No personal possessions?

[BrooklynBoy200]

I’ve pretty much decided that i want to be a priest. I’m not sure exactly what kind, but i’m about 90% sure i want to be a religious priest, and not a diocesen priest. One thing though…i love guitar, listening to my ipod, etc. If i were to become a priest would i have to get rid of all that? Would i be able to own a guitar? Or if not, at least “have” one, even if it technically belonged to my order? Same with an ipod and other items? Religious priests get their own…you know…rooms or whatever don’t they? So would i be able to have my own stuff in there? I mean, i’m not gonna go in and put playboy posters and fill it up with meaningless junk, but a few things?

 

[vocatio]

Of course you would…NOT.

Our Friars take a vow of poverty. They have so much junk from people’s gift giving. We always give $25 gift cards because if we give them $50 or more they are required to give it to their order. Well we’re trying to show them how much we care. We’re giving them our son and then a third of the inheritance if that’s what he does do. They have things. The U-Haul is strange to see behind a priest that takes a vow of poverty. But they are allow to keep certain things. I’m not sure the specifics.

 

[BrooklynBoy200]

hhhhmmm… i assume diocesan priests can keep these things? well i don’t know what to do then. Do all religious priests take a vow of poverty?

 

[GandalfTheWhite]

hhhhmmm… i assume diocesan priests can keep these things?

Yep!

Well i don’t know what to do then. Do all religious priests take a vow of poverty?

I would recommend that you do not discern based on your guitar and iPod, but on where God is leading you. Of course, do consider all aspects of religions life, but don’t let your ultimate decision be concentrated on the material.

I don’t know that much about religious orders, but maybe joining a priestly fraternity would be something for you to consider.

God bless!

 

[i_have_no_names]

I don’t know much about… well, anything… but I can affirm that my parish priest owns a video iPod… If it helps answer your question

 

[Phemie]

I’ve pretty much decided that i want to be a priest. I’m not sure exactly what kind, but i’m about 90% sure i want to be a religious priest, and not a diocesen priest. One thing though…i love guitar, listening to my ipod, etc. If i were to become a priest would i have to get rid of all that? Would i be able to own a guitar? Or if not, at least “have” one, even if it technically belonged to my order? Same with an ipod and other items? Religious priests get their own…you know…rooms or whatever don’t they? So would i be able to have my own stuff in there? I mean, i’m not gonna go in and put playboy posters and fill it up with meaningless junk, but a few things?

Different religious Orders deal with this differently. Most of the religious guys I know have their own stereo, and if the Order isn’t poor they may be able to acquire things for hobbies, etc. My friend has developed a love of guns, so he’s now the proud “owner” of several. Officially they belong to his Order but at the moment they are in his possession. He also has his own computer and a guitar.

 

[tngail]

My priest makes 30G’s a year. So I think he would have some personal possessions.

 

[Phemie]

My priest makes 30G’s a year. So I think he would have some personal possessions.

Religious priests take a vow of poverty, that is, they turn their income over to their religious Order. Some never have a bank account, their needs are taken care of on a day by day basis based on what their community thinks they need. Even within the same Order, different provinces (the divisions within the Order) have been known to have different rules for this: one province allows bank accounts with a maximum level, expecting the members to turn over any funds above that amount, another province doesn’t allow bank accounts, you can only keep pocket money and must approach the bursar for any extra funds which must be justified.

Diocesan priests, on the other hand, don’t take a vow of poverty and are free to use the money they any way they want but they are still supposed to live simply.

 

[debraran]

This an an example of an austere order:

franciscanfriars.com/Articles/cfr_constitutions2.htm

 

[BrooklynBoy200]

I know i shouldn’t base my life on my guitar and ipod, but life without guitar doesn’t sound very good…

Can someone give me some information on Priestly Fraternities that someone above mentioned? FSSP is one, correct? I was considering them, but overall i believe i may prefer the english (whats the word for that?) mass over the latin one.

But i’m still deciding about that.

 

[tngail]

Religious priests take a vow of poverty, that is, they turn their income over to their religious Order. Some never have a bank account, their needs are taken care of on a day by day basis based on what their community thinks they need. Even within the same Order, different provinces (the divisions within the Order) have been known to have different rules for this: one province allows bank accounts with a maximum level, expecting the members to turn over any funds above that amount, another province doesn’t allow bank accounts, you can only keep pocket money and must approach the bursar for any extra funds which must be justified.

Diocesan priests, on the other hand, don’t take a vow of poverty and are free to use the money they any way they want but they are still supposed to live simply.

He is not a Diocesan priest.

 

[i_have_no_names]

I know i shouldn’t base my life on my guitar and ipod, but life without guitar doesn’t sound very good…

I just remembered something Father Larry Richards said at the Steubenville conference I went to last summer. He said you can never out-give God. To explain, he recounted to us something that happened to him: The night before he was going to be ordained, he woke up in the middle of the night, thinking “I want kids, God… God, I want kids…” Eventually he fell asleep again. The next day when he was ordained, he was happy… but in his head he was thinking “Well… this is it, I guess. I’ll never have kids.” Afterwards, there was a reception. Well, Father Larry led a big youth group… about 200 teenagers. A few of them came over, and gave him something (I forget what he said it was). He smiled and said thanks and was going to walk away… but then they said “Wait, we have something else for you” And they gave him a gift (again… I forget what it was) with a message along the lines of “Congratulations on your ordination - Larry’s Kids”.

He said he had thought he was giving something up by becoming a priest and not having kids - but actually, God gave him 200 kids.

So don’t worry about giving up your guitar and your iPod - I’m sure everything will turn out better than you could have hoped

-Anne

 

[ElizabethAnne]

I know i shouldn’t base my life on my guitar and ipod, but life without guitar doesn’t sound very good…

But could you give up your guitar and iPod if God was asking you to do so? I’m not saying He is asking that of you, but I would say that any person who is spiritually ready to enter into a vocation (and one doesn’t have to be spiritually ready during ones discernment), should be willing to give up television, steak or the latest electronic gizmo for the greater glory of God. And I’m not just talking about the priesthood and religious life here. As a married woman trying to save enough money to start a family and buy a house, I am learning that I will need to give up many more material possessions than I realized.

 

[Gertabelle]

This is such a great question, because when you’re discerning a vocation, it’s like a magnifying glass has been turned on your entire life. Everything suddenly becomes SOOOOOO important.

I entered a cloistered community in 1987 (left in 1989). Before I entered I could have written your post, if I’d had a computer of course. I loved all my cassettes, all my music, my piano, my guitar, and so many other things (big and little) that seemed like a lot to live without.

I was allowed to bring my guitar with me to the cloister, and there were at least two others there. There were two pianos, and tons of sheet music. The prioress also had a number of string instruments, and I got to learn to play the cello, which was something I’d always wanted to do. Though I rarely listened to recorded music, I didn’t really miss it at all. And I got more music than I wanted to hear when I had to do a slide show for a community celebration.

I was so supplied with the things I loved in the monastery, that it was hard to leave all those things (especially the cello) behind when I left. God will provide for you, dear one. Just listen and follow.

Now go watch the sunset and listen to you ipod. Let God lead your heart.

Amanda

 

[johnnydigit]

your post makes me think about how much young people love music. i am a Christian music nut. when i visited the CFR’s, i was so happy when i was woken up from my nap with the sounds of guitars and drums being played by the postulants. they were even playing one of my favorite songs, Beautiful One! we had a jam session of praise music which continued out in the back yard, open to all the neighbors.

i love Christian rock, CCM, hymns, chant, praise, etc. all of these are so spiritually uplifting that i often weep in adoration or when driving or snowboarding. i really feel i have some kind of extraordinary love for music. however, if God is calling me to a place where they don’t have any instruments or music devices, it’s no big deal really. i have memories. if i forget, well it’s no big deal either. God can more than make up for it.
thankfully the Bible often speaks of music and singing so there will usually be some kind of it in any order.

 

[1234]

As you’ve been told, diocesan priests don’t take a vow of poverty. They can own iPods and guitars.

I think that most orders would love to have musicians in their midst, and the Paulists, at least, don’t appear to have any objections to an iPod, or even a novice attending a Springsteen concert!

Check out a terrific blog:

tgibbons.blogspot.com/index.html

maintained by Tom Gibbons, a novice with the Paulists. They are priests who work with youth.

The Paulists have a great new video on Google video:

video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8171084741768325516&q=the+paulist+fathers&pr=goog-sl

Or search for “the Paulist fathers” or “Paulist”.

They are having a retreat weekend Feb 2-3 and (from the blog), quote; “often PAY TRAVEL EXPENSES for those coming from a long distance”.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

My priest makes 30G’s a year. So I think he would have some personal possessions.

In my diocese, it is around $1,000 per month. That is plenty for a priest to live on in my book, and I’ve never met one that was starving.