March 13, 2007

  • Priest and Nuns

    I received a message via the message feature.  I want to reprint a part of that message:

    “About an hour ago, I broke up with my long-time, non-Catholic girlfriend so I can follow my call and become a priest.”          

    Could you give up the opposite sex if you thought God was calling you to be a priest or nun?   

                                                           

Comments (116)

  • Uff Da…no.

  • I have the privilege of working for the church…but that..no…

  • I mean, if it’s a calling, you’d have to– it’s your destiny, the “Personal Legend.” If it’s really your calling, you will be able to.

  • If God was truly calling me, yes. He would give me the strength to follow His call.

  • first and second – beat that, suckers.

  • I don’t think so. Plus I’m already married, and God hates divorce. I suppose I could be celibate and still be married. Can you be a nun if you’re not a virgin? I’m ignorant in the ways of Catholicism.

  • Yes, but it wouldn’t happen because God doesn’t have my number.

  • Must have been a Jewish girl. Succubuses, all of them.

  • um…no, cuz God wouldn’t call me to do that…I’m not catholic

  • “if” i don’t believe such a thing, but I am not going to say no to God.

  • I suppose so , I would have a few questions though.

  • God wouldn’t do that to someone He loves.

  • If I actually believed God was calling me for that particular service I guess I could but since I don’t believe in the ritualism and whole idea of all that I doubt I would ever believe God was the one wanting me to do it…would figure it was my vain imagination. Guess I can say yes since I don’t believe it COULD happen. :)

  • yeah for protestantants!!! ha ha

    I dont know, i dont think you should have too choose. I think if you choose to be cilibate(sp?) that thats awesome but i dont really think it should be a “requirement” to serve God as a priest. I also dont think being male should mean you can be a leader or pastor and being a women should limit you too women, childrens, or mission work

    but thats just me

    - Daniel (doubledb)

  • If that’s what God wanted, then yeah, I could.

    But I hope I am not called to that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • thankfully i’m protestant, ministers/pastors don’t give up that stuff. :)

  • There is no where in the Bible that says you can’t get married. Also, I know that there are some (progressive) Catholic churches that allow married clergy.

    At some point the Church needs to analyze and differentiate tradition from Scripture. Both are important, but Scripture’s authority is a little higher.

  • I haven’t had a calling that strong to anything except motherhood… I could for Motherhood but not for anything else…. guess I’m too selfish for that

  • tough call, but he’s following his beliefs, and thats all he has to go off of i guess

  • Sure, why not.

  • I actually considered being a priest.

    Well, I would, if I were a guy.

  • I’ve got no one to give up, unfortunately.  Anyway, most branches of evangelicalism don’t require that a minister be single, so I should be in the clear.  That would be a tough decision to make, though. 

  • Scripture’s authority is a little higher.
    Posted 3/12/2007 11:41 PM by bigman_91984

    Scripture has no authority. The Holy Spirit is the authority.

  • Fuck priests and nuns. People are recockulous.

  • now that i have had my fun…yeah. why not?

  • Don’t have to worry about it, God doesn’t “call” people to do that.

  • No

  • If I thought that, sure. But I would eat a desk if I thought it was tofurkey.

  • if God was calling you, then He probably would also grant you the gift of celibacy, or else the apostle Paul was wrong in saying that it is good to be married.

  • The question should be can you give up little children of the same sex? Haha.
    Sorry to all the people I already know are going to think that was in bad taste.

  • Ahem….don’t you mean give up sex?

  • He would sure have to be persuasive

  • Yes.

  • I didn’t think religion could be strong enough of a factor to end a relationship…WOW.

  • i don’t think god would call anyone to do that. because having sex isn’t a fucking sin. the end.

  • I don’t think that God would do something like that. :/ People who think God is talking to them are nuts.

  • No.

  • It would be hard but I would if God told me to

  • God clearly makes it known that marriage is our choice. So, no. I do not believe in many Catholic practices.

  • It is a personal choice to give up female companionship.  Sex was thought to be corrupting.  Our father in Heaven does not need us to give up women to answer his call.

  • No… I like men too much to give them up for something I don’t believe in. Yes, I believe there’s a higher power, but who can say for sure whether it’s God, Buddah, Allah, or whichever diety one favors most?

  • That’s very, very unfair to the girlfriend.

    I wonder if God really wanted her heartbroken, especially since it doesn’t say in the Bible that you can’t be married and holy at the same time.

  • Yes.

  • I already gave up the opposite sex.

    But fags aren’t even allowed IN church, so…

  • Too late for me, but if God is really calling He will provide the strength.

  • o.O

  • Yes. But I don’t think it is my calling to be one. Entering the church in that way is a Sacrement but so is marriage and I would be quite fine with just marriage.

  • In the Orthodox church though Priests may be married if they got married before they became a priest. I don’t really understand monastics and there seems to be some odd theology involved that doesn’t match up to some other stuff…

    cheers,
    m

  • But fags aren’t even allowed IN church, so…

    Posted 3/13/2007 4:51 AM by MySoulsIdol

    Well, duh! Cigarettes leave this like, thin yellow layer on everything and cleaning that off takes FOREVER.

    Do you mean homosexual men/women? Of course they’re allowed in church, don’t be ridiculous.

  • I do not believe that God calls people to give up the other sex to enter the clergy. I believe that is on of the many rules that catholics created in a panic years ago that no on has had the courage to stand up and challenge.

    If I thought God was calling me to give up women then I would want to though it would be very difficult.

  • I couldnt, I love sex and  everyone believes different.

  • hell no…

  • yahh..

    but i hope i dont have to.

  • Yeah.  If I heard God’s call, I’d be going to serve Him and forget about the opposite sex.  At the moment, it actually sounds like a good deal…

  • of course.

  • i know a guy that went through three years of the training & seminary (is that what you’d call it?) just before he was about to pretty much devote his entire life, he stepped back and realized that he just couldn’t give up women for the rest of his life. he’s still faithful to his church..but he dates like it’s going out of style :o )

  • If it’s what I really believed in, I guess…. everyone has to follow what they think is right for them personally. Thank God I’m not Catholic.

  • Yes, I could. I am right now. It is so hard, but I am happy.

  • I am not catholic…..so I can’t really answer on the nun thing and I am married so I don’t think God would ever break up a marriage, but if you feel God is calling you to do something then you better make sure it is truly coming from him and then not doubt his will. 

  • God would never call ME to be a priest or num.

  • Don’t think He would. Men and women were created by God for one another. IF He did though, and I was sure about it, then yes.

  • I see no reason for anyone to give up marriage.  It is not in scripture and that is the only guidebook we need to go by.  Paul suggests that it is a lot easier for people to serve, but in no way does he suggest giving up marriage.  If you look all the way through the Bible it has been shown that the priests who served in the temple were married and raised families.

  • WHAT?!

    God wouldn’t do that to someone He loves.
    Posted 3/12/2007 11:36 PM by RagamuffinKing

    So God doesn’t love the men and women who feel called to lead celibate lives in service to the Kingdom of Heaven?!? Ohhh, buddy, you might want to look into your words there!!!

  • I’m not Catholic, so it wouldn’t be an issue.

    I don’t know whether celibacy is a gift.  I chose celibacy as a single, widowed parent with no end in sight; believe me, it doesn’t feel like a gift.  It’s a sacrifice, and is miserably lonely.

  • I’m not Catholic, so I can’t say, but yes, I probably would because God would give me the strength. (Even though I have no one to give up. haha)

  • God would never call ME to be a priest or num.
    Posted 3/13/2007 8:12 AM by BelinaRising
     
    Ooh, never say that. You never know.

  • He’s probably a pervert like most clergymen.

  • no,

  • since i’m buddhist i’d have to say no.

    even if i was christian to some extent i’d probably still say no. its not like how they wrote about in the bible about old times, where god specifically chooses someone to do something great. do you know how many priests are out there?!?

  • If I really believed I had a calling, yes.

  • Or rather, if I really had a calling, yes.

  • NO.

  • Considering i’m not catholic, that wouldn’t be a problem. But if indeed was catholic and felt this was truly what i was meant to do in life, why not?

  • being non-religious, of course i’m going to say no, but i would like to say something about the girlfriend. see, again being non-religious, i would never date someone religious, because of potential conflict such as this one. i mean, i guess it says non-catholic, so i suppose she’s probably protestant, but speaking as if she were non-religious, it would have to be awful to get into a relationship and get dumped for god. i mean, if i were dumped for another girl, i could be angry and upset, try to win him back and such, but if it’s with god, i would feel so helpless. how do you compete with god in a situation like this for someone’s heart without feeling like the devil? even though i don’t believe, i still respect other people’s decision to believe.

  • The problem is I have never felt called to be a nun, probably because I am not Catholic. Life long celibacy, not something I would volunteer for on a whim. But if God made it irrefutably clear that was his will for my life, I could. But thankfully I don’t see that happening.
    : )

  • No- I would first have to hear God Calling “Become a Catholic” and I would probably be dead before I got through all that, so why bother?

  • Nope. Why would God call me to divorce my husband? That wouldn’t make any sense.

  • no way. After a long dry spell I get nearly intolerable….speaking of which…..

  • well in my religion only monastic priests are celibate (sp?).  i thought about being a nun when i was younger and yeah i could do it. its not really about the celibacy, its about the peaceful life devoted to prayer.  that i could do.  i like convents in russia and europe, they are peaceful and the life is as it should be for those that find that way.  also little known fact…you can renounce the monastic life and return to secularism. 

    now to break up with someone because of a calling?  i think there might be something else there relationship wise that will only become apparent later in time, perhaps when there is a new woman in this individuals life.

  • If God is anti-sex, he would never have made it feel so good.

  • If I thought the Catholic system was Biblical, absolutely.
    Of course, I’m of the opinion that marriage is permissible for any of God’s children, even those with a supposedly “higher” calling. The Catholic rules are man-made.

    Dialectical Ascent

  • Maybe, if I even thought God existed.

  • oh god. The girl im with, I wouldnt give up for a calling of god. Theres happiness and then theres duty. Choose which is more important to you.

    Now of course, you will be happy with your duty at times as you will be mad with your happiness. But thats time. I dont think of time. Its a generalization
    Derek

  • i dont think that would happen and its hard to say when i dont think it will happen

  • if I was not married, I would, but now I’m married and divorce is wrong in God’s eyes, I will not do it.

  • I’m married, so God wouldn’t ask me to ditch the gal.  Furthermore, to serve God in the church, you don’t need to be not married.  That’s accepted tradition in the RC church, but I’m yet to see that stipulation in the Bible.

  • First words I’d say would be “You sure about that one, God?”

    If so, I would.  But not before quite a bit of “fleece and rain”.

  • Yeah, I would.

  • This post is sexist.

    It assumes everyone is STRAIGHT.

  • Wait. . .I guess if you were a priest you “shouldn’t” be gay.  Since the Catholic church would say that was Wrong and all. . .blah blah blah

  • No. I would ask my (figurative) significant other to guide me to the nearest mental ward until I could remember the athiest I am =]

  • I’ve proclaimed that I would be a nun before, as an excuse to give up boys forever. But I’m not a particularly religious person, so I’d wonder why God would call on me in the first place.

  • By giving up you mean–never ever associating with the opposite gender or just being platonic?  It makes a difference.  I’d like to know if you’re a social priest or a reclusive, hobbit-ish one.

  • i’d make the comprimise, become a deacon and remain in a relationship.

  • no because i don’t believe that would even happen.

  • Don’t you think your question should be “Could you give up sex if you thought God was calling you to be a priest or nun? ”    

    Opposites doesn’t really matter in thise case, but who am I to judge? :)

  • If you are married already and are called to become a deacon you may remain married and still hold a position of a deacon.

    Yes I would give up any possibility of married/having a boyfriend in order to become a nun, I’ve actually given it serious consideration and have realized at this point it is not what I want, but maybe sometime in the future.

  • I am ordained(not in the catholic faith though). Fortunatly, I am only celebate right now due to my personal feelings. My religion doesn’t require me to give up relationships.  

  • I’ve been the girl left for God. I think it is important that the gal knows that her guy is that into God. if it is a shock its kinda your own fault for not realling knowing the person. same for if the chick becmes a novice or something. Whatever, we are still friends. I saw him at a holy hour on saturday of all things.

  • …no.

    I couldn’t give up anyone. But, I have to salute his devotion, I guess.

  • Yes

  • absolutely.

    and as one Catholic to another, whoever posted the message, im so proud of you for having the courage to let go and let God. stay strong! youre in my prayers!

  • yes, no questions asked!

  • Yup, not a doubt….

    Peace

  • I could try, but I bet I’d fail. fortunately I personally beliee that a pastor should be married and not single. the exact opposite of the catholic view

  • i gave up the opposite sex because i thought God was calling me to be a lesbian. so, sure.

  • “Scripture has no authority. The Holy Spirit is the authority.”

    I think your view of Scripture is too low.  II Timothy 3:14-17, II Peter 1:19-21, Acts 17:11

  • “Scripture has no authority. The Holy Spirit is the authority.”

    Of course, I shouldn’t defend Scripture by quoting Scripture.  It’s a faulty method of argument.  But I wonder where you get your ideas about the Holy Spirit’s authority.

  • I really don’t think so. Besides, I do not think that God is calling me to be a nun, seeing as I am not of the Catholic denomination.

  • No. Love conquers.

  • Well, I suppose I’d have to, if that’s what God wanted, how could I say no. (Yes, I know I’m being a big hippocrite by saying that.) It would be hard, though, and then I’d really never have romance.

  • At the moment, I dont think I can. Hmm…

  • Considering I’m not too happy with the opposite sex right now, I could. I might have trouble becoming a nun if I knew a guy worth something.

  • Yes. In the passages below, you can see that if God calls you to something, it is not your strength that will allow you to endure but his strength that will bring you through. Keep praying and let God speak to your heart.

    2 Samuel 22:33
    It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
    Psalm 73:26
    My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
    Isaiah 41:10
    So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
    1 Corinthians 10:13
    No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

  • Nope. I’m not religious, per se.

  • The Christians here who say that God wouldn’t call anyone to be celibate should check out Matthew 19:10-12.

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