Priesthood is a great Yes, not a bunch of miserable No’s

        No, you can’t get married.
        No, you can’t have sex.
        No, you can’t be a dad and raise a family.
        No, you can’t make serious money.
        No, you can’t determine the course of your own life.

When I first felt the call as a teenager, I thought of the priesthood through the lens of all these Nos.  Most of the priests I knew growing up embodied this life of No – unapproachable, grouchy and insecure in their authority. 

Who would want that kind of life? Not me, for sure.  It wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties, when I started taking the faith seriously for the first time, that I started to think of the priesthood as, not a list of Nos, but one great YES.

        Yes, Lord, I offer you my body.
        Yes, Lord, I offer you my masculinity.
        Yes, Lord, I offer you my strengths.
        Yes, Lord, I offer you my weaknesses.
        Yes, Lord, I offer you my past.
        Yes, Lord, I offer you my future.

YES, Lord, I give you all of me – without conditions or reservations – in the ultimate YES.  Yes, Lord, I will serve you as a priest. 

If you are struggling with your calling to the priesthood, reframe what the priesthood is.  It’s not a series of Nos, it’s the life of YES.  
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~ Fr. Anthony J. Federico