The Collar

[debraran]

Anyone read this book, The Collar?
amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0618251464/ref=cm_rev_next/102-6969488-7549761?ie=UTF8&customer-reviews.sort%5Fby=-SubmissionDate&n=283155&s=books&customer-reviews.start=11

I found it very realistic and sobering in some ways, but a little depressing. It’s a very recent,true account of older men, some were widows, one divorced, that were descerning the priesthood. They encounter a lot of the same things the younger counterparts would except celibacy is looked at differently since most weren’t for a portion of their lives. The parts I found depressing (but true) is the lack of priests in some areas, the scandal and how it touched some of them and how the gospel is portrayed at times. What I thought was great was the honesty, the emotions of the men, the struggles and the reality of everyday work vs a priests true calling and how they balance it.
Except for a book about the seminary in Rome, most of the books I’ve seen on becoming a priest were old, so this was a nice updated version of how some men, not quite fitting the mold, saw their way through and who stayed and who left.

 

[Dave]

I just ordered that one from Amazon - thanks for the review - I look forward to reading it.

 

[Madaglan]

I remember on another forum site some guy who was raving about this book. I haven’t read it myself, but supposedly it is good. I’m no longer Roman Catholic, so I probably won’t read it.

 

[chicago]

I had a thread about the book here last year. But a search doesn’t reveal it. Perhaps it was lost in the “Great Crash”.

In any case, yes, I think it presents a realistic take on what seminary life and discernment is about in a genuine way. Often people think of it all in an idealized manner, of somehow super sanctified men who are almost preordained and just biding their time in preparatory devotion, study, training. But, really, they are just human beings struggling to find God’s will in their lives like the rest of us with all their natural tendencies, fears, interests. Some continue forward, others find that it isn’t going to work out whether they want it to or not. The Collar does a lot to make this clear and demystify the experience.

 

[debraran]

I like how they showed the diffferences in the older way of teaching vs now, especially to the young seminarians, that didn’t’ address issues like sex, being lonely, devotion to prayer as a necessity, etc. It addressed things that would probably come up, not making it seem like everything would be wonderful. I was shocked they watched a video of priests talking about (and regretting) their sexual sins after ordination, but then I said, “hello?,these are realities for many, it’s good to know someone else went through it and overcame.” As one student said, half joking, "you become a magnet for women when you are a priest, whether it’s because of the unavailability, the intrigue, whatever and you have to know how to deal with it. And you have to know that after most events, surrounded by people, you are going home alone.