Formation
How to become a Priest?
The priesthood is a calling, not just a profession. The Catholic Church holds that certain men receive messages from God asking them to devote their life to serving him. At ordination, a man’s soul experiences an ontological transformation—a change in who he is—that forever alters his soul. Once a priest, always a priest. For additional details on how to become a priest, continue reading if you feel the call to the priesthood.
Process of Becoming a priest
There are numerous steps on the way to become a diocesan priest. These actions adhere to a broad formation program, albeit they may differ from diocese to diocese. Diocesan priesthood is distinct from priesthood in a religious organization. Priests of religious orders assume obedience, chastity, and poverty vows and live in monastic communities. Parish priests can be members of religious orders, but most priests in the world serve as diocesan priests, who manage parishes and lead people to Christ.
Stages of Priestly Formation
Getting in Touch with your Parish Activities
You should act if you sense a calling to become a priest. As you’ve just read, you ought to attend mass frequently. Build ties with the clergy in your neighborhood church. In order to start understanding the ins and outs of what it means to be a priest, ask for chances to get involved. This can help you build meaningful relationships with local church officials and assess whether becoming a priest is a career path you’d love and succeed in.
Establish a close connection with your preferred priest. Selecting a priest you admire and respect will increase your involvement because you’ll be eager to pick their brain and take pleasure in the process. Inform them of your wish to enter the priesthood and enquire about possible duties within the parish. Declare your intention to assist the priest during services, go with him when he visits ailing church members, and participate in community activities.
The priest will present you with a firsthand account of the obligations and responsibilities that lie ahead of you if you continue along the path. Additionally, they can assist you in being actively involved by assigning you duties within the parish. You can now serve God in novel and exciting ways because to this. Participating will fuel your fire even more if God is calling you to be a priest.
Make sure to sing and read aloud during the services. You will benefit later in the process of becoming a priest by becoming more familiar with the texts and hymnals, particularly as you start college and seminary.
Joining Major Seminary
One joins the major Seminary and undertakes the three stages of Formation in the Seminary, The spiritual Year, The Philosophical Studies, and Theological Studies. A seminary is a wonderful place for you to get involved in what you shall encounter as a priest. This is because, throughout one’s entire life in the seminary, one attends retreats, seminars as well as spiritual direction which ends up forming one’s character into a servanthood nature which is the life of a priest. For participating in the theological debates required for comprehending the priesthood and getting ready for a life of service, seminary training is crucial. In seminary, you’ll study a variety of subjects, such as the following:
- Emotionally healthy
- Physical well-being extensive
- Familiarity with Catholic dogma
- Behavior that complies with Catholic tradition
Ordination to Deaconate
You are now legally eligible to receive a bishop’s summons to holy orders and work as an ordained deacon after finishing seminary. You need to hold this post for at least six months before you can become a priest. But getting ordained is the first step.
It’s critical that you maintain your enthusiasm towards earning ordination following seminary. You would presumably run into any obstacles to ordination during your stay in seminary, if there are any. There is a good probability that you will get ordained as a deacon if you do well in seminary.
Ordination to Priesthood
Regarding how long one serves as a deacon, different nations have different traditions. Depending on your location, you can either enter the priesthood after finishing your brief six-month tenure, or you can choose to continue as a permanent deacon. Remember that you can become one of two different kinds of priests:
Diocesan priests: These priests represent the Church in a certain area. They commit to living a celibate life and swear allegiance to the Catholic Church. Chaplains and religious educators can be diocesan priests.
Priests of religion: Priests of religion are members of an international religious organization or community. The Franciscans and the Benedictines are two examples. They legally promise to lead lives of submission, chastity, and poverty, while several orders have their own variations on these vows.