tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post5629366464449965972..comments2023-08-29T14:30:15.595-07:00Comments on Over the Rainbow: VocationUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-78242784047618474922017-03-28T16:41:42.168-07:002017-03-28T16:41:42.168-07:00Sue, thank you for your post. You mentioned you do...Sue, thank you for your post. You mentioned you do not agree with my "dictating theology to the church". It would be nice if I, or others interested in reform within the Catholic Church, could dictate their wishes. Since the Second Vatican Council, reform movements have tried to influence the church but to no avail. <br /><br />There are indications that Pope Francis is interested in opening the ordain priesthood to married men. No doubt many others bishops share his views. Perhaps www.leavingthepriesthood.com has played a small roll in helping to bring this change. I emailed a link to the website to all Vatican offices and individuals I could find when it was launched. <br /><br />Remember Sue that dissent from church teaching has a long history within Catholicism. In previous eras some were killed for speaking up, even tortured, resulting in a long dark shadow being cast by the church. The cause for which many were killed later became incorporated into the church. <br /><br />Martin Luther and other 16th century reformers were successful in part because of the recently invented printing press. Today the Internet is changing societies as dramatically as the printing press did 500 years ago. Stopping the flow of information is become more and more difficult to accomplish.Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07570169445649423598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-42202678883496452762017-03-28T13:25:40.243-07:002017-03-28T13:25:40.243-07:00Continued from prior post...
Thus, to me, there wa...Continued from prior post...<br />Thus, to me, there was a lack of Christian maturity in not using "heavenly" reasons to making your decision and instead, you went into the ordained priesthood using "earthly" reasons, of which you are still holding onto. And I do believe that prior ordained priests, like yourself, who believe they "know" what's best, making up theology that goes against Church teaching, instead of trusting in the teaching Spirit of the Church that's been there for 2000 years, are more into worldly ways of thinking, than heavenly ways. In other words, to me, you entered an ordained priesthood for earthly reasons & now you are trying to condone those earthly reasons by setting up a site to gather in other "earthly" thinking prior ordained priests. And all you are doing is trying to change the church to becoming earthly, not heavenly. It shows no trust in the Spirit leading the apostleship in the church. In fact, I believe you are still thinking in earthly ways, rather than heavenly ways, concerning this. <br />It's all just like a couple who marries for the reasons that are more earthly than heavenly - eventually, the marriage falls apart. And this is what happened to you (and others). It's not that there is something wrong with how the leadership in the Church thinks on this; it's that you still are not to that point of "heavenly" thinking in regards to an ordain priest's role. A role that Christ and Paul demonstrated, as well as others, can be done - ie. St. Francis of Assisi, Ignatius of Loyola, etc. Marriage, in any form of priesthood, is a sacrament with specific roles to play. And all those roles pertain to the heavenly and not the earthly. Start seeing it that way and you will begin to understand the Church teaching on this. This is no way a judgement on you or any other ordained priest who has left that priesthood. To me, you are only men who heard more strongly some earthly calling for volunteering your life to celibacy than that of a heavenly one. It is about more your position at the table of the Son, and not necessarily about the will of Father.<br />Suenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-67795829877501551832017-03-28T13:24:36.071-07:002017-03-28T13:24:36.071-07:00I don't have a problem with a priest leaving t...I don't have a problem with a priest leaving the church to marry. I do have an issue with priests leaving and then dictating theology for the church on such developed theology as celibacy for a priest as they themselves want to dictate. ALL Catholics are priests in the Church. The difference is that some choose to marry and become a "priest" with a fidelity for marriage to someone other than the Church. In this regard, they give to the church in a worldly way. This is how they represent their priesthood - fidelity to the woman they marry and serving a role in the church as an example of a married man who then shows fruitfulness by how he treats his wife (with fidelity) and children produced. And then, how he teaches his children to also become "priests" to the Church, with whatever role the Holy Spirit might lead to. But the role one is called to needs to be developed with maturity. And if a father (or mother) doesn't lead with maturity their own children, then a child will end up entering into something for reasons that are earthly. <br /><br />Anointed priests, such as what you were, represent Christ as a spouse to the Church bride. This was your role, Henry, as an anointed and ordained priest priest. Fidelity, therefore, was to your Church bride, representing Christ's spousehood to his Church bride. To serve the Church fully as a spouse does for his bride. According to this Cincinnati Archbishop (http://www.cincinnativocations.org/who-is-the-church-looking-for/what-is-a-priest-by-archbishop-daniel-e-pilarczyk/), "Ordained ministry is a special calling within the Church to enable and assist the Church to be what it is called to be. Ordained ministers teach the Church in the name of Christ and guide it to faithfulness in belief. Ordained ministers preside in the name of Christ at the Church’s worship and, in turn, represent the people in that worship. Ordained ministers provide a center of unity for the Church as representatives of Christ. They are responsible for keeping the Church together as one...the primary and principal responsibility of the priest is to the household of the Church..." And to me, this role isn't to be entered into lightly, but needs a maturity behind the decision to keep in sight the "heavenly" reasons for taking on such a role. Paul said it clearly in 1 Corth 7, "A man who isn’t married is concerned about the Lord’s concerns—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the world’s concerns—how he can please his wife. His attention is divided."Suenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-2614569050324629222016-06-20T10:39:09.304-07:002016-06-20T10:39:09.304-07:00I am free from an ecclesiastical institution contr...I am free from an ecclesiastical institution controlling my personal life. As one matures their sense of authority moves from outer to inner. Emotionally healthy children no longer need their parents to control their behavior. They have an internal compass to guide them. Certainly not perfect but they can navigate life themselves. You speak of out of control passions ... Perhaps some projection on your part. Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07570169445649423598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-81282171832964071822016-06-20T07:23:21.692-07:002016-06-20T07:23:21.692-07:00You say you are free. What are you free from now? ...You say you are free. What are you free from now? I don't think you are free at all. You freed yourself from self restraint only to find yourself enslaved to your own passions. If you don't think this is true then try to do without them now. You will see how enslaved you are. Unfortunately you will not be rewarded for giving way to your passions. Heaven is for those who have grown in love of God not the things of this world. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11556411639732014941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-21281942520809338932015-09-08T17:50:08.838-07:002015-09-08T17:50:08.838-07:00Anonymous please speak for yourself. You are in pa...Anonymous please speak for yourself. You are in pain while the priest who understands the meaning of love and sacrifice for God, obviously shown by the fact that he hasn't masturbated for 20 years, lives on a higher and different level. All I see in your comments are people who have allowed themselves become victims of a sex saturated society. You confuse love and sexual intercourse and seem unable to understand that one can love another without at the same time humping her. Thats really sad. And your gravely mistaken. The Church is not just an institution unless you deny her being the body of Christ and the ever active presence of the Holy Spirit. The Church does not follow the pace set by society which goes contrary to deposit left by Christ - her head. Whether 1966, 1920 or 2015, truth does not stop being truth. There is no such thing as a technologically advanced Jesus Christ. He remains the same yesterday, today and forever. And yes, for the rest of you who question the Church on celibacy: the Church has the power to require celibacy of her ministers and does not need anyones permission and if you feel you do cannot accept it, then don't become a priest. Remember "you did not choose me, no I chose you", priesthood isn't a right but a gift. Remember Jesus rejected some who felt themselves called to follow him. If you cannot be obedient to the Church, then maybe you are not really called, and your desire to become a priest might be confused. You could be an evangelist, a permanent deacon, a catechist but not a priest. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-72701733099140286962015-08-22T03:20:47.681-07:002015-08-22T03:20:47.681-07:00The church is an institute, it is not god. Religio...The church is an institute, it is not god. Religious interpretation by the church needs to grow and evolve with the society and its people. We live in 2015 now, not 1920. Catholic church needs to progress so it can flourish again.<br />I speak from personal experience. I fell in love with a priest. He has not even been masturbating for 20 years. I ask is that even normal for a human being? Sexuality is suppressed but he can not stop loving. hence both of us are in pain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-44244907373315675842014-11-05T21:08:42.159-08:002014-11-05T21:08:42.159-08:00Father Joseph,
please stay in the priesthood. Rem...Father Joseph,<br />please stay in the priesthood. Remember that at our ordination we promised God to be celibate in order to better serve him. At our ordination our focus was on Him. Celibacy is a wonderful gift. I know of a brother priest who left for a woman he loved only to divorce her. A priest can't validly enter into Marriage anyway. Please stay.<br /><br />An anonymous brother priest who is very happy for the gift of celibacy and loves being a Roman Catholic Priest.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-61204276857255633932012-12-10T11:51:47.510-08:002012-12-10T11:51:47.510-08:00I don't know why I should have been surprised ...I don't know why I should have been surprised that the idea of a priest having sex wouldn't exactly shock the French nation but there it was in a televison serial, aired in 1989. And it was really incidental to the plot of "Rennes le Chateau: L'Or du Diable", an account I have been watching on YouTube of a priest who really existed, Béranger Saunière, a man who became pastor of a broken-down church in the south of France in that latter part of the 19th Century. At first the priest was impoverished like his parish, but then he seems to have gotten rich. In the series, he found a great treasure there at Rennes le Chateau, but there have been other speculations. During the episdoes, Béranger Saunière is not only seen as canoodling with his pretty young housekeeper but actually in bed with his half-naked mistress, an opera singer. I couldn't help but think that this would never have flown on American TV in 1989 and not even today. So I have to conclude that perhaps North America is one of the last places where a priest having consentual sex is thought disturbing and unacceptable, the stance of the Vatican not withstanding.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-30397332229018729592012-05-30T10:20:56.737-07:002012-05-30T10:20:56.737-07:00I have been seeing a psychiatrist for the past nin...I have been seeing a psychiatrist for the past nine months and trying my best to get well. Came upon this blog (hoping to find relief and answer to the purpose of my life). I have loved this priest for 40 over years. Since i know i will never be able to take him away from God, I married a divorcee. It was a very miserable and abusive marriage. Left me broken mentally and spiritually. After more than 20 years, with this priest's help, i returned to church as a practising catholic once more. When i was down with depression, i confessed to him my feelings and he told me that he has known all along how i felt for him. All these years, he has been praying every day for me and he was always there for me in good and bad times. We have became close friends over the years. What kept us pure is mainly with the help of God's love and blessings. Till today and to the day we part from this world, we wish each other heaven. I love him too much to want to hurt him or myself. Most of all, we don't want to sin against God. It's very very painful for me but it will be more painful if i drag him to hell with me. I am definitely no saint or a good catholic, but by learning to offer my sufferings and pain in union with Jesus, i hope to redeem myself and finding a reason for my pain. I don't ever regret loving him. In fact my spiritual life has been enriched because of his faithfulness to his vocation. He make me aim for heaven. Sometimes, it hurts so much and i understand how difficult it is to carry such a cross. What's the point of justifying or judging others for their choices in life? Only God can judge us. Only God will understand our personal hell when we fall in love with someone who can not love us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-48757337104293475352012-05-19T10:21:17.543-07:002012-05-19T10:21:17.543-07:00To thy known self be true .....those write easy, b...To thy known self be true .....those write easy, but are so difficult to live in the heart of a priest...who was born, still is a man, but laws that did not take into consideration they are human...I pray to God almighty for the holy spirit to show light to the Catholic church ..that they most of all don't show compassion and love ..which is the core of their teachings ...especially to the ones closiest to them their priests...Please support the 300 priests and bishops in Austria alone crying for change ..they seek to keep the Catholic church alive ...men have to die for lack of help with aids, some start addictions of alochol, preversed sexual behaviour and the church turns a blind eye on them....their is its love ....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-22515162982103384442012-01-18T10:32:24.187-08:002012-01-18T10:32:24.187-08:00Hey guys,
I am at the moment considering a Vocati...Hey guys,<br /><br />I am at the moment considering a Vocation. I feel that this doesnt look at the positives of a Vocation. I believe there areIrish Vocationnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-36718240938500171312012-01-08T04:47:35.037-08:002012-01-08T04:47:35.037-08:00Regarding the laicization question. From my friend...Regarding the laicization question. From my friend Conrad: "Yes, indeed. In fact, it is probably the only reason for requesting laicization in the first place (though the forced laicizaions currently occurring in the wake of sexual abuse would have the same effect). When a priest is laicized in either way, the Church removes the priest from the ranks of the clergy and makes him, once again, a layman. Holy Orders constitutes a diriment impediment to marriage, invalidating the marriage so that the church does not regard it as a marriage. The laicization dispenses the priest from this impediment and thus removes the obligation of celibacy imposed upon the priest by church law, so that he is free to marry, provided there is no other impediment. It also strips him of rights and privileges of priesthood, such as a right to financial support and the privilege of being called 'Father.' However, rights that are enforcable under civil law, such as the right to a pension (if such a right exists), are not taken away, but are honored according to the by-laws of the diocesan administration."Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07570169445649423598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-658040763737379172012-01-07T10:41:26.505-08:002012-01-07T10:41:26.505-08:00If a priest requests to be laizcized voluntarily b...If a priest requests to be laizcized voluntarily because he believes he is being called to the vocation of family life, does his laicization include the dispensation from clerical celibacy? Thus, when he is laicized, will he be free to marry?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-24238184949627560522012-01-04T19:14:53.872-08:002012-01-04T19:14:53.872-08:00I have been involved with a priest since 2008.He s...I have been involved with a priest since 2008.He says he loves me and I know I love him.He is the only man I have ever really loved.We met when I was doing voluntary work in their parish dispensary in the third world.Unfortunately am currently in europe and he is still in Africa.I meet lots of other men but am not attracted to any of them.I actually used to condemn myself for loving a priest but after going through this blog,I do accept that love is from God.Currently we are not communicating much but we do have times when we are so close and intense with each other.Unfortunately we chose the third option.Am not sure if he would be willing to leave the priesthood but there are times when he has confessed his regrets at not being able to having a family of his own.I would really love to have a life with him but I would not want to appear to be pushing him into a corner.I pray for him a lot and I hope someday something will give.For now its just hoping and praying.............Ritanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-11422058726409920642011-09-17T14:44:16.410-07:002011-09-17T14:44:16.410-07:00Henry, I very much agree with you when you write t...Henry, I very much agree with you when you write that the church has put itself in place of God. It has "an infallible leader", which is one of the hallmarks of a cult. And, of course, this leader has a direct line to God and knows exact what he wants and requires of people. Right. The sad part is, people actually believe this. I would say this to practicing Catholics: Enjoy the beautiful aspects of your religion. Enjoy the mass, the music, and the smell of the incense. But do not live in fear and guilt. Don't worry about sins as long as you follow the Golden Rule and do not harm others. Most of the "sins" the church tries to shove down your throat were invented by it to control you and to make it more powerful. Only those you have hurt have the power to forgive you. Ask forgiveness of them and not of a man who is not perfect, himself, because he is a human being and capable of wrong-doing, too. Or, lacking the forgiveness of others, if you are sincere in your efforts to become a better person, forgive yourself. In the final analysis, this is the key to healing and emotional wellness. <br /><br />To you ladies who are suffering due to having been involved with a priest or are currently in that situation--here is a rule of thumb that ought to be engraved in gold and studded with diamonds: "It isn't what a man SAYS to you that counts. It's what he DOES."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-61022816519370732852011-09-17T11:15:22.149-07:002011-09-17T11:15:22.149-07:00Brigette,
I encourage you to review www.leavingthe...Brigette,<br />I encourage you to review www.leavingthepriesthood.com and forward it to the priest you love. You both may find helpful information as you look at your future. <br /><br />Anonymous, <br />Thank you for your insights about how church leaders have constructed their ecclesiastical system to control priests and convince them they are "married" to the church via their "vocation". It is obvious you are not under the thumb of this cult-like institution. It is possible for doctors or anyone else to view their work as a vocation where they feel called by God to use their gifts to bring healing. The problem with priests considering their work to be a vocation where they have been called by God, is that the church has put itself in the place of God. Priests who long for marital companionship most clearly see the cult-like control the church has over them. The experience of love often opens the priest's eyes to this reality.Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07570169445649423598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-13368229371981352612011-09-17T10:45:27.545-07:002011-09-17T10:45:27.545-07:00i am currently attracted to my priest and he also ...i am currently attracted to my priest and he also admitted that he loves me too....but now whereto from here?Brigettenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-80610491079680944712011-09-17T10:09:59.350-07:002011-09-17T10:09:59.350-07:00You say:
"I have to treat it as I would a m...You say:<br /><br /> "I have to treat it as I would a man who claims to care for me yet married someone else - he's not available. It's just hard knowing he still loves me, and knowing my church things I'm a horrible temptress - absolutely rediculous. I am a faithful Catholic woman who only wants to share this man with them, and wants to support his relationship with his vocation."<br /><br />I think you're in denial. A man can "care for" one woman but, if he marries someone else, he didn't really love her. Nowadays, who could have forced him to marry that other woman? I cannot believe a man who is truly in love with a woman would give her up in order to become a priest, either. Would you have left this man to become a nun, had it been your choice?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-82272943185992019862011-09-17T09:59:46.245-07:002011-09-17T09:59:46.245-07:00I have been reading the posts on this website for ...I have been reading the posts on this website for quite a long time. My conclusion is it doesn't take a Dr. Freud to analyze that many of the people who write here continue to be brainwashed by the self-serving rhetoric of the Catholic church. One of the biggest entrapment terms is, IMO, "vocation". It means, essentially, a "calling", but the church insists that the one who did the calling to the priesthood was God. Many people would opine that a cardiologist, for example, does an equal service to humanity as a priest--if not more--but the church doesn't say a cardiologist has a "vocation". The catch behind all this is if a man decides to stop being a priest because he is unhappy he betrays God, the one who "called" him. As far as I can tell, only one priest here spoke truly in his post when he stated that he decided he could put up with mandatory celibacy because he wanted to become a priest so badly. He knows and is willing to admit that it was he who was attracted to the priesthood for his own reasons, just as other men are attracted to other jobs or professions for reasons known to them.<br /><br />How many times have I heard the phrases "married to the church" in the case of priests and "bride of Christ" regarding nuns? More rhetorical nonsense and more entrapment that trickles down to the women here who have loved priests. They all claim love [not just to have had a casual affair with the padre] but some feel quite guilty about their feelings of love as though a priest were not just another man in a uniform. I even get the sense some of the women don't even blame the priests for not choosing them over the priesthood because they *had no business getting involved with a priest in the first place*. Do the women who fall in love with members of the clergy of other faiths twist themselves into knots like this? No. Because, for some reason, the see the ministers and rabbis as men first and not a piece of property owned by a mighty institution that has specified "hands off or both of you will receive eternal punishment". I am not a Protestant but all this seemed like nonsense to a lot of people even hundreds of years ago. That's why there was a Reformation. Unfortunately for those here, your ancestors decided to stick with the church of Rome and so you are stuck with the same medieval guilt-producing rhetoric that has made you so unhappy and frustrated. As to the popes--is there really superior wisdom in old age? I have seen a lot of foolish old men that seem to belie that belief and not a one of them wants to diverge from his daily routine. It's the elderly who find security in sticking to the status quo and that is why every pope elected is up there in years--out of fear that a young one might have some "modern ideas" that could rock the boat. Wake up. This is the 21st Century. We not only have physics but quantum physics. If there was a heaven or a hell *out there* it would have been discovered by now. Heaven and hell is right here on earth and some varieties of hell are caused by faiths [not just the Catholic one] who brainwash people at an early age and give them no peace of mind even as adults.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-9851032625852026992011-08-20T12:36:41.550-07:002011-08-20T12:36:41.550-07:00As a Catholic woman, when I fell in love with a Ca...As a Catholic woman, when I fell in love with a Catholic man, who also fell in love with me, I was deeply hurt that his love for me, as he was planning to enter seminary, was considered to "defile" him and to be an "abomination" under our shared faith and God. He has been a priest for many years, I have struggled to move on. I married but the marriage was in many ways a compromise. I put my all into it but have never felt the same with any man other than this priest I have so long loved. I think it is ludicrous that our church teaches that having my love would diminish his life, his vocation, his work. The truth is that the church has the dream situation as an employer - keep your employees impoverished and alone so you can transfer them at will, never worry about them having any kind of personal life or other personal obligations, never having to consider them to be men. The fact that many men are now converting from priesthood in the Anglican church to Catholic priests,bringing their families alone, and that the Eastern Catholic churches have long permitted marriage, even our own faith is not consistent. <br /><br />My one true love will never leave his vocation. On one hand I'm taught that he doesn't need me, that this is perfectly a natural state for a priest. On the other, he hasn't seen me in decades yet feels just meeting me for coffee would jeopordize his vows and so he is not comfortable doing so, even as a friend. <br /><br />I don't like being considered the devil's handmaiden for simply loving a man, in large part because of his strong faith. If after decades of being apart and honoring his vows and living separately and trying to move on separately we are still feeling what we do, am I crazy to feel that we are denying a gift from God? <br /><br />I guess it doesn't matter - he will never leave, the Church, even if it does change, will likely never permit current priests to marry, even if they extend the current allowance for already married men to become ordained beyond the Eastern churches and those converting from Anglicanism. <br /><br />I am at a loss to understand this unecessary hurt. I am also frustrated that when I've tried to talk to other priests about this, seeking some understanding, they act like I have some sick fetish for priests. I did not fall in love with a priest - I fell in love with a college guy who I did not know was considering the priesthood, then lost him when he made that decision. I have to treat it as I would a man who claims to care for me yet married someone else - he's not available. It's just hard knowing he still loves me, and knowing my church things I'm a horrible temptress - absolutely rediculous. I am a faithful Catholic woman who only wants to share this man with them, and wants to support his relationship with his vocation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-65743930180424265842011-07-21T21:35:10.780-07:002011-07-21T21:35:10.780-07:00I loved a man and he loved me, but called to the p...I loved a man and he loved me, but called to the priesthood he chose it over me. He left seminary and returned to me, left me and returned to seminary. Became a priest and serves within the confines of the vocation. It's been many years, he has recently said he still loves me. Given the choice he would have both me and the priesthood central to his life. He has shared that his lonliness diminishes his vocation, as he is deeply saddened observing families - he wanted one for himself. He is deeply saddened after an evening mass to know that the others are returning home together with their loved ones, and he to a sterile and lonely room. I think he should leave the priesthood but would never ask, nor offer to be there for him if he did because time and again, he chose the priesthood first. It is an archaic, financially motivated and rediculous requirement. <br /><br />I will not believe my love for this man was not a gift from God. It didn't work out for either of us because of the rules of man. Denying a gift from God is not a good idea - the Church is wrong to expect it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-74052279587725352192011-07-10T01:01:01.695-07:002011-07-10T01:01:01.695-07:00For all those having trouble leaving, or indeed st...For all those having trouble leaving, or indeed staying, I have written some of those feelings into my new novel According to Luke, in which the protagonist Jana Hayes, falls in love with a priest. It is getting good reviews on Amazon. Have a look - it tackles faith, loyalty and love, in addition to conflict and confusion, and the reasons that hide behind some motivations for becoming a priest.<br /><br />Enjoy.Rosanne Dinglihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297891545294681562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-62059759373644093182011-01-13T20:32:52.755-08:002011-01-13T20:32:52.755-08:00No, I never equated God with the church, but must ...No, I never equated God with the church, but must admit that they were closely related in my mind during the time I professed the promise of celibacy to my Bishop. But, to equate God with the church is idolatry. That is the whole point of my “Over the Rainbow” blog. The little man behind the curtain pulling the levers with all the smoke and fire is nothing more than a little man. He is not God. I think spiritual maturity requires we make this separation. To ascribe the status of God to the church or any other human institution or human being may bring a sense of security and safety, but it is also dangerous and leans into the cultic. I hope you can reflect on this in prayer and see that God transcends any human categories, people or institutions. You may think you know God’s will but humility demands you admit it is beyond your human comprehension. It appears your faith is in the church and not in God or Jesus who are divine and by definition, omnipotent, which is to say, beyond human understanding or control.Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07570169445649423598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1552160800257691841.post-50776732490628701782011-01-13T19:48:02.325-08:002011-01-13T19:48:02.325-08:00If you didn't believe that your vow was to God...If you didn't believe that your vow was to God, to be a Priest in His name and act in the person of Christ, then why did you make a vow to a Church...a Church who if it has no authority by God is not a Christian church. <br /><br />I think you did believe at the time of your vows that the Church was given authority by God, and I think you are saying otherwise now in order to allievate some of your guilt for your sexual indiscretions and inability to maintain the vow you made to God. In all reality if you would only accept that you broke your vow with God, then He would forgive you. Instead you misused a Sacrament of the church by going to Confession knowing that you would continue to practice adultery. <br /><br />It's not my place to judge where you will go, but I find it sad that you think the only real blame lies within the Church.Trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12050673092940697373noreply@blogger.com