College Degree First?

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Schnitz said:
Hi All!
I am currently 17 years old, and I am going into my senior year of high school. I am seriously considering serving our Lord in the priesthood, and I am looking at either the Legion of Christ or FSSP. Personally, I would like to enter directly out of high school, but my dad wants me to get my college degree first. Any suggestions? Yours in Christ, S
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The Legion and FSSP both have their own seminaries and will want you to go to them, if possible. The LC formation is significantly different then diocesan formation. I don’t know much about the FSSP formation, but I suspect that it is also significantly different from your average diocese.

Given the situation with your father, unless you know which community you believe you are called to enter, I would suggest that you try to go with a compromise: go to a non-military, non-seminary school.
 
Be careful of the Legionaries of Christ. I have heard a lot of testimonies of ex-members. Seems that the Legion will just try to get you to join right away.

What strikes me about testimonies of ex-members of the Legion is that I have never seen even one ex-member that criticizes the Legion for their doctrine or liturgy (the good things about them) most of the criticisms are in the regards to their methods of recruiting and the way they treat people if they find they dont have a vocation to the Legion.

You can check out this website- www.regainnetwork.org

Notice that the Regain site does not criticize the legion for their theology or doctrine or liturgy, but for their methods.

Orthodoxy and damage to the human person can exist in the same organization.

There are a lot of “new groups” in the Church that just try to get vocations right away. Be careful of them. Most of the time they will discourage you from getting a college education first, saying that you need to follow your call NOW or you will lose it.

Get your college education first!
 
Schnitz,
The LC has a reputation for pushing hard for commitments during the “try it out” retreats, so you’d want to be almost certain you want to be an LC priest before you start to pursue that possibility. In addition to reading Fr Maciel’s writings (I recommend “Envoy II”), you might also look at what has been written by his detractors, to get a full picture. Then you can make an informed decision. You might also see what the Archbishop of Baltimore had to say last month about LC recruitment, etc. The FSSP appears to have a better chance of passing the test of time.

Back when life expectancy was in he 40’s, and a high school education was considered “advanced education”, a teen entering seminary from high school was “an educated adult”. The standards are a little higher now, and priests really need a lot of practical skills to run a parish so a college degree is much more important than it used to be. Rather than your father’s “engineering” suggestion, perhaps a business degree would help you serve your flock? And a few years of maturity will help you in your discernment.

OR: how about the military chaplaincy? The Archdiocese of the Military now has a vocations director! You would be a diocesan priest for a few years, after which your diocese “loans” you to the military for 20 years or so. Some dioceses are more amenable to this than others. (Disclosure: this is what my son is planning to pursue so I’m partial to this plan.) Dad might start listening…
 
catholicgroup said:
Be careful of the Legionaries of Christ. I have heard a lot of testimonies of ex-members. Seems that the Legion will just try to get you to join right away.

What strikes me about testimonies of ex-members of the Legion is that I have never seen even one ex-member that criticizes the Legion for their doctrine or liturgy (the good things about them) most of the criticisms are in the regards to their methods of recruiting and the way they treat people if they find they dont have a vocation to the Legion.

You can check out this website- www.regainnetwork.org

Notice that the Regain site does not criticize the legion for their theology or doctrine or liturgy, but for their methods.

Orthodoxy and damage to the human person can exist in the same organization.

There are a lot of “new groups” in the Church that just try to get vocations right away. Be careful of them. Most of the time they will discourage you from getting a college education first, saying that you need to follow your call NOW or you will lose it.

Get your college education first!
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Thanks for the advice. I have met with a few Legionaries, and I would definitely say that it feels like they are “pushing” my vocation. Thanks for the link. I will check it out. Yours in Christ
 
JKS said:
Schnitz,
The LC has a reputation for pushing hard for commitments during the “try it out” retreats, so you’d want to be almost certain you want to be an LC priest before you start to pursue that possibility. In addition to reading Fr Maciel’s writings (I recommend “Envoy II”), you might also look at what has been written by his detractors, to get a full picture. Then you can make an informed decision. You might also see what the Archbishop of Baltimore had to say last month about LC recruitment, etc. The FSSP appears to have a better chance of passing the test of time.

Back when life expectancy was in he 40’s, and a high school education was considered “advanced education”, a teen entering seminary from high school was “an educated adult”. The standards are a little higher now, and priests really need a lot of practical skills to run a parish so a college degree is much more important than it used to be. Rather than your father’s “engineering” suggestion, perhaps a business degree would help you serve your flock? And a few years of maturity will help you in your discernment.

OR: how about the military chaplaincy? The Archdiocese of the Military now has a vocations director! You would be a diocesan priest for a few years, after which your diocese “loans” you to the military for 20 years or so. Some dioceses are more amenable to this than others. (Disclosure: this is what my son is planning to pursue so I’m partial to this plan.) Dad might start listening…
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I got a chance to read the Archbishop’s letter, and I can understand his reasons for many of his concerns. I haven’t been on a retreat with the LC yet, but I will wait until it becomes clearer for me if it is the right thing to do. Kudos to your son! I will pray for both of you. Yours in Christ
 
I am concerned re your choices and your SD’s advice and your father’s attitude.

If your father doesn’t want you to become a priest, which is what it sounds like, why should he be reluctant to pay for your college eduction when you’ll ‘end up a priest anyway’? NO one can know what you’ll end up wanting to do. He should desire to send you to college, period.

I think that a military career choice is unwise for many reasons. I agree that if you got into a service academy, very prestigious and competitive, you have payback and you’re taking a slot potentially filled by a career person. And I don’t think that you’d like the atmosphere. It’s not exactly religious, and if it is, it’s aggressively evangelical; if you want to spend 4 years defending Catholicism, it’s the right atmosphere for you. It’s very difficult and stressful and generally, aside from the evangelicals, not very religious.

I also think that you should examine the Legionnaires and the FSSP very carefully. Fr. Maciel retired and died under a cloud set by Cardinal Ratzinger when he was head of the Cong Defense of the Faith, and as Pope Benedict. You can find more details on the web. The LOC have sort of a paramilitary organization–go about in two’s, no privacy, and are expected to report on each other. Is this what you want? The FSSP, I believe, practice only the Latin rite–is this what you want?

I would try to persuade your father to support you in college regardless of the outcome, which cannot be known at this point. Continue to discern the nature of your calling and where you’re called. With a regular college degree you are going to be far more mature when you enter seminary and have a far better general education.
 
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