"Lack of Priests"

[Ace86]

I too am a young man considering the priesthood. Unfortunately the spiritual life at my parish is, well, drab. The liturgy is not very good either. And then the priests don’t seem to like the fact that they have to be celibate. They view it in a negative fashion. And it’s a real turnoff. Who wants to be a priest if it is viewed as some sort of freakish job. I would love to serve God as a priest, and to have a good liturgy and mass while doing it.

 

[Ace86]

scriabin:

This is definitely NOT my opinion; but I thought I’d share with you what a neighboring parish’s old Jesuit priest had to say:

“The Holy Spirit is not sending vocations because we’re not listening to the Spirit. Married men would be lining up at the door if only Rome would listen to what the Spirit is saying and change the celibacy rules.”

'nuff said.

The Catholic Church has to pay for the living costs of priests. If they could get married then it would cost more to pay for their families. I seriously doubt the Holy Spirit is saying to have married priests. And I doubt the Spirit is preventing just so the Church can have married priests.

 

[mrs_abbott]

In the world that we live in, religion and God are not top priorities at all. The world is all about finding ways to make individuals happy, doing whatever they feel like.
A concept like the priesthood goes against the world and it’s a great thing for a man to accept that calling and follow that vocation. I think the priesthood best represents Jesus and the world today represents those that crucified him. I think that’s what men must feel like in today’s world trying to pursue that vocation.

joshjacob:

I would like to hear what everyone’s opions is regarding the lack of priests. Here are a few of my own opions:

• Lack of religion in the family.
• No encouragement from family and friends.
• Priesthood is too demanding.

I am looking forward to hearing from other members opions. I hope we can recognize the problems and fix them before it goes beyond the breaking point.

Thanks,
joshjacob

 

[Lazerlike42]

I can say that the priesthood is something I feel very drawn to. I am not even Catholic yet, unfortunately, so it is a ways off, but I do feel very drawn. In fact, I have to say that when I think about living celibately for God, I get very excited. No, I’m not gay, and yes, I do really like women. I could see myself married. But there is something about being celibate for God that really draws me. I’ve explained it to others who thought I was weird that no, celibacy doesn’t draw me at all and is not exciting. Celibacy is entirely unexciting! But celibacy for God is a whoooole other issue.

I think what it alll comes down to is the general lack of piety in our society. Society in general just doesn’t think God is important anymore. There is this great attitude that you ask God for stuff when you need it, and when you die you go to Heaven. Nobody even thinks that anyone would go to hell anymore. People don’t think you have to really pay attention to God in your life. People look at Him as if He’s just “up there” and then don’t give it a second thought. I think this is the number one reason. There aren’t as many people who want to become priests because there aren’t as many people who actually pat any attention to God at all.

Think about the demographics of this board. This is a place where people who actually care about God come. There are a very good number of young men on here who are in formation or want to be in formation or are thinking about it. So in a specific segment of society that is concerned with God, the number of men thinking about the priesthood is pretty decently sized. The ratio is far greater here than it is in society in general, and the reason is that the ratio of people who actually care about God is much higher here than in society in general.

I am of the very firm belief that it alll starts at the pulpit. When you have priests preaching about God as He is, and not just the God that wants to be nice to everyone, you get more well formed Christians. Right now, when people go to Mass to get in their obligation, or because its just what they’re used to, or whatever, they hear that God loves them no matter what and that’s all. So they go home and they go on to whatever worldly things they want to do. If you priests preaching about God as He is, people would start to become more committed to Him. That doesn’t mean you have to go scaring people about hell or preaching about it all the time. It means that you preach about the fact that we have to really be commited to God, and whatnot. I really feel like if we were hearing this, people would be more concerned with faith.

The problem is with all the “hippy priests” of the 60s who haven’t been doing this. What I do know is that all of the young priests I have seen do preach this way. All of the seminarians I know do think this way. So I think that we pray, and we wait. I think as more good priests flow into the priesthood, more people will be hearing what they need to, and we’ll have more priests.

 

[mikew262]

scriabin:

This is definitely NOT my opinion; but I thought I’d share with you what a neighboring parish’s old Jesuit priest had to say:

“The Holy Spirit is not sending vocations because we’re not listening to the Spirit. Married men would be lining up at the door if only Rome would listen to what the Spirit is saying and change the celibacy rules.”

'nuff said.

 

[mikew262]

Ace86:

The Catholic Church has to pay for the living costs of priests. If they could get married then it would cost more to pay for their families. I seriously doubt the Holy Spirit is saying to have married priests. And I doubt the Spirit is preventing just so the Church can have married priests.

Many Protestant Ministers are married. How are they supported?

 

[setter]

scriabin:

This is definitely NOT my opinion; but I thought I’d share with you what a neighboring parish’s old Jesuit priest had to say:

“The Holy Spirit is not sending vocations because we’re not listening to the Spirit. Married men would be lining up at the door if only Rome would listen to what the Spirit is saying and change the celibacy rules.”

'nuff said.

Here is another take from a priest on fire with the Holy Spirit:

END GAME - The Devil’s Final Assault
A powerful teaching by Fr. John Corapi, that reveals the END GAME. The Devil’s Final Assault is underway and it is the most subtle of all heresies, beyond even Modernism. The attack on Doctrine takes place through the attack on Discipline and Rubrics.
Father Corapi speaks with authority on the Holy Eucharist, “the Source, Center, and Summit of the Church’s life” and the Ministerial Priesthood, without which there can be no Eucharist.

fathercorapi.com/End-Game-The-Devils-Final-Attack-on-the-Church—121A-P53C1.aspx

 

[Ace86]

mikew262:

Many Protestant Ministers are married. How are they supported?

I don’t know. Before around 1000 AD, priests had the option of getting married and many chose to remain celibate. Then celibacy became mandatory. One reason it became mandatory was because priests were not supposed to have sex 24 hours before Mass and apparently it was a big enough issue.

 

[joeysmom]

joshjacob:

I would like to hear what everyone’s opions is regarding the lack of priests. Here are a few of my own opions:

• Lack of religion in the family.
• No encouragement from family and friends.
• Priesthood is too demanding.

I am looking forward to hearing from other members opions. I hope we can recognize the problems and fix them before it goes beyond the breaking point.

Thanks,
joshjacob

Well, I would agree with your first two.

 

[cheese_sdc]

I don’t know why, in general, why men don’t join the priesthood. I can, however, tell you a few of the reasons why, after 4 years of seminary, I didn’t go on.

1. Fear of dying alone.
2. Didn’t like the regimen of the life (started to really hate going to daily mass - started to avoid community as much as possible).
3. I never met a priest that I wanted to be like. All the priests I met were power hungry and idiosyncratic to the extreme.
4. Grew extremely disillusioned with the ultra right wing arm of the Church. We had one of the nicest nuns you’d ever meet at the seminary, but b/c she didn’t wear a habit she was called the “c” word. One person skipped communion at an ordination so that he could get a prime position in order to kiss all the bishop’s rings as they processed out of the cathedral. They would skip Mass if there were guitars present.
5. A (non) encounter with my bishop was the last straw. He visited the seminary but spent all of his time talking with those seminarians who had gone to the latest charismatic conference that he was at. He spoke barely two words to me and another non-charismatic seminarian.

 

[frleo]

mikew262:

Many Protestant Ministers are married. How are they supported?

From my experience as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve and speaking with several Protestant ministers over the years, I’ve found that many more leave active ministry after only a few years as compared to Catholic priests. Some because they can’t support their families, some because they don’t have time for their families, some because they have to take a second part-time job to make ends meet, some because they get bored with the life of a minister. The last might apply to some priests as well. To have a lot of priests lining the door doesn’t mean much if they leave the building a short while later.

 

[setter]

cheese_sdc:

I don’t know why, in general, why men don’t join the priesthood. I can, however, tell you a few of the reasons why, after 4 years of seminary, I didn’t go on.

1. Fear of dying alone.
2. Didn’t like the regimen of the life (started to really hate going to daily mass - started to avoid community as much as possible).
3. I never met a priest that I wanted to be like. All the priests I met were power hungry and idiosyncratic to the extreme.
4. Grew extremely disillusioned with the ultra right wing arm of the Church. We had one of the nicest nuns you’d ever meet at the seminary, but b/c she didn’t wear a habit she was called the “c” word. One person skipped communion at an ordination so that he could get a prime position in order to kiss all the bishop’s rings as they processed out of the cathedral. They would skip Mass if there were guitars present.
5. A (non) encounter with my bishop was the last straw. He visited the seminary but spent all of his time talking with those seminarians who had gone to the latest charismatic conference that he was at. He spoke barely two words to me and another non-charismatic seminarian.

I see all these “reasons” (except #3) as discernment from God that He is calling a man to a different fulfilling vocation, rather than obstacles to why more men are not pursuing the priestly calling.

 

[Fast_ed75]

cheese_sdc:

1. Grew extremely disillusioned with the ultra right wing arm of the Church. We had one of the nicest nuns you’d ever meet at the seminary, but b/c she didn’t wear a habit she was called the “c” word. One person skipped communion at an ordination so that he could get a prime position in order to kiss all the bishop’s rings as they processed out of the cathedral. They would skip Mass if there were guitars present.

WOW man really?..I’d like to know about this “ultra right wing” mafia of priests that are persecuting feminist nuns and suppressing “folk masses.” This must be a West Coast thing because I have yet to see it in Chicago.

 

[Al_Masetti]

frleo:

From my experience as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve and speaking with several Protestant ministers over the years, I’ve found that many more leave active ministry after only a few years as compared to Catholic priests. Some because they can’t support their families, some because they don’t have time for their families, some because they have to take a second part-time job to make ends meet, some because they get bored with the life of a minister. The last might apply to some priests as well. To have a lot of priests lining the door doesn’t mean much if they leave the building a short while later.

This is an excellent post. Would be useful in the ongoing discussion on married priests.

My wife has worked for more than 10 years as a secretary for a non-Catholic church. (They wanted someone who would not get involved in their internal politics.) Based on her experience, married ministers have an obligation (or an inclination) to look after their families first and the congregations second.

What happens when the minister’s spouse becomes terminally ill and requires a tremendous amount of time? Well, the spouse’s needs come first and the “attending” just isn’t there for the congregation.

This may seem “obsolete” in the “me-first” generation, but one of the needs is for someone who puts himself (or herself) last. Complete voluntary self-abnegation. [Is that the right word?]

 

[cheese_sdc]

Fast_ed75:

WOW man really?..I’d like to know about this “ultra right wing” mafia of priests that are persecuting feminist nuns and suppressing “folk masses.” This must be a West Coast thing because I have yet to see it in Chicago.

You sir, are exactly the problem. I attempted to offer one person’s experience of seminary, and all you have to offer is a smart ***** remark.

Good day.

 

[Lazerlike42]

cheese_sdc:

You sir, are exactly the problem. I attempted to offer one person’s experience of seminary, and all you have to offer is a smart ***** remark.

Good day.

I got the impression that his post was sincere. I too have never seen any evidence of this sort of behavior, so my thoughts were very similar, as well as sincere.

 

[cheese_sdc]

Fast_ed75:

WOW man really?..I’d like to know about this “ultra right wing” mafia of priests that are persecuting feminist nuns and suppressing “folk masses.” This must be a West Coast thing because I have yet to see it in Chicago.

I find the all caps WOW, along with the phrase “mafia of priests”, along with the assumption of “feminist nun” where all I stated was she didn’t wear a habit all are indicative of a sarcastic attitude. Also, if the original poster had taken 30 seconds of time, he could have found out where I am from by checking my profile.

You may return to your regularily scheduled topic.

Nevermind listening to a person who has actual experience in the field. That would be too intelligent.

 

[Diaconia]

I would suggest that the primary (although not only) reason is plain old-fashioned greed.

In the US, a consumeristic materialism is prevalent in nearly everything we do. Parents are having smaller families because they want to shower more and more material goods upon their children.

Which, of course, reinforces in the children a feeling that everything is owed them.

Smaller families necessarily mean a smaller universe to draw priestly vocations from – as well as vocations to consecrated life, and to the diaconate.

Consider this: if children are taught from the earliest stages of life that material success, financial independence and a cushy retirement are what are important – why would they value a vocation to consecrated life or the priesthood?

You cannot serve both God and mammon (money). A growing detachment to greed and consumerism would likely cause a spike in such vocational answers.

I say “vocational answers” because God calls plenty, but because of preoccupation with other things, fewer and fewer individuals answer the call.

I myself studied for the priesthood, and eventually determined that God was not calling me to be a priest. But I thought He was, so I went to the seminary to discern such a call. Eventually He called me to marriage, and later still to Sacred Orders in the diaconate. Maybe He was calling me to the diaconate all along and I mis-heard the call to the priesthood, I’m not sure.

All of the suggested reasons noted in this thread are true to one extent or another, but I really think that selfishness/greed is the foundation upon which the other reasons are stacked.

If you’re a parent, consider a larger family, and consider encouraging your children to investigate consecrated life or the priesthood.

All of us should pray for young people to become holy sisters and holy brothers - those living consecrated life are the most effective pray-ers to increasing vocational answers.

God bless you all,

 

[Lazerlike42]

cheese_sdc:

I find the all caps WOW, along with the phrase “mafia of priests”, along with the assumption of “feminist nun” where all I stated was she didn’t wear a habit all are indicative of a sarcastic attitude. Also, if the original poster had taken 30 seconds of time, he could have found out where I am from by checking my profile.

You may return to your regularily scheduled topic.

Nevermind listening to a person who has actual experience in the field. That would be too intelligent.

I don’t mean to be rude, but yoo do seem to be expressing a lack of charity which one would tend to see as a reason that you did not complete your seminary and which may give the impression that your opinions of it are not entirely accurate. Honestly I can’t imagine a person who speaks this way so quickly as a person who would be appropriate for the priesthood.

 

[mikew262]

Lazerlike42:

I don’t mean to be rude, but yoo do seem to be expressing a lack of charity which one would tend to see as a reason that you did not complete your seminary and which may give the impression that your opinions of it are not entirely accurate. Honestly I can’t imagine a person who speaks this way so quickly as a person who would be appropriate for the priesthood.

OUCH!!