A very sad news from me

[Zaccheus]

Zaccheus:

If you are an adult then how can she stop you from being baptized or from going to Mass?

In her eyes, I am still a kid.

Makes no difference. Either you are legally an adult or not. If you are you can decide for yourself.

Thistle has the right of it. If you are legally an adult, then what your aunt thinks of you does not change that fact. You are an adult and have the legal right to decide for yourself.

 

[tafan2]

Thistle has the right of it. If you are legally an adult, then what your aunt thinks of you does not change that fact. You are an adult and have the legal right to decide for yourself.

I will take it a step further. I have heard it said that priests used to be willing to start the conversion process for a person at the age of 26 without parental consent. This makes sense to me, one reason being you likely ave a means of travel (drivers license, or old enough to Uber, take a bus, etc).

In addition, if you are a minor, it’s not clear to me that you have no legal right to freedom of religion, as implied by the " you are 18, you have a legal right" argument.

On top of that, in your specific case, if you are a minor, is your aunt your legal guardian.

All things considered, continue with RCIA and enter into the Church.

 

[WingsOfEagles]

Rutherford2:

Zaccheus:

If you are an adult then how can she stop you from being baptized or from going to Mass?

In her eyes, I am still a kid.

Makes no difference. Either you are legally an adult or not. If you are you can decide for yourself.

Thistle has the right of it. If you are legally an adult, then what your aunt thinks of you does not change that fact. You are an adult and have the legal right to decide for yourself.

I get the impression OP is in a rough, broken home situation. He is living with his aunt and while a legal adult, is still quite young. If he doesn’t drive and she is the roof over his head, it is hard to put your foot down and do what you want.

 

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

If your aunt hates Catholics so much, how is it that she’s friends with that parishioner?

 

[BoomBoomMancini]

My mom’s place is full. All my stuffs are in my original house with my aunt.

OP, how old are you/where do you live?

Just to be clear, this church you’ve been attending…it’s a legitimate church in good standing with Rome? I only ask because that’s not how priests become priests. They aren’t “drafted” by the parishioners from the RCIA pool, and if your aunt is getting cult vibes maybe there really is something odd going on?

I’m just thinking out loud…maybe this lady is just an oddball or maybe your aunt just misunderstood.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Rutherford, if you are a minor then you have to do what your parents or guardians say.

If you are an adult, then you must make the decision on your own. I understand not wanting to upset your aunt though, if you are dependent on her to give you a place to live.

Many great saints had families who didn’t like their faith practice and tried to stop them from becoming Catholics or going to Mass. But if they had the strong desire to be Catholic, that generally won out. They would sneak to church or do whatever they had to do to be able to practice the faith because they didn’t want to be away from Jesus. Sometimes they had to move out and find someplace else to live.

I think that planning for you to be the next priest is a little bit of a crazy statement. You aren’t even a Catholic yet. You can tell your aunt that the person who said that is a bit crazy and nothing of the sort is going on.

I would suggest speaking to your priest to see if he has advice on how best to handle this. One important thing is that the priest is part of your culture. Most of us posting here are far away and we don’t know your culture or your family the way someone right there would know. So maybe the priest would give better advice.

I will pray for you and I hope you are still able to become a Catholic and practice your faith. The Lord does seem to have chosen you to be a Catholic man (although to say he has chosen you to be a priest is too early to say).
God bless.

 

[Lee1]

I’m guessing that the major religion in your country isn’t Catholic? Perhaps Buddhist? Your aunt sounds as though she’s seeing Catholicism akin to a cult or a western religion instead of a traditional one where you are?

If you need to appease her due to food and lodging etc then maybe until you have financial autonomy you may have to conform to her will about it.

Later you could try again to be a priest but in the meantime she seems to be okay with you going through the RCIA. You may need to be patient.

 

[JHFamily]

This lady doesn’t even know what she’s talking about. You can’t even be considered for the seminary for at least 2 years and maybe as many as 5. And grooming is the worst thing ever for the Church. It leads to unnecessary cost because the seminarians bail out, or it leads to very bad priests. She may want to groom, but the Church itself will put the reins on her. I think you need to speak to the priest about this behavior. It’s very damaging.

 

[Wesrock]

I’ve never heard of a parish pushing people to become priests like yours. This isn’t the first time you’ve mentioned it.

 

[edtaylor51]

I’ve seen this happen (active or influential members of a parish pushing a person to enter a seminary or convent). It hasn’t ended as the pushers intended, though.

 

[edtaylor51]

I wonder if there’s a cultural or language barrier preventing some of this board from fully understanding the situation. Where is the OP (@Rutherford2) living, what country?

 

[halogirl]

OP I would concentrate on just getting thru the RCIA course first it’s enough of an adjustment in itself to begin with

 

[vz71]

Who is this aunt to you?
Legal guardian? Landlord?

Are you a legal adult?

There is a lot more information needed before anyone can give any good advice.

 

[TheLittleLady]

One of the parishioners secretly told my aunt that they have been quietly selecting me as one of the potential candidates to become the future priest.

This parishioner sounds like a busybody.

That is not how discerning a vocation works, there is not a little gaggle of parishioners who select “potential candidates”.

Assure your Aunt of the actual discernment process. Right now being uninformed about the process is causing grief for you and for your family. Visit the Vocations page on your Diocese website and speak to the Vocations director. Learn what the process is, understand that it is a process and that some young men decide somewhere in the years long process up to, the week before Ordination, that this is not their vocation.

The misinformation is doing you no good.

Also, this busybody parishioner ought to understand the process as well, perhaps your pastor can speak to him/her.

 

[AngelaMarie]

If you are age of majority (IE legally an adult in whatever country you reside), your aunt can’t stop you.

Like others have said, the misinformation about discernment to the priesthood is doing no one any good. The parishioners should know that. Tell your aunt that.

 

[prayerrider]

This question occurred to me as well.

 

[DarkLight]

I’m guessing that the major religion in your country isn’t Catholic? Perhaps Buddhist? Your aunt sounds as though she’s seeing Catholicism akin to a cult or a western religion instead of a traditional one where you are?

That could describe a lot of heavily evangelical areas in the U.S.

It does sound like OP is quite young and maybe not in a good position to support themselves. That can be difficult.

 

[Lee1]

Oh okay, thank you.

 

[Rutherford2]

Do you have a car/can you drive to mass?

Yes, I do.

Perhaps you should back off a bit from these people who are interfering in your life. Don’t share things with them that you wouldn’t want to get back to your family. They’re clearly not helping.

I planned to move out soon. Living with a person who is always busy body and trying to control people’s life is not healthy for me (Lord, please forgive me for judging).

I get the impression OP is in a rough, broken home situation. He is living with his aunt and while a legal adult, is still quite young

My family is broken beyond believe. My grandfather, grandmother and father died. My aunt quarrel with my mother, sister, brother and my sister. My sister got married and moved out. My mom quarrel with my aunt and moved out. Now the entire house is left only my aunt, myself and my brother. My brother always try to avoid going home because of my aunt.

If your aunt hates Catholics so much, how is it that she’s friends with that parishioner?

For the sake that her friend is a friend of my departed father.

Sometimes they had to move out and find someplace else to live.

Very soon.

I’m guessing that the major religion in your country isn’t Catholic? Perhaps Buddhist?

It’s Islam but my family from generations to generations are buddhists.

I’ve never heard of a parish pushing people to become priests like yours. This isn’t the first time you’ve mentioned it.

They were just thinking about it. But my aunt took it as a fact and confirmed.

Who is this aunt to you?
Legal guardian? Landlord?

Not legal guardian but she brought me up from young so she will control me like a child. Even if I am 70 years old and she is 90, she will still want to control me.

Also, this busybody parishioner ought to understand the process as well, perhaps your pastor can speak to him/her.

I asked my aunt who the parishioner is but she refused to say the name.

It does sound like OP is quite young and maybe not in a good position to support themselves.

In some extent yes, my salary cannot afford me to rent a room so I need to stay in my own house. But I will try my best to find a decent job so that I could afford to rent a room outside.

Lastly, please, do not pray for me! Pray for my aunt. Pray that God will reveal His great mercy and glory to her in her dream and in her life. Pray that my aunt will convert and become a child of God.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I will pray for you BOTH.
All of us are in need of prayers. You AND your aunt.
Though it’s very nice that you care for her and want her to believe and convert and be saved