I remember a time when my wife and I were talking to an elderly priest in my family. My wife asked about his vocation story, and he almost seemed confused by the question. I think that for a priest of his vintage (WWII vet who went to the seminary right after being discharged) it seemed odd to expect some kind of big story. He replied th…
I remember a time when my wife and I were talking to an elderly priest in my family. My wife asked about his vocation story, and he almost seemed confused by the question. I think that for a priest of his vintage (WWII vet who went to the seminary right after being discharged) it seemed odd to expect some kind of big story. He replied that the faith had always been important in their home growing up and that he had felt a draw to being a pries, and that while he was in the war he decided it was what he would do. That was it. It was as if we had asked "what's the story of why you became an accountant/union carpenter/receptionist/etc..." and expected an earth-shattering story.
Turns out that living the faith on a daily basis makes a difference...who would have predicted?
I've heard similar from priests of that era. Met an old Irish priest once and he simply came from a devout family and they went to an ordination of a Dominican Priest when he was young and after the Mass he told his parents he was going to be a Dominican Priest and that was that, and then he did
I remember a time when my wife and I were talking to an elderly priest in my family. My wife asked about his vocation story, and he almost seemed confused by the question. I think that for a priest of his vintage (WWII vet who went to the seminary right after being discharged) it seemed odd to expect some kind of big story. He replied that the faith had always been important in their home growing up and that he had felt a draw to being a pries, and that while he was in the war he decided it was what he would do. That was it. It was as if we had asked "what's the story of why you became an accountant/union carpenter/receptionist/etc..." and expected an earth-shattering story.
Turns out that living the faith on a daily basis makes a difference...who would have predicted?
I want a collection of stories like that one. Just to counteract the others a bit.
I've heard similar from priests of that era. Met an old Irish priest once and he simply came from a devout family and they went to an ordination of a Dominican Priest when he was young and after the Mass he told his parents he was going to be a Dominican Priest and that was that, and then he did
I have heard substantially the same from a Filipino priest. I think non-Western Catholic cultures still function this way.