cappie Posted March 30, 2014 Posted March 30, 2014 5 pieces of advice priests give those thinking of a church vocation: 1. Pray (by far the most common response!) 2. Get a Spiritual Director 3. Get to know Many Religious and Priests4. Understand and Accept Celibacy 5. Be ready for Bumps and Surprises From: "Same Call, Different: The Evolution of the Priesthood Since Vatican II" by Gautier, Perl, and Fichter, 2012. These points adjusted to also reflect religious life.
PhuturePriest Posted March 30, 2014 Author Posted March 30, 2014 5 pieces of advice priests give those thinking of a church vocation: 1. Pray (by far the most common response!) 2. Get a Spiritual Director 3. Get to know Many Religious and Priests4. Understand and Accept Celibacy 5. Be ready for Bumps and Surprises From: "Same Call, Different: The Evolution of the Priesthood Since Vatican II" by Gautier, Perl, and Fichter, 2012. These points adjusted to also reflect religious life. I've asked what must be at least a million different priests for advice, and these are always their responses: Go to Eucharistic adoration Frequent reconciliation Pray a lot Pray some more Apply Pray again I've really gotten back into my spiritual life recently, and it's more alive than it ever has been. I'm also reading Jason Evert's new book Saint John Paul the Great, and I've been so inspired by his rich spiritual life and have been trying to emulate it. I'm even trying to get into the habit of lying prostrate and praying in my room like he did, which I think is a very undervalued thing in the Church today.
chrysostom Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 I'm even trying to get into the habit of lying prostrate and praying in my room like he did, which I think is a very undervalued thing in the Church today. I do that at the local tabernacle chapel. But only when it's like 11:00 PM and I'm sure no one's coming by. :blush:
PhuturePriest Posted March 31, 2014 Author Posted March 31, 2014 I do that at the local tabernacle chapel. But only when it's like 11:00 PM and I'm sure no one's coming by. :blush: I did it today in the aisle of the church in front of the tabernacle. I didn't do it closer to the altar because there's a security camera and I didn't want it to seem like I wanted to be seen. :P
chrysostom Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 I did it today in the aisle of the church in front of the tabernacle. I didn't do it closer to the altar because there's a security camera and I didn't want it to seem like I wanted to be seen. :P Haha! For me, I'm afraid that they're going to ask "are you...okay?" and I'll be like "ummmm". Or if they don't say anything, I'll be thinking "Lord, I adore Thee, I prais...huh footsteps? Ah do they think this looks weird? Do I look like I'm unconscious? Am I making it awkward...ahhhh stop being so self-focused and get back to adoring!"
Crucesignata Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 For those of you who have a bunch of questions about spiritual direction, I HIGHLY recommend Dan Burke's Navigating the Interior Life as well as the website http://rcspiritualdirection.com/
PhuturePriest Posted March 31, 2014 Author Posted March 31, 2014 Haha! For me, I'm afraid that they're going to ask "are you...okay?" and I'll be like "ummmm". Or if they don't say anything, I'll be thinking "Lord, I adore Thee, I prais...huh footsteps? Ah do they think this looks weird? Do I look like I'm unconscious? Am I making it awkward...ahhhh stop being so self-focused and get back to adoring!" I always have the fear that someone is going to run up to me and ask me if I'm dead. :P
oremus1 Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 how important is spiritual direction for laypeople? most good spiritual directors are taken up by (wealthy) laypople who can afford $90 per hour for SD. most other SD's are 'trained SDs' with neo-pagan new agey ideas after a 3 week distance learning course. they do not read the documents of the magisterium. they are barely catholic. Professional SD generally is a money making sham.
Feankie Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 Whoa...... I'm a "professional SD" and it's not a money-making sham. I charge NOTHING, that's right NOTHING!!!!! My undergrad and grad school (B.A ,M.A.P.T, D.MIN.) were at Roman Catholic universities (all in theology) as was my 3year S.D. training (plus peer review). Please don't dump all SD's into one pile!
Anselm Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 I must admit, I may be speaking from limited experience, but here in the UK I've only ever heard of people going to priests for spiritual direction.
chrysostom Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 I've only gone to priests/religious for free spiritual direction and there's nothing that would induce me to change. That said, some hypothetical questions that I didn't find on the website linked above: CAN SD ever be legitimately charged by a lay person? Obviously a religious couldn't; could a secular priest charge for SD? Are there instances in which they could ask for a voluntary donation like they do for offering Mass for a particular intention? Or is charging for SD generally an automatic no-no in all circumstances?
Benedictus Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 I've never been asked to pay for spiritual direction, but have at times made a donation for it. I found it hard to find priests with the time or on the same wave length as me. So my first SD was a married catholic woman and the second was a catholic religious sister. Both helped in a way which I think was helpful for me to move towards my sense of vocation. The first put me in contact with the second. I'm speaking to two different priests now though, it sort of being necessary as I'm considering religious priesthood I guess. But I think my first two SD's helped loads.
PhuturePriest Posted March 31, 2014 Author Posted March 31, 2014 I've never been asked to pay for spiritual direction, but have at times made a donation for it. I found it hard to find priests with the time or on the same wave length as me. So my first SD was a married catholic woman and the second was a catholic religious sister. Both helped in a way which I think was helpful for me to move towards my sense of vocation. The first put me in contact with the second. I'm speaking to two different priests now though, it sort of being necessary as I'm considering religious priesthood I guess. But I think my first two SD's helped loads. It is truly an historic moment to see another man on Vocation Station! Welcome aboard! Please don't leave. :P
chrysostom Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 (edited) It is truly an historic moment to see another man on Vocation Station! hi. Edited March 31, 2014 by chrysostom
Anselm Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 It is truly an historic moment to see another man on Vocation Station! Welcome aboard! Please don't leave. :P Keep sounding desperate like that and he will ;) Still, Benedictus, you're not that new here are you?
Benedictus Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 Futurepriest - Thanks! I'm sure I'll be around here for a little while yet :) Chrysostom - Hello! :smile4: Anselm -No, not that new now really. But I guess I haven't really posted that much (or anything that noteworthy)
Anselm Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 Well, I think we should all be contributing to the 'Men in Black' thread :p
Feankie Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 It is up to to the individual SD to decide to charge or not charge. I consider my being a SD my ministry. As I've said before, I do keep a basket by the door if one wishes to bring a can of food for the food pantry, but that's totally optional.
krissylou Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 I've only gone to priests/religious for free spiritual direction and there's nothing that would induce me to change. That said, some hypothetical questions that I didn't find on the website linked above: CAN SD ever be legitimately charged by a lay person? Obviously a religious couldn't; could a secular priest charge for SD? Are there instances in which they could ask for a voluntary donation like they do for offering Mass for a particular intention? Or is charging for SD generally an automatic no-no in all circumstances? I've visited with a SD who was a religious and she asked for a regular donation. I ultimately discerned that we weren't a match but it wasn't because of the money involved. (She WAS a match for a good friend of mine who saw her fruitfully for many years, so I'm not criticizing, we just weren't a match for each other. God made a lot of us for a reason.) Of course since she was a sister the money went to her community -- but this was a good chunk of her ministry, and her community they need to buy groceries and pay the electric bill, and retired sisters to support, and all that costs money. So if they're going to make so much of the sister's time available for regular spiritual direction rather than other activities, there has to be some money coming in to make that a feasible option for the community. I would expect that for most people (not all, but most!) who do not ask for any money from their directees, this is probably a small part of what they do. The "day job" is to be a parish priest, or teach, or whatever, and then on the side they can take on a couple directees. Nothing wrong with that, that's great. But if we want people who are gifted and trained in such areas to have the time available to direct many people, then we need to financially support them somehow. (And for those of us who are in a position to be more generous, we should do so in order to subsidize people who are really not in a situation to be able to pay.) For most SDs, I'd wager it's less about "I am providing a valuable service and am good at it and DESERVE PAYMENT" and more that they still need to eat. And groceries? They cost money.
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