I’m my own man! I’m self-made, and I alone should determine my destiny! I will let nothing stand in the way of what I want. There is no other road to happiness! At least that’s what contemporary society would have us believe. But the Christian viewpoint is...
Maybe you’re considering the priesthood and you feel peaceful about following God’s call and applying for seminary. But what about your family and friends? What if they don’t understand? What if they reject your choice, or — even worse — you? It’s true that breaking the...
You might think that the issue of priestly celibacy is a “newer” matter in the Church. After all, the Roman Church has continually reiterated the law of priestly celibacy for most, if not all, of her history. So it seems that celibacy must have been...
Perhaps priesthood has crossed your mind, but fear pushes the idea away: My friends would laugh if they heard I was thinking about the priesthood! My parents would be shocked. My mom wants grandkids. I'm scared to death of speaking in public. I'm nowhere near holy enough. I don't want to...
Is God calling me to be a priest? How can I know for sure? What's the best way to make a decision like this? As you contemplate what to do with your life, be confident that God has a specific plan for you, and that you...
If you were about to make one decision that would dramatically impact the rest of your life, how would you go about it? If you were contemplating a cross-country move, you’d probably learn everything you could about the new city. If you were choosing a career,...
One of the most beautiful liturgies in the Catholic Church is when a man becomes a priest of Jesus Christ. At the Mass of Ordination, the men to be ordained kneel in front of the bishop one by one, and they place their folded hands between...
Holy priests don’t always start out holy. Take the case of St. Vincent de Paul. His beginning was rough, but in time, Vincent became an exemplar of priestly virtue and holiness. Being from a poor family, his father had to sell the family’s oxen to send...
“We're accidents floating on a rock in the emptiness of space. Billions of years preceded humanity, and after our inevitable extinction, there will be billions more years of silent emptiness. Human existence is a blip that means nothing in the vast history of the universe." Such...
Our Lord said that His sheep would know His voice; but when it comes to discerning your vocation, you’ve probably found that it’s not as simple as it sounds. How can you tell if what you're hearing is God's voice? If you keep in mind a...