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The Ages and Stages of Priestly
Vocations
by Father John Regan
In the past nine years as vocation
director I have had the privilege of working with hundreds of men who have
contemplated a call to priesthood. Some
of these men have said “yes” to priestly service, while many others have
chosen different paths to serve the Lord.
I am sometimes asked about the path
to priesthood as though there were some particular way God calls people to
this life of service. If one
looks at our diocesan seminarian poster or browses through our seminarian
directory, it is easy to see the variety of people who have responded to the
call.
There is no single path to priesthood.
People discover the call to serve as a priest at different ages and
stages of their lives. Some are
very young when they respond, and some are not so young any more.
The median age of our men in formation this past year was 31.5, with
five men under 20, eight men in their 20’s, nine in their 30’s, and four
over 40.
More than having a diversity of
ages, however, these men come from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.
God calls people to priesthood with many different experiences.
Some of our seminarians have been athletes, accountants, social
workers, lawyers, teachers, psychologists, counselors, actors, salesmen,
mail carriers, and farmers. Collectively
they bring a depth of experience that is greatly needed within the body of
our priests.
Several of our candidates, though, are young men who
believe that God is asking them to give God the first chance with their
lives as they entered seminary after high school, in college, or right after
graduating from college. They
will bring the gift of their youth to the possibility of priesthood.
The right time to respond to God’s call is whenever God gives it,
whether one is younger or a little older.
Our seminarians will be the next
generation of priests for the diocese.
They are a dedicated group of men, committed to knowing Christ and
serving God’s people within the Church and in the world.
They are resilient in the face of many challenges within our church
and society today. They are
courageous in their response to God at this time.
But they also need the support and prayers of the people they hope to
serve. Please pray for our
seminarians who are preparing for priestly service, and please pray that
more men at various ages and stages of life might answer the call to follow
after the heart of Jesus as our new generation of priests.
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