That’s correct, but kissing girls will not teach you what marriage is about. Just the nookie part doesn’t contain the totality of marriage and certainly, nookie doesn’t stop at kissing. And you have no option to try certain things without actually being married.So like, I still have that emptiness in my heart, that longing to know what it is. And sometimes it comes to my mind that how should I rightly choose between marriage and priesthood if I don’t even know what one is really about.
I understand what you are trying to say here but i believe this greatly undermines the western early patristic and new testament saints. A celibate non-married life has been exalted to a high status right from St. Paul. To label someone who has no desire to be in a marriage, etc as non-normal really does a disservice to early christianity.Is it just a natural male desire for female companionship? I would reply, “Well, that’s normal.” If you had absolutely no desire for such a thing, I’d be a bit worried.
He’s 19, cut him a little slack. He isn’t entirely a “priest in training” yet. He’s a young man discerning his vocation, with emphasis on exploring the priestly life.There’s no need for a priest in training to have a girlfriend.
I would say that it is supernatural (or normal) rather than unnatural (or normal.) There is nothing “wrong” with having the greater desire such that the lesser interests are not so strong. But there is also nothing at all wrong with having the natural desires, and one might argue, it is a good thing that they are there as it shows the health of the man. Grace builds upon nature, afterall.I understand what you are trying to say here but i believe this greatly undermines the western early patristic and new testament saints. A celibate non-married life has been exalted to a high status right from St. Paul. To label someone who has no desire to be in a marriage, etc as non-normal really does a disservice to early christianity.
I’m sure that you meant “many opportunities,” but I had to laugh at the typo. All in good fun.One of the most knowledgeable men in history on the subject of marriage and relationships was JP2, and although I can’t say for certain that he never had a girlfriend, he entered the seminary at twenty-two, and didn’t have man opportunities before that.
I can totally relate, and I pray that God will answer your troubled heart as He did mine. For what grace he has given me I pray that He gives to you. Have you ever been to a silent retreat?Hello,
what would you advice to a person who is discerning priesthood (for a little more than 2 years), has not dated at all, and wants to date (has always wanted to)?
Thank you.
Pax Christi,
Juan J.
Just a bit of trivia, JP2 *did *have a girlfriend before entering seminary. In fact, he was studying theater and wanted to be an actor. Which I think makes an important point. There are some who seem to believe that the best candidates for the priesthood are those who want to be priests at 7 years old and never pursue a career or romantic relationship. Those men can indeed be great priests, but so can those who pursue other directions in their younger days and ultimately decide to pursue the priesthood. The latter may have a real desire for a secular career and a family, but they voluntarily give it up to accept the higher calling to service that God created them for. If a person has no desire to have a wife and family, giving that up for the Kingdom of God is not much of a sacrifice.One of the most knowledgeable men in history on the subject of marriage and relationships was JP2, and although I can’t say for certain that he never had a girlfriend, he entered the seminary at twenty-two, and had didn’t have man opportunities before that.
I’d disagree with that line. Likely, even those who have explored a call dedicatedly from a young age are normal men who have natural desires for wife and family. And, even if for some reason their single focus was so much on a priestly vocation that they never experienced such to as much of an extent as others, it remains a significant sacrifice, especially seeing as how it is something which one “could” have and which one must see so many others with all around him.If a person has no desire to have a wife and family, giving that up for the Kingdom of God is not much of a sacrifice.
I don’t disagree with you; I may not have made myself clear. The point I was trying to make was that dating and considering a vocation to marriage, as well as pursuing a secular career, are not indicative that a person isn’t called to the priesthood. If it were, and only those who had no such desire were encouraged to pursue priestly vocations, the sacrifice of a celibate life wouldn’t be a sacrifice. I tried to make two related, but essentially different, points, and I admit I muddled it a little bit.I’d disagree with that line. Likely, even those who have explored a call dedicatedly from a young age are normal men who have natural desires for wife and family. And, even if for some reason their single focus was so much on a priestly vocation that they never experienced such to as much of an extent as others, it remains a significant sacrifice, especially seeing as how it is something which one “could” have and which one must see so many others with all around him.
if he has always wanted to date, he should date, as he is has not adequately discerned the marriage vocation. I mean date in the social sense, not the popular culture hook-up sense. someone who is discerning the priesthood will not advance in that process if he has not learned to form appropriate friendships with people of both sexes, can be comfortable in social situations, and with people in all walks of life.Hello,
what would you advice to a person who is discerning priesthood (for a little more than 2 years), has not dated at all, and wants to date (has always wanted to)?
Thank you.
Pax Christi,
Juan J.