Priests are married to the church. They give up everything, family, wealth all to do Gods work, who are we to question that?
HickmanJosh
Actually, there is a little difference between priests and religious. What you’re describing is a religious brother, not a priest.
A priest is not married to the Church. He does not give up family or material property. Religious do, because they make vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
A secular priest does not make vows. Therefore, he can own as much property and have as much money as he can make or inherit from parents, etc. They also get paid a salary for their work. A priest may own his own home, car, retirement home, vacation home, have retirement inssurance and even a second job, if time allows it.
He is not married to the Church, because he does not make a vow of chasity. Therefore, he does not live in a community of brothers with whom he must pray, eat, recreate, go on retreat. He does not have to do house chores as does a religious or spend quality time with his community, because he has none. He can come and go without permission and have money in his pocket. He does not have to ask for permission to travel, purchase expensive items such as a TV. He lives in a rectory, which is actually a boarding house. Every priest has his own TV, telephone, and schedule. Religious do not have their own TVS, telephones, or personal cars. Some don’t have computers or internet. Some share the computer, like a married man in a family. They may not travel without permission. Secular priests do not need such permission. They just need to schedule it with the pastor, like you would wiht a boss at work. A secular priest makes a PROMISE OF CELIBACY, which is a promise to remain single. It does not require that he be part of a spiritual family.
Seclar priests make a PROMISE OF OBEDIENCE TO THE BISHOP. A religious makes a vow of obedience to the founder of the community, to the rule and constitutions, to the superior and to his brothers. While a secular priest answers to his bishop for certain things, he does not answer to the bishop in personal matters such as who his friends are, how he uses his money, whee he goes in his spare time, when he goes visit his fammily and friends, how he dresses (though a bishop may require his priests to wear a clerical shirt or cassock on duty). He does not have to get permission to come home late or leave early. He prays alone, unlike religious brothers who must pray in community. He follows his own spirituality, unlike religious who promise to live according to the spirituality of the founder or the tradition of the order, such as the Carmelites who do not have a founder.
All that being said, a secular priest is a man who is committed to serving the Church by the Sacrament of Holy Orders in all things that are proper for the clerical state. Notice that the Church refers to the priesthood as a state, not a way of life. There are many ways in which priests can live the Christian life.
The bond between a priest, God and the Church is a bond to serve God’s people through a life of priestly service. The bond between the religious, God and the Church is to live a life closely consecrated to God by being a person of prayer, penance, silence, solitude, faithful to his brothers and caring for them, doing what ever it takes to find Christ in the spirit of the founder. The apostolate of the religioius flows from his life in the community, according to the needs of the community and the Church around the community. Some religious do not have an apostolate outside of the religous house. They live completely hidden from the world, just for God. Therefore, a religious is married to the Church and to God and lives in intimate communion with God.
A priest is ordained to serve the people of God by growing into Christ’s priestly ministry through an on-going life of personal prayer, fidelitiy to the Church, and being a sacramental presence to God’s people.
Some men are called to be both: priests and religious. We call them religious priests. They are always religioius first. This means that their duties and allegience to the community is always first. They serve as priests where the community chooses, when community chooses, and if the community chooses.
A good example of a religious priest is a Carthusian monk. The Carthusian monk may never say mass where the faithful can participate. He may never hear confessions, baptize, witness marriages, bury the dead or preach a sermon. The mass is for the good of the Church, because it is a public event. but it is celebrated behind walls and away from the eyes of the laity to avoid contamination from the laity. This allows this particular religious to focus entirely on Christ’s presence and to continue living his monastic vocation to solitude by being alone with Christ on the altar.
The priests that belong to a diocese do not have these privileges. Because they are not married to the Church or consecrated to the perfection of charity.
Like the rest of us, they share in the universal call to holiness, but are nto consecrated men. There is the difference between priest and religious.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
