The families reaction is a common concern / fear for discerners. That was not an ‘obstacle’ that I had to overcome but I know about it from hearing stories of fellow discerners. Take the advice of the other posters, just sitting down with your vocations director will help you as he has probable spoken with plenty of men in this situation.
Also, remember that entering the seminary (pre-theology) assuming you meet the requirements, is only step in discerning the possibility of being a Priest. ‘Courting is to marriage what the seminary is to Priesthood’.
You wouldn’t marry a young girl before courting her, you can’t become a Priest before discerning God’s will and letting the Church observe you as a candidate.
That said, would you shy away from courting a girl that you thought you could conceivably marry due to negative pressure from your family members?
That wasn’t meant to be a put down, just a good piece of advice that I have heard from a V.D. - Your old enough to freely choose if you would like to court a young lady, and you have the same freedom to discern God’s will regarding a call to the Priesthood. Family members sometimes dissuade their sons from the Priesthood because they think they would be unhappy as a Priest. The reality is you will be most happy in that vocation where God is calling you, whatever it is.
If you stall on approaching a Priest or your vocations director, (usually a big step for some people & requires a little time) at least pick up a book to guide you through some common Q+A about the Priesthood / Seminary / Discernment, it will help clarify or remove some misconceptions you have about the process.
this:
To Save a Thousand Souls
A Guide for Discerning a Vocation To Diocesan Priesthood
by Rev. Brett Brannen
Vianney Vocations 2010
good meditations for each decade of the Rosary in the back of the book as well, so it won’t just sit on your bookshelf when your done…
