Should I or Shouldn't I

The journey to a final decision to become a priest is a process of discernment. There are two sides to discernment, and the Holy Spirit is actively intertwined throughout both sides. On one side, there you are, reflecting internally, perhaps asking family and friends for advice, trying to decide “Should I or shouldn’t I be a priest?” The other side of the decision is the Catholic Church. The Church is the more objective side, the institutional side, which includes the Diocesan Vocation Director, the Seminary and the Bishop. Once you make the decision to formalize your discernment and engage the Vocations Office, you and the Church start moving down the road together. You have the ability to back away at any time, stopping the whole process. And so does the Church. If the Vocation Director, the Seminary or the Bishop feels you may not have what it takes to be a priest, then it is their obligation to make that decision to stop the process.

It’s a judgment. You have to assess your abilities and skills. The journey and ultimately the job require intelligence, wisdom, the ability to gain the necessary skills and emotional maturity. Like being the pilot of a commercial airliner, not just anyone gets into the cockpit. It takes the right skills, aptitude and years of training. With this understanding, some people leave the seminary for various reasons and do not become ordained. Therefore, it also takes determination and grace.

In most cases, your discernment and training will go smoothly, but there may be times when you need to take some time away and re-evaluate before joining the process again. The Holy Spirit is intertwined and enmeshed throughout this long and difficult, but rewarding process, both in you and the institution, because we’re all the Church. When you reach the final steps, and are ready to make a commitment, the steps lead to the Bishop laying hands on you and then you’ve become a priest.