Might've figured it out

[JesusSaves17]

I don’t think I’d ever be truly happy as a married man unless I at least attended a seminary. So I guess that’s what I’ll have to do to achieve true happiness. Can anyone else relate to that?

Is it possible though that I am not being called to be a priest, but that God just wants me to answer what I perceive might be his call, just to make me happy in life?

Pray for me, I will for you all.

 

[Nick9]

I asked my vocations director a similar question. I asked: should I go to seminary to find out once and for all whether I have a vocation? I was unsure about my calling up to that point and could not give him a positive answer one way or the other. My director said that it would be a mistake to go just to resolve things and that the main thing is: do you want to be a priest? He said there was no evidence that deep down I did want to be one.

From this, it seems that if you had a vocation, you would want to go to seminary deep down and not just want to go to remove your scruples about missing God’s call.

I may be wrong, here, I am just recounting my experience. Maybe your circumstances are different and you do want to be a priest deep down. You need to see your diocesan vocations director to find this out. It is his role to discern whether you have a true vocation or not. If he tells you that you do not have a call, then you should trust his discernment as coming from Christ and put the issue behind you.

God bless you and I will pray that you may know God’s call,

Nick

 

[JesusSaves17]

I asked my vocations director a similar question. I asked: should I go to seminary to find out once and for all whether I have a vocation? I was unsure about my calling up to that point and could not give him a positive answer one way or the other. My director said that it would be a mistake to go just to resolve things and that the main thing is: do you want to be a priest? He said there was no evidence that deep down I did want to be one.

From this, it seems that if you had a vocation, you would want to go to seminary deep down and not just want to go to remove your scruples about missing God’s call.

I may be wrong, here, I am just recounting my experience. Maybe your circumstances are different and you do want to be a priest deep down. You need to see your diocesan vocations director to find this out. It is his role to discern whether you have a true vocation or not. If he tells you that you do not have a call, then you should trust his discernment as coming from Christ and put the issue behind you.

God bless you and I will pray that you may know God’s call,

Nick

Nick, funny you should post this. Thanks for the reply. After I posted this on Friday, I left town, and on the car ride, I had this revelation and peace came over me that God was happy with me for totally submitting myself to him, but it felt like he said “thanks, but no thanks.” And this weight was lifted off my shoulders…I prayed a lot all weekend and this just seems to feel right. Hopefully my scruples do not make me dwell on this any longer. Thanks for the reply and God Bless.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

Nick, funny you should post this. Thanks for the reply. After I posted this on Friday, I left town, and on the car ride, I had this revelation and peace came over me that God was happy with me for totally submitting myself to him, but it felt like he said “thanks, but no thanks.” And this weight was lifted off my shoulders…I prayed a lot all weekend and this just seems to feel right. Hopefully my scruples do not make me dwell on this any longer. Thanks for the reply and God Bless.

Fully submitting to God is living the life (vocation) you are in to its fullest.

I do not think “trying” out the seminary is the right way to go about it either.

A person has to have some inclination to their vocation, they may not want to admit it but they in someway know what God is calling them to. This is also shown to us though others at times.

 

[Nick9]

Nick, funny you should post this. Thanks for the reply. After I posted this on Friday, I left town, and on the car ride, I had this revelation and peace came over me that God was happy with me for totally submitting myself to him, but it felt like he said “thanks, but no thanks.” And this weight was lifted off my shoulders…I prayed a lot all weekend and this just seems to feel right. Hopefully my scruples do not make me dwell on this any longer. Thanks for the reply and God Bless.

If you do continue with your scruples, I would go and see a vocations director to put your mind at rest once and for all. I too have had scruples over the issue of priesthood and my director’s decision is something I often come back to when I begin to feel guilty about it again.

 

[SenorSalsa]

Nick, funny you should post this. Thanks for the reply. After I posted this on Friday, I left town, and on the car ride, I had this revelation and peace came over me that God was happy with me for totally submitting myself to him, but it felt like he said “thanks, but no thanks.” And this weight was lifted off my shoulders…I prayed a lot all weekend and this just seems to feel right. Hopefully my scruples do not make me dwell on this any longer. Thanks for the reply and God Bless.

I suggest you go and read about Abraham and Isaac, Genesis 22, and reflect on that.

Sometimes God just likes to know that we would. Not that we do.

 

[Schola]

Definitely, the priesthood isn’t just a decision, it’s a call.

Quote from Brett Riegelman, a seminarian at St. John Vianney College Seminary:

"Seminary, especially in the initial years, is not focused on priestly formation, entailing commitment and irrevocable sacrifice. No, it is a place and a time where the all-loving, almighty Lord will do things for you, through you, and in you that you could NEVER have foreseen or imagined. It is a place where you are formed as a son of God, as a saint.

Entering seminary is not something that needs to be deeply discerned. Seminary is the place where one comes to discern. Outside of seminary, there is typically very little honest, real, effective, clear discernment. But inside seminary once experiences the graces of sanctification according to the measure of one’s cooperation with the infinite grace of God. So, in brief, I encourage each of you to ENTER SEMINARY. It is not some crazy decision, except for in the eyes of a world that is mad with sin. Enter seminary and fall into the Father’s inexplicable, loving embrace."

 

[bpbasilphx]

**I asked: should I go to seminary to find out once and for all whether I have a vocation? **

The true VOCATIO is when the Bishop calls you forward to receive the laying-on-of-hands for diaconate, priesthood, or episcopate.

 

[Nick9]

Definitely, the priesthood isn’t just a decision, it’s a call.

Quote from Brett Riegelman, a seminarian at St. John Vianney College Seminary:

"Seminary, especially in the initial years, is not focused on priestly formation, entailing commitment and irrevocable sacrifice. No, it is a place and a time where the all-loving, almighty Lord will do things for you, through you, and in you that you could NEVER have foreseen or imagined. It is a place where you are formed as a son of God, as a saint.

Entering seminary is not something that needs to be deeply discerned. Seminary is the place where one comes to discern. Outside of seminary, there is typically very little honest, real, effective, clear discernment. But inside seminary once experiences the graces of sanctification according to the measure of one’s cooperation with the infinite grace of God. So, in brief, I encourage each of you to ENTER SEMINARY. It is not some crazy decision, except for in the eyes of a world that is mad with sin. Enter seminary and fall into the Father’s inexplicable, loving embrace."

Hi Schola, are you saying my vocation director was wrong when he said to me that it would be a mistake to enter seminary as a means to resolving my indecision? I sometimes think the Devil whispers the same thing to me, but my reply is: I felt I may have had a call and so I did the correct thing in discussing it with my vocations director, who said that he was in a position to help me discern whether I had a vocation or not. I saw him for a year and at the end of it, he said that I had cooperated with him 100% and that we can be fairly certain that I am not being called to the priesthood at this time. Why would I then want to go to seminary? If you are right and everyone who feels they may have a call should go to seminary, then why do we have a pre-seminary period of discernment?

 

[Nick9]

**I asked: should I go to seminary to find out once and for all whether I have a vocation? **

The true VOCATIO is when the Bishop calls you forward to receive the laying-on-of-hands for diaconate, priesthood, or episcopate.

hi bpbasilphx, the bishop may have the final say, but it is based on the assessment of the seminary directors, surely? If so, then going to seminary is where we discern whether we have a vocation.

 

[SenorSalsa]

I’ve often heard rather Traditional Catholics say things to the effect of The Church should be every man’s first choice of a bride. And if the engagement doesn’t work out, you can still be friends.

More men should be willing to give Seminary, or at least thought about the priesthood, a try. If it isn’t for them, it isn’t hard to leave

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

I’ve often heard rather Traditional Catholics say things to the effect of The Church should be every man’s first choice of a bride. And if the engagement doesn’t work out, you can still be friends.

More men should be willing to give Seminary, or at least thought about the priesthood, a try. If it isn’t for them, it isn’t hard to leave

No, not everyone is called to the priesthood. Only those who feel a call and have it recognized should go though with the formation.

Seminary can be a waste of time and resources for those who do not have a calling.

And what about religious life? There are many in religious life who do not go on to be ordained, and I am not just speaking of nuns and sisters.

One other thing. Seminaries are for the secular priesthood. A man who is called to the religious life might end up being discouraged at a seminary. Religious studying for the priesthood attend a theologate and do the formation that is done at a seminary within their own houses of study or jointly with other religious houses of study.

Yes, some groups attend the same seminary as the candidates for the secular priesthood but if you look at those groups they are not religious orders for the most part, they are Societies of priests or religious congregations who, again for the most part, take promises (as secular priests do) rather than being in vowed religious life.

The best and most important vocation is the one that you are called to and the one you are living it. God does not call us to fail at one before we go to another.

 

[Schola]

Even if you do enter seminary, you are still discerning your call in your eight years until ordination, where there’s really no turning back. Seminary, especially in the Spirituality Year, is really not forming you for the priesthood, it’s helping you nurture your call and vocation. A lot of men who enter seminary don’t become priests because they discerned their vocation.

Even if you did enter seminary for say, two years, it’s not like you wasted two years of your life. You spent it discerning your call to what God wants you to do.

 

[JesusSaves17]

I suggest you go and read about Abraham and Isaac, Genesis 22, and reflect on that.

Sometimes God just likes to know that we would. Not that we do.

Truly a beautiful passage about unselfishness and giving one’s self to God. Thanks for the reminder. God bless.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

Even if you do enter seminary, you are still discerning your call in your eight years until ordination, where there’s really no turning back.

Seminary is 4 years. That is unless you enter a college seminary, which not everyone does. Some dioceses/religious groups will not talk with a man who does not have a bachelors degree.

Seminary, especially in the Spirituality Year, is really not forming you for the priesthood, it’s helping you nurture your call and vocation. A lot of men who enter seminary don’t become priests because they discerned their vocation.

What you are speaking of here must be a college seminary becuase all of the formation at a major seminary is for the priesthood.

Even if you did enter seminary for say, two years, it’s not like you wasted two years of your life. You spent it discerning your call to what God wants you to do.

Depends. You might be taking the place of a man who has a true calling. Also there is the cost. If you go and drop out resources were spend on you or, depending on the group you were sponsored by you could have the cost come back to you.

While you are discerning at the seminary it is not a place to go if you do not feel sure about it.

The same goes for us religious. While we take temporary vows for 3 years the idea is not to say “Heck its only three years, I will try it out and see.” The idea is I made my permanent profession of vows, it is a trial period for the Church to see that I am really made for it, it is not a trial period for me.

If you go in with doubt like that you are setting yourself up for a failure.

One other thing. The degrees that seminarians work on while at a major, or even a college, seminary are not something that a lay person can make a good living on.

It seems that some may have the mistaken idea that the priesthood is the first vocation and should be tried no matter what. That is not ture. This is why having a good spiritual director is very important.