The Episcopal Church has done VERY well with Married Priests and Female Priests. The Catholic Church has a lot to learn from them. Also, whoever said that God does not call women is a moron. Most educated people have outgrown the idea that men are superior to women. ...Ben Frank

-- Ben Frank (yawntan@hotmail.com), March 23, 2004

Answers

As an Episcopalian who in April will convert to the Catholic faith at age 36 I disagree. The Episcopal church USA now has only 2 million members and is losing more every day. It is about to split thanks to the selfishness of Bishop Robinson. Catholicism has now overtaken the Anglicans in England thanks to some mass conversions.

Men are not superior to women. Try as people do to disquise it, they are different however. Celibacy is a discipline and subject to change. Woman being ordained however is infallible doctrine and cannot. Women not being ordained is not just some chauvinistic stance. It is the Church's sincere attempt (correctly so) to decide what God's will is. The Episcopal church has decided to change its core beliefs at the whim of societal pressure much like its founder Henry VIII.

The Catholic Church does not and hopefully never will succumb to secular forces. She stands alone on issues that all christians used to believe (woman priests, abortion, contraception, homosexuality, divorce, etc)This is Her stance on woman priests from catholic.com:

Women and the Priesthood

Can women be ordained to the priesthood? This is a question which provokes much debate in our modern world, but it is one to which the Church has always answered "No." The basis for the Church’s teaching on ordination is found in the New Testament as well as in the writings of the Church Fathers.

While women could publicly pray and prophesy in church (1 Cor. 11:1– 16), they could not teach or have authority over a man (1 Tim. 2:11– 14), since these were two essential functions of the clergy. Nor could women publicly question or challenge the teaching of the clergy (1 Cor. 14:34–38).

The following quotations from the Church Fathers indicate that women do play an active role in the Church and that in the age of the Fathers there were orders of virgins, widows, and deaconesses, but that these women were not ordained.

The Fathers rejected female ordination, not because it was incompatible with Christian culture, but because it was incompatible with Christian faith. Thus, together with biblical declarations, the teaching of the Fathers on this issue formed the tradition of the Church that taught that priestly ordination was reserved to men. Throughout medieval times and even up until the present day, this teaching has not changed.

Further, in 1994 Pope John Paul II formally declared that the Church does not have the power to ordain women. He stated, "Although the teaching that priestly ordination is to be reserved to men alone has been preserved by the constant and universal tradition of the Church and firmly taught by the magisterium in its more recent documents, at the present time in some places it is nonetheless considered still open to debate, or the Church’s judgment that women are not to be admitted to ordination is considered to have a merely disciplinary force. Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Luke 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful" (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis 4).

And in 1995 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in conjunction with the pope, ruled that this teaching "requires definitive assent, since, founded on the written Word of God, and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the tradition of the Church, it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal magisterium (cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium 25:2)" (Response of Oct. 25, 1995).

The remainder of this article is at catholic.com under sacraments.

-- David F (notanaddress@nowhere.com), March 23, 2004.

Bump

-- David F (notanaddress@nowhere.com), March 23, 2004.

David, I agree with you. The priest is to be a representative of Christ, and thus cannot be a woman. I read somewhere (I forget where) that the priest is male in order to represent Christ (the new Adam) and be able to serve in place of the first Adam who sinned and brought original sin on creation. Paul in Romans attributes this sin primarily to Adam, not Eve. That is why Christ was male, and why priests must also be male.

Ben, you cannot change eternal truth, and that is the beauty of Catholicism. Just because a method might seem to "work" (and I would argue that in the Episcopal church it is not working), does not make it right.

God bless,

-- Emily (jesusfollower7@yahoo.com), March 23, 2004.

Also, we have the beautiful image of Christ as the Spouse of His bride, the Church. Since priests act en persona Christe (sp?), they too are wed to the Church. The Church as bride cannot be espoused to a woman.

It is sad that we look for quick fixes to the priest shortage. Instead we should look to ourselves. Do we have large families anymore? Do we encourage our sons to consider a priestly vocation? Do we pray for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life? Do we strive for personal holiness?

The Holy Father has spoken so many times about the impossibility of validly ordaining women, and yet people continue to suggest it. I am grateful that the Church does not capitulate to the superficial solutions of a world steeped in compromise, political correctness and tolerance gone awry.

I live in a small diocese in Louisiana. We currently have 16 men studying for the priesthood. That is at least a threefold increase over just a few years ago. God is beginning to bless the Church again with vocations. In this area, there are many chapels of perpetual adoration of the Holy Eucharist. Many associate the continuous prayer and worship of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament with this increase in vocations.

God bless, Patricia

-- Patricia (mtherese2@aol.com), March 24, 2004.

Nowhere does the Catholic Church teach that men are superior to women. I am a highly educated person myself, and a woman..I have no difficulty at all understanding that men and women are not the same..one is not superior to the other, each has a different role within the church, as in life.

-- lesley (martchas@hotmail.com), March 24, 2004.

I think there is a lot of wisdom in Patricia's response. The shortage of priests is not the problem, it's a symptom. The problem is the general decline in the way many of us live out our faith. We need to truly live out what the Church teaches. Once we start living out the faith more fully, more priests will come.

-- James (stinkcat_14@hotmail.com), March 24, 2004.

All of the above responses are great. David F: what a great addition to the catholic family you are!

-- Brian Crane (brian.crane@cranemills.com), March 24, 2004.

these arguments against allowing female priests hold no water. its more a cultural thing, and yes, a tradition of chauvanism.

thank you

-- jas (disgusted@hotmail.com), March 24, 2004.

jas,

First off, the movement to get women in the priesthood is definatively and SOLELY a 'cultural' thing. it has nothing to do with the good of the church.

Second, the tradition of the male only preisthood is biblical, thus to call it a "chauvenistic tradition" you are, in effect, calling God a chauvenist. Perhaps you need to reevaluate?

But you have a problem with the proofs against women in the priesthood. Maybe I can shine some light on this issue:

1) Women have a seperate and equal role to the priesthood in a way that men cannot enter. the nuns do not answer to any priest or bishop, they have their own ministry, their own leaders, and all that goes with that. Men cannot be nuns, nor can priests boss nuns around (in a nunery that is, where priests are under nuns, or nuns under priests, either may take direction for their tasks)

2) Women cannot be called to the priesthood. Why the push for it then? because it is a liberal 'equality' thing. people have taken feminism so far that they are willing to throw away spirituality for seeming equality. The call that women feel is a secular call to feel vindication, not to give glory to God. It is not a real calling from God.

3) Women can do secular jobs as well as men. HOWEVER, as a priest, a woman could NEVER be equal to a man. As a nun a woman is equal to a priest, albight with a different role to play. A woman could not be equal to a man in a priestly role because she could not confirm, or consecrate, or give absolution. Without these apostolic powers there is no way she could ever measure up. in the same way, a male cannot carry out the role of a nun, and in that role would spiritually always be two steps behind a woman.

4) Jesus' twelve apostles were all men. This is no coincidence. when Jesus calls people to be apostles (his priests) they are men in EVERY single case. Why? they act in persona Christi (sp?). That is, they are acting in place of Christ. Tell me... how is a woman going to be a man during mass? if she cant be a man how is she going to be present in Christly fashion?

5) This is an inequality. Yes. When it comes to the priesthood this is one place where the men can be ordained and women never will be. If you have a problem with this, read the first few chapters of Genisis over again.

6) false priesthood. Should women become ordained they would have none of the sacramental power needed during a mass. any sacraments (such as consecration, confession, or confirmation) would be null and void, sacrilage on the female priests part, and useless or even harmful to the congregation. Yes, harmful. If a woman took confession and tried to give absolution, that could not happen. the person would leave feeling forgiven, but would really have been the victim of an invalid confession. The female MINISTRY can help (as nuns) the female priesthood would harm.

-- paul h (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), March 24, 2004.

To call the reason we don't have female preists 'cultural' is to make up a whole new history. "The culture of Jesus' day" as so many people like to call it, was not as they contend against womens preists. In fact, the Greaco-Roman world was dripping in them. The Jews were alone in the world in not having them. Jesus was very cross cultural when it came to women. He borke all the rules yet he chose not to have women preists. God is not a wimp, afraid of going against the grain. Remember, God knew full well that he would be incarnating himself into humanity and building a Church when he created man and woman. He was NOT trapped by his own mistakes.

Anyone, who thinks not ordaining women is about superiority has made a profound blunder. They are confusing equality and androginy. The world has replaced the move to make women equal with a move to make women into men. This is not equality, this is an insult to women. This says that people cannot be equal or have a place unless they are a man. The Church rejects that. She believes you can be a woman AND equal. The Church alone is defending the dignity and genius of women. Thank God for the Church.

Dano

-- Dan Garon (boethius61@yahoo.com), March 24, 2004.

Then maybe we should change the words feMALE, and woMAN to other words to reflect that we are so separate? ;-)

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), March 24, 2004.

jesus "chose not to have women priests"??

first, the apostles WERENT priests. secondly, could not someone consider mary magdalene an apostle-- and with your logic, a "priest"?

if all the official apostles were men, it was most likely because of the societal reasons. imagine if jesus' first coming to this world were TODAY, and he didnt select any women-- we'd think he was exclusionary.

by "cultural", i mean the culture of the catholic hierarchy (sp). dont kid yourself-- the church is run by individual human beings, prone to human nature. it is only natural a "culture" exists within an institution dominated almost entirely by one sex.

-- jas (numbskull@hotmail.com), March 25, 2004.

In Genesis, we read that God created man. God chose not to create a woman first and THEN a man..nor did he create them both at the same time..does this make God a "chauvanist"? And of course one could speculate that if Jesus came in our times to begin His earthy ministry and chose only men as apostles, you (and others) would say He was "exclusionary"..so what? You can say or believe anything you want to..it still does not change the FACTS..unless of course you'd care to make up your own facts..you COULD say that since Genesis was written by a man, that the man lied, and God actually made a woman first, but the writer of genesis didn't like that idea, so he penned his own version..or perhaps he just kinda made the whole thing up and the Theory of Evolution applies, with woman being the first to step out of the Primal ooze..or maybe that God is actually female..or as far as the NT..well, that's just a cultural thing, with women being second class citizens in those days and we more enlightened beings of modern times just should realize that and toss out a thousand plus years of holy tradition and doctrine..oh, that IS what you're saying..

-- lesley (martchas@hotmail.com), March 26, 2004.

Mary was a disiple, not an Apostle.

An Apostle is one set aside, an ambassador for a chosen mission, their where 12 Apostles only at any given time,a nd Mary Magdalene never was mentioend as one of them.

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), March 26, 2004.

The Apostles were most certainly priests. They were ordained with the power to forgive men's sins, to baptize new converts, to confer special blessings upon the sick, and to minister the other sacraments of the Church, and most especially to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and consecrate the Eucharist, which is the very act which defines a genuine priest. They also served as spiritual shepherds to specific local churches, ministered the sacrament of Confirmation, and ordained additional priests. It is clear therefore that they were the first bishops of the Church Christ founded, as well as its first priests.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), March 26, 2004.

Jesus chose only men as priests for "societal reasons" ???

Jesus had no hesitation in upsetting the prevailing culture e.g. "love your enemies", "woe to the rich", "Pharisees are hypocrites" etc etc.

Jesus' choice of men only as priests WAS against the prevailing culture. The dominant religion in the Roman empire, and most other religions at that time, had plenty of priestesses - in fact they probably outnumbered the male priests.

As for taking our cue from the Episcopalians: Puh-leese! The people of the USA have voted with their feet. When the US became independent Episcopalians were 35% of the US population. Now their proportion of the US population is under 2% and still falling like a stone. Now they have made a man a "bishop" who left his wife and is living in a homosexual relationship! causing the whole Anglican Communion to go into self-destruct mode.

-- Peter K (ronkpken@yahoo.com.au), April 19, 2004.

And this is the organisation that Ben thinks "has done VERY well"!! God save our Catholic Church from doing so "VERY well"!

-- P Kennedy (ronkpken@yahoo.com.au), April 19, 2004.

I disagree with James' response. The shortage of priests is a huge problem, not a symptom. God created us with free will. You cannot simply force priesthood on a son who has no interest. Priests are slowing becoming extinct. The youth today has no interest in going to church at all, let alone becoming a priest. Those 16 men Patricia was talking about will cover her little town in Louisiana for now. What about in the years to come? What about all the other towns in the United States? Other religions, such as protestants, episcopals, etc., have ordained women. In fact, there are two women bishops in the Episcopal church. There was a brief moment of controversy, as to be expected when society is asked to accept a change. I am 18 years old, though I am a high school senior, I find religion very interesting. I am one of the VERY FEW high school students involved in my parish. I teach ccd with a friend, I am an altar server, a cantor, a flute soloist, and a choir member. And that is just the beginning. I have been going to multiple youth conferences, I have headed the planning and organization of events in the parish, be it for senior citizens or kids my age or younger. I love my church and I am there almost everyday and at all four masses over the weekends. As I prepare to start my freshman year at college, I tell myself 'if only I could've been a boy, I could do what I truly want to do with my life.' Look at the controversy over girl altar servers. For a long time, boys were the only youth allowed to become an altar server. Just recently, about a year ago, I was serving a wedding and, as the ceremony ended, I made my way down the aisle only to be greeted by an old man who said to me, 'I didn't know they allowed women on the altar now.' It was unheard of in his time. He grew up knowing that only boys could become altar servers. Society has never been willing to accept change. However, I ask you, if you had been brought up with women priests, would you be saying the same thing you are now, only about men becoming priests? I just want you all to know that I plan on minoring in theology/religious studies in college. Maybe, in the future, it will come in handy when preists are so rare, the church will have no choice but to either allow them to marry, or allow women to be ordained. I will let you all know how many students are enrolled in this course at school and just how many of them plan on majoring in it. Oh, and just so you all know, while priests are supposed to be married to Christ and His church, the reason priests can't marry is because the church didn't want the possessions and property of the priests going to their wives and children. I believe in God as much as all of you, but I was taught that God was accepting of everyone, woman or man. We dwell too much today on the Old Testament and, in particular, the section of Leviticus. This Testament, we must remember, is where God destroyed the world. Rather, we should focus more on the New Testament, where God sent His only son, Jesus, to save us. This does not mean, however, that I disagree with women's roles being different. Being a nun is not the same as being a priest. Most of the time, nuns are just in the convent. They have no real leadership opportunity unless they lead mass in the convent, but they can't do that because they are not allowed to consecrate the host. God Bless you all, Karyn

-- Karyn (kkdancer589@yahoo.com), April 25, 2004.

Karyn, God has blessed you and it is wonderful that you are so pssionately involved with your faith. But I'm afraid your arguments for women priests don't hold water.

you said "the reason priests can't marry is because the church didn't want the possessions and property of the priests going to their wives and children."

Sadly you have fallen for a canard invented by vicious anti- Catholics. A priest's property (unless he is one of the relative few who belong to a religious order) is totally his own to use, spend and bequeath as he sees fit. He can leave all his property to his neices and nephews if he wishes and the Church has no say in the matter.

you said "I was taught that God was accepting of everyone, woman or man."

-see answers above.

you said "We dwell too much today on the Old Testament and, in particular, the section of Leviticus."

Perhaps you are confusing the reasons why Catholics don't have married priests with the (probably invalid) arguments from the OT that conservative protestants used against women ministers. A minister is a very different thing from a priest.

You said "Most of the time, nuns are just in the convent. They have no real leadership opportunity unless they lead mass in the convent, but they can't do that because they are not allowed to consecrate the host."

The very large number of nuns who take a very active leadership role in many areas of society and the Church would beg to disagree with you. Priesthood and leadership are not the same thing. It is true that the Church needs to do more to incorporate and promote leadership by women, eg in the Curia or perhaps even in the College of Cardinals. (Historically it was not essential for a cardinal to be a priest.)

God bless you Karyn, your heart is in the right place. And best wishes with your theological studies; I'm sure they will be of benefit to you and the Church.

-- Peter K (ronkpken@yahoo.com.au), April 25, 2004.

Sorry my ref to "married priests" above should of course read "women priests"

-- Peter K (ronkpken@yahoo.com.au), April 25, 2004.

Karyn,

I am glad you find religion interesting, and I'm glad you are one of the VERY FEW young people involved in your parish. You are interested enough to bring your thoughts to a forum at your young age. Kudos. But I'm sorry to tell you your thoughts on the priesthood and nuns is very modernist.

You say: The youth today has no interest in going to church at all, let alone becoming a priest.

You are correct for the most part, but the answer to the priest problem lies in orthodoxy: devotion to Jesus and Mary, reverence for the sacrament of the Eucharist etc. and not in imitating the modernist "solutions" of Episcopalians and liberal catholics by ordaining women or having lay people run the mass. This is folly. You have unfortunately been indoctrinated into this line of thought which is so pervasive in our church today.

Most of the time, nuns are just in the convent. They have no real leadership opportunity unless they lead mass in the convent, but they can't do that because they are not allowed to consecrate the host.

Karyn, how sad you think this about nuns. They too are in a vocations crisis like that of the priests, and the church suffers every bit as much for their crisis as for the priests' IMO. But it is not surprising. An 18 year old today, may have never seen a nun in person in his or her lifetime. Of if they did see one, they might not know it because most nuns don't look different from laypeople these days. But in my youth we saw many more nuns in hospitals, in Catholic schools, in Catechism, and in Church. And they were even more of a presence in the generation before mine. There are many orders of nuns, some contemplative and monastic and others charitable and evangelistic. There are many leadership opportunities as you say. But one should not be a priest or a nun specifically for such opportunities. This is secular thinking. Religious orders should be more meaniningful than that. I hope you will consider what I'm saying.

Priests are men because they are the apostolic successors. Christ was a man as were his apostles. Nuns, on the other hand imitate Our Lady. Read how the Oblates of Mary describe themselves as: community of women who desire to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary in the giving of herself to God to fulfill His Will, especially in her role of assistance by prayer and work to the Apostles, first priests of the Catholic Church...It is our ideal to imitate Our Lady's retirement from the world in quiet seclusion, as well as her apostolic charity. Consecrated entirely to her and filled with her spirit, which is none other than the Holy Spirit of God, we aspire to be, to the successors of the Apostles in our times, what she was to them in the beginning: behind-the-scenes encouragement, assistance and support.

You are setting yourself up for disappointment if you have your heart set on becoming a priest. Why not use your theology degree, study sacred tradition and orthodoxy and become a nun. WE NEED MORE! I would suggest you study some of the great women saints of the church. Saint Catherine of Siena would be a good one for you. Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) and St. Teresa of Avila are two more I would recommend, but they are all fantastic. Good luck to you Karyn!

-- Brian Crane (brian.crane@cranemills.com), April 26, 2004.

bold off now?

-- Brian Crane (brian.crane@cranemills.com), April 26, 2004.

Dear Karyn,

You said: Being a nun is not the same as being a priest. Most of the time, nuns are just in the convent. They have no real leadership opportunity unless they lead mass in the convent, but they can't do that because they are not allowed to consecrate the host.

It is true that nuns do not share the same roles as priests, however this is a good thing! God created men and women with different strengths and weaknesses, and He gave us different roles to fill in our lives. Your implication above indicates to me that you would consider the role of priests as superior to that of nuns. This is entirely false! The calling that God has given each person is no greater in value than the calling of anyone else. We must all follow in the path that God calls us.

For me, I believe (at this point) that I am called to be a nun. I am not even Catholic yet, but I plan to join the Church. I have been looking into different opportunities for nuns, and there are so many things you can do! As a nun, you can hold almost any career you can imagine. If you are interested in service and leadership, there are numerous opportunities for you.

Here is a wonderful organization of orders of nuns that is faithful to the teachings of the Church: http://www.cmswr.org/. If God is calling you to serve Him with a religious vocation, look into the sisterhood! Ordaining women is against God's plan so it will not occur, so I'm sorry to tell you that waiting for that to happen will be of no avail. I am so glad that you are interested in studying theology - you could perhaps use that zeal for God to teach religion classes in a school or church. What a leadership opportunity that would be - to influence all the young lives to follow Christ!

God bless,

-- Emily (jesusfollower7@yahoo.com), April 26, 2004.

Dear Karyn:
We all have spiritual desires and would love to serve God in the most perfect way. Priests, Karyn, serve Him because each one is personally CALLED by God himself.

You said, ''I love my church and I am there almost every day at all four masses over the weekends. As I prepare to start my freshman year at college, I tell myself 'if only I could've been a boy, I could do what I truly want to do with my life.'' Look once more at your own words, ''. . . what I truly want to do with my life.'' Unintentionally, you've singled out a main problem; You didn't even think of what GOD truly wants to do with your life. Your life belongs to HIM!

It seems clear by what you tell us, God wants you to be a saint. That's how he wants Karyn for this world, not as a MAN or WOMAN priest. A saint; with her faith and works in this life dedicated to Him as a servant; willing to accept the call He chooses. If it's something extraordinary, a Mother Theresa, you can do it, with His grace. Or, in a hospital; either as a religious, or a professional. By giving your care and your prayers and dedication to Christ for His least brethren, those who are sick & dying. Or by living a simple, devout life of holiness and prayer! Nothing self-centered or gratifying to your ego or ambition; but love of God and in God, your neighbors.

He calls males to the holy priesthood. They do not CHOOSE HIM. He chooses the ones He calls. You cannot claim to choose the priesthood; not even if you're a man. He must choose YOU. Pray for God's grace and that HIS holy Will be done in your young life, Karyn. He'll never disappoint you. But first, place yourself confidently in His hands. He loves you and He'll bring you one day to spiritual perfection. Have faith. --Ciao!

-- eugene c. chavez (loschavez@pacbell.net), April 27, 2004.

Well said, Eugene!

The ultimate act of love we can give God is to surrender our will and accept His plan for our lives. Romans 12:1 tells us to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God which is our spiritual worship and only then (verse 2) will we know the good and perfect will of God for us.

There is no higher calling in life than to walk the path that God has directed for you. In humility and love, we are to serve as He asks, not as we desire. Not all can be the mouth or the eye, for hands and feet are just as vital to the Body, yet do not garner the attention.

Dave

-- non-Catholic Christian (no@spam.com), April 27, 2004.

When women focus on what they can't become, they can't realize what they can become. Name one Catholic besides the Pope whose name is known the world over, as Mother Teresa's name is!!

-- Mark Advent (adventm5477@earthlink.net), April 27, 2004.

Sometimes I wonder if Mother Teresa was not Jesus himsel disgused as a human being. Mother Teresa never wanted to be anything else but a nun and devoted her entire life to working for Jesus.

She did not want to be a priest, but some of our American priests can certainly take some lessons from her. She lived to serve and to love - what an example for the rest of us.

Sometimes, when I fnd myself complaining about something I have to do, I think of her and ask for God's forgiveness.

She wore her habit, her sisters had to wear a habit. She was a true bride of Christ. Oh, how I wish I could be like her - everything she did was for Jesus.

-- MaryLu (mlc327@juno.comq), April 27, 2004.

Sometimes I wonder if Mother Teresa was not Jesus himsel disgused as a human being.

No, Mother Teresa was a very holy person, but did sin. Christ does not sin.

-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), April 27, 2004.

I can definately see your reasons, now, for God calling men to be priests. I have had lengthy discussions with my church pastor about this. I guess I just view becoming a nun different than becoming a priest. While it is, I still maintain that there will have to be something done about the shortage of priests. Nowadays, parents can't elect one of their children to belong to the church and become priests. They have to choose for themselves and God has to choose them. I just find it odd that God has called such a little number of the world's believing population to become priests. Maybe my calling in life is to become a nun and dedicate my life to the church. I don't know right now, and I don't know if I could prepare myself to make that transition into the sisterhood without knowing what else I can do with my life. I plan to become a teacher and work in a Catholic school and if, later on in college or even after graduation, I decide that my true place in life is to become a nun, so be it. Right now, however, while continuing my work at the church, I plan on dedicating my life to the education of children. God bless you all and thanks for the answers/opinions. Karyn

-- Karyn (kkdancer589@yahoo.com), May 01, 2004.

Karyn,

May God bless you! I prayed that He will lead you to make the right decision and guide you as to where you should go in your life.

Peace of Christ.

-- Emily (jesusfollower7@yahoo.com), May 01, 2004.

Karyn,

Thanks for writing back to tell us your thoughts. I'm glad you were open to what Emily and Eugene were saying. You said: I just find it odd that God has called such a little number of the world's believing population to become priests

Maybe God is still calling, but fewer are listening. I used to think that a calling or a sign from God would be obvious like a bolt of lightning. But as I've matured and grown older, well at least grown older, I realize that his word or guidance can be right in front of us but we can't see it due to our own lack of faith, or pride or fear or whatever. Sometimes its hard for us mortals to understand God's divine wisdom. But that's where faith comes in. Once again good luck and may God bless you.

-- Brian Crane (brian.crane@cranemills.com), May 01, 2004.