I'm studying to become a Catholic Priest.

[BurnItDwn]

I am of the non belief structure so I will not pray for you.

However, I will gladly wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.

Also, I would like to comment that it's nice reading an intelligent point of view.

I *think* a lot of the religion bashing comes as a result of of those who discount science in favor of strict interpretation of certain books of the bible (or simply that many nonreligious folks are really crabby .... lol.) People bash religion because of the "god hates fags" people that protest at funerals of fallen soldiers. People bash religion because a few truly evil people take over the media spotlight.....

 

[Fourier Transform]

Good luck!

 

[Homerboy]

Originally posted by: tagej
Can't wait for the inevitable childish religion bashing posts from some ignorant folks....

Congratulations to you and I applaud your courage/conviction to follow the path ahead.

Ya never know, perhaps in a few years I might see you on Sundays in my neck of the woods

Exactly. Heaven forbid people have differing views of the world around them.

Originally posted by: TheTony

Originally posted by: Kalvin00

Originally posted by: TheTony

Originally posted by: Kalvin00
Sorry, but either you believe in Science or you believe in the Bible.

The two are not reconcilable. You are merely overlooking parts of the Bible in order to think you're science minded.

Originally posted by: Viper0329
Too often does pride become the central root of conversation and debate.

Care to add anything to the thread, or are you just trolling through?

Oh, the irony...

You saw that too?

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: Viper0329

Originally posted by: jjones
Congrats. Have fun with the celibacy thing.

I have to be quite honest--celibacy is amazing!

You know what else is amazing? Hot sex with a woman. I've tried that celibacy thing when I was a teenager and I didn't find it too amazing myself. In fact I found it rather agonizing.

Anyways good luck, the Church can use some good priests to help it's image.:thumbsup:

 

[Azraele]

Interesting post. I'd be curious to know your stance on God? How big a role does He play in your day to day life?

And if my question could result in religion bashing, etc, just answer me in pm.

 

[amish]

good luck. i hope you accomplish all of your endeavors. you are a better catholic than i.

 

[manlymatt83]

Originally posted by: tagej
Can't wait for the inevitable childish religion bashing posts from some ignorant folks....

Congratulations to you and I applaud your courage/conviction to follow the path ahead.

Ya never know, perhaps in a few years I might see you on Sundays in my neck of the woods

 

[Viper0329]

Originally posted by: Mucho
Good luck on your endeavor.

Isn't the priesthood a refuge for tortured souls and deviants? One question I've always wanted to ask a Catholic priest.

From first hand experience in the seminary and knowing many men who have journeyed through it, I have to say that the answer is overwhelmingly no. The vast majority of men who study for the priesthood have a genuine love for people and want nothing more than to serve them in an imitation of Jesus Christ.

There are a few exceptions to this case, though, as there are men in formation who in reality aren't called to the priesthood. That is what seminaries are ideally supposed to do though. They are supposed to help men truly discern their call to priesthood and if they are suitable for it. It's no secret that this hasn't always been the case though. In reality, some are going to slip through.

 

[allisolm]

Congratulations on having found your vocation or on it having found you. It's wonderful that you will get to study in Rome and I hope that the joy you seem to radiate now will continue to grow stronger always.

 

[Homerboy]

Originally posted by: Azraele
Interesting post. I'd be curious to know your stance on God? How big a role does He play in your day to day life?

And if my question could result in religion bashing, etc, just answer me in pm.

If he;s going to be a priest I'd hope God plays a fairly significant roll in his day to day life.

 

[Viper0329]

Originally posted by: Kalvin00
Sorry, but either you believe in Science or you believe in the Bible.

The two are not reconcilable. You are merely overlooking parts of the Bible in order to think you're science minded.

I can only infer here, as I don't have much information, but I am going to go out on a limb and say that our conflicting points of view come from different interpretations of Scripture. And, for the purposes of this thread, I'd like to leave it at that. From what I can infer and please do correct me if I am wrong, you interpret Scripture literally, whereas I do not. That's just fine. We won't always agree, and I'm not trying to change what you believe.

 

[Viper0329]

Originally posted by: Astaroth33

Originally posted by: Viper0329

Originally posted by: jjones
Congrats. Have fun with the celibacy thing.

I have to be quite honest--celibacy is amazing! Although most people look at it as being a negative thing (no sex, no mutually exclusive relationship, etc), it's an incredible gift for those who wish to receive it. I've never felt so joyful or truly fulfilled in all my life, and I'm just beginning to experience what celibacy has to offer! It's helped me to come to understand myself and the nature of human relationships in an entirely new way. It's definitely not for everyone, but it's a blessing for the priesthood.

This is an excellent example of what we generally call "drinking the kool-aid". Still, best of luck to you...

I'm not familiar with the expression "drinking the kool-aid." I can think of several meanings, but I'd like to hear yours.

 

[ITJunkie]

Jeff,

I wish you nothing but the best in your endeavors. Going by your post, I think you will make an excellent priest and if your viewpoints can gain a broader acceptance than I may actually return to the church that I left so many years ago.

Good Luck,

~Bill

 

[dennilfloss]

That expression harkens back to the Jonestown mass 'suicide'.

One lasting legacy of the Jonestown tragedy is the saying, ?Don?t drink the Kool-Aid.? This has come to mean, "Don?t trust any group you find to be a little on the kooky side." Of course, you would have to know of Kool-Aid?s dubious connection to Jim Jones to understand the proverb.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones

 

[zinfamous]

GL.

it's nice to see you have a strong philosophy background. just don't be too sad when you're forced to throw your finely tuned logical reasoning skills out the door


EIDT: no bashing intended. My mother is an ordained minister, and I have nothing but respect for her and what she does

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Viper0329

Originally posted by: jjones
Congrats. Have fun with the celibacy thing.

I have to be quite honest--celibacy is amazing!

You know what else is amazing? Hot sex with a woman. I've tried that celibacy thing when I was a teenager and I didn't find it too amazing myself. In fact I found it rather agonizing.

Anyways good luck, the Church can use some good priests to help it's image.:thumbsup:

You can remember that far back? There must be a god.

Anyways, someone said you either believe that a big bang created the earth or god did. What about god creating the big bang?

Also, about this no sex deal, does that mean masturbation is also off limits?

 

[Viper0329]

Originally posted by: Yreka
So does the whole celibacy thing include.... whacking the bag around ?

Yes, it does. The issue of celibacy encompasses the whole of human sexuality, and therefore, the entire human person. Celibacy's goal is to express human sexuality in a manner that reflects the value of the gift of personhood and to return this gift, in its purity and entirety to God.

I do understand that many, many people, including a great number of Catholics, don't understand or believe the Church's teachings on sexuality, but that's for another discussion.

 

[zinfamous]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought celibacy was an uninteded offshoot of pope whatshisface's declaration (~400 AD or later) that priests could no longer marry. This pissed off the preisthood at the time, of course, but the Church's intent was to keep money wihtin the church, rather than have the fortunes of a recently-deceased priest pass on to their kin.

Seems to me that the intent of preventing marriage, and eventually celibacy, was not scriptural based but power-based. It worked..the Catholic church is rich as piss

 

[Viper0329]

Originally posted by: Azraele
Interesting post. I'd be curious to know your stance on God? How big a role does He play in your day to day life?

And if my question could result in religion bashing, etc, just answer me in pm.

I think the question might be rather helpful to some people, so I'll keep it in the main thread for the time being.

I'm not sure what you mean in your question on my stance on God, but the easiest way for me to sum up my beliefs is to say that I believe what is written in the Nicene Creed.

In my day to day life, God is the main role. I could approach this from several different ways, but I'll take "day to day" to mean practically. Perhaps the easiest thing is my prayer life. Ideally, my prayer life is the main offices of the Liturgy of the Hours, a rosary, an hour of Eucharistic Adoration, daily Mass, about 30 minutes of Lectio Divina (read Scripture), and perhaps some other spiritual reading. That, however, is an ideal and is hard to keep outside the disciplines of seminary life. But I do keep most of them each day.

Outside of a structured prayer life, I work to live my life as many other people. When I'm not in school, I hang out with friends (both guys and girls), drink a beer every now and then, catch up on news, read ATOT every once in a while, fish, hunt, study, etc. I'm not quite sure what else to put here. I'm a normal guy who has more friends than I can count and love to live life to the fullest.

Each day, however, is devoted to service. I do what I can to help out people who need it, and I work to ensure that it's all done in the form of charity.

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: Viper0329
The issue of celibacy encompasses the whole of human sexuality, and therefore, the entire human person. Celibacy's goal is to express human sexuality in a manner that reflects the value of the gift of personhood and to return this gift, in its purity and entirety to God.

I do understand that many, many people, including a great number of Catholics, don't understand or believe the Church's teachings on sexuality, but that's for another discussion.

Does God require priests to be celibate, or does the Church? If it is a requirement of the Church (as stated by zinfamous) per papal decree, then is not the whole idea a perversion of the teachings of Jesus Christ? Or does the Church rationalize their way around this?

 

[Viper0329]

Originally posted by: dennilfloss
That expression harkens back to the Jonestown mass 'suicide'.

One lasting legacy of the Jonestown tragedy is the saying, ?Don?t drink the Kool-Aid.? This has come to mean, "Don?t trust any group you find to be a little on the kooky side." Of course, you would have to know of Kool-Aid?s dubious connection to Jim Jones to understand the proverb.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones

Originally posted by: zinfamous
GL.

it's nice to see you have a strong philosophy background. just don't be too sad when you're forced to throw your finely tuned logical reasoning skills out the door


EIDT: no bashing intended. My mother is an ordained minister, and I have nothing but respect for her and what she does

No bashing taken. To both, I'll answer that I will never let my reason leave me. The gift of intellect and reason is what makes us human. To deny and completely avoid it is just plain stupid. Philosophy changed my life, and I'll forever be a student of it.

There are times that it's hard to reason through Theology, that much I can already attest to, but I've vowed to never let my balance of faith and reason be off kilter.

John Paul II's Fides et Ratio is a great read for those who wish to know how the Church balances Faith and Reason.

 

[Viper0329]

Originally posted by: Astaroth33

Originally posted by: Viper0329
The issue of celibacy encompasses the whole of human sexuality, and therefore, the entire human person. Celibacy's goal is to express human sexuality in a manner that reflects the value of the gift of personhood and to return this gift, in its purity and entirety to God.

I do understand that many, many people, including a great number of Catholics, don't understand or believe the Church's teachings on sexuality, but that's for another discussion.

Does God require priests to be celibate, or does the Church? If it is a requirement of the Church (as stated by zinfamous) per papal decree, then is not the whole idea a perversion of the teachings of Jesus Christ? Or does the Church rationalize their way around this?

If one looks back at Church history, it is evident that the topic of celibacy was not always required for priests and clergy. However, priestly celibacy ultimately stems from the model of Jesus Christ (who we believe lived a celibate life), Scripture, and the teachings of the Early Church Fathers.

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: Viper0329

Originally posted by: Astaroth33

Originally posted by: Viper0329
The issue of celibacy encompasses the whole of human sexuality, and therefore, the entire human person. Celibacy's goal is to express human sexuality in a manner that reflects the value of the gift of personhood and to return this gift, in its purity and entirety to God.

I do understand that many, many people, including a great number of Catholics, don't understand or believe the Church's teachings on sexuality, but that's for another discussion.

Does God require priests to be celibate, or does the Church? If it is a requirement of the Church (as stated by zinfamous) per papal decree, then is not the whole idea a perversion of the teachings of Jesus Christ? Or does the Church rationalize their way around this?

If one looks back at Church history, it is evident that the topic of celibacy was not always required for priests and clergy. However, priestly celibacy ultimately stems from the model of Jesus Christ (who we believe lived a celibate life), Scripture, and the teachings of the Early Church Fathers.

Out of curiosity, what is the evidence that Jesus Christ actually did live a celibate life?

 

[markgm]

Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Out of curiosity, what is the evidence that Jesus Christ actually did live a celibate life?

I never understand questions such as these. What would be the answer that would satisfy your curiosity? It's all a matter of faith. The Church teaches that Jesus was celibate, and so that's what a Catholic would include as part of his or her faith.

 

[Auggie]

Astaroth, Jesus constantly made references to the Apostles from the standpoint of being a groomsman, married to his people. Thrown in with Paul's assertion that the ideal state for a man to serve God is unmarried and celibate - it really wouldn't make sense for Jesus to have married.

There is no evidence that Jesus had a wife.

In fact, the only "evidence" that he did, comes from the Gnostic sects that by a few centuries after Christ's time had already broken off from the original Apostolic churches. Consider that the Gnostics, as part of their faith foundation, needed to see Jesus as more human than God, and it makes sense that they began writing that Jesus was married. But it's important to identify the logical basis that Gnostics had for needing Jesus to be married before weighting their "evidence."

This all being said, celibacy IS rewarding, and awe-inspiring. A priest that hasn't closed off his love to a wife and family, but instead opened up equal love and dedication to all members of his community is able to do so much more in his role as spiritual leader. Our society's view of sexuality is simply not compatible with what we as Catholics believe real love to be about. In society's view, celibacy is pointless, frustrating, a lonely dead-end. But that's okay - we've always been (even back to the days of Christ himself) called to live our lives as "signs of contradiction." Talk to Viper in another 40 years and get his take on the issue then - see if it's ruined his life or caused him horrible depression.