Anger

[scoobydoo6v92]

I have a lot of anger in my heart latley as where i am in life the rejection I keep dealing with and I feel ignored. I am so angry at my Bishop for not accepting me to continue discerning the priesthood. He just abruptly states you are not called. I am so angry so resentful so downright ANGRY at him the church for this rejection. Is it a sin to be angry when you feel like you have been jaded? I mean it is my life too here and don’t I have any say what I want to do??? I mean it is easy for him to reject me as his life is already what I would like mine to be. And I am also jealous too!! Seeing a (therapist) won’t make me a priest or be accepted. I want God to come down and talk to the bishop. I think he is not giving me a fair shot. Where do I go from here? plus our diocese is in serious need for priests as we have a major priest shortage. And yes I am jealous of the seminarians that got thier discernment taken serously. I know Jealousy is a sin. But what about me?? don’t I count?

 

[teachccd]

Did the bishop give you any specifics as to why you would not make a good candidate for the priesthood? This probably will not sit well with you but I am going to say it anyway. A good candidate would be humbled and perhaps understand that it is God who is in charge and being a priest is not a right. Hearing your anger and your expressed jealously would indicate that you may not be someone who could accept obedience which is one of the qualities of the priesthood.

That being said, I think that you should be able to have the bishop’s thoughts as to why he made the decision that he made. Anything that we say here will not diminish your feelings and may only make things worse. Perhaps your post is filled with immediate emotions and is not indicative of your overall personality. That is why you really need to speak with him and another bishop concerning this. And if it is finalized that you are not accepted then a good Catholic will be submissive to the decision of the Church. If you walk away angry and cannot come to terms with the Church’s decision then you answered your own question as to why you were not accepted.

God bless you and you will be in my prayers. I pray that the outcome will be whatever God has in store for you to work with His people… teachccd

 

[ready]

Perhaps you could consider joining a religious order. They form some brothers into priests. Tell them you feel called to become a priest. Perhaps it is God’s will that you become a priest in a religious order.

 

[EmeraldWings]

First of all, i would recommend getting this book - amazon.com/Searching-Maintaining-Peace-Small-Treatise/dp/0818909064
that will help you very much with your troubles and struggles,

I know it’s hard being rejected, i’ve gone through that myself, thinking i was being called to a particular order and thinking of nothing else for over a year, only to be told no,
it’s tough, and i certainly had to fight some anger and resentment, but after awhile of thinking on it, i realized the only reason for my anger or hurt feelings over the matter, was because i was seeking my own will instead of Gods,
if i was seeking Gods will and seeking to please Him, then it would not have disturbed me so much, instead i should have been at peace and started on discerning where to go next…
now, i don’t know where God wants me, i am still discerning other orders, but i am also open to anything else He may require of me, i can’t say that i won’t be disappointed again, but i will at least try my best not to be…

maybe it will help you to know, that no matter what vocation you are called to in this life, the most important thing is just getting to heaven, and whatever vocation God is calling you to, is the one that is most likely to get you there. whether that’s marriage, or the religious or priestly life, or the single life, whatever you are called to is where you will be most useful, and where you will grow in holiness the most, and sometimes it is where we least expect, so it’s important to keep your mind and your eyes open,

it helps to have things like that to think of when we get into disappointing or troubling circumstances, just keep reminding yourself that this life is very short, and it makes little difference whether or not we fulfill our own dreams, which pass away and mean nothing when we leave, but it will mean everything to us at the end of our lives when we have lived trying to fulfill Gods will in our life… that will mean more than all of our dreams and desires and wishes combined,
and how do we know we are doing Gods will? well…you don’t always know, but the answers to that are in that book i linked, so i definitely recommend reading that.

and i’m sure you know your anger and jealously is a problem, but there are no excuses for sin, not in any case however big or small, and i’m only telling you that because i personally know how the devil tries to trick you that way, so don’t let yourself be fooled, there is never a good reason or excuse to be angry or jealous or any other vice, and an attitude like that is very likely to be the thing to get someone rejected…because imagine, who wants such an angry or jealous priest?
of course with a good interior life all that can change, so don’t think it’s hopeless, you just have to work on yourself, with alot of prayer, spiritual reading every day(especially the lives and writings of the saints) frequent confession and communion, penance, mortification, and lots of patience…but most importantly, you need Gods grace, so no matter what you’re doing, even if it seems like a small thing to ask help for, never neglect to ask for Gods grace in everything,
and remember Gods favorite virtue, which is obedience…although it’s not the greatest virtue by splendor, but God favors it most, because it leads us to all the other virtues, and quicker than any other virtue…and it is the surest way to salvation, because it is the easiest and surest way to do Gods will…

when we want to live our lives to please God, such as those who wish to be priests, then we should first learn what pleases God, and so i really recommend getting that book i showed you…

ok, i hope this helps, take care.