www.vocation.com - How can I be sure that the priesthood is what God want

	David asks: I read a lot of the answers to your other questions and they were very informative and helpful. I have read many articles on discerning and they give the good advice of opening yourself up to God's will and not relying on whether you feel like you want a vocation or not. I think that this is good advice but I think I have the opposite problem that many people have while discerning. I want to be a priest but I'm not sure if that's God's will. I don't want to take my wants and try to pretend like they are God's. Could you give me some advice? Thank you in advance.
	Dear David, Perhaps the answer to your question is in your motives. Why do you want to be a priest? What is your idea of a priest? Who is your inspiration in wanting to be one? How much do you know Christ and want to be like him? What are the needs you see that you would like to remedy? When do you get these desires? Quite possibly as you examine your motives you will find a mixture: some that are good, like a desire to serve, wanting to give the sacraments, wanting to be holy and to save your soul..., and also maybe some that are obviously not so good, such as vanity, ambition, or whatever. If you find that there are some good motives among the others, start to clear away the wrong ones and focus on the good. Read good books on the priesthood, read the lives of holy priests, and, above all, pray. You would do well also to speak with a spiritual director or confessor about your motives and ask him for practical help on how to cultivate the better ones. God bless,


	Type your question here to search the responses in the AnswerBase. If you don't find an answer, send your question to Fr Bannon online...