6 Classic signs of vocation to Priesthood.

1. A persistent fascination with the idea of becoming a priest. (It just won’t go away. Girls are wonderful too but why do I keep thinking about life as a priest?)
2. An appreciation for the Catholic Faith. It really does have the deepest and truest answers to life’s mysteries. (I think I could explain it to help people.)
3. A vague desire to do something dangerous for Christ. (This is weird. Guys just like something that tests them. Something risky and different, like rock climbing, but this time . . . something for the Lord!)
4. You find yourself watching priests at your parish. (Hearing his homily you might think . . . “I could do that, maybe even better!” Or thinking about counseling a worried person, you might think “Here is what I would say to someone with that problem.”)
5. If not me . . . then who? (If you see and feel that something needs to be done, why would you tell someone else to do it? Picture someone needing help climbing stairs . . . you don’t wait for someone else to help, do you? The very fact that YOU SEE what’s needed is a sign that YOU are called to step up. This sometimes feels almost like a burden. A sweet burden!)
6. People, out of the blue, tell you they think you’d make a good priest. Ever tell that to a young man? It could change his life. It changed mine.

6 Tricks of the Enemy to confuse and frustrate God’s call. (Comment)

1. “Who do you think you are?! You’re not holy enough.” (You’re right. You’re a sinner. Just like the rest of us. God doesn’t call “perfect” people and THEN make them priests. No, he calls simple everyday people like the fishermen/apostles. It’s a lifetime journey that makes you holy.)
2. “It’s a lifelong commitment. I can’t do that.” (Gee, that’s too bad. So I guess you’ll never get married or have children or be a true friend to anyone. They all call for lifelong commitments. So you’ll re-invent yourself every seven or eight years?)
3. “I’ll be lonely.” (So? Nobody talks about this because it’s kinda personal and a little embarrassing . . . . Jesus was lonely. EVERYBODY IS LONELY SOMETIMES. God lets us all have this feeling to get us looking forward to the joy of heaven.
4. “I can’t do the things I like doing.” (Says who? Talk to priests. They have an amazing interest in all kinds of activities. Some have their pilot’s license, some priests have traveled all over the world, some play an instrument in a band or orchestra . . . golf, wine making, cooking – priests do all kinds of things.)
5. “But I love women. I want to marry.” (Of course you do!! God put that feeling in you. But sometimes God puts another feeling right along side of it. It’s the feeling that Jesus wants you to be his special friend – – – you and him. He whispers “follow me.”)
6. “Priests are busy on Sunday, and then they don’t do anything all week. (That’s not true. Priests have staff meetings, finance meetings, buildings and grounds meetings, Parish Council meetings, counseling appointments, interviews with engaged couples, students for sacraments, parents for baptisms, confessions, teaching classes, going to the hospital, funerals, time for prayer, time to plan homilies, people “stopping by” . . . what else? . . . oh yeah, Maplewood Nursing Home, on call at Rochester General, morning masses, email correspondence. There’s more but that’s enough.)

To Our Young Men

You’re not alone in trying to find your path in life. Talk to your parish priest. He can tell you what it feels like to be a priest. He can help you find whatever God’s plan may be for you.

Fr. Tim