How do you know God is calling you to be a priest?

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Young_Thinker said:
I wish you the best. As for your stated problem with mathematics, if it is not because of a possible psychiatric condition(for which you would obviously need to see a doctor), just work very hard and go to tutoring. C’s are better than F’s! Also, do not be in a hurry to finish your formal education! I made that mistake and, at first, was intending to a lawyer(and run for public office a few years later)! Fortunately, I realized in my first semester of college that I would be “bored to tears” in law. For the past 2 years, I have been certain that I wanted to go to medical school. Now, I am confused again, as I am seriously considering the religious priesthood!
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May I enquire how old you are? as I too am getting confused now!
 
crazydyl said:
I have just decided to become a priest 😃
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That quote is a bit scary… I too have been discerning for a while now and I will be entering seminary very soon, but you cannot make that decision by snapping your fingers. If you feel like you are being called in that direction - by all means, GO! 🙂 But don’t set your mind just yet. Stay opened to the Holy Spirit and to the vocation Jesus has in mind for you. Remember, He knows what we need. We are absolutely and completely ignorant so we really have to become selfless. God Bless you in your journey, my friend and it is awesome to hear other guys that are listening for the call.

PAX

-Matt
 
Matt_707 said:
That quote is a bit scary… I too have been discerning for a while now and I will be entering seminary very soon, but you cannot make that decision by snapping your fingers. If you feel like you are being called in that direction - by all means, GO! 🙂 But don’t set your mind just yet. Stay opened to the Holy Spirit and to the vocation Jesus has in mind for you. Remember, He knows what we need. We are absolutely and completely ignorant so we really have to become selfless. God Bless you in your journey, my friend and it is awesome to hear other guys that are listening for the call.

PAX

-Matt
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I agree; do not be too hasty.
 
i hope everybody realises that im not the one who is being too hasty.

I am thinking about transfering to EMU, Eastern Michigan University. They have a huge philosphy program there and they are the only school within the entire state that will accept the lower math course for a bachloars…(im a horrible speller too)… so my qustion is… is majoring in philosphy necisary to become a Priest? if so, it would work out great for me considering that im horrible at math and the onlly school that would accept me happens to be a school with a huge philosphy program…emich.edu/
 
WhiteDove359 said:
did any of you watch the video of fr. john? im 20
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I did… That priest seems awesome. He’s an awesome role model. Thanks for the vid.

& I know you are not being hasty… I was directing my thoughts to our other brother. Yes, seminarians major philosophy for the first 4 years. If you get a degree in something else, you’ll have to go to 2 years of pre-theology then the 4 years of theo.

PAX
 
JesuitLoyola said:
I don’t understand why you feel the need to demean the virtue of the catholic priesthood by insisting that biological generation is the only vocation blessed by God.
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If you read the post again you will see that it’s not demeaning the position of a priest at all. Priesthood takes up a great deal of time, and hence there is sacrifice. But to lead youngsters into it without them having a grasp of the consequences is not right. The Holy Spirit of God is within the man, not in the building or the constructs and regulations of the church. Paul says ‘I should like you to be’, but he is not saying it’s an absolute. He is only telling us of the things that he’s found to be an interference to him in ministry, which was one of church leadership. It’s a philosophical discourse to mull over if you are building a church. But then his work is done now, as was Jesus’ in a sense, He’s already made the ultimate sacrifice and it can’t be matched.

Do you realise how serious it is in the eyes of God to bring a chain of life to an end? You don’t need to be a Catholic to know and understand this. Jesus Himself said to us, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

It needs to be said to those entering priesthood and dwelt on, it’s very, very serious. Who cares if I am not Catholic, I have a right to say these things. I love Jesus and He sacrificed His life so that we may have life and have it to the full (every single one of us).

Incidentally, if someone has given their lives to Christ they can’t convert to anything because they belong to Him fully. They can however make their spiritual home somewhere, that’s a matter of personal comfort and preference.

God bless
 
Look theologians have been over this again and again; there won’t ever be a consensus as to whether clerical celibacy is right or wrong among different faiths. We are catholic, we believe in the advice of the early church fathers and the example set by the many saints who gave their gift of sexuality to the Lord as a thanks to him. If you want to tell people your beliefs about this go somewhere where it is appropriate. This is a thread for catholic men discerning the catholic priesthood; not one for other people of faith to come a and espouse their beliefs about differing opinions. So I suggest you move to the Non-catholic religions thread. Again, your opinion is unwanted here; we know the sacrifice involved and are not being lead to the priesthood uninformed. I would venture to guess many are still questioning it because they KNOW that they are to be celibate if they enter the priesthood. There’s no tricks or schemes here and we know that giving up biological children and their sons and daughters is part of the vocation we are called to. It’s a sacrifice we are willing to make to better serve our God and the church we know is his bride. Please just go elsewhere to discuss this you are not benefiting anyone who is discerning but just causing meaningless dissent.
 
Note:

This is not an appropriate thread for arguing about the Catholic discipline of celibacy. Please keep this thread on topic or it will be closed. Thanks.
 
WhiteDove359 said:
i hope everybody realises that im not the one who is being too hasty.

I am thinking about transfering to EMU, Eastern Michigan University. They have a huge philosphy program there and they are the only school within the entire state that will accept the lower math course for a bachloars…(im a horrible speller too)… so my qustion is… is majoring in philosphy necisary to become a Priest? if so, it would work out great for me considering that im horrible at math and the onlly school that would accept me happens to be a school with a huge philosphy program…emich.edu/
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No, I was not saying that you were making a very hasted decision. If I were to transfer, it would be to a Catholic university(e.g. if you are in S Michigan, Loyola Chicago is probably not that far). However, do not be overconcerned with how prestigious an undergraduate program may be. Anyway, no, you do not have to major in philosophy or theology. However, it certainly advisable to take a few classes in those subjects. In addition, if you learn Latin and Greek, you can afterward apply to S.T.B. programs rather than for, say, a M.Div.
 
Matt_707 said:
That quote is a bit scary… I too have been discerning for a while now and I will be entering seminary very soon, but you cannot make that decision by snapping your fingers. If you feel like you are being called in that direction - by all means, GO! 🙂 But don’t set your mind just yet. Stay opened to the Holy Spirit and to the vocation Jesus has in mind for you. Remember, He knows what we need. We are absolutely and completely ignorant so we really have to become selfless. God Bless you in your journey, my friend and it is awesome to hear other guys that are listening for the call.

PAX

-Matt
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Oh, all right! Thank you.
 
WhiteDove359 said:
i hope everybody realises that im not the one who is being too hasty.

I am thinking about transfering to EMU, Eastern Michigan University. They have a huge philosphy program there and they are the only school within the entire state that will accept the lower math course for a bachloars…(im a horrible speller too)… so my qustion is… is majoring in philosphy necisary to become a Priest? if so, it would work out great for me considering that im horrible at math and the onlly school that would accept me happens to be a school with a huge philosphy program…emich.edu/
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Yes it is today. You need 30 Credits of philosophy and 12 credits of theology to be accepted into a Major Seminary to start work on the Masters of Divinity Program, some will let you in with less but you will not be allowed into the courses from the Theology department until those core requirements are met.

Are you in contact with a vocations director? You might consider this so that he could help you out with what sort of philosophy classes to take as not all such courses may be deemed acceptable at the Major Seminary they would send you to. Taking a look at their course list I can see a couple of classes that just by their name look suspect to me and I doubt they would be accepted.

The only way to avoid this issue would be to go to a good Catholic College where you know the philosophy courses are as they need to be for the Major Seminary. Especially if it is a Catholic College with a Major Seminary attached to it.

Hope this helps!
 
Oh, I am sorry. I may be thinking about it from my perspective. I was considering a master’s in theo., followed by a J.C.L.
 
Young_Thinker said:
Oh, I am sorry. I may be thinking about it from my perspective. I was considering a master’s in theo., followed by a J.C.L.
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A JCL degree would not perpare you for ordination. To be ordained in the US you need a MDiv or an STL.
 
ByzCath said:
A JCL degree would not perpare you for ordination. To be ordained in the US you need a MDiv or an STL.
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Thank you. But what about in Rome(i.e. after attending the Gregorianum or another pontifical university) while in an order(excluding Jesuits for the sake of simplicity-say, the White, Black, or Grey Friars)? It is not that I am a hurry; it is just that I might also like to acquire a Ph.D. in another subject.
 
Why, a MDiv. is adequate but not a S.T.B.(they both require about 3 years to complete)?
 
Young_Thinker said:
Thank you. But what about in Rome(i.e. after attending the Gregorianum or another pontifical university) while in an order(excluding Jesuits for the sake of simplicity-say, the White, Black, or Grey Friars)? It is not that I am a hurry; it is just that I might also like to acquire a Ph.D. in another subject.
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An S.T.L. is not a degree like a Ph.D., I believe that the M.Div. is more of an equivalent to the S.T.L. while something like a D.Min. would be to a S.T.D.

But maybe I am confused on the S.T.B. Is that one of the degrees they will ordain a man with.

I know you need an S.T.L. to enter into a S.T.D program.

The White Friars, who we Carmelites are, do not send students to Rome from the States currently.
 
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