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After spending eight years in seminary, and nearly 18 years as a
priest, I find myself continually humbled by the sheer gift of God’s call
to holiness — to becoming a living response to His love.
As a priest, the Lord’s call is the most important component in the
beginning of this journey. The man being called to serve in and
through this special sacrament of Holy Orders starts to feel a desire to
serve God’s people in a way that encompasses his whole being.
The call may come as a whisper, a gentle stirring of the heart, or
may make itself known as the roar of a lion. Working as the Vocation
Director for the Diocese of Saint Augustine for eight years, has made
me aware of the many ways in which God’s call manifests itself.
For some, God’s call is discerned through years of serving the
people of God in
the church community. Some men have explained that they have felt
the call of God since childhood and that their desire to serve God was
only deepened and made apparent through ministries such as altar
serving, lecturing, retreats, youth groups, etc. These men come to
realize that only through giving of themselves completely to the service
of God can they ever find true fulfillment.
The call may come quickly as a light coming on in a dark room. All
of a sudden it all makes sense. This is called conversion. Many of
these men will proclaim that it was through the Eucharist that their
feeling of emptiness and the desire for fulfillment was finally quenched.
One man shared that it was as if a piece of a puzzle had been missing
for a long time, and he had finally found it. We must remember that
God calls whenever He wills through a free initiative of his love.
A man may say, “Yes, I do believe I might have a call, but I need
a more concrete sign. What are the signs that God might be calling
me? What are the gifts that I need to be a happy, effectual priest?”
Here are some gifts that I believe are important to be an effectual
Roman Catholic priest.
Love for Eucharist
Do you have a love for the Eucharist, and truly wish to be a walking
temple mirroring His miracles, acceptance, forgiveness and self-gifts?
Strong Prayer Life
Do you have a desire to deepen your prayer life, a desire to enter into
a more powerful relationship with God, to grow in understand-ing; not
only to grow in holiness yourself but to model holiness so others may
desire to join you in your journey toward Christ?
Need for Scripture
Do you love the word of God? Does the desire to pass it on excite
you? Do you have a desire to proclaim the Gospel, but especially to
live it to your maximum potential?
Generosity
Are you willing to give away your time, your energy, your
possessions, even your heart, for God and His people?
Listening
Are you a good listener? Do you take time with people? Are the
needs of others important to you? Are you willing to listen deeply to
hear what people are truly saying?
The church tells us that, “Those appointed to Holy Orders are
appointed to feed the Church in Christ’s name with the word and the
grace of God.” Also, the priesthood of the New Testament is
exercised not merely in worship (sacrifice and sacrament) but in the
preaching of the word and in authoritative government. Hence, such
notions as that of the prophetic ministry must complete the priesthood.
In an address by the Holy Father in Rome in 1984, he stated,
“The priestly vocation is essentially a call to sanctity in the form that
derives from the sacrament of Holy Orders. Sanctity is intimacy with
God. It is the imitation of Christ, poor, chaste and humble; it is
unresolved love for souls and self-giving to their triune God; it is love
for the Church which is holy and wants us to be holy because such is
the mission that Christ has entrusted to it. Each one of you must be
holy also in order to help your brothers pursue their vocation to
sanctity.”
People often ask me, especially men who are discerning a call,
“How do you deal with celibacy?” I often think of these words from
the pope: “If love is the basis of all your actions, if your motives are
grounded in the giving of everything back to God in the service of
others and not the self, then celibacy becomes a loving energy
directed towards the people of God.”
A married couple living out their vows, for better or worse, for
richer or poorer, ‘til death do us part, experience a continuing
deepening of their love for one another and grow to become one in
Christ. Similarly, a priest who stays true to his vow of serving God
completely with his whole heart and soul as he lives out his celibate
commitment, not out of duty, but out of the desire to offer himself
unreservedly, becomes a loving beacon of the compassion,
forgivingness, and complete gifts of God.
After 18 years of priesthood, I can truly proclaim that I am in love
with what I do as a priest. The journey has been one of continual
discovery and ever-deepening experience — through the people I
have baptized, married, visited in hospitals and presided at funerals —
of the unconditional, deep, sustaining and exhilarating love God has
for all of us.
True happiness is found in offering all my gifts, my thoughts and
my desires back to God, for everything given back to God freely is
replaced by a joy and a love that is only experienced in the gift of self
for the other.
Father John Tetlow is director of the Office of Vocations and
pastor of Santa Maria del Mar Parish in Flagler Beach. To talk
to Father John about the priesthood call
(800) 775-4659, ext. 101.
Ordination:
Sacrament of Apostolic Ministry
Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by
Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the
end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry. It includes
three degrees: episcopate [order of bishops], presbyterate, and
diaconate. (1536) — Catechism of the Catholic Church
Ordination … confers a gift of the Holy Spirit that permits the
exercise of a “sacred power” which can come only from Christ
himself through his Church. Ordination is also called consecratio, for
it
is a setting apart and an investiture by Christ himself for his Church.
The laying on of hands by the bishop, with the consecratory prayer,
constitutes the visible sign of this ordination. (1538, 875-699) —
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Presbyterorum
Ordinis*
The priest is to be attached to his bishop with charity and obedience;
he is to cooperate with his brother priests for the building up of the
Church; and he is to promote the role of the laity in the mission of the
Church. Because priests are consecrated to God not only by
Baptism, but in a special way by their ordination, they are to use
every means available to attain greater holiness so that their ministry
will be more effective; they are to make the word of God part of their
own lives; they are encouraged to celebrate the Eucharist daily; they
are to give themselves to prayer and the administration of the
sacraments, especially Penance; and they are to seek “not what is to
their own advantage but what will benefit the many for salvation” (PO,
m. 13).
Priestly celibacy is to be “highly esteemed” (PO, n. 16) as being
particularly helpful to the mission of the priest. It is recommended by
the example of Christ Himself, and it shows their willingness “to be
dedicated with undivided loyalty to the task entrusted to them” (PO,
n.16).
*Decree from the Second Vatican Council, Source: Our Sunday
Visitor’s Catholic Encyclopedia.