy, and religious literature.
Cinnante's message to Manhattan College students is unique though his relaxed approach, and his warm, friendly smile and dynamic personality shatters all stereotypes of priests. Cinnante said, "I am not the norm. Most people do not start as young as me. I am 25 and most people begin this process in their late 30's and 40's."
Growing up in the Bronx without a father also had a lot to do with Cinnante's relationship with God. "When I was younger," he said, "I saw God as my father. I wanted to be like Him. I wanted to be a saint."
The process is not easy by any standards, and Cinnante stressed the fact that not everyone is perfect. Cinnante said, "The most difficult part is growing- not changing, but growing. Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future."
Seminarians adhere to strict guidelines to become priests. All priests must attend college, but they do not have to focus on religion and theology primarily. Secondly, all candidates undergo one year of pre-theology academic course work. During this time, candidates develop strong prayer lives by meeting regularly with "spiritual advisors" or already ordained priests. Candidates also live in similar communities. After this, candidates can enter into a seminary, where they study history and church history and engage fully in their apostolic works.
For Cinnante, being a Christian and a saint does not only mean acting the right way; he suggested it also means accepting and sharing God's love. Cinnante said, "God's love is unconditional, and we have to allow him to love us. First, we must love ourselves. Then we allow Him to love us. And when we allow Him to love us, we are able to bring that love to others."
Cinnante plans to spread God's love by becoming more active on campus. "I plan to have various prayer services throughout the year. My job is to help people fall in love with God. And my hope is that, through my brokenness and my woundedness, I will be an example of God's love to others," said Cinnante.
Deacon Cinnante will be graduating from the seminary next spring. He will become a priest after his ordination, which is set for May 12, 2007.
Deacon Cinnante is available to students every Wednesday. He is open to all suggestions about furthering the presence of God on campus and following LaSallian values of faith, service, and community. For more information, contact campus ministry or stop by Dante's Den on a Wednesday afternoon.

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