How hard is the life of a Catholic priest?

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goodcatholic

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Seven days a week. Masses every day. Baptisms, marriages, Last Rites , Funerals, visiting schools, school Masses, dealing with complaints, other sacraments, the list goes on…
Gotta be up there as one of the toughest jobs on the planet.
Is there such a thing as “me time” for a priest?
 
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Our priests take a day off a week, where they actually leave the parish for the day, and then some vacation time over the summer.

From what I witness that they do every day, they deserve the time.
 
YEs, and their Bishops encourage them to have time to themselves for thier own health.
 
I couldn’t maintain enthusiasm for saying Mass so often to be honest. That may sound disrespectful but it is my true feeling.
 
I’ve never witnessed a slacker priest. They do well just to keep up with what is expected of them.
 
In my parish, even on their designated day off, the priests are usually doing something.

That’s why I said a priest retreat to refresh themselves.

Pray for them. I do so a few times a day and have told the pastor so.
 
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Yeah, if you have a dedicated priest, he’ll hang around to do whatever needs doing. I think that’s why they leave the parish in my case to actually have a day off, at least physically.

I’ve prayed for our priests and have had masses offered for them.

Blessings
 
I have no doubt that the life of a priest is stressful but all vocations are stressful. And most do not get a day off or retreats. Priesthood is a way of life, freely chosen just like being a parent is a way of life freely chosen. And parents don’t get a “day off” each week.

I also pray for our priests daily. Without priests, we would not have the Eucharist.
 
I think it really varies on how hard it is for a priest.

They do live together with other priests to cover the duties, if they are part of a good cooperative rectory , its not as tough I would think.
 
I think it depends on how large a parish they have and if that parish has a school or if they have to oversee more than one parish.
 
well, my 4 parish priests are stuffed into a 3 bedroom 1950’s cape cod house wherein the bottom floor is completely occupied by the parish staff

upstairs there is 1 1/2 bathrooms

the priests post constantly in the parish bulletin that they would like parishioners to either bring home cooked meals or cook meals on the premises for them

so, i guess, even though the priests get a meager salary from the diocese, they have no clue how to feed themselves 😦

they get zero privacy

i’m not 100% sure the priests have cable tv

it is a tough, miserable, uncomfortable life
 
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brian_custer said:
well, my 4 parish priests are stuffed into a 3 bedroom 1950’s cape cod house wherein the bottom floor is completely occupied by the parish staff

upstairs there is 1 1/2 bathrooms
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That doesn’t sound really terrible. Guys in the army have less room in the barracks. Ditto for guys serving time.

That’s not really “roomy” but when i was living at home, we had 6 living in a small ranch house. The generation before had even less room.
 
By my standards any adult who is sharing a room with another adult who is not their spouse, is suffering.
 
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