Age restrictions regarding priests

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In reply to “Augustinian”: How can a vocations director know if I have “the right stuff” when he refuses to EVEN CONSIDER that issue upon finding out my age? I go back to what I said previously; Excluding people because of age means that vocational directors are not even EXPLORING the character or mettle or moral fiber of this person; NONE of this is examined; ONCE your age is over the limit, everything STOPS;

You cannot say that I dont have the right stuff; I am not being given the opportunity to reveal if I have it!!!

THATS precisely the problem with predjudice of any sort; You throw me into a STEREOTYPE which denies my WORTH as an INDIVIDUAL, then claim that I cant DEMONSTRATE my worth but you ARENT LISTENING to me to begin with!!!
 
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You may have responded to “Jay”, aka “Holy Spirit”, but I notice you did not answer his question.

Did or Have you offered to pay the expenses of seminary, and perhaps of priestly retirement??
Dedicated61 said:
Are there not BETTER ways to educate priests than to have SIX years of seminary? There is no room for the mystical body to express itself regarding this issue? The original disciples were chosen by the Lord without such an extensive resume of academic rigor.
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Or do you think you should be accepted and ordained after some non-standard formation, merely on your say-so?
(You do know you would have to promise obedience to your bishop/superior and any successors, yes? The same one you are so disagreeing with now?)
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
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Xanthippe_Voorhees:
Look at the Jesuits.

One of the best priests I know celebrated his 70th birthday and his first year of ordination within the same week. That was 2013…
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Jesuits have approximately 12 years of formation before ordination.
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It definatly wasn’t that long for him. He was in his early 60’s, He was 62 or 63…he’d just retired and realized he’d “done nothing” with his life.
 
Dedicated61 said:
Are members of our faith not to have our opinions expressed regarding this issue? Are we to be told to “Shut Up” and put our own set of blinders on? Are there not BETTER ways to educate priests than to have SIX years of seminary? There is no room for the mystical body to express itself regarding this issue? The original disciples were chosen by the Lord without such an extensive resume of academic rigor.
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That attitude is concerning. I know men in older vocations. They went through seminary just like young men. They did not get bonus points for being older.

The priest I know well began around age 63 and was ordained at 69. That’s 6 years right there, give or take 2 or 3 years pre-retirement where he was conversing with an order but hadn’t made the leap.

He still wishes he could have learned more. Six years of studying is nothing. Even when you have the off chances of PhD physicists who later become priests they still need 4-6 years in formation.
 
Dedicated61 said:
over 60, and I turn 61 next Tuesday.
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I don’t know why that’s an impediment unless they have an early age restriction on deacons as well. I know many deacons in their 60’s and 70’s…and I have a family member who is being ordained as a deacon at 66. That’s common around here, when men wait till their children are grown to take Holy Orders.
 
Also, there is no need to direct such invectives at me. Perhaps the directors you’ve talked to have more of a problem with your attitude and not your age.
 
I know a man who was ordained at the age of 78. I don’t know all the details, but I know that he approached a number of Bishops before he found one who was willing to consider ordaining him. He already had a Master’s in theology. He served my parish for 4 years before his health forced his retirement. He continues to serve the church as he can.
 
I shared my own experience as an older vocation who has been discerning for 4 years. I also had career success and a Doctorate.

I’ve also made it through the angry bitter phase several years ago. The reality of life is that it can be unfair and maddening. This is true for a process that human bias should be removed from.

I gave you the answer that it took me a while to learn. I learned it from having more doors slammed in my face than I care to remember. I figured that being blunt is better than giving you a pat on the back and an atta boy. You are a lot older than I am, so you have zero time to waste.

I have found some open doors, but it has been a 365 day a year search.

There is another way, but I think it would be better if you figure it out on your own. I don’t know if God really wants me to be that blunt and cynical. He probably wants you to fight for it. Fighting for it is part of His process. At least it was for me, and I did not try the aforementione route myself. So it really is just a theory of mine.

Having the Holy Spirit in your life will help immensely. I owe so much to Him. Adoration and a prodigious prayer life are a must. Since you are old like me, you need to be forming your life daily. You also should be involved with charity and helping others. Daily mass is a must. You should be planning your day around mass. Doors open when you do these things.

Good Luck . The reality is that you are facing very long odds. You need to understand that at the outset. But if God has really called you, you will figure out a way. With age comes wisdom.
 
You are angry.

But it’s not justified.

Age has meaning. First and foremost are health concerns given the state of health care today is no small thing. Teach ability comes into play, (we know that the brain is less plastic) as does the validity of psychology tests mean for men half your age.

It’s not that nobody here has been wronged. We are not against older men becoming priests. Many of us have seen older men become priests.

The fact is that the diocese is not the place to do it. They don’t have the resources that an older newbie would need. What perceived injustice is there for a Bishop to admit what he is not capable of?

Your vocation is more than a Google search. There are hundreds of religious communities and many welcome older people. Maybe you are being called out of the US.

Being mad at a Bishop for a practical rule just makes you sound like my toddler who gets mad at me because I don’t give her a snack before dinner.
 
A religious order is in itself a different vocation; and it is up to the order as to whether or not they ordain. Furthermore, it would likely ad at least 2 if not more years, just to become a permanent member of the order, and it is up to the order to determine if any individual will be a candidate for seminary and priesthood.
 
An epiphany here; Ageism is an offshoot of the culture of death that our Holy Father and many others so frequently rail against and rightfully so;

Ageism is an example of our “Throw Away” consumerist society that places an INORDINATE emphasis upon chronological youth; The tendency is to treat PEOPLE like COMMODITIES and overlook the INTRINSIC value given to all human life by GOD:

The Holy Spirit is not limited to the Roman Church; It operates among the Protestant, among the nondenominational, even among the total unbeliever; God is NOT bound by ANY church; His sovereignty surpasses the dictates of MEN;

The CHARISMS I have MUST have expression, if not inside the Roman Church then outside it;

God has given me a mission and IF others refuse to pray about it, to experience for themselves whether or not I am genuine or a fake, then so be it;

Its only when I put my focus EXCLUSIVELY upon the LORD, that any type of “Religious Remnant” agrees with me;

“They worship me with their lips but their hearts are far from me”
 
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Dedicated61 said:
With one exception, they all wanted someone no older than 45
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If you can get into one order under an exception, why not take it? Maybe that’s where God wants you to go.

There are a number of saints who had great difficulty getting into a religious order because they were poor or ill or had some other issue, and if they found one place that would take them, they went there.
 
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otjm said:
A religious order is in itself a different vocation; and it is up to the order as to whether or not they ordain. Furthermore, it would likely ad at least 2 if not more years, just to become a permanent member of the order, and it is up to the order to determine if any individual will be a candidate for seminary and priesthood.
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But the OP said he is not old. Why do 2 years matter if it’s your vocation? I knew my vocation was married motherhood but I still took the necessary time to discern, and after my vows the time it took to become a mother. Every vocation takes time.
 
There are a number of red flags in the way the OP discusses this matter. Whether he is a victim of ageism or not, it is very much unprofessional to deal with these things by publicly criticizing a Diocese (which he named outright), its Bishop, and its vocation staff. Putting these concerns on public display, and doing so in the very highly reactionary manner that he does will not serve the OP well if he hopes to be admitted to any diocese or religious order anywhere. The tone and tenor of his posts do not suggest a proper spirit about the business of discernment, one which necessarily must begin not in one’s self-righteous appraisal of how he’s entitled to serve the Church, but in humility and submission to authority. If the authority of the Church has told you “no,” then what do you gain by railing against them in this way? Sometimes when we ask the question of God and his Church, the answer is “yes,” and sometimes it is “no,” and sometimes it is “not yet,” and we are to accept whatever answer we are given.

It is understandable that you would be upset by this, but you say that you have asked several times, year after year, and each year you have been told no. Accept that the answer is no, and move on. Being fixated on it in this way is not healthy for you or your spiritual well-being.

You are in my prayers.

-Fr ACEGC
 
This is almost getting laughable.

It’s part of the culture of death that the diocese sets a cut off of 45? They know what they are capable of.

The Catholic Church is not against older vocations, but they do know what diocesan priests face. Knowing this they set a clear cut off, for the sake of themselves and the man.

Religious orders, on the other hand, have more flexibility for community and opportunity for evangelization and recognizing individual talent and using it appropriately.
 
Xanthippe_Voorhees said:
It’s part of the culture of death that the diocese sets a cut off of 45? They know what they are capable of.
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I find this incredibly strange. I have never heard of any diocese making the cutoff for a deacon to begin discerning at the age of 45. Most men are just then thinking of becoming a deacon as their children are growing older. I don’t know where the OP is, but this seems unrealistic.

For a priest, the age of 45 seems more reasonable. But to rail against the rules like this and insult the Church is ridiculous, as well as against forum rules.
 
I think you’re assuming a lot of things about a lot of people here. You’re projecting your anger and frustration onto the Church in a way that’s very unhealthy. Again, you have been told no. It may have been because of your age. It may have been for other reasons. Whatever the case, the display you put on right now will not serve you well. If you were a vocations director, and you were reading this thread, would you be inclined to accept someone who had written as you had? Is this the kind of talk that one should want coming from a priest?

-Fr ACEGC
 
I think you missed the point I was making, not to the OP but to another poster.

There have been several suggestions that the OP look to various orders. And as I said, a vocation to an order is a different vocation than to the priesthood. that includes any orders which are solely made of priests (as in, no no professed non-ordained).

I am not suggesting that the OP not look at such orders;but his pursuit of ordination may be even more difficult than simply looking to see if there are seminaries which will take in older men (and what their qualifications might be to do so). One was mentioned but not named herein.

There are not too many orders out there which are thriving; most of them have seen a combination of loss of members (either being allowed to leave, or dying off) coupled with a low, if not lower rate of attracting new members than the dioceses are of vocations. and as part of the serious aging of their populations, many of the orders are in dire financial straits, which puts them in an even bigger bind than the dioceses.

Coupled with that is the fact that (unless an order is strictly priests) the order will have its own manner of selecting who is ordained, and if they have both priests and professed religious, there is no certainty whatsoever that one might eventually be sent to seminary.

I certainly would not discourage the OP from looking at orders, but the fact remains that an order has a charism, which by and large is not working in a parish unless that is in a missionary country, and the OP may have no vocation to be a missionary.

Just for giggles, let’s look at the Dominicans: as of 2013 there were 6,058, of which 4,075 were priests. Were the OP to apply, he and they would first have to be convinced that he could be a solid Dominican, and then the issue of ordination would be addressed. and that latter comes with no guarantees; if he is in a diocesan seminary, he knows he is on track.
 
ShowersofRoses said:
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Xanthippe_Voorhees:
It’s part of the culture of death that the diocese sets a cut off of 45? They know what they are capable of.
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I find this incredibly strange. I have never heard of any diocese making the cutoff for a deacon to begin discerning at the age of 45. Most men are just then thinking of becoming a deacon as their children are growing older. I don’t know where the OP is, but this seems unrealistic.

For a priest, the age of 45 seems more reasonable. But to rail against the rules like this and insult the Church is ridiculous, as well as against forum rules.
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45 for a deacon would be incredibly strange. However many programs do require men to be married and have the support of their wife (widowers are a special consideration) and have no small children. In some places 35 is the minimum…and 45-55 is the typical postulant.

I’m wondering if the age 45 rule applies to only single men who seek to sidestep typical formation processes as a deacon could become a priest and I’m pretty sure all priests are ordained deacons beforehand.
 
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