The Priesthood and Physical Health

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Hi all, I am a senior in college trying to discern my future. At times I feel that the priesthood would be the right choice, and at other times I feel like marriage would be the right path. Nothing out of the ordinary, I’m sure that’s normally part of the process…

Still, when I look at some of the requirements for the priesthood, physical health is one of them. I am not sure if I would even qualify for the priesthood, as I was born with a birth defect which causes many problems with my health. To put it delicately, I must do certain daily medical procedures which take up an hour every day in order to defecate at all. If I miss a couple of days, I become ill. In addition to this problem, I have what doctors tell me is early onset osteoporosis, which means my bones will lose strength earlier in life than other people…around my mid-thirties. I also have Celiacs disease, so I am unable to eat wheat/gluten products which means I can only receive the consecrated wine, and not the Host.

Would all of this constitute a “lack of physical health,” enough, anyway, to cause me to not be able to join the priesthood? I am unsure and have yet to receive a good answer. Thanks for your response.🙂
 
In my diocesis, you wouldn’t be allowed to become a priest - others might be more… hm, liberal? considerate? I am lacking the correct English word, sorry.

I think the issue is not so much the medication, but more the weakness of your bones, that will make it likely that you’ll fall ill more often (broken bones) and will have to retire earlier than someone who is completely healthy and because you wouldnÄt be able to consume the “regular” host at mass and would have to have an extra one… while this is of course practised for parishioners, my diocesis won’t accept it for the priest.

If you’re able to read German, you might be interested in this forum where they discuss this topic and also mention a priest who had to leave service because of his illness (celiacs). zoeliakie-treff.de/zoeliakie/viewtopic.php?p=3465
and
mykath.de/lofiversion/index.php/t503.html
 
Thank you. If I am called to the priesthood, I know that God will provide a path for me; however, it would be nice to know what the Church will allow for me.

Anyone else?
 
Hello!

First of all, God Bless you for discerning. Just considering the possibility of a vocation is a great thing to do, so good luck with that.

My advice would be to call the vocations director of your diocese, or of the order(s) you’re considering, and ask him. He is there to help and answer these kind of questions, and can do so with more authority than the people here. His (name removed by moderator)ut helps decide whether you are or are not accepted, whereas here you just get opinions (well-informed opinions, but opinions nonetheless). 🙂

Good luck to you!
 
RockoftheAges said:
Thank you. If I am called to the priesthood, I know that God will provide a path for me; however, it would be nice to know what the Church will allow for me.

Anyone else?
Click to expand...
Would they perhaps consider you for the diaconate? (if you’re called to that)
 
Hello, Rock.
Code: 
  I know of a similar situation at my church.  There's this guy who's in a wheelchair who can't do anything.  He was injured in a skiing accident.  As far as I know, he's not much better off than Christopher Reeve was after he fell off that horse.  Rather that start a new thread, I wanted to "borrow" yours since our questions are similar.  

  Is there a religious order out there for men who are severely disabled?  The guy I'm talking about wouldn't be able to say Mass simply because he can't stand up.  I guess all he'd be able to do is pray, so a contemplative order of priests or monks may be the way to go, right?  What makes it worse is that I don't really talk to the family much.  To tell you the truth, the only reason I'm writing this on this forum is because the idea just kind of came to me and I was curious about the possibility.  I thought this young man would have made a good priest before the accident anyway because he just kinda had that "way" about him.  I said to myself, "If a priest ever comes out of that family, I'll bet he'll be it."  

  I was reading another post on nuns/sisters that said that some who are disabled choose a religious life at home as hermits.  Would this apply to men, too?  How would you make a living doing this, does the diocese pay your living expenses?  I read about a hermit of this kind one time who was not disabled and I think this was the case for him.  The article said he would just pray like 8 hours every day, like a regular workday.  Something, ain't it.

  Well, I'm going back to bed.  Maybe some of the answers to my question will help you too, Rock.  God bless you for considering the call to the priesthood.
Tracy
 
Dear Rock,

Your question is a valid one, and it’s wonderful that you are seeking to know God’s will for your life. You speak of two health conditions.

Celiac
Priests are required to consume both Species at Mass. This means that the hosts must have at least a minimum amount of gluten. If the degree of anyone’s Celiac disease prohibits even the slightest amount of wheat/gluten, then it is clear that a person’s vocation is not to the priesthood unless the condition ceases. The Holy See made it very clear that a man with celiac’s disease who cannot consume both Species is unable to be ordained to the priesthood.

Other
An hour of exercises and things may or may not prove to be a physical impediment. It depends on many factors and it is up to the Ordinary to decide whether it would be detrimental to the life and ministry of a priest.

Hope this helps!
 
I sent this question to the director of vocations in my diocese, and this was his reply:
Thank you for your inquiry. The health problems you describe would be an obstacle to a priestly vocation. The demands of priestly ministry are great and require a sturdy constitution. Also, a priest must consume the Blessed Sacrament under both species in order to validly celebrate the Eucharist.
Click to expand...
Everyone should pray about how their gifts and limitation fit a
particular vocation. I’m sure God will use you for great things if you
let him.
Click to expand...
Thanks to all of you for your replies; it seems my discernment will be taking me elsewhere for a time.

ROTA
 
There are celiac-friendly hosts our there. This order www.benedictinesisters.org and this article en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedictine_Sisters_of_Perpetual_Adoration…

'The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Clyde, MO, after ten years of perseverance, trial, and error, produced a low-gluten host safe for celiacs and also approved by the Catholic Church for use at Mass. Each host is made and packaged in a dedicated wheat-free / gluten-free environment. The hosts are made separately by hand, unlike the common host which is stamped out of a long thin sheet of bread by a cutter. Therefore, each host is a slightly different size and shape. Most importantly, the finished hosts have been analyzed for gluten content. The gluten content of these hosts is reported as 0.01 %. In actuality, the gluten content is probably less than 0.01%. Sister Lynn, OSB, said that the result of the analysis of the finished host revealed “no gluten detected”. The hosts are labeled as 0.01 % since the lowest limit of detection of this analysis was 0.01 %. In an article from the Catholic Review (February 15, 2004) Dr. Alessio Fasano was quoted as declaring these hosts “perfectly safe for celiac sufferers.” ’

should be of much solace.
 
May I ask a question in your thread as well, it’s very similar.

I’m a freshman in college and I have also been thinking about priesthood. I have an intestinal disease called Crohn’s Disease and my case in the past few months has worsened to become a severe case after my last hospital stay I am now in a sort of remission and am just waiting for my next treatment.

My treatments and hospital stays can be very expensive, Remicade costs around 2 grand per treatment but is covered by my insurance. I don’t want to put stress on my parish if I become a priest and I am worried that sometimes I won’t be able to do my duties. Somedays I can hardly walk without feeling as if I have to go to the bathroom and then i get extreme pain afterwards.

I’m going to be talking to a priest hopefully this week about things and see what he thinks but this thread made me think about asking all of you wonderful people here.

God bless
 
Much can depend on the bishop and diocese. I have a friend who was born with only one arm and no legs except for stumps above the knee. He walks with prosthetic legs so well that I didn’t know he had them until he showed me. He was accepted into the seminary and is a great inspiration to all of us. If you persevere in prayer about your vocation, whatever it might be, God will open doors to lead you there.
 
RockoftheAges said:
Hi all, I am a senior in college trying to discern my future. At times I feel that the priesthood would be the right choice, and at other times I feel like marriage would be the right path. Nothing out of the ordinary, I’m sure that’s normally part of the process…

Still, when I look at some of the requirements for the priesthood, physical health is one of them. I am not sure if I would even qualify for the priesthood, as I was born with a birth defect which causes many problems with my health. To put it delicately, I must do certain daily medical procedures which take up an hour every day in order to defecate at all. If I miss a couple of days, I become ill. In addition to this problem, I have what doctors tell me is early onset osteoporosis, which means my bones will lose strength earlier in life than other people…around my mid-thirties. I also have Celiacs disease, so I am unable to eat wheat/gluten products which means I can only receive the consecrated wine, and not the Host.

Would all of this constitute a “lack of physical health,” enough, anyway, to cause me to not be able to join the priesthood? I am unsure and have yet to receive a good answer. Thanks for your response.🙂
Click to expand...
Others have mentioned religious order priests, that is what I suggest you check out. With religious orders, you could do duties of a priest but not have to try to hold down one or more than one parish. You could be given duties that fits your position and your health conditions.
 
Jefferson7 said:
May I ask a question in your thread as well, it’s very similar.

I’m a freshman in college and I have also been thinking about priesthood. I have an intestinal disease called Crohn’s Disease and my case in the past few months has worsened to become a severe case after my last hospital stay I am now in a sort of remission and am just waiting for my next treatment.

My treatments and hospital stays can be very expensive, Remicade costs around 2 grand per treatment but is covered by my insurance. I don’t want to put stress on my parish if I become a priest and I am worried that sometimes I won’t be able to do my duties. Somedays I can hardly walk without feeling as if I have to go to the bathroom and then i get extreme pain afterwards.

I’m going to be talking to a priest hopefully this week about things and see what he thinks but this thread made me think about asking all of you wonderful people here.

God bless
Click to expand...
I would check with your diocese’s vocation director and discuss that with him. Working together you can decide just what effect it would have on any future ministries and how much the diocese health care plan will be able to take care of you with treatments.
 
Cran said:
In my diocesis, you wouldn’t be allowed to become a priest - others might be more… hm, liberal? considerate? I am lacking the correct English word, sorry.

I think the issue is not so much the medication, but more the weakness of your bones, that will make it likely that you’ll fall ill more often (broken bones) and will have to retire earlier than someone who is completely healthy and because you wouldnÄt be able to consume the “regular” host at mass and would have to have an extra one… while this is of course practised for parishioners, my diocesis won’t accept it for the priest.

If you’re able to read German, you might be interested in this forum where they discuss this topic and also mention a priest who had to leave service because of his illness (celiacs). zoeliakie-treff.de/zoeliakie/viewtopic.php?p=3465
and
mykath.de/lofiversion/index.php/t503.html
Click to expand...
That cannot be used to disqualify someone for the priesthood, in fact I know 1 priest, and know of another who have the same problem.

I know a deacon (to be a priest next year) that is blind.

I know of many overweight priest. (I am overweight and studying for the priesthood).

Physical Health can be used in the decision making process but cannot be THE determining factor.
 
if you got two hands and two legs, you gotta go find out for yourself. get a spiritual director. visit the vocation director. there are many factors and many places to go.

there are tons of dioceses and tons of communities that are all different and have different requirements and charisms. there could be one that suits you perfectly.

it’ll all be revealed to you over time. if you find that religious life is for you, God will find you the right place. if you’re not sure, just go and God will tell you. then you can close the door on it and know you tried to do God’s will, and now can pursue secular life.
 
RockoftheAges said:
Hi all, I am a senior in college trying to discern my future. At times I feel that the priesthood would be the right choice, and at other times I feel like marriage would be the right path. Nothing out of the ordinary, I’m sure that’s normally part of the process…

Still, when I look at some of the requirements for the priesthood, physical health is one of them. I am not sure if I would even qualify for the priesthood, as I was born with a birth defect which causes many problems with my health. To put it delicately, I must do certain daily medical procedures which take up an hour every day in order to defecate at all. If I miss a couple of days, I become ill. In addition to this problem, I have what doctors tell me is early onset osteoporosis, which means my bones will lose strength earlier in life than other people…around my mid-thirties. I also have Celiacs disease, so I am unable to eat wheat/gluten products which means I can only receive the consecrated wine, and not the Host.

Would all of this constitute a “lack of physical health,” enough, anyway, to cause me to not be able to join the priesthood? I am unsure and have yet to receive a good answer. Thanks for your response.🙂
Click to expand...
I’m not sure about your diocese but in mine you would work more like a retired priest. You would be able to celebrate all the sacrements but you wouldn’t have to worry about the everyday pastoral work. Bishop Munch welcomes anyone and all down here in Louisiana!
 
I too have been praying about and asking similar questions and have contacted many monastic communities in the USA. While I am healthy, I live with the mistakes I made over 20 years ago…I am 48 now. I am HIV+ with a conversion experience that brought me full circle in my Faith. I am a devout, orthodox Catholic man and teach the Faith in a Catholic elementary school. I make no excuses for my past behavoir and accept what I have and where I am in my life. I have lived a chaste life happily without regrets for years. It is only through the Eucharist, frequent confession, and the support of like minded people that I am who I am today. Praise God I was able to reform my life. God’s Grace is endless. I found that life outside the protection of the Chief Shepard IS filled with ravoneous wolves ready to devour. I would love to find a monastic community that would accept me with my warts(some have said that good health is a sign of a vocation, others that they couldn’t afford to take me etc…). I accept these; however, before even getting to know me I am said no to. I wish I could just speak with someone…get beyond the intial inquiry, to see or speak to someone face to face. How I long for that day. Peace and God’s will be done…not mine.
 
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