What form does vocation to a priest usually take?

[Bohm_Bawerk]

Thank you,
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

Thank you,
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk

You need to be a bit more clear in what you are asking.

 

[Bohm_Bawerk]

You need to be a bit more clear in what you are asking.

What I mean is, what actually inspires Priests to become, well, “priests”? What form does this inspiration come? Dreams? General interest? Other?

That was what I meant. It has interested me for quite a while.

Thank you,
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk

 

[Saint_Macarius]

This can take many forms. Locutions, visions, and apparitions are more of the extreme variety. I’ve heard some tell me their vocation came as a constant spiritual “nagging.” I’ve also heard some say they knew they had a calling because they kept on having an odd craving, one describing it as similar to a cigarrette craving. I think the most common story I’ve heard, at least for my generation, was that one thought he had a calling pre-high school/college, then left the church or maybe became a lackadaisical Catholic. Later on in life he suddenly was brought back to the faith (for one reason or another) and the calling came back, with even more intensity.
Obviously there are many different stories. You should contact your vocations director (ncdvd.org/vocation_directors.asp) if you are interested in the religious life. They would be more adequate to help you.
I hope this helps. Take care.

 

[DexUK]

There is no set form of calling. It’s different for every man.

Some priests have known they want to be priests since their earliest memories, others come to that realisation late in life. Others have been widowed and wish to dedicate the rest of their lives to serving the Church.

Some are converts from other faiths. Some have practically knocked the seminary doors down in order to get in, while others spend years fighting against the urge only to give in and be happy for doing so.

Speaking for myself, as someone who was accepted for Seminary training a few years ago although various circumstances have resulted in postponement for the time being, my discernment took many stages. It began when I was a child, during the First Communion stage of my life, inspired by a particularly wonderful priest. Then, after the fairly typical adolescent falling away I spend a few years in the wilderness before coming back to the practise of my Faith (I never actually lost it entirely) in my late 20s. I then became interested in the possibility again and made contact with a Vocations Director at the time. Circumstances prevented me from pursuing it then and it took a decade or so for me to be free of financial encumbrances until I was able to apply formally recently.

During all this time there was the constant thought, in the ‘back of my head’, of priesthood: it’s attractions, the service, the joy in the thought of giving myself wholly and completely. At some times it was pretty unfocussed (like during that adolescent/young adult period when I wasn’t attending Church), at other times it was as though I would inhabit the role of priesthood in my mind’s eye.

It is, to me, like a form of magnetism. I can resist its pull, yes, but I’m never free of the ‘tug’. No matter what I’m doing in my life, through my mistakes, my successes (and failures!) in my career, my relationships with people, the hopes and dreams I might have about temporal things (like new cars, houses, fame, fortune, etc) there’s always that background thought that none of those are worth a hill of beans compared to the thought of being a priest.

I don’t know what it’s like for you, but all I can advise is that you trust your heart when it comes to what your vocation is in life. If you truly believe that you have a calling to the priesthood and you want to test it in the Seminary, then you’ll be able to convince anyone you need to. The Church will be delighted to have you.

 

[hxcCatholic413]

For me it was very unexpected. I previously was an agnostic/leaning towards atheism, but one night I saw an apparition of a halo levitating off my floor and the burning zeal of becoming a priest hit me like a pile of bricks once the apparition vanished. I’ve been a devout Catholic ever since. God Bless!

 

[Bohm_Bawerk]

For me it was very unexpected. I previously was an agnostic/leaning towards atheism, but one night I saw an apparition of a halo levitating off my floor and the burning zeal of becoming a priest hit me like a pile of bricks once the apparition vanished. I’ve been a devout Catholic ever since. God Bless!

All I can say is wow :clapping: . Atheist to Catholic conversions always make for a brilliant read.

You don’t mind if I ask of course, what was your initial reaction to seeing the halo? Fear? Joy? Neutral? I ask because I know if I ever saw something of supernatural origin, I would probably die of a heart attack that day.

Thank you,
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk

 

[puzzleannie]

the most frequent comment I hear from priests and working in the Church of course I have gotten to know many of them and heard their stories as they speak to our students about vocations, is this:
I knew I wanted to be a priest since I was 6, 7, 8 or 9 years old, since I made my first communion and knew I wanted to do what the priest does. Many of them chose to be altar servers to be closer to the mystery of the altar.

 

[CDNowak]

the most frequent comment I hear from priests and working in the Church of course I have gotten to know many of them and heard their stories as they speak to our students about vocations, is this:
I knew I wanted to be a priest since I was 6, 7, 8 or 9 years old, since I made my first communion and knew I wanted to do what the priest does. Many of them chose to be altar servers to be closer to the mystery of the altar.

That’s the easy part of my vocation story. I’ve also known a number of converts who finished RCIA, looked around, said “what next”, right into the seminary. Others have been inspired by a priest in high school or college, one acquaintance fought the idea from the time he was serving at a monastery into his forties.

If you are interested, talk to a priest about it.

 

[Biedrik]

As someone currently in the seminary, I can say a bit about this. To me, it is simply a relentless pull. It just feels like this is what I must do. If feels more right than anything else in the world, and it’s impossible for me to ignore. It just demands my attention, and there is no way I’m not going to listen. You just feel…called.

 

[hxcCatholic413]

All I can say is wow :clapping: . Atheist to Catholic conversions always make for a brilliant read.

You don’t mind if I ask of course, what was your initial reaction to seeing the halo? Fear? Joy? Neutral? I ask because I know if I ever saw something of supernatural origin, I would probably die of a heart attack that day.

Thank you,
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk

Thank you Bohm Bawerk!

Yes and what made it even more impressive is the fact that in many ways prior to the event I made numerous remarks about how I loathed the Catholic Church. I guess God was upset and called me back.

Well It happened around 2am in the morning while I was listening to music. I was pondering what I wanted to do with my life at the time. My curtains are black-out curtains, meaning no outside light can come through my windows and my room is on the second floor. I looked down on my floor as almost a pull led my eyes there. I felt an indescribable feeling inside of me. It was mixed with amounts of sadness, joy, and happiness. The halo was about 10 inches wide and 8 inches long. It was a gold circle with a distinguished glow about it. It seemed to levitate about 10 inches off the ground for 10 seconds.

Once it disappeared I felt a burning zeal flood throughout my body. I immediately said “I want to be a priest”. Many people i’ve talked to about it don’t believe in private revelation therefore they think something else happened. However I believe it was a miracle or an awakening of some kind. If you knew me before the event I had a strong interest in the occult and anti-Catholicism, but after the event I became an ardent Catholic. I hope this helps. The event itself took place in mid January of 2007. God Bless!

 

[Bohm_Bawerk]

Thank you Bohm Bawerk!

Yes and what made it even more impressive is the fact that in many ways prior to the event I made numerous remarks about how I loathed the Catholic Church. I guess God was upset and called me back.

Well It happened around 2am in the morning while I was listening to music. I was pondering what I wanted to do with my life at the time. My curtains are black-out curtains, meaning no outside light can come through my windows and my room is on the second floor. I looked down on my floor as almost a pull led my eyes there. I felt an indescribable feeling inside of me. It was mixed with amounts of sadness, joy, and happiness. The halo was about 10 inches wide and 8 inches long. It was a gold circle with a distinguished glow about it. It seemed to levitate about 10 inches off the ground for 10 seconds.

Once it disappeared I felt a burning zeal flood throughout my body. I immediately said “I want to be a priest”. Many people i’ve talked to about it don’t believe in private revelation therefore they think something else happened. However I believe it was a miracle or an awakening of some kind. If you knew me before the event I had a strong interest in the occult and anti-Catholicism, but after the event I became an ardent Catholic. I hope this helps. The event itself took place in mid January of 2007. God Bless!

I’m simply astonished. This made my day indeed. Such a shame that Atheists will continue to disbelieve even with testimonies as powerful as this.

Thank you,
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk