The Path to the Priesthood

What does it take to become a priest? For the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, STUART?GRAHAM spoke to a priest who works in the training of our future clergy.

Most people who have entered the ordained ministry or consecrated life speak of having followed a call which echoes Jesus’ invitation to the fishermen in Capernaum to “come, follow me” (Mt 4:19).

But one must not expect God to “speak to you directly”, advised Fr Masilo Selemela, vice-president of the St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria.

You do not hear a voice from heaven but there is a desire in your heart put there by God himself, he explained, adding that this is when a man knows that he has been called to the priesthood.

“If you feel God’s calling and believe that a life of celibacy and devotion to God is for you, this serious decision may be the one you are meant to make,” said Fr Selemela, who was speaking in his personal capacity..

“The life of a Catholic priest is a calling to serve God as well as those in need around you,” he said.

For many men, a call to the priesthood does not occur in a spontaneous flash. It is a long journey that comes after many years of soul-searching, reflection and discernment.

The calling may, for example, manifest itself as a desire for the man to serve in the parish where he grew up.

Most dioceses have vocation weekends, camps and workshops where they talk about vocations. At these camps young people are exposed to the life of the priest, his ministry and his tasks.

“We speak about the meaning of priesthood for the society we have today and the critical role the priest plays in the society,” said Fr Selemela.

Many young people join the priesthood because they have witnessed very committed priests dedicate their own life to serving their parish.

For instance, the experience of the washing of the feet that a young man experiences in his own parish with a priest who “loves, cares for and nourishes” his community, attracts vocations, Fr Selemela said.

“In the end it is God who calls by using the situations and circumstances of one’s life to manifest himself. Our task is to respond,” he said.

Once a young man feels that he has been called to the priesthood, he should approach his parish priest who will then recommend him to the vocations director of the diocese. If the director is certain that the man has been called, he will introduce him to the bishop.

The bishop will interview the man. If he is convinced, the young man may be admitted to study for the priesthood.

Before being accepted into a seminary however, a student should have completed a year of preparatory post-school studies in the orientation seminary or in his own religious institute, based on a programme approved by the seminary.

The student should have a competent knowledge of English to be able to pursue academic studies at tertiary level.

Students registering for the priesthood at St John Vianney Seminary are required to enrol for the Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy programme.

Life at the seminary starts at 6:30am with morning prayer, followed by Mass, breakfast and lectures, which involve a philosophy component and a theology component.

During the early stages, the men are taken through rigorous psychological profiling.

“We put people through a psychological analysis which would reveal the personality of the person. This will show their strength and their limits,” Fr Selemela explained.

“Through the whole process of formation we seek to help people discover their strengths. The young men will work on their weaknesses to become a whole person.”

None of us are perfect, Fr Selemela noted, but there are certain intrinsic qualities needed to be a priest.

Pope Francis wants seminaries to refocus on the basic Christian teachings of compassion, simplicity and humility. Priests should have “real contact with the poor” and other marginalised members of society.

Formation, according to the pope, is a work of art, not a police action. We must form their hearts, otherwise we are creating “little monsters”, the pope warned.

Fr Selemela said that if a person is prepared to be a disciple of Christ, he must be rooted in the Word of God and understand himself as a disciple. He must be open and able to reach out.  He must be “thoroughly human”.

One has to interact with people and so one must have human qualities and intellectual acumen, Fr Selemela said.

“These are the qualities we require from [future priests], but we do not expect people to have all the qualities. We have to help people discover qualities they have and to reinforce them and deepen them.”

Fr Selemela counselled against looking at a man in terms of him being an extrovert or introvert. For example, an introvert may have a quality leadership capacity.

In Southern Africa the majority of the young men who join seminaries are school leavers from rural areas. Few have experienced life outside before coming to seminary.

Occasionally men with a mature vocation join the seminary, having experienced life in a secular professional field.

“You have a few you come here who have experienced work and other things. We call these late vocations. Recently we had a man who was over the age of 50 who finished his studies,” Fr Selemela said. Another man had left the seminary and went to work for ten years before returning to study for the ordained ministry.

When somebody has acted on the desire to become a Catholic priest, the most important part in the early stages is the process of discernment. The seminary acts as a testing ground to discover what the men believe God is asking of them.

The life of a priest is a lonely, celibate one, without the chance of starting a family. During this six years of training it is natural for men to experience doubts and anxieties as they consider their futures. These anxieties and doubts can follow men throughout their priesthoods.

Priests are also taught to handle the pressures that come with caring for a parish. Priests, like all men, are not perfect. Still, parishes often place them on pedestals, expecting them to be constantly holy and not subject of the foibles of normal men.

It is the task of the priest to channel the gifts of those in his community, Fr Selemela said.

“Unity in diversity is what we want to harness,” he said.

Not everybody who feels called to the priesthood will become a priest. Some men are not accepted for the study to the priesthood, or are found to be unsuitable for the clerical ministry during their studies or before ordination.

Others drop out of their studies because the life of the priesthood proves to be not for them.

However, Fr Selemela emphasised, there are many vocations that are exercised outside the priesthood.

“You have to believe God has a plan for you, so even if you do not enter the priesthood, you can give your life in many ways,” he said.

“You can become a deacon, for example,” or follow the myriad paths of lay leadership.

“For me the Church is a communion,” Fr Selemela said. “It is made up of people with many gifts who are diverse.”