in other dimensions of their lives as well.
Many people live a good part of their
lives as single people who, at least for a
time, discern that there is no one whom
they can honestly have and hold, in good
times and in bad, in marriage. They also
discern that despite the often-insistent
suggestions of other Church members,
they cannot honestly say that they per-
ceive a call to ecclesial celibacy. So, in
radical honesty and trust, apart from the
security of vows, people called to live as
single people in the Church live out their
duty and capacity to love.
For those called to ecclesial celibacy,
discernment involves being attentive to
the Law of the Gift. One must cooperate
with grace to move out of the aloneness
which is not good into intimacy with the
Lord and others. Similarly, those called
to celibacy have to cooperate with grace
in order to find their capacity to be life-
giving, in order to fulfill their duty to live
generously and confidently.
Men who apply to the seminary have
begun their discernment and must show
some signs of capacity and desire for a
sacrificial life as ecclesial celibates. Priest-
hood candidates at Sacred Heart are from
the Latin Church and from the Chaldean
Eparchy of St. Thomas, both of which call
their priests from those called to celibacy.
DISCERNING THE CALL TO
PRIESTHOOD IN THOSE
CALLED TO CELIBACY
Pope St. Paul VI summarized the ex-
perience/discipline of the priesthood in
Sacerdotalis Caelibatus (SC) that priests in
the Latin Church, and in some Eastern
Churches, are called from those men who
have the prior call to celibacy. The call to
priesthood is often experienced first by
the individual, but the Church’s discern-
ment sees a prior call in celibacy. Why
celibacy? Because those called to celibacy
are called to live in the state of life—the
path of loving—which Jesus himself chose
and lived. This motive for priestly celi-
bacy is the first of the motives mentioned
by Pope St. Paul VI in his encyclical and
is often referred to by the popes and bish-
ops throughout Tradition.
Married priests bring their own won-
derful gifts to the priesthood in many
Eastern Churches and in the Latin com-
munities in which former non-Catholic
married ministers have been ordained
as Catholic priests. Several years ago,
we were blessed at Sacred Heart with a
married seminarian who has since served
with great generosity and fruitfulness
as a married priest. Still, the choice of
the popes and bishops of the Catholic
Church has been that most of her priests
live the state of life that Jesus lived.
Pope St. Paul wrote that once a man
enters the seminary, the formators must
carefully discern that he has sufficient
“physical, psychic and moral qualifi-
cations.” He further stipulates, “Nor
should anyone pretend that grace sup-
plies for the defects of nature in such a
man (SC, 64).” So, the faculty, human
formators, spiritual directors, other semi-
narians, and parish leaders all help a man
discern that he has the character and the
natural abilities to live out the life of a
celibate priest. The grace of God allows
people to be celibates “for/and because
of the Kingdom” (Mt 19), but the man
must give evidence that he has the natu-
ral qualities to live the life.
Not all men called to celibacy by Christ
are called by Christ to the priesthood.
Some men enter priestly formation at Sa-
cred Heart and discern that God is not
calling them to the priesthood, but He is
calling them to live as religious brothers,
or as celibate men in the world. Because
of the acute need for priests, Catholics
are often saddened to hear when a man
leaves the seminary. In my thirty years
at Sacred Heart, I have seen many men
enter the seminary for Christ and then
leave the seminary for Christ. For them,
the seminary is a place of growing towards
To learn more about priestly
formation and discernment at
Sacred Heart, visit our webpage at
shms.edu/priestly-formation.
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Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Fall 2018