What is the difference between a diocesan priest and a religious priest?
A diocesan priest ordinarily serves the Church within a geographical area of the church, known as a “diocese.” He ordinarily serves the people as a parish priest, but he may also be involved in many other forms of ministry: teaching, Chaplain in hospitals, prisons, campus ministry, etc. A religious priest, on the other hand, is a member of a community that goes beyond the geographical limits of any diocese. For the diocesan priest, the people of his parish become his primary “faith community.” For a religious priest, the other members of his order constitute the primary community in which he lives and worships.
What’s the difference between a brother and a priest?
A brother is a layman who commits himself to Christ by the vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience, who lives in religious community, and who works in nearly any job: teacher, electrician, cook, lawyer, mechanic, artist, etc.
A priest’s distinctive role is as minister of the sacraments: celebrating Eucharist, Baptism, and Penance. He does a variety of other works as well, but sacramental life is his special ministry.
Does a Diocesan priest receive a salary?
Since a diocesan priest does not take a vow of poverty, he receives a personal salary. Priests receive a salary commensurate with the local standard of living enabling him to pay for expenses he has: medical, car, books, entertainment, vacation and charitable contributions.
The amount of money made by a priest is not really important. We have chosen to live simply, without accumulating a lot of material possessions, in order to enable us to focus our lives more easily on Jesus, and to serve his people.
Can you retire from your work?
A retirement age applies to priests (75 years old). We can retire from active ministry, but many will get involved in part time ministry or volunteer service. We cannot retire from the priesthood. We do not retire from our love for people.
Can you be fired from your job?
If our work is incompetent, we can be removed from our assignment. In certain circumstances a bishop may permanently revoke a man’s facilities to publicly function as a priest.
Do priests get time off and what do they do in that time?
We have approximately the same amount of leisure time as most adults. Obviously, because priests are unique individuals, we won’t all choose the same types of recreational activity, and we don’t choose the same activity every time. Some of the more common choices are sports, movies, TV, reading, sharing with friends, travel, and enjoying the outdoors.
Why has there been a decline in the number of persons entering the priesthood?
To attribute the lessening numbers of persons entering priesthood to a single cause would be simplistic and unrealistic. The reasons are many and complex. Some factors are the rapid pace of change in our world, the unwillingness of many to make a permanent commitment to any person or cause, the misunderstanding about the changes in priesthood over the past several years, the many opportunities for ministry now available to our laity, and the shrinking size of Catholic families.
Perhaps another reason is that God’s call is seldom a roar but is more often a whisper. Our lives today are often busy and noisy, perhaps too noisy to readily hear God when he calls us. This is why if you have any feeling that the priesthood might be what God wants for you, contact us. Together we might be able to cut through the noise and discern God’s plan for you.