How can I recognize the call to the priestly life?
As with any vocation, there are signs and circumstances which may suggest a call to holiness worth exploring.
- Enjoy working with people.
- Apply yourself diligently to studies or job (people can count on you)
- Your relationship with God gives you strength and direction
- Love of your Catholic Faith and partaking of the Eucharist
- Between the ages of 21 and 40 and open to the challenges of the Catholic church in the 21st century
- Willing to learn and grow intellectually, spiritually, and psychologically.
A discernment test
Prepared by Sr. Kathy Bryant, RSC
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
- Do you find your weekly ministry more life-giving and energizing than your 40-hour work week?
- Do you hide vocation literature under your bed or away in your closet?
- Do you feel called to give more or be more? Does the idea of becoming a brother, sister, or priest keep coming back time and time again?
- Does your relationship with God sustain you, enliven you, invigorate you in such a way that you want to share the Good News with others?
- Do you long for "MORE"?
- Do you have a sneaking suspicion that you are on the brink of a major life decision?
- Are you afraid to tell friends and family that you are thinking about a Church vocation?
- Do you feel a recurring tug in your heart to serve others more?
If you answered "yes" to three or more of the statements above, then you may have a vocation to the priesthood, diaconate or religious life!