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There is no financial cost involved with training to be a priest. In Queensland, each diocese funds the training of its priests. The seminary provides food and accommodation and covers the academic costs. Each student receives an allowance to cover personal expenses such as books and clothes. If students have cars they are welcome to bring them to the
seminary. There are also vehicles available to enable students
to get to them to go to class, household shopping and pastoral
activities. The expenses related to car use for personal reasons
are reimbursed to the seminary.
The first thing that often comes to mind when this question arises is the requirement for priests in the Roman Catholic Church to be celibate. The issue of celibacy is addressed in another answer on this page. View archives. When a man becomes a priest he embraces a particular vocation, a particular way of life. Priests don't earn a lot of money. Being a priest is a lifelong commitment which is different to the current trend to change careers a number of times during a working life. A priest's pastoral responsibilities often take priority over personal wishes. All of this is hard to take without a spirituality of service.
No one could say that the priesthood is a mainstream way of life.
One has to be honest and say that the priesthood is a radical
vocation. What the church needs are people who have a heart big
enough to take on this challenge. While it won't always be easy,
it will bring deep satisfaction. To be a priest you need to believe
in what you are doing in such a way that the sacrifices you make
are worthwhile.
At the ago of 16 you are probably doing a lot of thinking about the path you will take after leaving school. It is a good time to be thinking about the possibility of becoming a priest. If you are 45 you are not too old to be thinking about becoming a priest either. Most people who start at the seminary are in their 20s. However there are exceptions to this, some seminary students are somewhat older. There is no magical, definitive age for beginning at the seminary.
Some important attributes for a person of any age beginning formation
are maturity and the capacity to take on board new learning.
A person's age alone does not tell us a great deal about who
they are and what they believe in.
An important question that needs to be considered is the reason behind not wanting to move towards priesthood at the moment. Some things that can help prepare you for the priesthood include getting involved in your local parish community if you are not already involved, paying attention to your spiritual life and developing a healthy habit of prayer. It would be good to talk about these kinds of things with your local priest or the Vocations Director, whose contact details are on this site, and to get some good reading material to help stimulate your reflections at this time. Another option is to make enquiries about living at Canali House, a house of discernment in Fortitude Valley. While living in the house you can continue to work or study in whatever area you are in at the moment. At the same time you have the chance to find out more about the priesthood and focus on your spiritual development. If you are waiting for an email or an SMS from God telling you that the time is right, you will be waiting for a long time. God's ways are often much more subtle than this. If you feel that you have some kind of calling to be a priest, doing nothing will not help you make a good decision. God gives us opportunities, but we have to cooperate with God in order for things to happen.
It used to be said that it took about seven years to become a priest, but given the diverse backgrounds of today's students for the priesthood, timeframes can vary. Today the approach to seminary formation needs to be flexible; and it may sometimes take less time or more time to be ordained a priest. This may sound like a long time, but you need to take into account the variety of phases involved in seminary formation. You don't spend seven years doing academic courses. Have a look at this page which outlines the phases of formation. View the Process Rather than working from a particular timeframe, the formation program of each seminarian takes into account past studies and experiences as well as the learning needs of each individual. So the ultimate aim is not to "produce" a priest on time, but rather to ensure that a priest is equipped with the skills that he needs to be a competent pastor. Training to be a priest involves more than studying subjects at a College. Formation for the priesthood also involves living in situations where you will be exposed to experiences which develop your understanding of yourself, your relationship with God and your ability to relate to people in a pastoral situation. Going beyond book or classroom learning, formation involves living in a seminary and eventually in a parish. These places become communities of formation where people learn with the assistance of others. Learning to become a priest is a full-time occupation, students
for the priesthood are expected to live in these communities
of formation and focus their time and energy on the task of preparing
to be a priest.
Every priest is different; each one brings his own strengths and weakness to ministry. Part of the process of considering whether you are suitable to be a priest is exploring those strengths and weaknesses. Those elements need to be explored through personal prayer and reflection and also through conversation with other people. In the initial stages of thinking about priesthood people often want to keep their thoughts to themselves, but it is good to find a priest with whom you can discuss what is happening. As things develop you should make contact with the Vocations Director to enable you to discern further. Eventually the Director will arrange for a professional vocational assessment to help you and the Archbishop make the final decision about starting at the seminary. As you can see, with finding who is suitable to be a priest, it is not a case of ticking off items on a list. Human beings are complicated and so the task of discerning whether you are ready to begin at the seminary must take that into account. It is also important that you continue praying so that you will be open to where God is leading you. See the Person page
within this site for a list of some of the most important qualities
of someone who might be suitable to be a priest.
The process through which a priest is appointed to a parish is aimed at bringing together the needs of the priest and the needs of the church. Every priest is different and every parish is different. The Archbishop has ultimate responsibility for appointing priests to particular ministries. Efforts are made to match priests and parishes in a way which
is best for all concerned, and it always depends a great deal
on what is happening in the diocese at that time. Every parish
has its own limitations and joys; one of the qualities required
for ministry is to be able to have a positive attitude in a variety
of situations.
It is probably true that the priesthood has had more stability and status sometimes in the past. More recent years have seen occasions of scandal and there is anxiety about the future of the church. But then, every era of the Church has had its challenges. The crisis and lack of hope that the church experiences today is also shared by the whole of humanity. The human race has to find a path into the future, weaving through a variety of difficulties like terrorism, the growing divide between rich and poor, and the search for an ultimate purpose in life. As Catholic Christians we believe that Jesus Christ and his message is essential in negotiating all of this. To be able to be a priest in the future, you will need to have a very clear sense of your mission to bring Jesus' message of hope to the world - by what you do, what you say and by assisting others to strengthen their faith. You will have to be convinced of the saving power of the cross; convinced that where there is despair, the cross can bring resurrection and life. You will have to believe that God is changing the world to become his Kingdom. You will need faith and courage, and as a pastor of the believing community you draw from the faith and courage of the community and the community will draw these qualities from you.
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