Married men and Holy Orders

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I am a married man who is Protestant but wishing to become Catholic. I feel God calling me to serve in the Church but I do not know how a married man can serve in an official capacity. Can anyone give me any advice?
 
Sometimes the Church will grant special permission for a married convert to be ordained, it is called the pastoral permission. Though it is somewhat rare and the permission comes from Rome, so it takes a while, and is very rare.
 
t68ware said:
I am a married man who is Protestant but wishing to become Catholic. I feel God calling me to serve in the Church but I do not know how a married man can serve in an official capacity. Can anyone give me any advice?
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A married man may become a permanent deacon in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church. We have many such men in my parish.

You will have to be of a minimum age (35, I believe), have been married for a certain amount of time (ten years), and have your wife’s permission. Besides this, the Church is unlikely to start the process for you to be ordained immediately upon conversion.

Whatever happens, it will be a long road. Pray to God, and give your hopes and desires up to Him. Best of luck. God bless.

-Rob
 
There are also many roles for laity to serve in the Church–such as catechesis, RCIA, lectors, choirs, parish council, evangelism, bringing Communion to the homebound, etc. The possibilities are practically endless. All members of the Body have a function that serve the whole 🙂
 
t68ware said:
I am a married man who is Protestant but wishing to become Catholic. I feel God calling me to serve in the Church but I do not know how a married man can serve in an official capacity. Can anyone give me any advice?
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I’m curious to know how you define the term “official capacity.” I’m hoping that a particular position you want to hold is not the the basis for your joining the Catholic Church.

Each baptized Christian is called by his/her baptism to serve the Church – and we discern in the big (long-term) picture and in the small (day-to-day) picture how God wants us to serve.

You asked for advice – here is mine.
  1. Please join RCIA – there’s not even a requirement that you’re committed to join the Catholic Church by joining. If and when you join the Church, you can further discern how you’d like to serve her. Your pastor, or a spiritual advisor, can help you.
  2. Contact groups in addition to your RCIA group which can offer you support – such as the “Coming Home Network” – here is its website:
    chnetwork.org/ for support.
May you and your family be blessed in many ways during your journey of faith.
 
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