"...The priesthood, is conferred by a particular Sacrament, whereby priests, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are sealed with a special character, and are so configured with Christ that they can act in the person of Christ." (Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis n. 2.)
To be priest first we have to feel the restlessness inside our hearts, if we understand that we have the vocation to follow the path that God asks of us.
The vocationis the call. All people have the universal call to be saints, but each person in a different way. Vocations include consecrated life, priesthood, singleness and marriage.
The discernment is the lifelong process of ascertaining God's will through prayer and prayerfulness. spiritual guidance. Discernment requires a lot of patience.
Father Jan Lozano, a priest from Lima (Peru), celebrates Holy Mass on a hill in his parish.
Regarding the mission of a priest "Precisely because he belongs to Christ, the priest is radically at the service of men: he is a minister of their salvation, of their happiness, of their authentic liberation" Benedict XVI.
Be priest Being a priest is not a decision to be taken lightly. It is a path that takes years to complete and therefore requires strength of heart and firm beliefs.
It is fundamental to participate in your parish, in your center, in a word to be part of the Church actively. Encourage an ever deeper habit of prayer and a balanced devotional life. This process goes hand in hand with the feeling of vocation and the process of discernment.
In order to become a priest, different sources of knowledge can help in making a decision. Along the way candidates will receive help from their formators and spiritual directors. "It is a matter of guarding and cultivating vocations, so that they may bear mature fruit. They are a "diamond in the rough" that must be worked with care, patience and respect for the conscience of the people, so that they may shine in the midst of the people of God.". Pope Francis
One of the most important steps to become a priest in Spain is to enter the seminary.
Seminaries such as the Sedes Sapientiae International Seminary in Rome and the Bidasoa International Seminary in Pamplona, form and house seminarians who come from all over the world, sent by their bishops, to study the last four years until their ordination as deacons. Upon their return to their dioceses and after the corresponding internships, they are ordained priests.
In some cases, and whenever the bishop of the diocese deems it necessary, seminarians can be formed in a more specialized and international center of studies, such as the pontifical universities. These are institutions that provide academic knowledge and where the universality of the Church is lived in the path of the Church. formation of priests.
In the case of the study centers promoted by the CARF Foundation, these are corporate tasks that Opus Dei places at the service of the bishops of the entire world.
All ecclesiastical studies completed in Pontifical Institutions qualify for priestly ministry in any part of the world if one has the proper license.
After completing seminary, a bishop may call you to holy orders and ordain you into ministry. The sacrament of priestly ordination consists of consecration to the ministry of service to the Church and to God. This requires full dedication and free disposition to God. The sacrament of Orders grants the authority to exercise ecclesiastical functions and ministries. It is divided into three degrees of commitment:
"The priest is not a psychologist, nor a sociologist, nor an anthropologist: he is another Christ, Christ himself, to attend to the souls of his brothers."
In CARF we want all vocations to reach the priesthood, therefore we invite Christians to have a greater commitment and financial support to candidates who wish to properly complete their priestly formation. A solid priestly formation will allow them to better assist all people in the exercise of their priestly ministry. pastoral work.
The residents of Sedes Sapientiae and Bidasoa spend up to six years in formation to serve the Church in the five continents. They have already asked themselves the question of how to become a priest. They have gone through all the steps to become priests in Spain and the world. Would you like to know their testimonials? We tell you about it on the CARF Foundation website.
Seminarians preparing to become priests are responding to God's call by dedicating their lives to the work of the Church. Just getting to the door of the seminary has already been a struggle and a commitment for all of them.
