The Catholic Priesthood

I think I might be called to the Priesthood, how do I know and what do I do?

If you feel called to serve the Lord as one of his Priests then the best thing you can do is pray about it. At the very least pray about it daily. My advice is to have a specific time each day where you pray with a special focus on your vocation. As for knowing whether or not you are really called to the Priesthood, no one can tell you that and God will not force his calling upon you. Prayer is paramount here, the only way to know your vocation is to pray about it. The Archdiocese of Winnipeg has a prayer for vocations said during every mass following the prayers of the faithful (on occasion some churches substitute pro-life or stewardship prayers). The prayer is as follows:


O God, who have chosen
the apostles to make disciples
of all nations and who by
Baptism and Confirmation 
have called all of us to build up 
your Holy Church, we earnestly
implore you to chose from 
among us, your children, many 
Priests, Deacons and Religious 
Brothers and Sisters who will
love you with their whole heart
and will gladly spend their
entire lives to make you known 
and loved by all. Amen.

As you can see this prayer mentions not only the vocation of the Priesthood but also Religious life. One vocation it fails to mention is married life. Yes, married life is a vocation. Book one of the Tero Series available from Catholic Central Printing offers this and many other lessons on vocations.

Why can't Catholic Priests get married?

The answer to this question is found in 1 Corinthians 7:32-33

3But I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a wife, is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife: and he is divided. (1 Corinthians 7:32-33 DRA)

This passage explains how married Priests would be unable to give their full attention neither to the affairs of the church nor their family.

I showed this quote to a protestant as one which supports priestly celibacy; she pointed out that the quote fails to mention anything about priests. She's absolutely correct. While the above citation does show that a celibate life is in fact biblical, it mentions nothing of who ought to live such a life, suggesting that anyone whether or not they are a priest, or a monk or nun for that matter, could vow to live such a life. And rightly so! The LORD does in fact on some occasions call the laity to a life of celibacy. It is rather in The Catechism of the Catholic Church, that such a life is attributed to Catholic presbyters and episcopates.

All the ordained ministers of the Latin Church, with the exception of permanent deacons, are normally chosen from among men of faith who intend to remain celibate “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.”⁷⁰ Called to consecrate themselves with undivided hearts to the Lord and to “the affairs of the Lord,”⁷¹ they give themselves entirely to God and to men. Celibacy is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church’s minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart celibacy radiantly proclaims the kingdom of God.⁷²

As I am considering the priesthood myself, and have spent one semester in a seminary, I suppose it is only fitting that I talk a little about the education required for the priesthood. To be ordained a Catholic priest, one must have a Masters of Divinity. Like any masters, the mdiv. requires a Bachelor of Arts. Currently I am in first year arts taking such courses as: Latin, Sociology, English, Drama and, of course, Religion.

Matthew Bohrn
Senior Web Disciple

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