Priesthood - Tertiary Education

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isaelie

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Hey guys,
i have almost finished my second year of studies at university for a third year degree, here in Australia. My degree is a bachelor of science, major in mathematics.
The call for priesthood is very strong.
Some people that i’ve talked to, have told me that i should continue my studies or ‘that it is best’ to so.
Is this right?

Thanks
 
It’s hard to say, and I am not a priest nor a spiritual director. However, I would suggest you finish your studies. For various reasons it is the best thing to do. Here are some:
  1. God obviously willed you to do a degree. So finish it. Be patient! A vocation is not something that should be rushed.
  2. This of course is something God might be willing too, as a means of testing your vocation. Be patient. Finish degree.
  3. You might need the degree if you are not really called to the priesthood.
  4. A degree would be very helpful as a Priest
I’ve been waiting 18 months to pursue my vocation. I am finishing my post-graduate studies in November, and in January I will be going to the monastery to pursue my vocation. Thanks be to God. The time waiting has been fruitful. I now understand more fully my own vocation. It can be a time, and for me it has been, to test what you really want. Do you just want to be a faithful Catholic, and are you confusing this with a call? Or is there something deeper? Know what I mean?

God Bless and God speed. Keep praying and stay faithful. The Lord will guide you.
 
It would be appropriate for you to finish your degree and then move on to the consideration of the priesthood, in my opinion.

I don’t know why I’m giving such personal advice as this – you should be very careful considering what anybody here has to say about this.

Yup, it’s just my subjective opinion, finish your degree then move on. Maybe I like this idea because you are already so close to completing your college work. That will give you more time to discuss your vocation and prepare for it.

God bless.
 
My mind often works this way. I say something then it comes to me why it makes sense.

I think you should finish your math degree. During this time you should consider the seminary alternatives that you may have. That’s one thing. also, it may take a year for the application process itself. So, there are a couple things that make sense to me.
 
NewsTheMan said:
It’s hard to say, and I am not a priest nor a spiritual director. However, I would suggest you finish your studies. For various reasons it is the best thing to do. Here are some:
  1. God obviously willed you to do a degree. So finish it. Be patient! A vocation is not something that should be rushed.
  2. This of course is something God might be willing too, as a means of testing your vocation. Be patient. Finish degree.
  3. You might need the degree if you are not really called to the priesthood.
  4. A degree would be very helpful as a Priest
I’ve been waiting 18 months to pursue my vocation. I am finishing my post-graduate studies in November, and in January I will be going to the monastery to pursue my vocation. Thanks be to God. The time waiting has been fruitful. I now understand more fully my own vocation. It can be a time, and for me it has been, to test what you really want. Do you just want to be a faithful Catholic, and are you confusing this with a call? Or is there something deeper? Know what I mean?

God Bless and God speed. Keep praying and stay faithful. The Lord will guide you.
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This seems like good advice to me as well. I began discerning a Vocation to the Religious Life and p0ossibly also my Senior year when I was 16 (now 22). I really felt very strongly called to enter an Order when I left School at 18 but was told to go to University or work first. This bugged me for a while, especially because someone I knew was allowed to enter a Trappist Community at 19. However I went to University, studied for a Theology degree (I’d wanted to study Theology since before thinking I might be called to the Religious Life/Priesthood) and, despite seriously contemplating packing it in several times-I went to see about getting withdrawal forms a few times) I’m now very glad I stuck it out. As NewstheMan says, the time waiting can, and for me also, has proved immensely fruitful. The temptation to leavre grew stronger as my studies progressed and I asked the Order to reconsider making me wait several times. In the end, I just had to trust & pray. Looking back I can definitely see God’s hand working during the 3 years of my degree in ways I could not at the time. I’d recommend finishing your degree & spending as much time praying the Rosary & visiting the Blessed Sacrament as you can in the meantime :gopray2:. These 2 thingshave been a great help & support to me, as has the life of St Felix of Nicosia: vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20051023_da-nicosia_en.html

Peace & all Good :blessyou:
 
I know that in the US, you need to have a bachelor’s degree in order to enter the major seminary today (at least for diocesan priesthood). You will also need to look into any pre-seminary requirements for philosophy and theology (if you attend a Catholic university, you may want to find out if any courses there fulfill those requirements).

If math is your passion, it can be of service to the church; it could serve well if your ministry involves Catholic education.
 
Norseman82 said:
I know that in the US, you need to have a bachelor’s degree in order to enter the major seminary today (at least for diocesan priesthood). You will also need to look into any pre-seminary requirements for philosophy and theology (if you attend a Catholic university, you may want to find out if any courses there fulfill those requirements).

If math is your passion, it can be of service to the church; it could serve well if your ministry involves Catholic education.
Click to expand...
Not only do you need a bachelors degree to enter the major seminary but you must have 30 credit hours of philosophy and 12 credit hours of theology from a good catholic institution.
 
ByzCath said:
Not only do you need a bachelors degree to enter the major seminary but you must have 30 credit hours of philosophy and 12 credit hours of theology from a good catholic institution.
Click to expand...
Yes, that is what I was referring to.
 
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