Lack of support for vocations

  • Thread starter Thread starter Teresa9
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

Teresa9

Guest
Dear friends

Have any of you experienced a lack of support within your parishes of those who have a vocation within the church?

God bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
Dear friends

😃 Well that is encouraging!!! I am hoping no-one has posted because there is alot of support within parishes for those who have a vocation.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
My experience seems to support Teresa’s observation. We all rejoice when a young man announces his intentions to become a priest, but only when it’s someone else’s son or relative. Why is that? Could it be the low birthrate or the secularization of Catholics? Those who have one son, may not be happy to give him to God? Then again, even strangers will say, *Oh what a shame, he is such a good looking young man! *We have one in our parish, but the small band of middle aged and elderly people, who go to the daily mass approached his parents saying: Now, why would you want him to be a priest? I really don’t know…
 
What kind of support are you talking about.

Many people know of my vocational discernment but I could not say that I have seen any direct support except for a couple of individuals and almost all of those are clergy.
 
This is from a mother who had a son in the seminary and I can tell you there is support…but I was suprised that many came out and questioned his sexuality. They made statements such as, “why would you do that?” Many were hung up on the celibacy issue…for and against. There are those who believe that if young men do not enter married priests will be the next step. My son is very conservative and loyal to Pope John Paul and has been assused of being “too Catholic”! His only response back to some: “Were you never taught the word sacrifice???” Neddless to say I am very proud of him. He continues to discern and if it is in God’s plan he will return or do what his life is met to be!!
 
May God bless you and your son! And thank you!

You mention sacrifice. Can people relate to it? Apparently there are many vocations in third world countries. Are they more holy or generous than we are in the west? Or could it be that the priesthood is a way out of a lifetime of poverty? Perhaps the only way some can get an education? When we look at vocations in the historical context, men were not always chosen by God, men chose for themselves, and the priesthood was more of a carrier choice. Wealthy families always had one son become a priest during medieval times. Are there really less vocations these days or just less priests? Certainly, today men who desire to enter the priesthood have to go through a more rigorous discernment process than in the past. Just wondering.
 
Reply to tru devotion:
Great observation. I was just talking to a friend who is a priest about these same topics. We both ageed to disagree…I feel that many other cultures look at life much differently than we do here in the states. We live in a culture where the act of sacrifice is not a “norm” and we tend to push the envelop on so many issues. We have to question as good Catholics…Christians…children of God but I think we as a society think God changes as society changes…whereas we have to remember God expects us to bend to his will. My son just finished a book relating to this subject…“goodbye Good Men”. Sorry I can’t recall the author but he felt it answered some of his concerns and gave him a better perspective.
God bless!
 
This summer, a fellow who was a few years behind me in school was ordained (a second-career vocation). He celebrated his first mass in the church where we were raised and it was filled to the rafters, standing-room only with people even standing in the doorways. He was the first priest to come from that parish in several years, so it was a very joyous event. There were also many, many priests & seminarians in attendance and they all seemed to be really enjoying the opportunity for fellowship. However, the thing that struck me the most was waiting in a line & overhearing a kid who couldn’t have been more that 14 or 15 talking to some of the seminarians about already applying (or trying to - I doubt that our diocese takes them before age 18 anyway) to the seminary!

I’m convinced it has to do with the environment in which a boy is formed. Obviously this new priest came from a very devout family, but I wonder that if he had been of a different generation, he would have entered the priesthood right away. When we were in school, we had great priests and sisters as role models, but oddly enough nobody ever talked about vocations. Then, I went to a Catholic college and never heard mention of it either. It was as though it didn’t even merit mention as a career choice, although of course it’s much more than that. In my humble opinion, I think the boys today who are discerning vocations have more help or at least more resources available to them thanks to EWTN, Catholic Answers and the other good orthodox Catholic websites.
 
I must say that there doesn’t seem to be an outward support for vocations in terms of having someone from our parish enter into the holy orders. We do pray for vocations and all kinds of other things, but there doesn’t seem to be much support for the young people to look into it. It’s almost like the parishoners are saying “Yes, we need more people for vocations, just not our kids.” Pretty disheartening!
 
40.png
tkdnick:
I must say that there doesn’t seem to be an outward support for vocations in terms of having someone from our parish enter into the holy orders. We do pray for vocations and all kinds of other things, but there doesn’t seem to be much support for the young people to look into it. It’s almost like the parishoners are saying “Yes, we need more people for vocations, just not our kids.” Pretty disheartening!
Click to expand...
Dear Nick

This is exactly what I am referring to. Mother’s and father’s do not want their kids to go off and become a religious, yet they pray for vocations?? this is so ironic to me.

I was recently discussing this with a friend of mine and she said she would not want her son to be Priest. I asked her why not and she replied, it would be a difficult life, I asked her why a life as a religious would be any more difficult than marriage etc, she couldn’t answer me.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
Even parents who support your vocation can ‘slow it down’. I was all set to enter as soon as I left school but my mother told me that nowadays orders won’t accept you until you’ve finished college. Being 16 I believed her. So at 18 I went to college, then signed a training contract as an accountant for 3 years. Having gone to college I needed to work for a time to pay back the money spent. My contract is up next year and then I’ll enter. Sometimes I think that it was such a waste of 7 years.
 
40.png
Ter:
Even parents who support your vocation can ‘slow it down’. I was all set to enter as soon as I left school but my mother told me that nowadays orders won’t accept you until you’ve finished college. Being 16 I believed her. So at 18 I went to college, then signed a training contract as an accountant for 3 years. Having gone to college I needed to work for a time to pay back the money spent. My contract is up next year and then I’ll enter. Sometimes I think that it was such a waste of 7 years.
Click to expand...
Maybe it wasn’t a waste. Look at it this way: you now have a background in accounting, which will serve you well as a pastor. You’re a bit more mature and likely more focused, which will serve you well in seminary. And after all this time, you are still sure of your vocation. You will likely not second-guess yourself as you might have if you had entered the seminary at age 18.
 
Most of the time I think that is wasn’t such a bad thing. It’s just sometimes I think I’ll be so old when I enter (27 - I know thats not really old but it seems that way to me;) ) and that I haven’t really ‘done’ anything for God yet.

P.S. I’m a girl. Maybe I should change my user name people keep thinking I’m a boy.
 
(QUOTE) " This is exactly what I am referring to. Mother’s and father’s do not want their kids to go off and become a religious, yet they pray for vocations?? this is so ironic to me.

I was recently discussing this with a friend of mine and she said she would not want her son to be Priest. I asked her why not and she replied, it would be a difficult life, I asked her why a life as a religious would be any more difficult than marriage etc, she couldn’t answer me." (Teresa9)

I was reading this and I can attest to some of these feelings, as I have recently told my family that I have a vocation to the religious life, and let me tell you that they were not impressed that their daughter, granddaughter, sister, wanted to become a nun. My mother had the exact question for me “Why on earth would you want to do this?! You are so young, you don’t know what life is LIKE yet! DO you know that you will have to give up, all most everything!!”
This put me in an awkward position, but I tried my best to answer her. I am well aware of the sacrifices that will be made, but you know what? It’s not that big of a deal to me. The joy and happiness I feel when I think of devoting myself to GOd in this way, makes nothing too difficult to give up for Him. He is my God, the Love of my life, and who would not do anything for their loved one? I know my parents have done everything they could to raise my brother and I the way they have…and when I ask them why they did it, they immediatly respond, “b/c we love you.” It is the same for me. I love God so much!! and because He is my Beloved, why would I let things get in my way of loving Him to the fullest way that I know how? It is no differnt than one’s love for a child or their spouse/beloved- they would do anything for them, and so would I. My Beloved, just happens to be Jesus.
Now that is to say that I can not see my family’s response. I repect their responses and can only try to explain where I am coming from, and pray that the Holy Spirit overshadows them and gives them Understanding and Wisdom. I admire my family for their courage! To have all of these doubts and caustions and yet to still trust in God and to let Him do what He wills in me. I am astounded at their courage and I thank God for their faith.

(blush) Sorry. That was quite a long tangent. Hopefully this helps!

Ter: I too will be 27 when I enter. Praised be the Lord for answering the prayers of His people!! We have asked for vocations, and He is raising them up!! (grin!!)

Peace be with you,
Jade.
 
tru devotion is right about some of the factors that caused more vocations in the past and in the 3rd world. It’s not just with priests, but also religious orders. For most of the Church’s history joining the priesthood or convent was the only way to get an education and pretty much guarantee you wouldn’t starve to death. No wonder we had so many priests and nuns for centuries. And no wonder we had so many problems with worldly clergy and religious, especially during the Renaissance. Too many people joined who were doing it for the wrong reasons. Although we have fewer priests and religious now, at least the ones we have most likely joined because of a true call from God, not as a meal ticket.

I have no children yet but I would be thrilled if one of them became a priest or nun. It’s so sad to hear how otherwise devout parents can be so discouraging to a child’s vocation. You’d think it would be a source of pride and a testament to a good job of parenting.
 
40.png
Ter:
Most of the time I think that is wasn’t such a bad thing. It’s just sometimes I think I’ll be so old when I enter (27 - I know thats not really old but it seems that way to me;) ) and that I haven’t really ‘done’ anything for God yet.

P.S. I’m a girl. Maybe I should change my user name people keep thinking I’m a boy.
Click to expand...
I think it’s great that you are entering the religious life! What order(s) are you looking into?
 
“I was reading this and I can attest to some of these feelings, as I have recently told my family that I have a vocation to the religious life, and let me tell you that they were not impressed that their daughter, granddaughter, sister, wanted to become a nun. My mother had the exact question for me “Why on earth would you want to do this?! You are so young, you don’t know what life is LIKE yet! DO you know that you will have to give up, all most everything!!”
This put me in an awkward position, but I tried my best to answer her. I am well aware of the sacrifices that will be made, but you know what? It’s not that big of a deal to me.
Peace be with you,
Jade.”

I know my mom’s “deal” with me being in religious life (no i am not considering at this time) is that she won’t get grandkids. Nothing as holy and fancy as the sacrifices to be made.
 
I think that a lot of the reservations which people have about someone seriously exploring a vocation is fear of the unknown. Laypeople often don’t relate well to just what a priestly or religious vocation is all about and conjure up all kinds of wild ideas about these “curious” people who they consider to be overly different from them. In so doing, they fail to recognize that those called to such vocations as just normal people like everybody else who have merely been given a special kind of gift in their life to follow God in this way. Truly, if people learned to think more “vocationally” about their lives, in general, it wouldn’t be so shocking and strange to realize that some people from among their very own kind aren’t such strange beasts in a whole other universe, afterall, but are just regular people seeking to do God’s Will.
 
40.png
tkdnick:
I think it’s great that you are entering the religious life! What order(s) are you looking into?
Click to expand...
Dominican Nuns - the enclosed contemplatives

I’ve visited them a few times and done the three day visits and I’m off to do a four week live-in next Saturday. I’m so happy!😃
I looked at a few other orders over the past year & a half but these are the ones.

P.S. After I decided to do the live-in I had an annual review in September (I’m a trainee accountant, working in the tax department of firm, so I’m under contract until March 2005). As the income tax deadline is 31 October in Ireland, I decided to look for four weeks off in November 'cos it’s a quiet month after the October deadline. My argument was that if I do it now I would know whether I’ll be staying with them in March when my contract is up. So early on in the meeting my manager asked would I be staying on with them & I said “thats something we need to talk about, can we do it at the end”. At the end of the review I told him that I was investigating becoming a nun & I needed four weeks off to do a live-in. He leaned back & grinned at me and said that’s not a request he hears very often. Then he went on to say he completely supported my decision, that he would strongly suggest that the partner approves the time off, he thought it was a great idea and if it turned out in two or three years time that I felt I had made the wrong decision they would be delighted to have me back. After the meeting he went into the Partner’s office for almost an hour then came out & told me I had the time off. Anyone I’ve told this to has been amazed that I told the job & got the time off, a lot of people just quit their current job & take a new one after the live-in. Anyway, I think it’s a great example of support for vocations where you would least expect it.
 
Wow, that is a pretty impressive story!

I must confess I have never heard of this order. Is there a website of something to check out?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top