Parents worry about their children. It’s just part and parcel of being a parent.
We’re afraid they’ll make the wrong choices, lose out on opportunities, or have to endure needless suffering. We just want our children to be happy, safe and well.
A call to religious life can be especially terrifying because so few of us have any direct knowledge or experience in that arena. The unknown is always frightening.
In an article I wrote for Area of Effect Magazine*, I recently noted:
Both of my sons have chosen different paths from mine. My eldest is working toward an academic career as a folklorist. My younger is in seminary preparing for a life of teaching. Neither of these is a road I’d choose to travel and both seem risky. Wouldn’t accounting or business be more stable choices?
It turns out that I’m not the first parent in history to worry about my children’s choices. Thomas Aquinas, the theologian and philosopher whose work has influenced Western thought for nearly a millennium, faced serious opposition from his family. At nineteen, he declared his intention to join the Dominican Order. His family kidnapped him and kept him locked in the family castle for nearly a year trying to get him to change his mind. It would have been easy for Thomas to give in.
To keep the article family friendly (it was about Disney’s Moana after all) I didn’t tell the part about Aquinas’ family locking him in a room with a naked prostitute. The legend says that Aquinas was so incensed that he chased the poor girl out with a fire poker.
The details on that may have gotten exaggerated in the telling, but we do know that Aquinas is recognized as one of the great Christian theologians. His parents fears nearly changed the course of western civilization.
Like marriage or a career or a mission trip around the world, a religious vocation is both a journey and an adventure. In the article at Area of Effect, I trace Moana’s journey and her parent’s fears. Like all good heroes her success is bought at the price of risk and hardship. Yet, if she hadn’t taken the risk, her people would have been destroyed.
Will your child be the next Aquinas or Mother Theresa? Will they live a life of heroic virtue? Maybe or maybe not. If you block them, you may find yourself in the shoes of Chief Tui (Moana’s dad) — standing in the way of the future that needs to be explored by our courageous and virtuous sons and daughters.
* Area of Effect is a print and web magazine which explores topics of faith and life through the lens of popular fandoms.
— Dad of Evan
has been reached after a great deal of discussion with his spiritual director and other formators at the seminary. He has spent many hours in thought and prayer on this topic. Once the thought of discerning out of seminary is on the table, men do not pack their bags the same day. I have read blogs and spoken to seminarians who told me that when serious questions arose, they were counseled to give the decision a little more time, prayer and counsel before making a final decision. Over time, some discerned out, while others chose to continue their discernment.
Day after day, he will go places and do things that a priest cannot. He will be able to live and share his faith in ways a priest cannot.
ile he is busy making a living, supporting and nurturing his family, he chooses what kind of jokes to join in on and his attitude toward women in general and his wife in particiular and how he treats people with disabilites.
He is well schooled to participate in the life of his parish. He may teach Religious Education to children, act as a sponsor in RCIA, run for parish council, act as a lector or extraordinary minister, help run the Cub Scout pack or coach a sport.
If your objection arises from a belief that your son will not be happy as a priest, take a look at the current research published in:
nd joy which was closely linked to their spiritual health. To be a happy priest necessarily includes having a strong relationhip with God and daily nurturing that relationship with spiritual practices: celebrating the sacraments, private prayer, Liturgy of the Hours, rosary and spiritual reading. Personal celebration of the sacrament of Reconciliation and a relationship with a Spiritual Director also contribute to a healthy spiritual life.
f celibacy, a positive relationship with the Bishop, having close friends (both priests and liaty), feeling supported by 
other priests, attending priest gatherings, family support of their vocation. making an annual retreat and a regular day off as well as vacation. Each one of these factors is described and discussed in depth if you want to investigate these factors on a deeper level.
and slanted to show priesthood in a positive light, other social research backs up this study. While researching this concept, I was surprised to find this very topic the subject of a homily by Fr. Jonathan Meyer posted online titled “The Secret to a Happy Life”. Click 
your child’s birth on into adulthood, you worry and care for your child in a thousand different ways that change over time.
Seminarian Parents 