Priestly Ordination Photo

Discerning the Call: High School Students

Seminarian praying

How can I really be sure what God wants me to do?

If you are still waiting for lightning to strike and God to say, “Be a priest,” don’t hold your breath. God is probably not going to appear and tell you what to do. But He will tell you, if you ask Him. Talk to the Lord. Go to daily Mass, pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and talk to a priest that you really admire about all this. He’ll listen, and smiling, probably say, “What took you so long to ask?”

If I join, doesn’t that mean I definitely will be a priest?

None of us well ever really be sure if we are supposed to go to seminary, until we go to seminary. There is no better place to find God’s will then actually in the seminary. Joining seminary means that you aren’t sure, but you know there is no better to find out if God wants you to be a priest. About fifty percent of those who enter seminary will not make it to ordination, and that’s okay. That’s what seminaries are for, and if you end up leaving, the seminary will have helped your relationship with God and helped you form good friendships. What could be bad about that?

Am I weird for thinking about this?

Absolutely not. There is nothing weird about wanting to abolish sin in the sacrament of Confession, or transforming bread and wine into Jesus’ Flesh and Blood. The priesthood is an awesome gift to mankind from Almighty God. Priests are warriors for God. They have battled the devil for two thousand years. They have faced Pharisees, gladiators, lions, emperors, German barbarians, militant Muslims, pagan peoples across the world, heretics, the French Revolution, terrorism, and today scandal. For two thousand years the priest has stood the test, and the Church still stands ever-bright and ever-new. Only real men could live such lives.

What if I like girls?

If you didn’t like girls then there would be something wrong with you, and we would not let you join seminary. We are interested in normal, healthy, heterosexual men to be priests. If you have dated before, that’s fine. A good appreciation of the beauty of the female sexuality is important for priests, because we are going to be ministering to women our whole lives. Girls can be our good friends; they give us energy and motivation. Celibacy is not easy, sure, but the rewards are totally worth it. Plus, young people have this crazy notion that marriage is somehow this sex paradise that never has any struggles. Any Christian life one takes, be it Priesthood, marriage or religious, will have its challenges.  

Isn’t everyone in seminary a loser?

Hardly. As said above, the seminary is not interested in weird, nerdy guys who are not capable of communicating with everyday people. We need priests that are real. We need down-to-earth guys who can help their flock come to experience Jesus Christ. Somehow people have this idea that seminarians are these guys that spend all day either studying or praying. While those are our two main focuses, we can have fun too. Guys play sports, cards, video games, watch movies, work out, have parties, listen to music, whatever. Most seminarians are just normal guys who God has awesome plans for, and those make the best priests.

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