Very good analysis. Priestly vocations, like military recruitment, are often affected by parental influence. There is no way I would support any of my sons pursuing diocesan priesthood if I thought they had a vocation. They would be entering an environment either hostile or indifferent to tradition and managed by mostly lavender bishops. One might reasonably wonder if God, displeased by the effeminate mainstream Church, is permitting the rite of Paul VI to die a slow death by starving it of good priests.
I think most parents who let their sons go into diocesan seminaries do not realize how bad things are. One may assume that is why they do not protest and recommend that they enter the FSSP, ICKSP, IBP, Clear Creek, etc.
Admittedly, I know many fine young men who want to be solid, manly priests and yet precisely want to serve in a particular diocese. The trouble is, they are setting themselves up for being sideswiped and undermined. Just look at the young presbyterate in Charlotte: all of them learning the TLM and loving it, and now Bishop Martin...
There will not be any safety in the dioceses until the TLM is restored.
Well-said, and true. The only thing missing is mention of the utter failure of today's bishops to live as authentic shepherds, willing to fight and die for their flocks. Some of today's somnolent priests might be roused (like the Ents, perhaps?) if their bishops had even an iota of courage and manliness.
There's some truth to this, inasmuch as the sacramental character of the priesthood gives the priest access to and a claim on every grace he needs for heroic sanctity. But as with the graces of baptism, these often lie untapped, unused, unappreciated.
Evidence for what you're saying is that whenever a diocese HAS a good bishop, suddenly there are seminarians again (amazing!! - /s).
I tried hard to listen to the entire presentation from beginning to end - soberly and thoughtfully - but I couldn't make it through much more than a third of the way
...before standing up to pound my fist on the desk and cheer! YYYESSS! More than a couple of times by the end of the entire narration!
The Militant Church takes up a great deal of my time and energy reflecting and writing, and the allegory of the fighting man - usually fighting fire and responding to medical emergencies and natural disasters - is always easy for me to run with. "Write what you know," as they say. Most of my social media reflections , not to mention the articles I've published, make extensive use of this image.
The PRIEST as the fighting man, though, is so very, very important! And, in his case, it is not an allegory!
A great article, that I've passed along to a colleague whose son - who is also a Latin student of mine - is one of a group of young men who is thinking of the priesthood.
Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J. on iCatholic Radio has always described the priests you refer to as Father Cheerful at St. Typical parish. This is such a wonderful essay. I need to drum up the nerve to copy and mail to a few Fr. Cheerfuls at many St. Typicals.
The priest sees something you don't. I have watched my FSSP priests pray and this is very evident. They are in touch with the Divine in ways we are not. By their very posture they draw us into their prayer and give us a share in their grace.
I was reading this article to my son who is discerning the priesthood.
“Most importantly, we need to stop trying to make the priesthood appeal to everyone and start making it appeal to the right men. The men who don’t want a job — they want a mission. The men who don’t want comfort — they want conquest. The men who don’t want to fit in — they want to stand out for something that matters.”
Any chance that there might be a return to the Eastern Orthodox pattern of priesthood? Our deacons and parish priests are married with children, but we revere our priest monks in monasteries and our bishops (who are all monks) too.
I heard before Traditiones Custodes that traditionalist seminaries were besieged by applicants more than they could handle. This year the SSPX Superior General is requesting extra Rosaries for vocations. Has the landscape changed that much in the intervening years? Is it possibly TC (and not just PC) that has changed the picture so drastically?
Are you suggesting vocations are down? I don't think that's accurate. My impression is that all the traditional communities have more than they can handle and turn many away. But we must always pray for vocations, since I'm convinced God is calling about ten times more people than actually answer Him.
All very nice, but the shortage of priests is parallel to the shortage of parishioners. I read somewhere that 20% of the population identifies as Catholic. I'd say that in ten years at least 50% of them (us) will be dead. Also strange to read about priests with nothing about that terrible "H" word.
At the height of the Middle Ages, about 10% of the population was clerical or religious. Imagine that!
The shortage of parishioners is an effect of something, not a cause of it. If Paul VI had not overthrown centuries of tradition, our parishes would be flourishing at this time, after a choppy period in the 60s and 70s of riding out the storm.
As for the lavender mafia, I think it's implicit in his descriptions of what priesthood has been reduced to...
Very good analysis. Priestly vocations, like military recruitment, are often affected by parental influence. There is no way I would support any of my sons pursuing diocesan priesthood if I thought they had a vocation. They would be entering an environment either hostile or indifferent to tradition and managed by mostly lavender bishops. One might reasonably wonder if God, displeased by the effeminate mainstream Church, is permitting the rite of Paul VI to die a slow death by starving it of good priests.
100% true.
I think most parents who let their sons go into diocesan seminaries do not realize how bad things are. One may assume that is why they do not protest and recommend that they enter the FSSP, ICKSP, IBP, Clear Creek, etc.
Admittedly, I know many fine young men who want to be solid, manly priests and yet precisely want to serve in a particular diocese. The trouble is, they are setting themselves up for being sideswiped and undermined. Just look at the young presbyterate in Charlotte: all of them learning the TLM and loving it, and now Bishop Martin...
There will not be any safety in the dioceses until the TLM is restored.
Well-said, and true. The only thing missing is mention of the utter failure of today's bishops to live as authentic shepherds, willing to fight and die for their flocks. Some of today's somnolent priests might be roused (like the Ents, perhaps?) if their bishops had even an iota of courage and manliness.
There's some truth to this, inasmuch as the sacramental character of the priesthood gives the priest access to and a claim on every grace he needs for heroic sanctity. But as with the graces of baptism, these often lie untapped, unused, unappreciated.
Evidence for what you're saying is that whenever a diocese HAS a good bishop, suddenly there are seminarians again (amazing!! - /s).
This was so well written it almost made me weep. Yes! To ALL of this!
I did my best, but it just didn't do the trick.
I tried hard to listen to the entire presentation from beginning to end - soberly and thoughtfully - but I couldn't make it through much more than a third of the way
...before standing up to pound my fist on the desk and cheer! YYYESSS! More than a couple of times by the end of the entire narration!
The Militant Church takes up a great deal of my time and energy reflecting and writing, and the allegory of the fighting man - usually fighting fire and responding to medical emergencies and natural disasters - is always easy for me to run with. "Write what you know," as they say. Most of my social media reflections , not to mention the articles I've published, make extensive use of this image.
The PRIEST as the fighting man, though, is so very, very important! And, in his case, it is not an allegory!
A great article, that I've passed along to a colleague whose son - who is also a Latin student of mine - is one of a group of young men who is thinking of the priesthood.
Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J. on iCatholic Radio has always described the priests you refer to as Father Cheerful at St. Typical parish. This is such a wonderful essay. I need to drum up the nerve to copy and mail to a few Fr. Cheerfuls at many St. Typicals.
The priest sees something you don't. I have watched my FSSP priests pray and this is very evident. They are in touch with the Divine in ways we are not. By their very posture they draw us into their prayer and give us a share in their grace.
A disturbing and excellent article.
Excellent article. Speaks for many young men and this mother.
I was reading this article to my son who is discerning the priesthood.
“Most importantly, we need to stop trying to make the priesthood appeal to everyone and start making it appeal to the right men. The men who don’t want a job — they want a mission. The men who don’t want comfort — they want conquest. The men who don’t want to fit in — they want to stand out for something that matters.”
Excellent!
Extremely well put. I don't normally care much for "guest posts", but this one was a treat.
Any chance that there might be a return to the Eastern Orthodox pattern of priesthood? Our deacons and parish priests are married with children, but we revere our priest monks in monasteries and our bishops (who are all monks) too.
I heard before Traditiones Custodes that traditionalist seminaries were besieged by applicants more than they could handle. This year the SSPX Superior General is requesting extra Rosaries for vocations. Has the landscape changed that much in the intervening years? Is it possibly TC (and not just PC) that has changed the picture so drastically?
Are you suggesting vocations are down? I don't think that's accurate. My impression is that all the traditional communities have more than they can handle and turn many away. But we must always pray for vocations, since I'm convinced God is calling about ten times more people than actually answer Him.
Not suggesting just wondering. You response certainly allays my fear. Indeed may God grant us many holy Catholic priests.
All very nice, but the shortage of priests is parallel to the shortage of parishioners. I read somewhere that 20% of the population identifies as Catholic. I'd say that in ten years at least 50% of them (us) will be dead. Also strange to read about priests with nothing about that terrible "H" word.
At the height of the Middle Ages, about 10% of the population was clerical or religious. Imagine that!
The shortage of parishioners is an effect of something, not a cause of it. If Paul VI had not overthrown centuries of tradition, our parishes would be flourishing at this time, after a choppy period in the 60s and 70s of riding out the storm.
As for the lavender mafia, I think it's implicit in his descriptions of what priesthood has been reduced to...