God’s will is everything. Just seek the Lord and His righteousness. Offer your will. If He asks you to do
anything, it may include giving up all.

The priesthood is something that flowed out of prior Christian living, often in a monastic or community experience, usually unsought because the fear of God in them knew that they were absolutely unworthy.

Try the monastery first, or some thoroughly dedicated community living. Its available. “If you build it, they will come!”

God bless you.

College isn’t everything!

What happened to finding a person of good repute in the parish, one who lives the Faith in numerous ways (giving, deeds of charity, participation in the Sacraments, etc.) and interviewing that person with the eye to ordination?

I’ll tell you something, Carson. If I wanted to, I could write a doctrinal dissertation right now that would look like I have been through 4 years of seminary. I think a good idea for this would be “Theosis in East and West — A synthesis of Western Covenantalism and Eastern Hesyachist praxis”

It would be good, I tell ya!!

Anyway, we lost Fr. Mike today. He feel asleep in the Lord this afternoon.

Now what?

I get the feeling that he had been a burr under the saddle of the bishop, and I am concerned over what the bishop’s plans are for St. Ann’s.

This could git ugly before it all shakes out.

Brother Ed

I don’t know what happened to the edit feature but I entered this before I was through and now can’t edit.

In all fairness, I do have an application but I too find it hard to imagine that I must spend the rest of my active life getting more education. There are several things I need to learn but three more years at the seminary seems a bit much.

The seminary will probably adjust this for my case but I don’t know.

Not to be maudlin but in a few years our bodies will be dust. Our ordinations won’t mean anything anymore.

CDL

We have a seminary filled to the brim with more faculty than students. I think our priorities are screwed up. I’m 59 with a BA, MA, MDiv, ABD, and 27 years of pastoral experience. Yet, I think you to be as qualified as I am.

I don’t know why our heirarchs don’t want our Church to grow; don’t want new churches planted; don’t want more clergy. I just don’t understand it.

I just shrug my shoulders and keep plugging along.

CDL

I am a convert to the Faith and an older man. My needs are small, my family is grown, and I am pretty much free to do what I want to do.

And what I want to do with all my heart is to serve the Lord.

I do have the priviledge of being an altar server at this time, and I am blessed to be allowed to do this, but it has only whetted my appetite for more.

Look, I’m 57 years old. Even if I get the Biblical threescore and ten years, I only have 13 years left!!!!

What do I want to spend my time doing….wasting time chasing the vanities of life, accumulating riches that will not go into the grave with me, pampering myself in a self-indulgent frenzy called “retirement”?

No…..death awaits us all and life is like the dew in the morning which is quickly gone with the first rays of the sun.

As a convert, I had to study — and I mean STUDY HARD — to overcome my prejudices against the Church and understand the Faith so that I could make that decision to enter Her 5 years ago. I have been told my a couple of people that I know more about the Bible and about the Faith than 95% of the parishoners in our parish. God has given me a good mind and I like to use it. I love reading, studying, and learning.

But because I don’t have a BA from some secular college, I can’t even enter the seminary. That means that I would have to wait almost 10 years before even thinking of becoming a full fledged priest.

I’m sorry if this is offensive, but in light of the terrible shortage we have of priests I can only think of one word —

S*T*U*P*I*D!!!

Should a secular education be the only frame of reference for the priesthood? What of a life which eschews sin, a life which is faithful to the Liturgy and the Sacraments, an ability to defend the Faith against heresy? What about the ability to teach others? (I have been told that I can take complicated subject matter and make it understandable).

If God would call me, I would put the house up for sale tommorrow and GO!!!

But I’m not qualified :-(

Brother Ed

Ah, you have a burr in your bonnet. What is causing it we won’t guess. However, while there seems to be a great resentment by some against converts, I’d just like you to know that I was never Latin Catholic. I am, however, a convert. I’m grateful that the cradles and former converts kept the Church alive for us.

CDL

Sam

Dr. Eric