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Why I Am a Priest: Thirty Success Stories
If someone says, "I want to be a doctor" or "I want to be a teacher," we understand them, even if not doctors or teachers ourselves. But if someone says, "I want to be a priest," we feel transported to foreign, even mystical territory. In this fascinating collection, priests explain why they became priests and why they're still active today. Their answers help lower the veil of mystery around the vocation and make it more real and understandable. With essays by Walter Burghardt, George Higgins, Frank McNulty, Eugene La Verdiere, and others, the collection includes both "born" priests and those who came late to the calling. Their "jobs" range from missionary to administrator, canon lawyer to spiritual director, chaplain to theologian. Each essay candidly reveals as much about the state of the priesthood as about the individual. Together they provide an honest look at the vocation's contemporary problems, such as the shortage of priests, social justice, issues of leadership, the changing role of the laity, and more. All clergy and religious, seminarians, spiritual directors, vocation directors, and high school guidance counselors will find this title very useful. It's also interesting reading for lay people simply curious about the priesthood.
160 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2000
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April 27, 2025
THIRTY BRIEF WRITTEN ACCOUNTS PROVIDING A VARIETY OF PERSPECTIVES
Co-Editor Lawrence Boadt (who with coeditor Michael Hunt is affiliated with Paulist Press; both are also priests) wrote in the Introduction to this 1999 book, “There seems to be no question more hotly debated among Catholics than ‘What is happening to priests and the priesthood today?’ It has become the topic of debates on the national news and of sensational features about priests who have failed in their personal lives or their pastoral responsibilities. It has generated agonized soul-searching over the declining numbers of priests and a growing dismay over the shortage of vocations because of the inevitable long-term effects this will have on keeping parishes alive. Not to mention that in many quarters, there is heated anger generated by the subject of ordaining women to the priesthood.
“One of the great dangers from an unrelenting diet of these issues for the church … is that the true spiritual center and daily work of being church becomes obscured and neglected in our awareness by concentrating on such mainly organizational aspects that feed into journalistic interests of conflict and controversy. We begin to visualize being Catholic as being part of social phenomenon revealed largely in media events, rather than as being PRIMARILY the action of God and a life of grace.” (Pg. vii)
“No piece of the church’s identity has suffered more in this shift of focus from spirituality to sociology than the role of the priesthood… In the ever mounting discussion about the priest today, the spiritual dimension is often forgotten. And yet I cannot think of a single one of my fellow priests who I have met … who did not see his commitment first and foremost as service to God’s people, together with personal growth as a servant of Christ in his own life. As imperfectly as they may later embody either or both of these ideals, they did choose them with an open and generous heart when they became priests. It is imperative that we do not forget this vital quality of what being a priest really means to the one who exercises it---and to the church as a community of faith, hope and love of God…” (Pg. viii)
This short book gathers the witness of a wide variety of priests who are able to share with the reader their insights into being a priest, their identities, their awareness of weakness, their hopes and dreams. Because they write about themselves, their stories reveal that some very ordinary but dedicated people can find a way both to follow Christ in a present difficult age and bring an awareness of his love to others….” (Pg. ix)
“Perhaps no aspect of the priesthood is so under question and in need of priests’ own testimony than why they are willing to undertake the life of celibacy for the service of the church. While not producing a ‘tell-all’ tabloid story about the daily struggles of their sexuality, the priests in this volume clearly reveal how their decision for celibacy influences and animates their priesthood…” (Pg. x)
“Finally, no priest in these stories or elsewhere claims that his priestly vocation has ever made him perfect nor even that it has helped him to be a more spiritually mature person than anyone else. A spirit of humble awareness of a priest’s faults and limitations, his capacity for evil as great as anyone’s, is a true thread among these essays… Father Robert Rausch has suggested that a distinctive priestly spirituality should encompass four qualities: prayerfulness, leadership, participation and service. I believe you will discover that this description is well borne out in the following personal reflections by thirty fully contemporary and fully dedicated priests.” (Pg. x-xi)
Robert F. Morneau acknowledges, “Being a priest today is not without its anguished moments. My heart trembles with I see the gap between what I preach and how I live the gospel. Then there are days (sometimes seasons) when celebrating the sacraments is perfunctory, lacking joy and enthusiasm. Calling people together for prayer and ministry, knowing full well the pockets of division and conflict, causes stress. Inviting others to serve and getting a response from only a few can be discouraging. Yet the dark side of Christianity in no way diminishes the worthwhileness of the priestly ministry. In fact, it is precisely in the ‘cross’---the apparent failures and frustrations and brokenness---that an opportunity is offered to draw closer to the Lord.” (Pg. 70)
James McCullough recounts that while at Gannon College (a Catholic college), “I met the girl of my dreams… Yet, though I did love her, marriage didn’t seem quite enough for me; I wanted more… [One day] the college chaplain asked him, “What are you going to do with your life?” “I muttered something about having two possible careers in mind, the miliary or teaching. What I didn’t tell him was that in the back of my mind I was thinking that if neither of these satisfied me I might then, and only then, try priesthood… He probed again, ‘And what then?’ ‘Probably get married, have kids and enjoy life,’ I answered. ‘And then what?’ he continued. ‘I suppose I’ll die; everyone does,’ I retorted. ‘Yes,’ he said rather pointedly, ‘and then what?’ Now I was getting… more than a bit uncomfortable, I blurted out, ‘Hopefully I’ll get to spend eternity in heaven.'; ‘And are you going to take anyone there with you?’ he asked. That question stunned me… When I left his office that night, in my heart I knew I was done in. All my resistance to priesthood was dead. I had come to a decision.” (Pg. 85-86)
Donald B. Cozzens explains, “Why do I remain a priest? I regularly ask priests who have chosen to step away from ministry to help me understand why they are leaving… The reasons for leaving active ministry really aren’t many, but they are complex. Most often they are personal: the overwhelming discovery that they are in love, the persistent feeling that they are called to marriage and fatherhood, the almost unbearable sting of loneliness, the acknowledgement that the priesthood no longer makes sense to them, the boneweariness of worry and work that saps reserves of energy and leaves the priest spent and confused. Sometimes the reasons are theological in nature---the church’s position on issues relating to women or ecclesiologies that challenge their sense of priestly identity. Seldom is it an issue of belief---belief in God or in the church. In one way or another, personally and professionally, they are struggling to maintain their integrity. Very few leave in bad faith.” (Pg. 108)
This book will be of great interest for those seeking a ‘positive’ perspective on the contemporary Catholic priest.
Co-Editor Lawrence Boadt (who with coeditor Michael Hunt is affiliated with Paulist Press; both are also priests) wrote in the Introduction to this 1999 book, “There seems to be no question more hotly debated among Catholics than ‘What is happening to priests and the priesthood today?’ It has become the topic of debates on the national news and of sensational features about priests who have failed in their personal lives or their pastoral responsibilities. It has generated agonized soul-searching over the declining numbers of priests and a growing dismay over the shortage of vocations because of the inevitable long-term effects this will have on keeping parishes alive. Not to mention that in many quarters, there is heated anger generated by the subject of ordaining women to the priesthood.
“One of the great dangers from an unrelenting diet of these issues for the church … is that the true spiritual center and daily work of being church becomes obscured and neglected in our awareness by concentrating on such mainly organizational aspects that feed into journalistic interests of conflict and controversy. We begin to visualize being Catholic as being part of social phenomenon revealed largely in media events, rather than as being PRIMARILY the action of God and a life of grace.” (Pg. vii)
“No piece of the church’s identity has suffered more in this shift of focus from spirituality to sociology than the role of the priesthood… In the ever mounting discussion about the priest today, the spiritual dimension is often forgotten. And yet I cannot think of a single one of my fellow priests who I have met … who did not see his commitment first and foremost as service to God’s people, together with personal growth as a servant of Christ in his own life. As imperfectly as they may later embody either or both of these ideals, they did choose them with an open and generous heart when they became priests. It is imperative that we do not forget this vital quality of what being a priest really means to the one who exercises it---and to the church as a community of faith, hope and love of God…” (Pg. viii)
This short book gathers the witness of a wide variety of priests who are able to share with the reader their insights into being a priest, their identities, their awareness of weakness, their hopes and dreams. Because they write about themselves, their stories reveal that some very ordinary but dedicated people can find a way both to follow Christ in a present difficult age and bring an awareness of his love to others….” (Pg. ix)
“Perhaps no aspect of the priesthood is so under question and in need of priests’ own testimony than why they are willing to undertake the life of celibacy for the service of the church. While not producing a ‘tell-all’ tabloid story about the daily struggles of their sexuality, the priests in this volume clearly reveal how their decision for celibacy influences and animates their priesthood…” (Pg. x)
“Finally, no priest in these stories or elsewhere claims that his priestly vocation has ever made him perfect nor even that it has helped him to be a more spiritually mature person than anyone else. A spirit of humble awareness of a priest’s faults and limitations, his capacity for evil as great as anyone’s, is a true thread among these essays… Father Robert Rausch has suggested that a distinctive priestly spirituality should encompass four qualities: prayerfulness, leadership, participation and service. I believe you will discover that this description is well borne out in the following personal reflections by thirty fully contemporary and fully dedicated priests.” (Pg. x-xi)
Robert F. Morneau acknowledges, “Being a priest today is not without its anguished moments. My heart trembles with I see the gap between what I preach and how I live the gospel. Then there are days (sometimes seasons) when celebrating the sacraments is perfunctory, lacking joy and enthusiasm. Calling people together for prayer and ministry, knowing full well the pockets of division and conflict, causes stress. Inviting others to serve and getting a response from only a few can be discouraging. Yet the dark side of Christianity in no way diminishes the worthwhileness of the priestly ministry. In fact, it is precisely in the ‘cross’---the apparent failures and frustrations and brokenness---that an opportunity is offered to draw closer to the Lord.” (Pg. 70)
James McCullough recounts that while at Gannon College (a Catholic college), “I met the girl of my dreams… Yet, though I did love her, marriage didn’t seem quite enough for me; I wanted more… [One day] the college chaplain asked him, “What are you going to do with your life?” “I muttered something about having two possible careers in mind, the miliary or teaching. What I didn’t tell him was that in the back of my mind I was thinking that if neither of these satisfied me I might then, and only then, try priesthood… He probed again, ‘And what then?’ ‘Probably get married, have kids and enjoy life,’ I answered. ‘And then what?’ he continued. ‘I suppose I’ll die; everyone does,’ I retorted. ‘Yes,’ he said rather pointedly, ‘and then what?’ Now I was getting… more than a bit uncomfortable, I blurted out, ‘Hopefully I’ll get to spend eternity in heaven.'; ‘And are you going to take anyone there with you?’ he asked. That question stunned me… When I left his office that night, in my heart I knew I was done in. All my resistance to priesthood was dead. I had come to a decision.” (Pg. 85-86)
Donald B. Cozzens explains, “Why do I remain a priest? I regularly ask priests who have chosen to step away from ministry to help me understand why they are leaving… The reasons for leaving active ministry really aren’t many, but they are complex. Most often they are personal: the overwhelming discovery that they are in love, the persistent feeling that they are called to marriage and fatherhood, the almost unbearable sting of loneliness, the acknowledgement that the priesthood no longer makes sense to them, the boneweariness of worry and work that saps reserves of energy and leaves the priest spent and confused. Sometimes the reasons are theological in nature---the church’s position on issues relating to women or ecclesiologies that challenge their sense of priestly identity. Seldom is it an issue of belief---belief in God or in the church. In one way or another, personally and professionally, they are struggling to maintain their integrity. Very few leave in bad faith.” (Pg. 108)
This book will be of great interest for those seeking a ‘positive’ perspective on the contemporary Catholic priest.
August 5, 2008
This book really shows the diversity in vocation stories. Really interesting.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews