In this article Fr. Joseph wants to share the importance of priestly ministry and religious life. Many people ask themselves, “How do I know whether God has called me to priestly ministry, or religious life?” 

Many of you must be thinking, “This topic is not connected to me as I am already married or I am very old and it is only meant for youngsters. So, let me stop here and move on with my work”. 

Dear Brothers and sisters, this knowledge is needed for all of us. It is good to know these things. It can be applied in our life or maybe it can be applied in our children’s lives. 

We can encourage and help our children or our friends. It can apply to us even in our adulthood. We have an option to become a priest or a religious even if we are married.

You will be curious to know how that is possible. If you continue to read, you will understand what is the priestly ministry. 

So, what exactly is the priestly ministry?

The term priestly ministry holds good for all – it refers to the religious life of both females and males.

In Luke 22:28, Jesus is speaking to his disciples and says, “You are those who have stood by me in my trials”. So, priestly ministry or religious life means to stand by Jesus in his trials. 

Now the world is criticizing Christianity and Jesus. Everyone is speaking against Jesus. – speaking negatively about Jesus. It is not because Jesus has done anything wrong.

The greatest contribution to the world is given by Christianity. All the goodness in this world has been contributed by Christianity – by Jesus Christ.

Forgiveness, peace, joy, happiness, love, acceptance, equality, and all the good things that we can think about in this world comes from Christianity.

Most of the movements of the World are inspired by the Bible – teachings of Jesus. For e.g. the movement of fasting and the freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi in India. He himself said that he was inspired by the sermon on the mount, by Jesus.

In the same way Nelson Mandela from Africa and Abraham Lincoln from America. They all stood for truth and for the rights of the people. They were also inspired by the Bible.

All the good things -democracy, and everything, comes from the foundation of the Bible. Therefore, Christianity has contributed a lot for the welfare of the whole humanity on this earth. But still Christianity is being accused unnecessarily.

Because of the way it holds the truth. So, in these moments, in fact, it is Jesus who is going through this trial. It is Jesus who is going through accusations, blames and trials.

So, the duty of priests and religious is that they have to stand by Jesus. They have to stand as a rock by Jesus and that is the duty of the priestly ministry.

When there is some question mark, all the Christians, including the Catholics, doubt Jesus. They doubt God and go away from God. They go away from the Church and the Eucharist.

But a priest or a religious is not supposed to do that. They are supposed to stand by Jesus. You may have seen many priests and nuns who are fallen down in this ministry. 

Actually, we are not talking about them, but about the priestly ministry and what everyone – every priest and religious – is supposed to do. 

There are two options. One is to think with Jesus and the other one is think about Jesus. So, every priest and every religious is supposed to think with Jesus and think with the Church.

There is a difference between thinking with the Church and thinking about the Church; thinking with Jesus and thinking about Jesus.

For e.g. A boy and a girl are in love with each other. The parents come to know that their daughter is in a relationship with the boy. They check the details or the life of that boy. 

Then they come to know that, he has so many weaknesses, so many bad habits. He drinks, he smokes and he is not of a good character.

But this boy and girl are so closely and intimately connected. They love each other so much. The parents are trying their level best to convince their daughter, that this is not the right boy for you.

What will that girl do? What will be her reaction? If that girl is thinking with the boy, she will say like this, “I know him. I know he will never do that. I know him perfectly. Even if he is wrong, I can change him. He is a very good boy. He is very loving. He has no bad habits.”. 

Even though the parents come with proof and try to prove it in front of this girl that he is addicted to this problem, she will not accept it. She will be so confident and convinced that she can change him and change his weaknesses.

She will say, that it is not a big problem. That is not a weakness at all. She can tolerate that. She can move on with him in life. She is so confident because she is thinking with this boyfriend.

Now suppose she is thinking about the boyfriend, Then, when her parents tell her that this boy has this problem, she will say, Really, did you see him drinking or smoking? and then the parents say, “Yes. We saw him”.

Then suddenly she will start thinking about him, “Should I get married? Is he the right person? I don’t think he can be trustworthy”. Here she is thinking about this boy. 

In the previous situation, she was thinking with the boy. There is a difference between thinking with the person and thinking about the person.

If you are thinking with the person, then you will have solutions. If you are thinking about the person you will separate from that person. There is a possibility that you may go away from that person.

So, when it comes to the Bible, when it comes to God, if we are thinking about God, then one moment we will say we love Jesus and then the next moment suddenly we will start doubting Him.

If someone says – there is no God. If there is a God how can innocent people suffer? If there is a God why is there earthquake, and so many problems? Immediately, we will start doubting God. 

We will say, “Oh that is true, I don’t think there is a God. If there is a God why these things happen?” Because we are thinking about God. 

But if we are thinking with God or thinking with Jesus, then we will have answers for all these questions.

It is because God has given us free will. The world is like this. God can turn everything into good. In the Bible we read that Jesus went through all these problems and He was killed.

 All these evil things take place not only for humans but also for Jesus. But he came out resurrected. So, the resurrection is the final destination. We will have answers for all our problems if we think with Jesus – with God.

That is why the Catholic Church always tells the faithful people of God to start thinking with the Church. Then we will understand and love the Church.

 If we are thinking about the Church, then we are watching as a third person. But if we are thinking with the Church then we are inside as members of the Church. Then our attitude towards the whole situation will be different.

For e.g. We know what the live streaming is only in the frame of a computer, mobile or television – whatever is seen on it. We actually don’t know anything else.

We do not know what is happening in that small chapel nor how many people are there. We do not know how much they are praying or how sincere they are. 

We do not know anything about all this. We only know whatever is visible on the screen, where we can see only the priest. Because we are standing outside – outside of that building, outside that country. We are watching from far as a third person. 

Therefore, our knowledge about the live streaming and all the team members of the Retreat Centre and everyone there, is limited – Why they behave like this? why they preach like this? Why they speak like this? why they sing like this? Our understanding and knowledge about them are very limited.

Suppose we hear someone singing very badly, we evaluate them. We say, “Oh that person is very bad in singing”. Sometimes Fr. receives so many comments about everything, including himself too. Even about all the choir and other team members.

They get negative as well as positive comments. Because we are watching them from outside, or from far. But if we get a chance to go inside and stay with them, our whole attitude towards them will be different.

Then we will know them physically. We will come to know if the person has any problems; whether he has a throat problem or maybe he or she is not well. So, there are so many reasons. Then we start thinking with them.

Otherwise, we are only thinking about them. So, there is a difference in understanding if we are thinking from outside and thinking with them. We may make mistakes in our thinking.

If we really want to think about them, then we should think with them. Then we will understand them. We will understand everything that happens there. We will understand all the team members, how they behave and why they behave like that. Because we are inside of it.

Therefore, all the Christians, Catholics and all the members of the Christianity should start thinking with the Church. Then only we will have solutions for all our problems. If we are thinking about the Church then, our problems will increase and we will start doubting. We will start losing faith. 

This is something that we all need to remember before we understand about priestly ministry or priesthood.

There are so many people who have fear in them about accepting priesthood or religious life. One reason is that some people think priesthood means you have to be in prayer for 24 hours. 

They think ‘you have to be in the chapel, you have so many restrictions, rules and regulations. Your life has so many difficulties and it is impossible for me to be always in the chapel, to be in prayer always’. 

So, there are people who think like that. Therefore, they are frightened to join the priesthood or religious life. 

Secondly, there are some people who are frightened, because they have heard so many scandals that the media projects.

The media gives so many fantasies about the priestly ministry and religious life. Even in movies they show that the convents are like this. The monasteries are like this. They project them as though they are connected to some horror movie.

This is how the world, the evil one, is trying to project the priestly ministry and religious life. That is their dream. But in reality, it is different. If we ever get an opportunity we should go and stay in a monastery or a religious house or a religious convent.

We should stay with them for at least one month and we will have a different opinion about them. We will be inspired to become a priest or a nun. A religious life is totally different when we go inside those convents and communities.

When we watch them from outside, we may not be watching the truth. We are only watching some movies and coming to a conclusion. It will never help us. 

Therefore, we should always start thinking with the priestly ministry. Thinking with the Church and not thinking about the priesthood or religious life.

When we are thinking with the religious life and priestly ministry, then we will start loving this ministry. 

Many people ask this question “How do I know whether God has called me?” 

First of all, God will never come suddenly just like annunciation nor all of a sudden early in the morning when we get up.

It is not like suddenly we see a person in front of us and we ask him, “Who are you?” and he says, “I am Jesus of Nazareth. I have called you to become a priest”. These things never happen.

It may happen but Fr. has not heard anything like this in his life. He has never experienced something like that.

Do not expect some kind of an apparition and for God himself to come and tell you that you are called. If you are waiting for that, then you will miss your priestly ministry. It will be too late by the time you get the call and come back.

It is very important to understand, that God never calls us from outside. If God has called us for a priestly ministry or religious life, it will not come from outside. God will start speaking to us from inside.

Because the one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. Therefore, don’t ask Fr. Joseph, Fr. Anthony or Fr. Jose, “Fr. please pray for me and let me know whether I have been called for vocation”.

It is your decision. Jeremiah and Aiden were offering rosaries because they were discerning. Fr. never told them to become priests. Because it is not Fr. Joseph who has to decide. But it is God who decides through them. It is between them and their God.

It is they both who have to decide. The discussion should be between Jesus and themselves. It is a secret connection. Because it is a covenant between them. It is not through Fr. it is not through anyone from outside.

Fr wanted to become a priest since he was very small. He had a strong desire to become a priest. He was just around six or seven years old. 

He was inspired by his parish priest who is now a Bishop. He is a man of God. He was a very powerful leader, leading the whole parish with a lot of innovative ideas. He was very prayerful.

In every sense he was a very good parish priest. Fr. Joseph was inspired by him. Then he thought, “I will also become a priest like him”. So, he was having that strong desire and started praying.

Fr. remembers, when he was around eight years old, he started praying the novena to St. Jude who makes impossible things possible. It is a nine-day novena and on the eighth day your desire will be fulfilled. 

So, Fr. prayed for nine days and the intention was to become a priest. On the eighth day nothing happened. Fr continued praying because it is not something that has to happen on the eighth day. It is supposed to be happening sometime in the future. So, we need to continue praying.

He continued with his priestly as he was growing. When Fr was in High School, his desire to become a priest was not so strong, slowly his desire disappeared. Because the world became so beautiful. 

That time he had so many friends and so many connections. So many enjoyments and so many things. Slowly his desire was not so strong.

But at the same time the desire was there inside. Then he noticed, in the last days of his 10^th grade, after the examination, from nowhere this desire came so strongly, that in his heart all the other desires slowly disappeared.

All the other desires calmed down and his desire to become a priest became so strong, that he could not resist it. Then he went and told his parents. His father was totally against it, because he had a lot of dreams for him as he was the first born.

But Fr. had a different dream and he strongly resisted. His father also resisted. But Fr. strongly argued and there was a lot of discouragement. 

He doesn’t blame his father for that. Because that made his vocation stronger. If you have a strong desire, no one can stop you. 

One of the characteristics to identify your vocation is your strong desire. If you have a strong desire that is a clear sign that you are called for a vocation.

If you have a strong desire, you will not be discouraged. Even when people disappoint you saying, “Don’t go. Don’t become a priest. Because all the priests are being accused and there is a lot of scandal. Why do you want to become a priest? Nowadays nobody becomes a priest.”

All these kinds of negative thoughts will come to your mind and many people will speak to you like this. 

But if you have a strong call, if God has called you, if you still have a strong desire inside, don’t be afraid of consequences. Just step out of your comfort zone and join anywhere or wherever you are inspired to join. If you are called, you are truly called. 

Sometimes, Fr. has seen people, they have a strong desire inside, but they are afraid, of what the people will think of them if they come back in between. 

Remember that a vocation is accepted not when you join the Seminary, but only when you become a priest. So, you accept your vocation to the priestly ministry, only when you become a priest. 

When you join the Seminary, it doesn’t mean you have accepted the vocation. It is only a process of accepting the vocation. In the seminary, you are discerning. For Fr., it was 12 years of his priestly formation that he was discerning his vocation.

There are different steps: First profession, second profession, third profession, fourth profession and the fifth one which is perpetual profession. Then there is Lecter, Acolyte, Subdeacon, Deacon and then Priest. These are the many steps.

In each step they are given the opportunity to rethink. So anytime during those 12 years of priestly ministry, (even one day before the ordination) you are free to leave the seminary. 

Just because someone has come back from the seminary, we do not need to blame anyone. It is the plan of God. It is their discernment. We should appreciate them, because they tried, they discerned their vocation, and they came out.

Therefore no one needs to feel bad just because you joined the seminary or the women’s religious life or wherever. It does not mean you accepted the vocation and you lost the vocation. Don’t ever say that. 

There are people who are losing vocation. When they accept the priesthood and then leave the priesthood, that is when they are losing the vocation. They have left the vocation. But until then you are not leaving the vocation. It is a discernment process.

Therefore, you don’t need to feel bad in joining and in case if you have to come back. Don’t worry. 

When Fr. joined the seminary, there were 30 people in his batch and only four of them became priests. All the others left the Seminary during different times. 

Some left in the first two years. Some left when they were in the fifth year. Some left in the seventh year. Some even left at the last moment.

Now all of them are leading a very good life. They all are still in touch. They all are connected and have a WhatsApp group. They come together. They discuss many things. They debate on so many things.

They all are living a very good life. Some of them are in UK. Some of them are in Canada and other places. It is not affecting their Christian life. So, we need not worry about these kinds of things. 

Therefore, if you have a strong desire to become a priest and in spite of all the temptations and all the disappointing comments that you hear from outside, you still have a desire, that means God has called you. Go ahead and join the Seminary or religious life or Convent. Then start discerning. 

Sometimes some people say let me discern outside. Just check before joining the ministry that you are doing so because you want to join or because you are being forced by somebody.

Is it because you are forcefully influenced by your parents? Maybe your parents want you to be a priest, therefore, they are always telling you, “Why don’t you become a priest?” Perhaps, you get suffocated with their daily nagging and then decide to become a priest.

That is not a true sign. Your parents can give you inspiration. They can plant the seeds of vocation inside of you. But ultimately it is your decision. No father or mother can forcefully send their children to the Seminary. That is forbidden. Because that is not proper.

It is very important to know if we really have the desire to become a priest. Once somebody called Fr. and told him that he wanted to become a priest. Then Fr. told him, “Very good. I really appreciate and may God bless you”.

Then Fr. asked him, “Why do you want to become a priest? He immediately replied, “Fr. this world is so bad. I don’t know whether I will get a girl or not who is pure and holy. I can’t trust anyone. It is very difficult to trust any woman or any girl in this world. If I get married, I will be in trouble later. So, I think it is better to become a priest.”

Then Fr. told him, “My dear friend, I don’t think you’re called now. Maybe God will call you in the future. But not now. You are joining the priesthood not because you love the priestly ministry. But because you are frightened about family life.”

Fr. further told him, “That is not a vocation but that is an escapism. That is a convenience you are searching for. In such a situation, if you join the ministry and somehow become a priest, you will be a bad priest. You will be the worst priest, committing all kinds of sins.”

So that is not a vocation. It is also possible that wrong people might join the priestly ministry for their wrong planning.

You should examine your conscience and see what is your strong desire. Whether you have a strong desire for priestly ministry. A desire to become a priest does not mean that you should hate family life.

Only a person who loves family life, is eligible to go for priestly life. A person who loves to have a family life, but at the same time, more than that, has a strong desire to lead a priestly ministry, is eligible to become a priest.

But those who hate family life and want to become a priest then it’s not a proper vocation. 

It is very important that if anyone has got an intention to become a priest, start praying for it. Start praying every day. 

Whatever prayers or novenas that you believe in, use it and start praying. So that God may realise it. Fr. remembers when he was small and he used to pray.

He used to say, so many prayers for that intention very sincerely. Though later stages he did not pray much for it. But he had a desire for it. 

He remembers after his tenth grade, when he was about to start his future career, this desire to become a priest came so strongly and took control of him. Then he decided to become a priest.

How come this desire suddenly came from nowhere and took control of him? It is because the Lord had heard all his prayers, which he had made when he was very small.

God was just waiting for the right moment and at the right moment, God intervened in his life and helped him to take the right decision. 

A strong decision inspite of the opposition from his father That is what made him a priest. Fr. is now standing in front of us without any regrets. 

When you listen to these things, you might think Fr. was called and inspired to become a priest from his childhood as he was praying. 

We were also praying for it, but we do not have any such desire from our childhood. Only recently it started. So, is it a true sign of a vocation to the priesthood? There are so many people who ask Fr. this.

As an answer, Fr remembers his own brother, (the youngest) who is also a priest. He is a Jesuit. When Fr. was in the seminary, this brother was very small and was in school.

Whenever Fr. met him, on holidays or a vacation to his house, and asked him, “Do you want to become a priest?” His answer used to be, “No way”.

He used to say, “No way, I will become a priest”. He wanted to move around and play with his friends. He used to go for football and all the other sports – even when he completed his 10^th grade and passed the exam.

When he was to decide his future and was supposed to go and join the university, then again Fr. asked him, “Do you have a desire?” Even before Fr. could complete the sentence, he said, “No way am I interested in it”.

That’s how he used to respond to Fr. But when he was in college, he had some friends who were ex-Jesuits and also had connections with Jesuits. 

He being in the same college with them, suddenly, he had the desire to become a priest and then he joined the Jesuit congregation and he is a priest now.

It was all of a sudden. No one in the family ever expected anything like this. In Fr.’s family everyone knew that Fr. had a strong desire to become a priest. So, anyway they were expecting it.

Fr. was moving around telling everyone that he wants to become a priest from his childhood. But his brother never told anyone. It was sudden and very fast in his life. He became a priest and he is doing well as a Jesuit priest. 

We need to remember that the desire can come in the early age or in the later moments of your life. 

Maybe all throughout your life you have desired to have a family life. You might have had so many connections, friendships and all these things. Then suddenly you decide or have a strong desire to become a priest. This is also a proper vocation. 

He says, in the early Church, the apostles were all called at the last moment. Except John, who was young. But most of the others were seniors and God called them to that vocation.

There are different aspects and different things to discuss. But one thing we should remember – if we want to become a priest or join a religious convent, there are so many religious congregations in the World.

For the female congregations, there are different types of congregations available. Some are very strict congregations. Some are medium strict congregations. Some are with an active ministry.

These are not strict in their practices. But the rules are very strict. At the same time, they go out to the communities and in the marketplaces and everywhere. They also work among the people.  Their rules and regulations are different. 

But there are congregations who never go out of the convent. They are always in prayer activities. They work and they do have games and all those things but they stay inside the Convent.

There are many different types of religious congregations with different charisms. So, you need to discern before you select any convent. You should know what is your charism. 

There are some congregations who are in the preaching ministry for those who are very good in preaching. 

Some are very good in taking care of the poor. So, you have to see for these congregations if our charism is taking care of the poor. For e.g. Mother Teresa nuns the – The Daughters of Charity’.

There are so many congregations, who take care of the poor and are specialized in certain places. 

Some congregations run hospitals and clinics. Some run schools and colleges. Education is their charism. 

There are so many religious congregations like this. So, you have to discern first which charism you are interested in and accordingly select a congregation for your religious life.

Priests: There are three types of Priestly Ministries. There are Monks. Then there are Religious Priests and the Parish Priests. 

Monks are in a Monastery. They have community life and they have strict rules and regulations. Monks hardly go out and mostly they spend their time in prayer.

Especially Benedictine order and the Franciscan order. There are so many other orders which are very strict and at the same time they do the priestly ministry in their own field.

There are also priests who are religious priests and do active ministry. They go outside. They work among different departments, societies and different parts of communities.

For e.g. They go for Missionary work in different countries and maybe running schools and colleges and helping in education. Some are into social work and many other activities.

There are so many religious priests who are working as Parish priests. They are called diocesan priests. They live in one particular diocese. 

For e.g. Darren has joined the Southampton diocese and he studies there. He will be appointed in one of the parishes. There, he will be transferred and sometimes with the permission of the bishops he may be sent to different parish missions of the diocese.

The main charism of the parish priests of the diocesan is taking care of the parishes, helping the parishes and the parishioners. So, there is a difference between religious priest and parish priest.

Religious priests always take three vows i.e. poverty, obedience and chastity. Fr. Joseph is a religious priest, so they take these vows.

But the parish priests normally, take the vow of obedience and chastity. They do not have the vow of poverty.

So, that is why we see some parish priest have their own car or their own house. They have their own business, own properties, own material things. 

Religious priests do not have these things personally for them. They may have for the religious house, but personally they do not have any property.

Parish priests do have properties and all the things because they are allowed to have it.

Many people complain, “There are so many priests who are leading a simple life. They don’t have any car or any property of their own. They are not involved in any business.”

“But my parish priest has got a very expensive car. He has his own house. He has his own property. He has a very expensive mobile phone. Why is it like this? Why is he not practicing poverty?”

Fr has heard many people asking these questions. He. says, “If we ask such questions, it shows our ignorance about priestly life and set-up.”

Parish priests who are working in different parishes and who are under a diocese, only take the vow of obedience to the bishop, and the vow of chastity as they have to be leading a celibate life. 

But they don’t take the vow of poverty. They can have property. They can have their own possessions. 

They can have their own material things with the permission of the bishop. They can have their own business, whatever that they want to have.  That is how the diocesan priest’s life is. 

But a religious priest lives in a community. Whatever they have, it belongs to the community and not for their personal use.

Any money that they use (even for personal use or the pocket money), they have to give an account. They have to give an account of everything, even their own money that they spend.

That is why they call it the vow of poverty. Poverty means they are accountable for everything throughout their life. They cannot have anything of their own, without permission. If they get permission, then well and good.

But without permission, they cannot have anything. They have to give an account even of their personal pocket money. If they have some coffee on the way, they have to give an account of that too, to the administrator of the community.

So that’s how the religious life works and these are the differences. These are the basic things that Fr. wants to share with us about the priestly ministry and religious life.

Many people complain as to why the religious nuns always have to wear the habit and the priests do not wear the cassock; why the priests are moving around wearing shirt and pants and the nuns wearing the habit?

Each congregation has individual charisms, individual rules and regulations. There are so many religious women’s congregations. They do not have any strict rules. 

Some congregations can wear any dress they want. They can wear churidars, sarees or any other dress they want, like secular people. They have no problem. Because their rules and regulations are like that.

Some other congregations have to wear a habit. Therefore, they wear the habit always. So, it is up to you to decide. If you do not want to wear the habit in public, then select your congregation accordingly, where the habit is not compulsory.

For the priests, there are some congregations, (e.g. Franciscans), where they have to wear the habit always. But for other congregations, there is no rule for them to wear the habit always.

It is not a common rule for everyone. It is all according to individual congregation’s rules. That is why we see this difference. Therefore, before we judge anybody, we have to understand the reality of the rules and regulation of each congregation.

That is why we see many priests like the Franciscans, who are always with the habit. Because that is how their rule is.

But we hardly see the diocesan priests, with their cassocks or the habit. Because there is no rule for them. In the same way some women congregations, also wear what they want. Because there is no rule for them about their habit. 

There are so many things that the lay people need to understand about the priestly and religious life. Due to lack of understanding and knowledge about the priestly ministry and religious life, many people criticize priests and nuns.

Without any basis, without even understanding the proper set of rules of the priestly life, people just blame them. That is why, Fr. wanted to give some clarities about the priesthood and religious ministry.

So, all the people and youngsters who would like to join the priestly ministry or priestly vocation are most welcome.

You can send a message on the Whatsapp number 0044-7474787870 and express your desire to become a priest or nun. The Divine Retreat Centre will follow it up and give you the proper guidance that you need.

Transcribed by Greta Furtado