Discerning The Diocesan (Secular) Priesthood

[Mr Cameron]

So I just put my application into University to get my Bachelors in Philosophy which is a requirement by my Archdiocese to pursue a priestly vocation both diocesan and religious. I'll ask that you please say a prayer I get accepted.

 

You may remember that I met with the Superior of the Redemptorists a while ago as well. I feel attracted to them but I also feel a "longing" of sorts for the life of a regular priest in the diocese. But now I'm stuck in discernment: how do I discern something that has no defined charism, something that appears to me to be a "what you make it/what God makes it" sort of feel. I can pray and pray, but I can't do sit down with the community and learn from them.

 

Anyone discerning that particular path that can help me with some advice?

Edited January 16, 2015 by Mr Cameron

[PhuturePriest]

I'm in the same boat myself, actually. I have my first meeting with the vocation director of the diocese next Thursday, and trust me when I say I understand your nervousness.

 

As for the charism part, with diocesan priests it's a very personal and varied thing. Each Priest is different and does their vocation differently. There are some, like Saint John Vianney, who lived very poor and austere lives, offering up everything for their parish. There are others who are called to be generous with what they have, but not as extremely, such as Saint John Paul the Great. I would recommend reading about Saints who were diocesan priests and see which of their lives appeals to you most. For me, the way John Paul lived out his priestly vocation is my model, as it is what most resonates with my spirit.

[Luigi]

It's all swell to read about the lives of priests who lived long ago or far away, but I think it would be more productive to get in contact with your own living local priests - preferably some who've been trained and ordained in the last ten years. While there is room for a lot of diversity within the secular priesthood (just as there is within an order), each diocese trains its priests (or sends them for training) within a seminary. That seminary will have guidelines, learning objectives, and formation programs that amount to basically a charism. And the priests within a diocese - and especially within an ordination class - often have a brotherly bond quite similar to that of an order. 

 

This phorum can be a good resource for certain kinds of information, but it won't begin to approximate what you could learn by making contact with actual people - in your case, the diocesan vocation director, working priests, and seminarians - in your own diocese. Get off your computer and pick up your phone!

[Mr Cameron]

That's what I figured. I've spoken to a few, but there's only five that have been ordained in the past ten years, and two of them are furthering studies somewhere in the world.

 

It is what you make it, so I've been told, which to me is rather exciting because there isn't a particular "mould" or common "theme", other than the glory of God.