In other words, you’re not open to that possibility because it’s not what you want to hear. It’s not your idea of a happy life. Often times, God’s will is not what we want to hear. Just something to think about.
Wow, and people accuse me of twisting words.
What part of “I have discerned” did you find most uncomfortable with? I can’t help but observe that whenever someone advocates vocations to the priesthood, they seem to have an agenda against those who have discerned the alternative.
I’m not understanding the correlation between “deserves” and being “called” here. Someone being called to something isn’t exactly them doing it out of what they feel they deserve.
If you insist on signs, I’ve seen more signs that call me to marriage than otherwise. So hence, why should I not at least frown or roll my eyes when I see people (who know me no better than you) humorously suggest I consider the priesthood? Why do you discourage people like me for finally making a decision? Why do you insist that you have figured out my vocation better than I have? Have you followed me all throughout my life? Do you have some hidden camera system that tracks men like me?
Are you God?
So you may be asking God the same things, “Why me God? I have a stable job, I’m financially stable, good-looking, friendly, an over-all achiever and hardworking person who would make a good father” yet God knows that and still may call you to do his bidding, whatever that may be.
This is rich, you know? The way you imply that if I’m going for marriage and parenthood, I’m going against God’s bidding? If I didn’t know any better, I’d be as suspicious as you often are and question your attitudes towards the traditional family.
This kind of highlights what I mean. You feel you “deserve” to be dating, that you have the right to it just because you have the means to do so financially and age-wise. However, a lot of people in the priesthood before they became priests have been in your shoes too. But it’s not just about the priesthood either. Some people are just called to live an ordinary, single, layperson life too. That is yet another possibility.
Again, if I have discerned, why should I not further my conviction? I’ve had many people advise me on these boards and in real life that if I want to be married, I should get out there and take action.
It is deemed villainous for parents to discourage religious vocations but outright saintly for religious to discourage those who pursue courtship and marriage? I think not!
You are making a huge generalization here and are assuming.
O rly? And what good is romanticism to the priesthood? Do share. Cuz last time I checked, the genre is a stumbling block to their celibacy.
But again, sometimes what we want is not what God wants.
And there are times when what God wants is
also what we want. Your point? You make it sound like as if every person’s desire is automatically counter to God’s desire.
What’s next? Because I desire to do good, of my own conviction, it means that God desires I do evil?
And again, I don’t know you and I don’t know what God has in store for you or even for myself, but I am just stating some of the possibilities.
Oh so only
now you concede? I have already considered the possibilities and have
discerned. Just as many priests realized their calling, so have I. Again, you talk of signs? I’ve had plenty.
Not everyone is called to that. Was Joseph, the earthly father figure of Jesus Christ, called to be fruitful and multiply and have his own children? He was a good guy, had the means to raise a large family, yet he never had a child of his own because that is not what God called him to do.
Not everyone is called to celibacy either. Again,
your point?
You are looking at this all wrong. A man who would make a good father would also make a good husband, and vice versa. It is not that they have no sense of romance; it is that they have fallen in love with Christ and His Church. The Church is his bride, the congregation, his children. They are husbands and fathers in a very real way.
A gay couple can take their family, their children, and justify it using the same logic you have. Does it make their family the same as a traditional one? Obviously not.
It appears to me that you are possibly a young man and haven’t truly grasped the beauty of the priesthood.
Not that young. Not anymore. Trust me when I say that as important as priests are to the Church, their calling is not mine.
The worst part here is I have only respect for those who feel called to it. I find that respect compromised when they think I’m fit just because I’m single and have a knack for religion. That’s nothing compared to the other (and may I add, more personal) signs I’ve had that I’m called to have my own family.
I was the same way for a very long time. I hope that you will at least consider it, and discern it.
Already did.
A spiritual director would help very much. Remember, wherever God calls you, that’s where you’ll be happiest, regardless of your plans. God bless!
Been there, done that. Gone to retreats. But yes, I agree that God desires only happiness whether my plans are not in line (or more realistically) they
are.
I’ve grown to be wary of men that show any of those signs, because they’re definitely not headed in the right direction.