What Makes a Priest?

Fr. Patrick Troadec

Many people think that a vocation consists primarily in an interior light which causes a young man to feel called to give himself totally to God. It is true that, to be a priest, it is necessary to be attracted to this kind of life. Such an attraction is often the factor which triggers a vocation, but it is not the essential element. The attraction is not necessarily something felt. Some young people, seeing the vast field of souls abandoned like a flock of sheep without a shepherd, stirred by their Catholic heart, feel driven interiorly to devote themselves fully to the service of God and His Church.

In addition to an attraction towards this kind of life there are aptitudes in the physical, moral, intellectual and spiritual fields. Such aptitudes give a reasonable hope that the person will suitably carry out the tasks of the priesthood and will keep its obligations in a holy manner. If a person felt called to the priesthood but lacked one of the essential qualities the Church requires in a good priest, such a person would not have a vocation. The Church's principal criterion in assessing a vocation is an analysis of the candidate's objective qualities. The statutes of the 1949 Synod of Lyons drew up the following list of requirements:

1) An honorable origin, i.e., the candidate should come from a family of irreproachable moral character.

2) Adequate health.

3) An open and frank nature, neither soft nor too violent.

4) A mind capable of acquiring the knowledge which, increasingly, the priest needs.

5) A sound judgment, which is the most essential quality of mind.

6) A pure heart, endowed with a certain degree of generosity.

To have a vocation, therefore, it is not necessary to receive a visit from an angel clearly informing you of God's will. It is enough to have the qualities which the Church requires of candidates for the priesthood, and to look forward to the priesthood out of disinterested and supernatural motives. As to these qualities, some are innate, like health, temperament, common sense, and intellectual capacity; but others are the fruit of education, such as purity of heart, the gift of oneself, generosity. Here the role of the family and of teachers is of prime importance. What a marvelous grace parents and teachers have, to be able to cooperate in this way with the divine action which gives rise to a vocation! But, at the same time, what a responsibility! Of course there can be no question of manufacturing a vocation, for this comes from God; but we can allow it to develop, and we can avoid anything which could thwart it in one way or another.

Fr. Troadec together with priests and seminarians in St. John Vianney Seminary,
Flavigny, France.

What are the criteria for selecting candidates for the seminary!

The marks of a vocation themselves suggest the selection criteria for candidates for the seminary. Those admitted are young men who give reasonable cause for hope that they will be capable of fulfilling the obligations of priestly ministry in a holy manner.

Furthermore, if the candidates are to benefit from what the seminary has to give, they need to have an openness of mind and a certain docility, and be able to give themselves. Spirituality and doctrine, prayer and study are the two poles which enable seminarians to absorb the mind of the Church and be conformed to their Divine Model.

This formation presupposes a certain maturity and a minimal acquaintance with the Christian life. In fact, the specific aim of the first year is a real and profound conversion. According to the regulations for the seminaries of the Society of St. Pius X, this year should be a year of spiritual enlightenment, bringing about in the seminarians a profound conversion and orientation to God. This year, conscientiously completed, should have a considerable influence on the future priest's entire life.

This is why, when we meet a young man who does not yet have the requisite qualities for fully profiting from the seminary, we do not hesitate to ask him to wait, in one of our houses or even, sometimes, at university, particularly if his vocation is not certain. In such a case, effective spiritual direction can make him ready for the seminary.

What kind of men are seminarians at the Curé of Ars Seminary!

We find that there are two types of vocations. Some young men have had the desire for the priesthood from their earliest childhood. Others have been attracted to it much later. This explains the variety of candidates and their span of age, generally from 18 to 30 years.

The great majority of our seminarians are French. A half to two-thirds of the seminarians received their education in our schools. Many of them had been scouts or members of the MJCF (French Catholic Youth Movement). Quite a number of them were converted while pursuing higher studies, whether through the MJCF or not.

A fact that should be mentioned is the presence in the seminary of a certain number of foreign seminarians. Since 1996 we have had Lebanese, a Sri Lankan, some from Gabon, some Americans, Canadians, English, one Italian, some Swiss and a Belgian.

Also, the level of studies is very variable because some young men only have the baccalaureate, whereas others have completed long courses of higher studies. Some even have professional experience behind them.

Do these young people from such different backgrounds get on well together!

Far from producing cliques or divisions in the seminary, all these differences are a source of breadth for the seminarians; they constitute the richness of an international seminary. Furthermore, the presence in the seminary of men who were at school with the Society means that it is much easier to do the various tasks that need to be done. Without them, there would be many difficulties: for instance, it would be hard to form a choir every year, or ensure that the Mass is served well and beautifully.

As for the converts, they too are an enrichment through their great generosity and receptivity. And the maturity of the older seminarians helps to moderate the impetuosity of youth.

It would be a mistake, however, to imagine that this harmony is brought about without sacrifices; but, thanks to your prayers and to good will on all sides, the seminarians are gradually transformed during their first year in the seminary, as they get closer to Our Lord. This is very encouraging for us priests who have charge of them.

What are the obstacles to the flowering of vocations!

If we take the Church's criteria for assessing a vocation, it is easy to discover many obstacles to the flowering of vocations. Here I shall mention just a few of them.

The first is a disunited family. If the Church chooses candidates from "honorable families," i.e., from families whose morality is beyond suspicion, it is not surprising that the first obstacle to a vocation is the lack of harmony in a family. We know that, for a child to be able, one day, to set out on life, it is necessary to give him the opportunity of practicing his freedom by entrusting certain responsibilities to him. We should not think that the best way of making a man of him is to remove all the obstacles he finds on his path! Where children are at boarding school, it is primarily during holiday time that parents should give them the opportunity to give of themselves. Many vocations have come to light in this way, as a result of experiences in which the children have learned to give themselves in the service of their neighbor. In this matter we have to play the "trust" card, without, of course, failing to maintain vigilance. Vigilance is particularly indispensable when it comes to the choice of leisure activities. We do not need to say here that television, by insidiously inoculating people with the spirit of the world, by weakening the will and besmirching souls, banishes God's blessings and, in particular, the grace of vocation. The fact is that, at a certain age, too many young people spend all their time together getting to know each other instead of putting themselves into some constructive and worthwhile activity. Instead of putting their talents at the service of their neighbor, they foolishly waste their time in self-seeking. And, as you know, idleness is the mother of all the vices. Those who go down this slope are fit for all manner of permissiveness. In any case, it is not by living like this, in self-absorption, that they will one day acquire a taste for—let alone the courage to—consecrate their lives to a beautiful ideal. A very experienced colleague pointed out, furthermore, that a critical attitude towards priests on the part of the faithful also inhibits vocations. I can well believe it. There can be no doubt that families are deprived of priestly vocations as a result of their critical spirit. If children see their parents behaving negatively towards the priest, they will end up losing a sense of the beauty of the priestly vocation.

What can we do to encourage vocations!

Prayer is the first factor in the flowering of vocations. In fact, Our Lord himself, seeing that the harvest was plentiful but the laborers were few, gave us the appropriate remedy: "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest" (Lk. 10:2). So prayer is indispensable if God is to touch the souls of a large number of generous young people. Next, however, if suitable candidates are to be found, it is necessary that there be good Catholic families, it is necessary that children be educated in good schools and that they know how to profit from the riches of the education they receive.

Harmony between the family and the educational environment is of capital importance if education is to succeed. The child needs to live in peaceful and serene surroundings if it is to develop and live in a wholesome manner. This is why it is so important for there to be transparent cooperation between parents and educators. Without this osmosis, the child will not be slow to discover the discrepancy, to the detriment of his balance and his future.

We must not think that a man's formation begins at the age of 12. A good part of his life unfolds in first infancy. From his earliest years, the child must be surrounded by a Catholic atmosphere. This means that the choice of a primary school is decisive! May I let you in on a secret? In the seminary we become aware of certain deficiencies which have their origin in faulty primary school education!

Since the vocation consists essentially in giving oneself to God and to souls, it is necessary to teach children to give themselves. The Catholic religion centers on sacrifice. Our Lord is Priest and Victim. Everyone who embraces the path of priesthood must therefore prepare himself, in his turn, to be a priest and a victim. To achieve this, it is highly desirable that the candidate has learned, from a very young age, to deny himself. The man who has always followed his whims will have great difficulty in joyfully accepting the privations inherent in a vocation.

There is no other way to nourish the spirit of sacrifice than by helping children to grow in the love of God and the love of souls. Renunciation, self-denial, is actually nothing other than the sacrificial aspect of love. The mother of a family who is faithful to her vocation must have the spirit of sacrifice if she is to carry out her duties. And what is it that keeps the spirit of sacrifice alive in her? It is love for her husband and her children. The stronger her love is, the more she is able to sacrifice herself for her loved ones. As St. Augustine says: "He who loves finds it no pain; and if it does give pain, then he loves the pain." So the young man who wants to serve God must learn to love Our Lord with all his heart, and to love souls in God.

Retreats are absolutely essential if the candidate is to attain a certain intimacy with Our Lord. At a time when we lead hectic lives, we all need to re-charge our spiritual energy regularly. And to do this we need to have a time of withdrawal, sufficiently far from the world's turmoil and noise. A health-giving period of repose in God allows us to examine our life and come to a clear understanding of the path we must follow if we are to advance in a positive direction and avoid false steps. Then, if these retreats are not to be just a short blaze that quickly dies out, but are to have a lasting positive effect, it is good to have a spiritual director. Having a spiritual director does not dispense us from making our own efforts, but he will help us to stay faithful to the resolutions we have made and to grow in the love of God according to the rhythm of Providence.

We cannot separate love of God from love of our neighbor. That is why it is so important to give our young people a missionary spirit; no Catholic can fail to be a missionary in his soul. Dear Friends and Benefactors, if you are in the world, it is in order to make it a better place. And the desire to make the world a better place is the most effective way to avoid being corrupted by it. Here, the best defense is the spirit of conquest, of re-conquest! Youth movements, particularly for those aged 18-25, have an irreplaceable part to play in this missionary thrust. Our youngsters must be proud of being Catholics, and should not regard the "traditionalist" label as something to be ashamed of. Of course, in a way, this term is superfluous: How can a Catholic not be traditionalist? On the other hand, it is a useful term to distinguish us from the "conciliar" Catholics. Today, the whole world is again a missionary territory and we can be sure that Our Lord is counting on you to bring souls back to him.

Is there hope for tomorrow!

So you see that it needs many factors working together to result in the flowering of vocations: the family environment, the school, the choice of friends and of leisure activities; it requires an apprenticeship in the exercise of freedom, the missionary spirit, the meaning of priesthood. All these factors can facilitate or hinder the genesis and development of a vocation. The sooner the parents are aware of it, the quicker they can act. Let all Catholic parents make use of all their talents so that, one day, God may give them the immense grace of calling one of their children to this vocation, which is so beautiful and inspiring! They will never regret the sacrifices they made for it. The children they will have given to God will be their recompense and their crown. [From the Letter to Friends and Benefactors of the Seminary of the Curé of Ars, January 31, 2001.]

Fr. Patrick Troadec is a native Brittany, France. He studied for the priesthood in Ecône, Switzerland, and was ordained by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988. He has been the rector of the Society's French seminary in Flavigny, St. John Vianney, for the last five years.