by Fr. Tommy Lane
We have all
received vocations from God
What is a Vocation to the Priesthood or Religious Life?
What happens in a seminary?
What are the vows a priest or religious takes?
Aren't you giving up a lot?
What is the most important work of a priest?
Isn't it more difficult to be a priest now?
Isn't the life of a priest lonely?
Haven't scandals given priests and religious a lot of
bad publicity?
What gives you
greatest pleasure as a priest?
Invitation to consider the priesthood or religious
life
We all have a vocation. On the day we were baptized we each received a vocation to be a Christian. On the day we were confirmed we received a vocation to defend and witness to and spread our faith. We have all received further vocations some years after Confirmation. Some are called to priesthood, some are called to religious life, some are called to married life and some are called to the single life. We don’t often think of the single life as a vocation but the Church views the single life as a vocation just as married life or priesthood are also vocations. Whatever our vocation is, priesthood, religious life, marriage or single life, we are called to be holy, to be united to Jesus, to be a witness to him. We don’t want to compare vocations or say one is better than another because we all depend on one another. Paul described the Church in 1 Cor 12:18-21 as the Body of Christ and wrote as follows, “God has put all the separate parts in the body as he chose. If they were all the same part, how could it be a body? As it is, the parts are many but the body is one. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor can the head say to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’” An example of putting this into practice is the recently ordained bishop of Killala (2002) incorporating his mother’s wedding ring into his Episcopal ring to show the dependence of his vocation on his parents’ vocation to marriage.
What is a vocation to the priesthood or religious life? How do I know if I have a vocation? It is difficult to describe a vocation because, in a sense, a vocation is a mystery. It does not come dramatically like Paul being knocked down on the road to Damascus. God usually works in very ordinary ways. A vocation begins with a sort of niggling desire to be a priest or religious. When can this occur? It can happen at any time during one’s life. For some it begins as early as National School (Elementary School), for others it begins at Second Level (High School), for others it begins during College, increasingly now it occurs for many when they already have begun a career. I said it is a niggling feeling. Some may for a time try to deny that they have this desire to become a priest or religious, some may even deny it for years but they eventually admit to themselves that they will have no peace unless they ‘try out this vocation’. So they go to their local priest or the convent or religious house or monastery and say they want to become a priest or religious. Eventually they meet the bishop or religious superior in charge of vocations and they have a chat. If they are accepted by the bishop for the diocese or by the religious superior for the congregation they then go to the seminary or house of formation.
What happens in a seminary or house of formation? In the seminary or house of formation one prepares for the priesthood or religious life. The day begins with morning prayer and Mass. There is also time for meditation. After breakfast lectures begin. Study forms a large part of one’s day in the seminary. There is also time for sport or whatever hobbies one follows. There is evening prayer and night prayer. In the seminary you live in community. By that I mean that although you have your own private room you join with the others in the seminary for prayer, study and meals. It is a community life and naturally close friendships build up. When one decides to go to the seminary it does not mean that they have definitely decided that they want to become a priest or religious. It means that they will try out the life to see if it suits them. If it does not suit they leave the seminary. In fact, more than half of those who enter the seminary leave before ordination.
What are the vows that a priest or religious takes? A diocesan priest takes two vows at ordination; vows of celibacy and obedience. The vow of celibacy means that you draw your support from the Lord while married people rely on their spouse for support. It does not mean that priests or religious do not have hearts so they have a wide variety of friends. While the media devote attention to the vow of celibacy and not to the vow of obedience many priests will tell you that in practice the vow of obedience is more demanding especially when you are asked to move from one parish to another. The vow of obedience should not mean blindly following the wishes of the bishop or superior but you together with the bishop or superior discerning what is best for the kingdom of God at this time. Diocesan priests take two vows, celibacy and obedience. Religious take a third vow, poverty. This does not mean that they are poor but it means they do not own anything individually but everything is owned by the community. Everything is communal. Religious call the vow of celibacy a vow of chastity so the three vows religious take are poverty, chastity and obedience.
Aren’t you giving up a lot and leaving a lot behind when you become a priest or religious? Not if you have faith. If you do not have faith you will set your heart on money, on your house, on your career and you will want the biggest and best of everything. But when you have faith you are not leaving behind all these things, you are leaving behind some things to have better or higher. The reality is that we are all sons and daughters of God. Maybe many people do not realize this or do not live as if they are God’s children. If they do not they are out of touch with reality and think you have given up so much. As a priest or religious you are in touch with reality, that we are sons and daughters of God and know that you are not leaving behind anything or becoming out of touch with reality. You leave some things for better because you are in touch with reality.
What is the most important work of a priest? While a priest means different things to different people, a priest is above all, one who celebrates the sacraments for us. It is the priest who makes Christ present every day on the altars of the world. The priest is present at the most important moments of a person’s life; baptism, marriage, sickness, death and bereavement and many other occasions. For one to represent Christ to so many people in so many different situations, it is essential that the priest or religious be a person of prayer. Prayer and the Eucharist is the most important time of every day in the life of a priest and religious.
Isn’t it much more difficult to be a priest now since the Church does not have the same respect and there are fewer who practice their faith? I always look for my joy in knowing that I am doing what is best for the kingdom of God. Whether 10% or 99% of people appreciate what I do is not the decisive factor in whether I am happy or unhappy. Because I am human it is a consideration but it is not the decisive factor. I do feel sorry for people who do not understand why faith in God is important but the decisive factor in determining my happiness is knowing that I am living according to the will of God whether others appreciate that or not.
Isn’t the life of a priest a lonely life? Sometimes it can be but I do not find it a problem. Even married people can feel lonely sometimes. Also look at the large number of people in every parish who live on their own. To be a priest you need to be happy with yourself and with living on your own. If that is not a problem then loneliness will not be a problem.
Haven’t the scandals given priesthood and religious life a lot of bad publicity? Yes they have but remember that only 1% of priests or religious were involved. Don’t forget the other 99% of good priests and religious who get no publicity. Don’t tar all with the same brush.
What gives me the greatest pleasure as a priest? There is great emphasis now on money and possessions but I can honestly say that nothing gives me greater pleasure than helping someone allow God come more into their lives. Therefore an important part of my own ministry is giving Bible courses. Hundred of people have completed my 20 week Bible course, either here in the diocese or outside the diocese by correspondence. Because I consider prayer to be so important I recorded CDs and tapes to help people to pray and many people have written to me to say how helpful they found them. Perhaps it would be OK to read you excerpts,
Dear Fr Tommy, I am so grateful to you for this Bible Course. It was exactly what I needed at this time and kept me afloat during some dark times. The meditation tapes are a wonderful help. I look on the tape as my greatest help for prayer. I imagine each tape as a ripple of energy going out to bring us all closer to God and each other.
From the Middle East. I think your tape is very good and I hope you will continue with this ministry which I think is a valuable one and has many possibilities for building up people’s life of faith. Some Filipinos to whom I lent it because they wanted something for a prayer session in Holy Week have just come in full of enthusiasm about it. We have a very large number of christians here, many of whom cannot get to church very much and who live under a lot of religious pressure in this Islamic setting and I think it could be of great help to them.
Someone who attended my course in one venue in this diocese said they had wasted their life until they attended my Bible course.
As I said nothing gives me greater pleasure than helping someone allow God come more into their lives. Those were just some incidents from my own life but every priest or religious would have their own very different and interesting stories to tell.
Invitation to consider the priesthood or religious life. If you have a niggling feeling that you would like to be a priest or religious why not go and talk to us about it? I ask young people to consider giving yourselves for Jesus in a life that is really worthwhile. You are not leaving things behind, you are leaving some things for better. In his letter for today (1998), Pope John Paul II, invites men and women to consider a vocation to the priesthood or religious life. These are his words, ‘Listen to the invitation of Jesus: "Come and see". Give your witness to Christ in the ecclesial community, according to the totally personal and unrepeatable plan which God has for you. Let the Holy Spirit, who has been poured into your hearts, guide you to the truth and make you witnesses to authentic freedom and love. Do not let yourselves be overwhelmed by easy and fallacious myths of fleeting human success and riches. On the contrary, do not be afraid to follow the demanding and courageous paths of charity and generous commitment.’
This homily was delivered when I was engaged in parish ministry in Ireland before joining the faculty of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland.
More homilies for Vocation Sunday
Vocations in the Bible - Answering God’s Call
Related Homilies: Answering a Vocation from God - Examples from the Scriptures 2006
Finding the hidden treasure and pearl of great value
If Jesus could use the Twelve apostles with their weaknesses he can use us
excerpt of homily on seminary formation
Jesus shares his priesthood with the apostles during the Last Supper 2008
Priesthood
of the New Covenant 2008
Jesus is High
Priest of the New Testament
Jesus called the Twelve to be with him
Answering a Vocation from God - Examples from the Scriptures 2006
Fr Steven Scheier’s near death experience changed his priesthood for ever
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out devils - the ministry of Priests
Vocation - Jesus doesn’t call the ready, he calls the willing
stories about priesthood