On my renouncing mandated priestly celibacy in the west

stray bullet

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"It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world, the world of renunciation and supposed holiness. The whole illusion of a separate holy existence is a dream. Not that I question the reality of my vocation, or of my monastic life: but the conception of “separation from the world” that we have in the monastery too easily presents itself as a complete illusion: the illusion that by making vows we become a different species of being, pseudo-angels, “spiritual men,” men of interior life, what have you.
Certainly these traditional values are very real, but their reality is not of an order outside everyday existence in a contingent world, nor does it entitle one to despise the secular: though “out of the world,” we are in the same world as everybody else, the world of the bomb, the world of race hatred, the world of technology, the world of mass media, big business, revolution, and all the rest." - Thomas Merton

When you tell a person you were or were almost a priest, they look at you differently. It does not matter if they are Catholic or not. There is something about the concept that causes them perceive you in a way differently from that moment on.

That's the culture of Catholicism and its effect into the world. That's the mentality at ordination - separated, called, set apart. As much as Catholics may like to believe, the lifestyle of priest radically sets themselves apart and their formation is driven for that purpose.

That is why I now realize why so many want married priests. They want them to fall down from their high towers of security and experience the hell of living in the real world. And no, priests don't live in the real world. They just walk within it unaware of the dangers and perils that ordinary people face.

Priests pray over dead kids, but they never have any. Priests worry about budgets but never worry about what will happen to them. They seek the security of the cloth over the hair shirt of the world.
 

Leevo

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I would like the priesthood to be opened up for married men. Or allow priests to marry after ordination. I think that would help a great deal with the shortage of priests we experience today. Even if they only allowed them to marry pre-ordination. I kind of agree with what your saying here, but priests have more to worry about than you make it sound. They hold peoples souls in their hands for Christ's sake!
 
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MoreCoffee

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I think that priests have both a calling from God and a calling from the church. Their life is not trouble free. They suffer loss when family members die or are far away. They know grief and frustration. They know, because they hear again and again in confession, what troubles face people who are married and families grieving the loss of a child. Priests are sometimes the object of spite and hatred so they know what it is like to be unjustly accused. It is not as if priests live in isolation from the world. Nor are priests high above the cares and concerns of the world around them. To accuse them of such is unfair. Take the time to ask your priest about these things.
 
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Galilee63

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Most Priests (Gods Shepherds appointed by Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit) of whom Catholics including myself were supposed to have prayed for within The Most Holy Rosary over the Centuries, generally hold a University Degree, Law Degree, Accountancy Degree, a Masters, Bachelors in addition to studying all those years (still 7 years?) for the Priesthood and possess high I.Q's. Many priests are able to leave at any time pursuing highly paid careers and some most sadly have in the past.

God required His Childrens prayers for His Priests/Shepherds within The Most Holy Rosary prayed daily of which we have failed generation to generation while focussing on earth/satan's things.

Yes they do suffer 'hell' on earth; many Priests are Uncles within their own families, some Priests are Widowers with Children, (all things are possible in Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit's Holy Will) many Priests, Sisters/Nuns have lived in orphanages and served God and Children in Orphanages, many Priests have Loved God's Children as their own; the priest in my own Parish growing up, Father R, loved us girls as if he was our own Father, we could not have been Blessed with a better priest/Father anywhere in the world.

When there was a Funeral; Father R was there with his Heart, Love, kindness, support and humour to get everyone through, with tragedies, any of life's dilemmas, Father R was always there for not only myself, other Families x 50 years in our Community while at times suffering his own personal family losses.

Then afterwards, Father R would retreat into his own space/Presbytery to do a few things, de-stress, without additional earthly family stresses, worries or concerns being married to a spouse here on earth nor responsible for raising Children and all of the time and problems raising a family entail.

If you attach yourself to a Priest living in a large thriving busy Community and ask Father if you can live a month in His shoes, I don't think that you would be suggesting Father to marry a spouse here on earth and have Children, raising them.

Ministers are different.

Priests are attached to large Catholic Schools with the Blessed Sacraments given in Baptism, The First Holy Communion, Reconciliation, Annual and regular School Masses for each celebrated for Catholic Schools and many Holy Days and Feasts celebrated in addition to Holy Masses offered for Weddings, Funerals, daily Holy Masses held all year round, Hospital Rounds, Roadside Last Rites given, Home Last Rites, the Parish itself have many Groups running of which Father is at times involved, the odd Dinners, some Retreats and many other Priestly duties within the ArchDiocese to be fulfilled.

There are rarely spare luxurious moments and believe me, they do go through 'hell' here on Earth and in particular during deaths within their own Families (many have relatives overseas of whom they have not spent time), the Families of others, whom many Priests have met and known within their Parishes over here and of course the hearing of Confessions!! The Priests I know and have met during my life are not robots. They are God's Shepherds with hearts and have undoubtedly endured more than what a police officer or paramedic have endured because they are serving Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit trying to please Jesus/God, please the ArchBishop or keep him satisfied, please the Families, please the Schools/Principal, please the Communities, please the Parish Groups and many others.

My home Parish has only one Priest with at least 2,000 students attached to Father's Church in addition to many of their Families and of course once Priests have served in different Parishes during their lives; they have met and known quite well thousands of families and people. In addition they are often called upon outside their own Parish and Diocese here in my Country.

God The Most High in His Old Testament appointed His 'Priests' to serve Him and mankind.

Jesus Christ our Saviour appointed His 'Disciples/Priests' to serve Him/God and mankind without being married to earthly spouses in God's Holy Will.

We should be conscious of not going against God's Holy Will and ways nor against His Holy Decree, and if we do, we are challenging God The Most High and His Holy Decrees.

Jesus did not challenge God The Most High's Holy Decrees and Commandments; Jesus abided, lived and taught them.

When we are Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit's 'spouses/Brides' all things are possible in Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit's Holy Will.

A reminder for myself on something too; "Thank you".

Love and Kindest wishes your Sister in Jesus Christ our Saviour
 
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Tigg

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Most Priests (Gods Shepherds appointed by Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit) of whom Catholics including myself were supposed to have prayed for within The Most Holy Rosary over the Centuries, generally hold a University Degree, Law Degree, Accountancy Degree, a Masters, Bachelors in addition to studying all those years (still 7 years?) for the Priesthood and possess high I.Q's. Many priests are able to leave at any time pursuing highly paid careers and some most sadly have in the past.

God required His Childrens prayers for His Priests/Shepherds within The Most Holy Rosary prayed daily of which we have failed generation to generation while focussing on earth/satan's things.

Yes they do suffer 'hell' on earth; many Priests are Uncles within their own families, some Priests are Widowers with Children, (all things are possible in Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit's Holy Will) many Priests, Sisters/Nuns have lived in orphanages and served God and Children in Orphanages, many Priests have Loved God's Children as their own; the priest in my own Parish growing up, Father R, loved us girls as if he was our own Father, we could not have been Blessed with a better priest/Father anywhere in the world.

When there was a Funeral; Father R was there with his Heart, Love, kindness, support and humour to get everyone through, with tragedies, any of life's dilemmas, Father R was always there for not only myself, other Families x 50 years in our Community while at times suffering his own personal family losses.

Then afterwards, Father R would retreat into his own space/Presbytery to do a few things, de-stress, without additional earthly family stresses, worries or concerns being married to a spouse here on earth nor responsible for raising Children and all of the time and problems raising a family entail.

If you attach yourself to a Priest living in a large thriving busy Community and ask Father if you can live a month in His shoes, I don't think that you would be suggesting Father to marry a spouse here on earth and have Children, raising them.

Ministers are different.

Priests are attached to large Catholic Schools with the Blessed Sacraments given in Baptism, The First Holy Communion, Reconciliation, Annual and regular School Masses for each celebrated for Catholic Schools and many Holy Days and Feasts celebrated in addition to Holy Masses offered for Weddings, Funerals, daily Holy Masses held all year round, Hospital Rounds, Roadside Last Rites given, Home Last Rites, the Parish itself have many Groups running of which Father is at times involved, the odd Dinners, some Retreats and many other Priestly duties within the ArchDiocese to be fulfilled.

There are rarely spare luxurious moments and believe me, they do go through 'hell' here on Earth and in particular during deaths within their own Families (many have relatives overseas of whom they have not spent time), the Families of others, whom many Priests have met and known within their Parishes over here and of course the hearing of Confessions!! The Priests I know and have met during my life are not robots. They are God's Shepherds with hearts and have undoubtedly endured more than what a police officer or paramedic have endured because they are serving Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit trying to please Jesus/God, please the ArchBishop or keep him satisfied, please the Families, please the Schools/Principal, please the Communities, please the Parish Groups and many others.

My home Parish has only one Priest with at least 2,000 students attached to Father's Church in addition to many of their Families and of course once Priests have served in different Parishes during their lives; they have met and known quite well thousands of families and people. In addition they are often called upon outside their own Parish and Diocese here in my Country.

God The Most High in His Old Testament appointed His 'Priests' to serve Him and mankind.

Jesus Christ our Saviour appointed His 'Disciples/Priests' to serve Him/God and mankind without being married to earthly spouses in God's Holy Will.

We should be conscious of not going against God's Holy Will and ways nor against His Holy Decree, and if we do, we are challenging God The Most High and His Holy Decrees.

Jesus did not challenge God The Most High's Holy Decrees and Commandments; Jesus abided, lived and taught them.

When we are Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit's 'spouses/Brides' all things are possible in Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit's Holy Will.

A reminder for myself on something too; "Thank you".

Love and Kindest wishes your Sister in Jesus Christ our Saviour

Bears repeating. Thank you. :thumbsup:
 
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Tigg

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"That is why I now realize why so many want married priests. They want them to fall down from their high towers of security and experience the hell of living in the real world." - stray bullet

There are those evil enough to wish that. But there are those in the world, ordinary people who also would like you to fall down - do their sin. Whither it's drinking, doing drugs, fornication or adultery, etc. There are those who feel more comfortable if you are doing their sin. Pressure to do evil.

I for one, and I suspect many, wish those in the religious life well. That do not wish sin, evil upon them. Anyone who does wish evil (sin) upon anyone, religious or not should be avoided period.
 
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katerinah1947

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"It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world, the world of renunciation and supposed holiness. The whole illusion of a separate holy existence is a dream. Not that I question the reality of my vocation, or of my monastic life: but the conception of “separation from the world” that we have in the monastery too easily presents itself as a complete illusion: the illusion that by making vows we become a different species of being, pseudo-angels, “spiritual men,” men of interior life, what have you.
Certainly these traditional values are very real, but their reality is not of an order outside everyday existence in a contingent world, nor does it entitle one to despise the secular: though “out of the world,” we are in the same world as everybody else, the world of the bomb, the world of race hatred, the world of technology, the world of mass media, big business, revolution, and all the rest." - Thomas Merton

When you tell a person you were or were almost a priest, they look at you differently. It does not matter if they are Catholic or not. There is something about the concept that causes them perceive you in a way differently from that moment on.

That's the culture of Catholicism and its effect into the world. That's the mentality at ordination - separated, called, set apart. As much as Catholics may like to believe, the lifestyle of priest radically sets themselves apart and their formation is driven for that purpose.

That is why I now realize why so many want married priests. They want them to fall down from their high towers of security and experience the hell of living in the real world. And no, priests don't live in the real world. They just walk within it unaware of the dangers and perils that ordinary people face.

Priests pray over dead kids, but they never have any. Priests worry about budgets but never worry about what will happen to them. They seek the security of the cloth over the hair shirt of the world.

Hi,
I think I like that your pain and anguish allowed you to write this. You have been brave enough or hurt enough to post here of your thoughts. You seem incredibly hurt over much of the world and would like to change that. I am most desperately sorry God did not choose you to be a priest, as you seem to be entirely upset with God over this.
You seem to be so hurt; you are lashing out at once; what you aspired to be, and I say God did call you part of the way.
That part way calling did change you. And when you can see that, and like that and love that, you will soon see an like and love that part of you.
I know a person, who was not allowed to be a religious. For forty years this person tried and tried. The first time, the person was totally accepted by Everyone, but God. The Bishop said yes. Everyone else said yes. The calling was excessively strong. The day, this person was supposed to join a religious community, that person was stuck in a foreign country by the most bizarre set of cicumstances. However, in case you think better planning would have changed anything, even over the next six attempts or so, lets talk about this one just a little more.
Fearing an unplanned event after being accepted and having a date to start, when work called for this person to leave the country for 3 weeks, immediately this person went to the director, of the very Catholic Religious Order, and told that person, of her plans. "I am going to put my notice in at work. That way I will be sure that nothing can go wrong." The Director like a Command from God, told her:No. God does not work that way.
She was not pleased with that. She followed orders. Years and years later as Miss Clueless has yet again been thwarted by God, she gets home to her house. Sits at her table and asks God why. For some reason, she opened the Bible and read. Then she knew why.
It still hurt. She tried once or twice more, always not disobeying God. Not ever did she want to do that. She just didn't really understand yet, what God was doing in her life.
On the day she did understand what God was doing with her, she still did not understand everything. Slowly time passed. Slowly she learned more and more. For whatever reason or reasons (all she would say, are really God in origin) she never dropped out nor hated those early decisions God made for her, though if she told you of them, you might not understand how she would not be upset with God, for what God had put her through.
I am trying not to say some things, that you might need, rather let me say this, how many stories have you heard of late answered prayers by God, and they were answered Quite Well by Him.
It seems to me, you are hurt only. Just hang in there, some day it will all makes sense to you.
LOVE and love,
...Katherine., .... .
 
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