My discernment of the priesthood

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Christus_Rex

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Hello everyone!

Thank you for SO MANY replies to my previous thread “Help - does God want me 2 become a priest?” I’d left it because I thought that people had finished with that thread, but I’m so glad I was wrong.

Thal59, you are so wrong! I don’t know many Catholics. I’m 14, and none of my friends at school are Catholic, I cna’t talk to them about it. Most would laugh if I said I wanted to become a priest. I would not be comfortable talking to my parents about it and I’ve recently started going to a new church, and i have to get to know the priest and the parishioners before I can start to talk to them about a discerning vocation. I came on this forum to seek advice form other Catholics, some who may be having/ have had the same experience as me.

Some of the advice I’ve had on here is great.

I’ve always had a passion to help people. I’m a kind, friendly, empathetic person and I’ve always been able to advise people with their problems. When I heard the “voice” (it wasn’t so much a voice) it just fitted so well with my personality, what I want to do with my time on this Earth.

Some of the people who replied about the “voice” seemed to think it was some kind of mental voice. It wasn’t, it just popped out of nowhere. That’s why I was so confused as to whether **I **was the one who ‘thought’ it, or whether God was speaking to me.

I’ve always wanted to be a father, but I am willing to give that up to father Christ’s flock if that is what he wants.

I did not come on here to seek approval, I came here to see what people thought and to get some encouragement which I can not get in my home.

Thank you to all who supported me, and advised me to pray, I hope that people will keep me in their prayers.

Michael http://forum.catholic.com/images/smilies/prayer/praying.gif

PS. Teresa, which county are you in? Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire or Yorkshire?
 
I still do not understand why so many people were “upset” with what I had offered. I still do not understand the subject as you have expounded on it here.

I simply stated that if you needed something (approval or encouragement, whatever you wish to call it) from the people on this site, then chances are you were not being called. But I have since learned, as the thread developed, that I have a different definition of what it means to be “called.” It seems everyone else has the notion that if a person devotes themselves to any good work, it is a calling.

To me, a true calling from God is His way of drawing someone into a special task regarding salvation history. One could say that St. Francis was called to eventually found the Franciscan Order. My uncle has been a Carmelite priest for over 50 years. Was he neccessarily called? Probably not, as he decided to become a priest at a very young age just as you have.

Does God need to call someone who has, of their own accord and free will, already decided to devote themselves to Him?

If you are called by God, you will answer that call, even if you yourself fight it. Jonah fought it, and St Faustina resisted at first. If you are not called, then you may very well succeed as a priest because of your own personal desires to serve Him more fully. Everything you have written in the opening post of this thread has indicated to me that you have already decided to become a priest, voices from within or without notwithstanding. There doesn’t seem to be any reason for God to call you, you have already called yourself.

But, does it matter to you if you are “called” by God, or if you have decided on your own to pursue the priesthood? What difference does it make?

Thal59
 
God bless you for having the courage to at least consider a vocation to the priesthood. We need good and holy priests. I’m sorry that you feel that you can’t talk to anyone about this. I, for one, will be including you in my prayers. Everyday I ask God to guide my children to the vocation he wishes for them. I tell my children to ask God to show them the way to the right vocation—and that includes the religious life. I would be so happy if God called one of my children!!!

If you think you hear God calling you, then He probably is. Don’t turn away. Follow it through and pray, pray, pray. Maybe go in front of The Blessed Sacrament and ask God to help you to discern His Will for your life.
Christus Rex:
Hello everyone!

Thank you for SO MANY replies to my previous thread “Help - does God want me 2 become a priest?” I’d left it because I thought that people had finished with that thread, but I’m so glad I was wrong.

Thal59, you are so wrong! I don’t know many Catholics. I’m 14, and none of my friends at school are Catholic, I cna’t talk to them about it. Most would laugh if I said I wanted to become a priest. I would not be comfortable talking to my parents about it and I’ve recently started going to a new church, and i have to get to know the priest and the parishioners before I can start to talk to them about a discerning vocation. I came on this forum to seek advice form other Catholics, some who may be having/ have had the same experience as me.

Some of the advice I’ve had on here is great.

I’ve always had a passion to help people. I’m a kind, friendly, empathetic person and I’ve always been able to advise people with their problems. When I heard the “voice” (it wasn’t so much a voice) it just fitted so well with my personality, what I want to do with my time on this Earth.

Some of the people who replied about the “voice” seemed to think it was some kind of mental voice. It wasn’t, it just popped out of nowhere. That’s why I was so confused as to whether **I **was the one who ‘thought’ it, or whether God was speaking to me.

I’ve always wanted to be a father, but I am willing to give that up to father Christ’s flock if that is what he wants.

I did not come on here to seek approval, I came here to see what people thought and to get some encouragement which I can not get in my home.

Thank you to all who supported me, and advised me to pray, I hope that people will keep me in their prayers.

Michael http://forum.catholic.com/images/smilies/prayer/praying.gif

PS. Teresa, which county are you in? Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire or Yorkshire?
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Continue to pray. You should also visit your priest and talk to him about this. He can speak from experience 🙂
 
Thal59, you are so wrong! I don’t know many Catholics. I’m 14, and none of my friends at school are Catholic, I cna’t talk to them about it. Most would laugh if I said I wanted to become a priest. I would not be comfortable talking to my parents about it and I’ve recently started going to a new church, and i have to get to know the priest and the parishioners before I can start to talk to them about a discerning vocation. I came on this forum to seek advice form other Catholics, some who may be having/ have had the same experience as me
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Well, I just popped by to look at some things, then saw this post…
I am having the exact same experience you are having, I even just changed parishes… only difference, I am 17
I have yet revealed my plans to the future to anyone… though I am working up the courage to pull the parish priest aside…
I plan on doing like Jayson suggested. Pray.
This summer I shall spend in prayer and in my studies… Augustine, More, Chesterton, anything I can get my hands on.
Hopefully this will seal the deal and rid me of any doubt as I look into seminaries.
I will include you and your vocation in my prayer and if I end up going the way of the cloth, I will make sure to return here and let you know how it turned out since I’ve got the 3 year start going.

In Christ,
CC
 
Hi Thal59,

I just wanted to respond to your idea that a true call from God does not need advice/encouragement from other people. My experience in discerning is that we are supposed to look for advice/guidence/asistence from others to ensure that what we think or would like to believe is a call from God is not just a call from Me. Even the Saints have done this. St. John Bosco, just before he entered the Seminary, thought he should become a brother in an enclosed order - he sought advice from a close friend who was a priest who told him to enter the Seminary.

Those of us discerning have obviously never done it before & it is not really talked about today so we’re not sure whether the ‘voice’, ‘niggle’, ‘attraction’ is really a vocation and we look for advice & guidence on what to do, how much weight to give it etc. Here is one of the easiest places to do this 'cos nobody knows you.

Also, I think a lot of people are very uncomfortable saying I’m going to be a priest/nun/brother etc 'cos God wants me to be ('cos it feels presumptous) so they say I want to be a priest because I want to help people etc. These are secondary reasons but are not the real reason.

The idea that someone isn’t called because they decided young can’t be correct. Look at all the Saints. I personally think that someone who is aware or decides young that God is calling them to something and that awareness persists, is truly being called.

Finally, each person’s call/vocation is what God has planned for them so that they will have the best possible life & become saints. When someone doesn’t respond to God’s call to consecrated life, or persists in becoming a priest/religious when they do not have a call, then they miss out on the many graces that God had prepared for them in the life he called them to and often find the life they chose very difficult.
 
The Holy Spirit works through others - sometimes as a way to test us. God talks to us in many ways and it is a matter of following Him.

If I go by Thai’s principle then I would have to say that no one would need a spiritual director they could simply go by their own gut instinct. But, with a spiritual director you have to place your trust in them and this is sometimes how God tests us. No spiritual director will ever tell you “what” to do, he will ensure the decision is yours and yours alone. But, he will ask you questions. Don’t be surprised if they suggest you date. By dating now, you explore whether that call is still there. In myself, I would date but my heart was elsewhere, peacefully with God.

I could not follow my dream due to health problems, but I am going to become an aspirant with the Third Order Carmelites - one that allows laity. This means I am called to a life of prayer.

Pray, pray, and pray some more. Set aside the same amount of time each day at the same time to see if you can build the discipline for a life of prayer. Start with 15 minutes in the early morning, then increase it to other times. Ask God to help you because will always address a humble heart.
 
I am now almost complety sure that i have a vocation to the priesthood. As in i feel my hands tingle at mass and i have to restrain myself from reciting the prayers with Father.

But I am still resisting a bit out of caution. i do not want to be too zealous. and i do not want to see it as my right to be ordained. It is a calling and the choice is not mine.
 
Yes, well, I have had those times when I was so sure and that nothing could ever tell me otherwise. Now I am not so sure…

I am just in the process of waiting and seeing what will happen next.

In fact, nobody has ever told me “Oh you would be a great priest!” I am getting the feeling that people are telling me indirectly that this might not be my vocation. I am really paranoid though.

Yesterday I was making conversation with the priest at my church. I had just attended an ordination service and he was asking me about it. He said rather seriously, “Oh so your ordination will be in about 11 years right?” I laughed and then he didn’t.
 
Well, the lot of you are in my prayers as you continue to discern.

He comes to you in your heart,
listen for the silence of Him.

He comes to you in your sleep,
listen for the silence of Him.

He comes to you in words from others
listen for the silence of Him.

He comes to you in silence
so listen for Him in the silence of your heart.

Ponder what is said here about silence, gentlemen and in this silence will your answers come when He is ready to give them to you. Sometimes we need to stop and shut everything off and retreat into silence to really hear His voice. Not only do we need to shut off external noises, but those that are internal. Often times we cannot hear Him over the clutter in our own minds.

opusangelorum.org/Formation/Silenceandsolitude.html
 
I have read the several most recent replies to this post. All have much merit. I understand what each of you are saying, and I will not infer any of you are wrong with respect to the ideas you are trying to present. But it is clear to me that what I have presented is still not understood. I do not say this in any sense of frustration, or displeasure, I say this calmly and simply - that I cannot see any use in pursing the idea further. It would take much time and effort, and would probably lead to pointless argument. So, I would like to leave this thread with the following:

Lets turn the problem around. Lets say that Michael was a devout Presbyterian who dislikes the RCC. Lets say he “hears” his calling, jumps aboard a Protestant website and says to the people there…

I believe I may have been called by God to become a Presbyterian minister, and that God wants me to champion the crusade against the errent Catholic church which is sending unsuspecting souls to hell with its corrupt doctrines. I need your help. Is this a true calling from God, or is it just me?

Now, how many pages of support would he receive from that Protestant website? How many people would say things like…

Go for it…
God is calling you for a great task…
We’re all behind you…
I’ll pray for you to realize and succeed in your calling…

Would they not all offer support, prayers, and blessings?

But would it be a true calling from God?

Thal59
 
I see your point, but I took the poster’s question in a different light. While his words may have seemed to invite an answer, I took it more as a matter of understanding how to discern.

This is why I give my advice of spending time in prayer and silence on a regular basis, so that by tuning out the world, one can hear that voice a little clearer.

I don’t recall anyone suggesting that the poster should go for it, but prayers we can always send that the will of God is followed, be it as a priest, married man or single person.

I take the same approach with the writings of St. John of the Cross. I can sit in mental prayer or contemplation for decades and not learn the things that St. John of the Cross can help me to recognize in my contemplative path. He experienced them so he writes about them so the rest of us can learn. He shows the many faces of Spiritual Gluttony for example. A beginner would not know to recognize the traits of spiritual gluttony without reading of it.

And so it is with one who is “learning to discern”. That is what I believe the poster and other young men are trying to do.

God Bless!
 
I am now 16, and I’m still under private discernment of God’s calling to priesthood.

Yes, I have gotten many many friends and parishioners who tell me that I would make a wonderful priest, even though I don’t even utter the word in my mouth. There was a time in which I was praying at mass, and after that, the lady beside me noticed my reverence during the mass, and gave me the number of the vocations director after mass, saying that I am a potential candidate.

Even though people tell me that I should try with priesthood, I haven’t called the vocations office yet. It is up to the Will of God, and I will see if I will understand that Will and follow it.

However, that doesn’t mean God grants us our prayers through people! 😉
 
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silverwings_88:
I am now 16, and I’m still under private discernment of God’s calling to priesthood.

Yes, I have gotten many many friends and parishioners who tell me that I would make a wonderful priest, even though I don’t even utter the word in my mouth. There was a time in which I was praying at mass, and after that, the lady beside me noticed my reverence during the mass, and gave me the number of the vocations director after mass, saying that I am a potential candidate.

Even though people tell me that I should try with priesthood, I haven’t called the vocations office yet. It is up to the Will of God, and I will see if I will understand that Will and follow it.

However, that doesn’t mean God grants us our prayers through people! 😉
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This is true. It is good to spend some time privately. I remember when I was trying to discern the sisterhood my mother was a real cog in the mental wheel. Dad gave me space, but I knew that I had better have my mind made up and be ready for a strong fight for what I want when it came out. It got bad enough that the Pastor had to corner the folks and tell my mother that I was 18 and could do as I wanted and over his dead body was she going to prevent me from heading off to that convent. But, he knew me and had spent time with me, discussing my interests and once I made up my own mind, he worked to help me achieve that. I appreciate it too.

I had to leave the order while in the novitiate due to illness, but it was the best time of my life. They taught me much about life. If I had the best of health, I would sell all that I have and go after it again, but that’s not to be. So, I pursue a third order - the lay Carmelites.

When discerning, there is a period of time that is best left between you and God. Find spiritual support in those who are trained to help you find out what God wants of you and many priests are trained for this.

However, I will caution you as I did in the other thread that if you have an orthodox value system, you will want to find which orders would best meet your needs. In some diocese there are some rather shameful tactics used to “de-priest the priesthood”. You can read more in the links I provided in your original thread. This caused a great many good, orthodox minded young men to leave the seminary altogether, or to head off to another order that was loyal to the Papacy and Magisterium. There are elements out there that will try to teach you that gay marriage is ok and this should give you reason to run, not walk, to find another seminary or holy order. Psychological testing has been ordered for those who have a more traditional bent whereas some candidates that don’t support the teachings of the church are left alone. The emphasis on prayer life is just not there in such places - another bad sign. There is no way to be a “good priest” without prayer, and lots of it.
 
I feel kinda uneasy because my family is beginning to catch on that I proably have a vocation (I don’t want them to know because I don’t want to be pressured).
 
I’m just jumping in on this out of the blue. I haven’t read the previous thread or most of these posts, but I wanted to share something that our pastor said a couple weeks ago. He was relating how, when he was in the seminary, he was doubting his calling somewhat and wasn’t sure if the priesthood was for him. One of his instructors asked him one day, “Do you want to be a priest?” and he replied that he wasn’t sure. Next, his instructor asked him, “Does God want you to be a priest?” and he knew, without a doubt, that he had to answer, “Yes.” He was firm in his decision from then on.

Many prayers for all of those discerning a call to the priesthood.

God bless, Jen
 
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Brain:
I feel kinda uneasy because my family is beginning to catch on that I proably have a vocation (I don’t want them to know because I don’t want to be pressured).
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I remember the feeling. It is an awful thing to have to “hide” your feelings and I even didn’t want to display certain things that would give away my inner feelings, such as being prayerful. I did it all in private for a few years. But, I was wise in knowing how forceful my mother would be and if I had let her in on it sooner, I’m afraid of how I might have bent to her whims. Once it was firm in my heart I asked the Holy Spirit for the strength to deal with what I felt would be a tempest and He delivered.

This is why at some point it is so helpful to find a priest that you admire and speak to him. No priest should ever push you into thinking that God is calling you, rather he should be helping you to discover if God is calling you. If ever you sense that, find another priest. In the same way, if you feel that a priest is conveying ideologies that are incompatible with church teaching or doctrine, run them over here with some of us to verify your suspicions or with “ask the apologist”.

Many a good seminarian was corrupted by an element bent on changing church doctrine to suit the desires of people. God intends for us to follow something that is fixed and simple, not something that is dynamic and complex. Relativistic and secularist attitudes have infested our seminaries and religious orders and this is slowly working itself out as a younger, JP2 crowd enters the seminaries respectful of Truth. Any priest that says he trusts the Holy Spirit then blatantly disobeys a church doctrine or teaching, or speaks unkindly of the pope is not worth spending another minute with. Run, and run fast and hard.

Call to Holiness is an organization of priests and laity loyal to the Vicar of Christ and the Magisterium. If ever you want a reference, contact them to see if there is a priest in your area.

calltoholiness.com/
 
Firstly I would like you to know that you are in my prayers. I do understand what you are going through, as I am going through the same thing myself, although I am a bit older. There is no rush to talk to anyone about this, you will know when it is time to talk to people about the possibility of a vocation.

When I first felt called, it was the farthest thing from my mind, and I ran the opposite direction. I then started looking for alternative ways that I could serve the Lord, and everytime something would happen to bring the Priesthood to the fore. And so after unsuccessfully trying to run away, I have decided to seriously discern if my vocation is to the Priesthood. Two years ago I could not talk to anyone about it, but now I can! It is still difficult! I am now in the process of talking to my Parish priest, and to the Vocational Director here in the Disocese of Westminister.

I am not sure if you have seen this website or not, but I have found it helpful…

ukpriest.org

I will keep you in my prayers and I ask you to keep me in yours, as I start the Journey of Discernment.

God Bless you for your courage to post your concerns here! Everyone … Lets pray for Christus Rex
 
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