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Positive attraction in vocational discernment
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May 2, 2025By Father Shane Deman
Vice-Rector for Formation
Kenrick-Glennon Seminary
Three Kenrick Seminary graduates who are working in vocations ministry recently joined me for an online discussion about the current landscape of vocational accompaniment. We discussed trends that we are seeing and how we help young discerners cultivate an authentic and positive desire for a religious vocation.
Cultivating a healthy capacity for relationships is seen to be crucial in how one discerns a possible call to the priesthood. Helping a young man remain in supportive relationships provides him with discernment settings among friends and family members who know him well and can speak into the strengths of his life. Yet this ability for relationship is even more important in how a man approaches prayer, as he seeks to know the Lord intimately with an attentiveness to his voice.
Father Scott Schilmoeller, Class of 2017 and Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese of Omaha, notes that young people need “authentic supportive Christian community where they are learning how to meet Jesus.” Families, youth groups, Newman Centers, or faith-filled friends are necessary for one to know God personally and discern how to serve the church generously.
ADDRESSING FEAR
Additional challenges that can disrupt a man’s entrance into formation are a lack of interior recollection and mature self-governance. Those who get overly caught up in thoughts about the priesthood sometimes lack the initiative to begin the application process. “There is a bit of fear to take the next step, to actually applying, or having the next conversation,” noted Father Brian Alford, Class of 2011 – Springfield, Illinois.
Such men might enjoy being part of a fraternity of men who are considering the priesthood, but who are not always willing to make a firm commitment. At the same time, some are too quick to assume a priestly vocation and might jump into seminary without first establishing proper interior roots of prayer and self-knowledge.
Even with an eagerness to serve the church, the application phase might reveal certain areas of underdevelopment in a man’s life, which should be addressed before he enters priestly formation. Rushing a man into seminary “doesn’t do service to the man,” said Fr. Alford, and entering seminary later with a deepened sense of maturity will provide him greater freedom.
Father Tony Ritter, Class of 2019 – St. Louis noted that some young people worry that they will not be happy as a celibate. “There is a fear that the Lord won’t fulfill in the deepest longings of our heart.” Yet the joy of those who cherish their relationship with God in a consecrated state gives a credible witness that religious vocations are indeed fulfilling.
FREEDOM TO FOLLOW
Photos by Cori Nations Photography courtesy of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary
CHECK OUT RELATED VIDEOThere can be widespread expectations for quick results in how many priests are getting ordained each year, which can put undue pressure on seminarians to get ordained. Yet Father Schilmoeller noted that “success is walking with a man to meet Jesus in his humanity to what is the next step that is best for him.”
Patiently accompanying a man will hopefully lead him to greater self-knowledge and self-acceptance so that he can pursue God’s will with generosity. We cannot “count our seminarians as future priests. They are men who are discerning. The seminary is not a priest factory,” said Father Ritter. Those who discern out of seminary have not failed if the Lord leads them to the vocation of marriage with the support of the church.
Such was the case with a story Father Schilmoeller shared over the course of our conversation. He tells of a recent trip to our seminary in which he brought a few young discerners from his diocese. That weekend just so happened to coincide with one of their seminarians’ final few days at the seminary, as the man had peacefully and joyfully discerned to leave seminary formation to pursue a call to marriage.
The freedom and love of the community that accompanied the seminarian leaving formation surprised the young discerners, anticipating such a decision to be met with casting stones or having to hide. Father Schilmoeller was able to meet them in their awe and wonder by affirming, “No, this is what happens when discernment goes well!”
Perhaps what is most important is for a man to discern a direct invitation to the priesthood from the Lord and find joy in responding to that call. It might seem obvious that priestly candidates have this desire within their hearts. Yet some men enter formation with guilt knowing the clergy shortage, or with an external feeling of duty based on the suggestions of others.
Yet a healthy long-term commitment should be rooted in a direct invitation from Jesus to serve as one of his priests. When this personal calling is in place, a man can pursue Holy Orders with a sense of freedom and remain confident in the Lord’s love.
A healthy desire for the priesthood starts with a holistic sense of one’s own humanity and a direct calling from Christ. Any efforts to aid young people in this integrated approach will help those considering the priesthood and those who are advancing in seminary.
Father Shane Deman is a priest of the Diocese of Sioux City who is currently serving at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. He also serves as the director of seminarians for the diocese. This article is reprinted from The Herald magazine, a publication of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.