The Calling

I finally caught an episode of "God or the Girl" on A&E last night. It's a "reality" series about four young Catholic men who are trying to decide if they should become priests. The whole thing is a bit odd but I was drawn like a moth to a flame.

They play these weird blurry segments in between the stories that make the church seem like some haunted place you would be afraid to enter. It's a bit strange, but I digress.

On the surface this show is tragic. At one point a scripture reciting fundamentalist began to challenge the young man Dan on his Catholic beliefs. Dan choked. He could not answer the challenge. There are very good scriptural explanations for the beliefs of the Catholic church but Dan was not able present them.

Steve comes across as a rich kid who does not want to get his hands dirty. Joe has spent 10 years deciding what he wants to do and Mike seems more interested in girls then the priesthood. Some of this may be a rush judgment because I've only seen two shows.

The show really portrays only two options for these young men, priesthood or marriage. While it may be entertaining to peek into these life changing decisions through our TV, I'm not sure a TV show is the best place to hear God's call.

We are all called to be and do something. Doctors, teachers, construction workers, truck drivers are all called to duty. It is up to us to discover and accept whatever the call. Yet when one is called to a religious life, it is the church and not the individual who should confirm and authenticate that call.

All to often people claim they are called to do something when they really are not. I've met so many people who say God called them to be a pastor, so they started their own church. The sad truth is their claim can not be validated on their own.

A young man who feels he is called to a religious vocation would be admitted by the Catholic Church into a seminary. Lot's of people go to seminary. That's does not means that all or even most of them should ever become priests. Seminary is a time to discover of their calling is true. In time a determination should be made by the Church and the seminarian. Such a decision could never be made as a season finale on a TV show.

I do believe that all priests should remain celibate and unmarried. I know may of you will disagree. To live a life of celibacy is not to reject happiness. Celibacy is a gift given from God. It is not just giving up something, it's loving through sacrifice. It's sacred.

One does not chose God over love, for choosing God is choosing love. It is just done in a way that is not understood by most of society today.

Praise God for the men that are truly called to serve the faithful. While this is a vital and noble vocation, it is not mere TV entertainment.