We welcome you to the application procedure to be ordained a priest as a candidate in our diocese. The normal requirements of good health, sufficient educational background and a vocation to the priesthood are expected. All applications should be directed to the Vocations Director and bishop Kasomo Daniel and sent by email or handed in by hand as hard copies. Expect that it may take nine to twelve months to process your application.

Bishop Kasomo will give the final approval and call to orders when the application is complete. (While there can be exceptions, it is normally recommended that a candidate below the age of 50 will have a Master of Theology or Master of Divinity degree or its equivalent. If you are a college graduate and have some graduate study, we can together work out a plan of individual study to prepare for ordination.Qualified candidates can be accepted without a master’s degree.)

 What is a vocation?

The root word for vocation is vocare, which in Latin means, "to call." God has created each one of us for a particular calling or way to follow Him. Through the Sacrament of Baptism we become a child of God and thus called to live in holiness through love of God and neighbor. It is important to also remember that our true vocation does not come from the world, or from ourselves, but rather is an invitation directly from God to follow Him.

The process of making a decision about your life with the help of the Holy Spirit is called "discernment." It is the process of discovering God's will for you.  Our common vocation as baptized Christians is to a life of holiness, to union with God in this life and in life eternal.  Within that common vocation, some are called to a more specific way of service to God and others, such as the sacred priesthood.  Remember, as you begin this process of discernment, that both you and God desire the same thing: your happiness.  You want to make a decision about your life that will bring you the deep joy that comes with following God.

Do you have the courage to ask God the question that is seldom uttered in our busy world, “Lord how are you calling me to follow You?”

Only after you are willing to ask this question can true discernment begin.

Steps for discernment

The best first step in this sometimes difficult process is to follow the words most spoken in the Holy Scripture, “Be not afraid!” Whether it was an angel announcing good news, or Christ speaking to His disciples, setting aside your fear is the first step. Once you are open to hearing the Lord speak to your heart, a message that will most likely come as a quiet whisper, you will be able to truly discern, figure out, ‘Lord, where are you calling me to serve you in this life?’

Discernment must involve prayer, the willingness to seek out quiet in an otherwise noisy world, a desire to know God’s will for your life, and a love for the Church and all Her members. Discernment is the first step in coming to know if the Lord is calling you to serve him as a Roman Catholic priest.

While there are several methods of discerning God’s calling in your life, the following steps will hopefully assist you with this process:

STAY CLOSE TO THE SACRAMENTS
Participate in Mass every Sunday, on holy days of obligation and daily when your schedule permits. Go to confession frequently, once a month or even more often. Not yet confirmed? Do it!

Unlike other food, the more you receive the Eucharist, the more you become like that which you consume. The sacrament of Reconciliation reminds you that we are all sinners and always in need of God’s merciful forgiveness. The more we receive forgiveness for our sins, the better we can configure our lives to Christ.

GET A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR
Ask a priest to meet with you once a month for 30 to 60 minutes to discuss your spiritual life and for confession. Tell him you’re considering priesthood.

While many people are well equipped to assist you in your discernment of a priestly vocation, there is no substitute for a priest. Whether it is one of your parish priests, a spiritual director, or a friend, the advice and direction received from a priest will be extremely beneficial in your discernment of a calling to the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

PRAY EVERY DAY
Develop a daily prayer routine with your spiritual director. Pray for God to give you not only knowledge of what He wants you to do but the courage to do it.

The Real Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is the ‘source and summit’ of our Catholic faith. What better place to spend time in quiet reflection and adoration than in the presence of our living God? Seek out a parish that has an adoration chapel and enjoy your time of grace in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

As Pope Benedict has stated, “The seminarian experiences the beauty of God’s call in a moment of grace which could be defined as ‘falling in love’….It is only when a young man has had a personal experience of Christ that he can truly understand the Lord’s will and consequently his own vocation.” Have you fallen ‘in love’ with Christ?

GOOD READING
Read a bit of the Scriptures, especially the Gospels, each day, and read a bit of some spiritual classic. Many good books can be found .

DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN
Ask Our Lady to accompany you on your journey of vocational discernment. If you are not in the habit of praying the Rosary, begin today, even if it's only a decade. Pray three Hail Mary's before going to bed, asking her for the virtue of holy purity and to help you know your vocation.

SERVE YOUR PARISH

Seek opportunities to get involved in parish life. Choose one parish and register – don’t float from parish to parish.

God has blessed each of us with many gifts and talents, distinct to every person. Have you considered that these gifts that you have received from God might be used to serve the Church in a more pronounced way?

If you do these things and still think you might have a priest’s heart, if you are feeling an attraction to the priesthood at some level, it’s probably time to contact the Vocation Director, and to attend vocation seminars that will help you in your discernment.

What is Spiritual Direction?

Spiritual Direction is assistance given to persons in discernment, in growing in holiness and in the practice of Christian virtue. A spiritual director helps the directee in this under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who is the true director.

Spiritual direction is not counseling or therapy, but rather guidance in the spiritual life. Spiritual direction should help one to become more open to the Holy Spirit and identify His action in one's life, to identify obstacles in the spiritual life and overcome them, and to grow in the life of prayer and virtue. It is a way that God works through the Church. It is important that one be as open and honest with a director as one would be with the Lord Himself, so that He can work through His chosen human instruments.

How do I decide upon a spiritual director?

Pray and ask the Lord to show you. Look for a priest who is faithful to the teachings of the Church, prayerful, seeking holiness, witnessing a life of holiness, with whom you are comfortable speaking, and can meet on a regular basis. A good confessor may be someone to consider. You might also ask someone you trust for a recommendation. When you find someone, meet a few times first to see how it works out. If you need help in deciding on a director, don't hesitate to contact us for assistance.

How will I know I am called?

To be precise, a man only “knows” he is called when he is ordained! However, there are many positive signs that can point to a vocation, and which can help a man make the decision to enter the seminary and continue along the path towards the priesthood.

Quick Discernment Tool

Now that you are here and no one is watching or listening, read these statements to yourself, take them to prayer, then act on what you know is right. God knows, you may be called to the priesthood!

• A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is important to me.
• People have told me I would make a good priest.
• I’ve hidden vocation material under my bed and in my desk.
• Going to Mass and Adoration is very a very important part of my faith life.
• The thought of becoming a priest keeps coming back over and over again.
• I’m afraid to tell my friends and family that I’ve been thinking about the priesthood.
• I feel called to give more of myself to others.
• After hearing the readings at Mass I think about how I would preach.
• I have a burning desire to help people get closer to Christ and to know the Truth.
• I have a strong sense that what I have planned for the future is not what God has planned for me.

If some of these statements reflect how you feel, if your heart is pounding even harder, if you sense a greater desire to find out if God is calling you to live in black and white, get in touch with us.Have no fear, the Lord wants only what is best for you and so do we.

Take the discernment “test”!

After spending time in prayer and reflection, asking the Lord what His will is for you, it can sometimes be helpful to ‘gauge’ where you are in regards to your readiness for the seminary. While this is certainly not an exhaustive list, nor meant to be the final word on the matter, perhaps these questions might help you in that ‘gauging’ process.

On each of the twenty questions below, rate yourself on a scale from 0-5. A rating of 0 means you do not posses the stated sign at all. A 5 indicates that this sign is very evident in your life. The highest possible score is 100, so the closer you are to that number, the more prepared you may be for the seminary. Be completely honest with your answers. If you would like to follow-up with this through a discussion with the us,please feel free to contact us…..we will be more than happy to help you discern the meaning of your answers.

______ 1. I love Jesus Christ and I have a thirst to bring Jesus and His teaching to the world.

______ 2. I am endeavoring to be a believing, practicing Catholic.

______ 3. I am trying to live a life of prayer and I desire a life of prayer.

______ 4. I am trying to serve others and I desire a life of service to others.

______ 5. I feel a desire to be a priest, though it is sometimes stronger than at other times.

______ 6. Others tell me that I should be a priest or that I would make a good priest.

______ 7. Prayerful reading of Sacred Scripture leads me to believe I might be called to be a priest.

______ 8. I am endeavoring to live virtuously.

______ 9. I like to be around people and I have sufficient social skills to engage others.

______ 10. I have enough intelligence to complete graduate-level coursework and function as a priest.

______ 11. I think I have the physical, emotional and psychological stability to become a priest.

______ 12. I am joyful and I have a good sense of humor.

______ 13. I think that I have a “priest’s heart,” a heart with kindness and compassion for others.

______ 14. I believe that I have the self-mastery to be a man of prayer and leadership.

______ 15. Generally speaking, I have demonstrated stability in my life.

______ 16. People who know me would say I am a Christian gentleman.

______ 17. I have had events happen in my life that seem to be signs pointing towards the priesthood.

______ 18. I am usually able to accept both success and failure without losing hope.

______ 19. I believe that I have a healthy psycho-sexual development and orientation.

______ 20. I am trying to be truly open to the will of God for my life.

Am I ready for the seminary?

Entering the seminary is a big step in a man’s life, but it is also important to remember that it is not as big as it might first seem. By deciding to enter the seminary, you are simply stating that you feel the Lord calling you to discern a vocation to the priesthood.  You first enter the seminary not to become a priest, but to discern if you are called to be a priest.  It is, on the one hand, a small step because you will have made no other commitment than a willingness to spend the next year discerning a calling to the priesthood with the support and assistance of the seminary faculty, as well as your brother seminarians, so that you no longer undergo this discernment alone.

At the same time, it is a big step because you be stating for the first time publicly that you may become a priest.  Friends and family will react in different ways to this declaration, but don’t let that worry you.  Never forget the phrase so often mentioned in Scripture: "Be Not Afraid!"

If you discern, through the guidance of your spiritual director, that you are not called to the priesthood, what have you lost? A year or two spent learning more about yourself, your spiritual life, the Church, your vocation….all this goes with you. If your discernment leads you to the sacrament of Holy Orders, you will have found your mission in life. Either way, it is a win-win and time well spent. Ask the vast majority of men who have spent time in the seminary discerning their vocation, and they will tell you that they were some of the best years of their lives!