Two listeners ask Father Dave questions about discerning the priesthood. First Devin says, “I feel like God might be calling me to priesthood, but I’m really not sure where to start. There are so many different options for which type of priest I could be. Any advice?” Another listener named Randy asks Father Dave about his religious order, the Paulist Fathers. Randy asks, “What led you to be a Paulist? Were there other orders that caught your eye when choosing how to serve the Church?”
Father Dave begins, “First of all, Devin, I want to affirm your call. I would say continue to listen and pay attention to that call that is from the Holy Spirit, a call that is perhaps to service as an ordained minister.”
“[Begin] a good process of prayer and discernment — [potentially] even by entering into some formation for priesthood or a religious community,” he continues, noting that one does not need to be completely sure of their vocation in the early steps of formation. “If you trust the process, it does work. Some people are called to minister, but not necessarily in the ordained way. One might very much love the Church, and yet when they pray and discern it, they’re more called to have a family and pass on the faith in that way. I encourage you to continue to pursue that call, pray about that, and really listen to God. Also listen to other people in your life about whether or not that’s really the direction God is calling you.”
LISTEN: Fatherly Advice – Discerning Priesthood
Father Dave offers Devin advice on where to begin in researching different ways to serve as a priest. “I had exactly the same feeling and experience when I was 28 years old; I felt a calling to the priesthood, but really didn’t know where to start,” he says. “There are essentially two categories of the many types of priest, and the first would be serving as a diocesan priest. Almost all priests are going to be working within the structure of a given diocese wherever they are, but when we say diocesan priest, we mean a priest that is not part of another religious community, like the Franciscans, Jesuits, or the Paulist Fathers. Diocesan priests serve specifically for a bishop in a diocese and more likely than not, it would be the diocese where you’re currently living or where you grew up, and you would continue to stay there.”
The second category Father Dave outlines is a priest serving in a religious order. “A religious priest is part of a community living together, serving together, and serving in ministry in some way. Many religious communities have either men’s or women’s options, and even under the men option, they would have the option to either be a priest or be a brother,” he says. “These priests would commit to a particular charism — a gift given by the Holy Spirit to usually a founder of a community —- to serve in a particular way.”
Father Dave notes that a diocesan priest is often serving parishes with few other priests, while religious priests live in and work in community with one another. “That would be something good to start in discernment. Not just thinking about that, but also asking people in your life, How do you see me in this role as a priest or a pastor? Do you see me as working on my own, or do you think I collaborate better with other people?”
LISTEN: The Path of Discernment – Hearing God’s Call in Large and Small Choices
Father Dave shares how living in community was partially why he chose to be a religious priest, and first talked to the vocation directors of the local Jesuit and Francisan communities. “I’d previously been working in television and radio, and so I would describe to people, ‘I think I have a vocation of the priesthood, but I don’t know. It seemed like God really wanted me to do this media stuff. Do you think God’s changing his mind, or is there a way I could kind of combine these the skill set I have with priesthood?’”
“When I would say that several people mentioned to me the Paulist Fathers is because of our reputation of working in the media,” he continues. “Once I got to know the Paulists what moved me forward was much more about the charism, how it is that we serve the Church in our particular way. Our founder Father Isaac Hecker was an American, and yet came from a different religious experience and wanting to find unity among different Christians. So for me it wasn’t really, wasn’t like Oh, good. Now I continue to be a television director, and also be a priest. It was much more.”
