Any half-decent webmaster will take good care to look at the site logs from time to time, and I make efforts to ensure we know exactly how many visitors we get, what are the most popular pages, ensuring our external links are all working etc. So I was upset when I discovered that one key search phrase had been recorded as "I'm feeling helpless in my vocation". Why upset? Because I don't want anyone to feel helpless.
I don't know the identity of the searcher - he or she may be young, middle-aged, still searching or already ordained. The helplessness might be the result of many factors - we've tried to identify some of them here, but if you have other issues, please email us or post in the Forum.
1) The discernment of a vocation can be quite a lonely and frustrating event. If you read some of the stories on our site, it looks pretty clear cut and simple, but it isn't. You feel God pulling you in one direction, and then you try to imagine a safer and more comfortable alternative. You might expect that if God wants you to be a priest, you would get a direct message from God and then it would be off to the seminary and eventual ordination - plain and simple. But the facts suggest otherwise - there is no email from God, and the seminary can be as frustrating as anywhere else, which is why not every seminarian reaches ordination - God may have graced them with another vocation. But in all this, you are not helpless - God is not going to permit his special child to battle this out alone - prayer is the vital connection. Tell the Lord of your worries and frustrations and ask for enlightenment - "Speak Lord.Your servant is listening".
2) Being helpless strikes me as a good qualification for a vocation to become a priest. We do not operate from a position of 100% certainty, and we do not wield power like temporal rulers. We come from a position of vulnerability just as Jesus did in the incarnation. Was there anything more helpless than a child? But Jesus in his public ministry was surrounded by human friends and workers. The helpless seeker always has some solutions to hand. Is it possible to tell your parents that you have a nagging feeling that God wants you? You don't need to suggest that you are 100% certain at this stage that you will end up as a priest or religious - because you are not 100% sure! If parents are not yet in the loop, are you able to discuss it with a priest - perhaps one in a nearby parish and not already known to you? He will keep your meeting confidential. The internet has been identified as a good way to make some initial contacts and ask questions - you will probably find there are dozens of other people with similar issues. You are not alone! Our own site provides email links (see Contacts) or if you prefer, you can post a question anonymously on our Forum. If that might be a problem, you could PM anyone from the Forum (Team>>PM) and your request for help will be answered as soon as possible.
3) What if you are already ordained as a priest and your vocation is not what it was once? Have you been hurt... are you weary.... are you thinking of marriage? Think back to the excitement you enjoyed when you knew God called you to be His priest ... think of the difference you made at the most intimate level of people's lives. Don't be outside active ministry because of scandals in the Church or because the Body of Christ is sometimes inept and feeble. We need good priests who can show the world what the church is meant to be! Don't make a quick decision but pray first for guidance, and then seek help and advice from someone you trust.
"Men should not change from a good state of life to another, although it may be better, without taking grave counsel."
St Philip Neri
You will never be helpless here - just email another searcher or post a question on our Forum or PM one of our staff if you don't feel confident in public posting.