Thoughts from above

[sw85]

I recently got out of a pretty serious relationship (i.e., we were talking about marriage) and resolved that I should discern my vocation more carefully before going out and getting another girlfriend (the last girlfriend I had met only a little while after deciding to become a Catholic, so discernment had not really come up in my life). So recently I have been praying intently for the grace of discernment, started meeting with a spiritual director, and have struck up a correspondence with the diocesan vocations director.

Yesterday, I got to daily Mass a bit early and was praying, and afterward thinking about the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood. As I sat there lost in thought, the thought presented itself very forcefully that I could imagine myself becoming a saint as a priest, but not as a husband and father. It was very strange because it was unprompted and automatic, and it was so forceful that it actually dispelled my train of thought. If it hadn’t been in first person, I’d have thought it was God speaking to me.

Has anyone else had an experience like this?

 

[ProdglArchitect]

Well, I wouldn’t really allow the prospect of becoming a saint influence your decision, that sounds a little bit on the prideful side to me (might just be me though, who knows).

As for the rest of it, The priest in the parish where I used to live told me that he had a similar experience. He had been engage to be married, but the thought kept intruding on his concept of the future and pulling him towards the priesthood. Eventually he gave in to it, said it was one of the hardest things he’s had to do but that he knew it was the right thing to do. He is probably the best priest (who’s still alive) that I’ve ever had interaction with, and I thank God that he was called to the priesthood.

Moral of the story, keep praying on it, there’s definitely the chance that God is calling you to become a priest.

 

[TheDoors]

Give it time, give it prayer, give it your priest’s attention. Ordination is not something to be entered into lightly, and marriage to the Church is NOT a rebound relationship.

 

[sw85]

Well, I wouldn’t really allow the prospect of becoming a saint influence your decision, that sounds a little bit on the prideful side to me (might just be me though, who knows).

I disagree; becoming a saint (cultivating heroic virtue and totally abandoning oneself to God) is the whole point of Catholicism!

Now what I mean is actually being a saint, not being recognized or canonized as one.

As for the rest of it, The priest in the parish where I used to live told me that he had a similar experience. He had been engage to be married, but the thought kept intruding on his concept of the future and pulling him towards the priesthood. Eventually he gave in to it, said it was one of the hardest things he’s had to do but that he knew it was the right thing to do. He is probably the best priest (who’s still alive) that I’ve ever had interaction with, and I thank God that he was called to the priesthood.

Moral of the story, keep praying on it, there’s definitely the chance that God is calling you to become a priest.

I will - thanks!

I just wonder whether to interpret this thought as something coming from within me, or a “sign from above.” I’ve been praying for some sort of clarity and, well, it was very well-timed.

Give it time, give it prayer, give it your priest’s attention. Ordination is not something to be entered into lightly, and marriage to the Church is NOT a rebound relationship.

Of course.