The Cathedral Close

Chapter 4 of What Is the Priesthood?

Among the many vocations needed in Christ’s Body, the Church, there is one of peculiar significance: that to the sacred priesthood. There must be men who will give their whole time to a representation, in an intense degree, of that priesthood which inheres in the whole Body. Here is a vocation of the priestly Body, and for the priestly Body: of the priestly Body because those called to the sacred priesthood are from baptism members of the Body; and for the priestly Body because such men are commissioned by Christ to exercise priestly functions within and on behalf of the priestly fellowship. The authority for the office is derived from God through the Holy Spirit who gives grace to the ordinand to act as God’s representative. The authority of the sacred office derives not from beneath but from above.

The first question which the Bishop is directed to ask of the ordinand, in the service for the Ordering of Priests, runs as follows: “Do you think in your heart, that you are truly called, according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, and according to the Canons of this Church, to the Order and Ministry of Priesthood?” Book of Common Prayer at 541. To the question the ordinand is to reply, “I think it.”

A keen sense of vocation is an essential element in the life of the priest. There must be a very real sense of God’s prior action calling forth the response that the ordinand makes. As the Epistle to the Hebrews phrases it, “No man taketh this honor to himself but he who is called of God.”

The young man facing this vocation must be able to affirm that he is conscious of an inward call. There must be a true realization that God “has searched him out and laid His hand upon him.” In brief, there must be a sense of the priority of God’s choice and a belief that this is what God wills.

Once again, though, a question raised in the previous chapter requires answer. What is meant by such an inward call? Must there be some dramatic, perhaps immense spiritual experience? Certainly not. A vocation normally is a growing conviction, and it may have very tentative beginnings. God does not always, or even often, work in violently catastrophic ways. He works, so to say, naturally and with the “still, small voice”. An old teacher once remarked, out of his deep experience of the spiritual life, “It is most natural for the Supernatural to work naturally.” There is a profound truth in that. Those who believe that the heart of the Christian faith lies in God’s incarnate action in redeeming the world will hardly find it difficult to believe. that He loves “the lowly spot,” and often chooses the quiet way.

This is true in His calling of men to the priesthood. God calls in quite natural and undramatic ways most of the time. To be sure, we do not always hear His accents clearly. Yet He calls all the same and gradually our ears become attuned to His voice.
He may call through our childhood interest in the Church and its ways, through the experiences we have as choristers or as acolytes, through the prayers of our parents and friends, through affection and admiration for some priest we have known. We may be called through the confusion and heartbreak in the world about us, through personal sorrow met with, through delight in the Church’s worship and orderly life, through sermons and books. In and through any and all of these and through countless other interests and concerns, God calls to the priesthood.

At first ordained ministry may seem to be but one possibility among many. It should be considered seriously and thoughtfully for it just may be that God is calling. Particularly for students, they should be relaxed about the matter, test their growing vocation, and try to live by a rule of life that may lead to its healthy development. Do not talk about it with all and sundry, but a man would be well advised to discuss his concern with those who know him best and with some experienced priest trained to recognize valid signs of developing vocation. To the faithful Christian man any indication at all that God may be calling him to the priesthood should be treated with the greatest care and conscientiousness. If this should be the divine will for a member of the Body of Christ, it is not a will to be treated lightly or dismissed selfishly.

The question to be faced at the outset and thereafter is not, “Is the priesthood suited for me?” As well, it is not merely: “Am I suited for the priesthood?” Both of these questions are irrelevant at the end of the day. The question to be faced is “What does God mean me to be-a priest, or something else?” If God means a man to be a priest, He will give him the aptitude necessary. He will fit a man and give him grace sufficient for his calling.
Ultimately, a man will not think much of the honor and dignity of this particular vocation. He will not be too greatly swayed by its perils and losses. He will not be drawn to the priesthood simply because he may deem it to be easy and safe (how very wrong he would be to suppose it either of these things!). He will not be “put off” from the priesthood because it is a poorly paid profession with few prizes paid in the currency of the market place. He will not elect to follow this vocation because it presents a chance to escape from the world into some sort of ivory tower.

A man will heed the divine voice because of his faith in the Redeemer of us all and because he believes that here, in the priesthood of the priestly Body of Christ, there is opportunity to make an offering of his heart and mind and will that Jesus Christ Himself wants made. He will have a growing conviction that his Lord’s words apply to him, “Ye have not chosen me; but I have chosen you.”

In many Protestant denominations the “call” of God seems to be the only determinative matter in the ministry. The more extreme of these sects seem to have few other criteria by which to judge whether a man is to become a minister. If an individual feels himself unmistakably “called,” that very fact is his sole warrant. This is something akin to the prophetic vocation in the Old Testament. It is just at this point that a difference emerges in the concept of the ministry between many Protestant denominations and Anglicanism of a truly catholic sort.

Clearly, Protestant denominations have no intention of conveying a ministry of “holy order.” For them, the ministerial vocation is wholly constituted by a call directly from God. There is no conception of “order” on the horizontal level from man to man, in the Holy Spirit, for Christ and His Priestly Body. Anglicanism insists upon a realization of God’s prior calling, but this is not the sole qualification for ordination. The candidate for holy orders must be made a priest by the action of Christ’s Body through the laying on of hands by the Bishop. The ministry of the individual must be thus authenticated by proper commissioning. Otherwise, a man is not a priest of the priestly Body no matter how strong may be his sense of vocation. The authority of the office of priest requires this act of certification and ordination.

In all honesty, it should be noted that men in the priesthood frequently wonder even after ordination whether they possess a rightful vocation to this office. In the life of the Spirit there are ups and downs, times of discouragement and doubt. There may be periods, perhaps extended periods, of “spiritual dryness.” The greatest saints have known these dread experiences.

A man’s office as priest does not grant him any immunity from such spiritual sickness. At such times the ordained man is indeed thankful that there are these two criteria of vocation- internal and external. The internal criterion is, of course, a man’s own strong sense of call, that he is doing what God wills. The external criterion is the belief of those with whom one works, to whom one ministers, on whom one relies for counsel and guidance, that one is indeed a person who ought to study for, or remain in, the ministry. Very often those most closely associated with us understand our motives, intentions, and possibilities much more accurately than we ourselves. It is hard for us to see ourselves objectively.

The most common objection to the priesthood heard by those who counsel youth in our colleges is the simple, blunt, “I’m not worthy.” Surely no one is worthy of this holy estate. The fact is that God chooses very unworthy and sinful men to be His witnesses. Essential to the priestly life is humility, and this perhaps above all. A man who felt himself fitted for the priesthood would have a very faulty knowledge both of himself and of the profession. Frequently those who at the outset are least sure of their calling, least ready to claim worthiness of this high calling, are those who turn out later to be the most consecrated and effective priests of the Church. Archbishop Temple has written: “It is a man’s business to surrender as much of himself as he knows, to as much of God as he knows.” Vocations are never full-blown in their initial stages. There is of necessity much groping about and doubt, much questioning and many uncertainties. The man who is humble about himself may very well have a call for that precise reason.

The psychology of the postulant for holy orders and of the priest himself is no different from that of anyone else. The grace of orders does not convey any new psychological equipment. Study in a theological seminary does not dramatically alter a man’s personality at least as far as psychological processes are concerned. The priesthood is a vocation that comes to men in very different, and usually quite simple ways. It will have varying intensity from man to man and in any one person from time to time, but it is not just another profession. It is the special functioning for Christ in His Body the Church, the means whereby all the members of the Body are enabled to make their full contribution to the witness of the whole Body.

The priesthood involves a character of a special sort, for it is authorized to exercise priestly functions within and on behalf of the priestly fellowship. It ought always to be held in the highest respect and esteem, but so far as this attaches to the man, such respect must be merited. It should be merited by fidelity to the demands of the office, through consecration of character and growing holiness of life, through love of the brethren, through a sincere devotion to God and His will.

This, then, is something of the vocation to the priesthood. In its inception it may have almost imperceptible signs. There may be no blinding light from heaven, no voices heard, no rending of the veil. The disciple may not be given a pillar of cloud by day nor a pillar of fire by night. However, God will be speaking and the soul must make its answer however slowly or tentatively. Then if in the divine economy the disciple makes affirmative response and the fellowship of the priestly Body ratifies the call with appropriate commissioning, the die is cast. There will be times in the future, as in the past, of uncertainty and doubt. Yet, there will be the conviction beneath it all that He who has called will not desert his messengers and stewards. For still His word is given, “Lo, I am with you alway.”

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Chapter 3-What Is the Priesthood? (Revised Edition)

© Fr. Charles H Nalls

Frequently, the parts that men and women play in life’s drama are decided for them, or even imposed upon them. Life itself may supply the cues for the human actors. The lines we read are frequently not of our own authorship. Often we make our entrances and exits without rehearsal. We are committed without choice and with little preparation in our varied roles. Many considerations lie behind this. The fact that one’s father or mother followed a certain trade. There are accidents of birth and environment, and similar conditions may be determinative.

This certainly is less frequently the case today, however, than in earlier and more static times. The recent technological revolution has made it possible for youth to exercise a variety of choicse in the matter of one’s vocation. Education through the college level, at least, is now a possibility for almost all. As a result, there is opportunity now to understand our human society somewhat more completely and to consider the individual’s place within the whole.

For the Christian, where does a sense of “vocation enter”? An individual must choose. He decides “on his own” with the best judgment at his command to follow this or that profession or way of life. He personally chooses the course for which he feels he is best equipped. He chooses is a “vocation”, a calling, when and if he senses that his choice is in answer to a word from God. This is Christian vocation. The decision may seem to be entirely the work of the individual, but the individual knows that his decision was really a response to a prior demand made upon him.

Young men are inclined to be confused about God’s prior calling, particularly in these times. One assumes that he must have some very definite, perhaps shattering, religious experience such as that known to Isaiah, or Saul of Tarsus are but two classic examples. The average Christian, however, will not find the walls of the Temple parting for him as they did for Isaiah, nor is there any blinding light of the noonday sun. He may not hear voices speaking infallibly to his listening ear.

Is the modern man, particularly young man, entirely without guidance? Does God have nothing to say to him? Is God uninterested since there is no dramatic and unmistakable intervention? Can only the very few who hear voices and see visions be assured that their places are certain in His purpose? We need to face this honestly.
From a Christian perspective and with Christian presuppositions, we see that we must start with ends. There is, we believe, purpose in human life and in our human striving. It is a divine purpose. It is the establishment of a realm of God, the bringing of many sons into the “glorious liberty of the children of God.” It is the purpose of God to win mankind to His mind and will. This human scene is intended for the discipline of souls, for making men responsive to the divine will so that we may be ready for closer union with Him. The end of all human striving is that blessed union. Here on earth we are prepared by experiences of choice for that end.

The Jewish people sensed this and believed it. A primary article of faith for them was that God had a plan for individuals and for the nation. So the psalmist wrote: “O God, thou bast searched me out and known me; Thou hast laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.” The Hebrew prophets proclaimed God’s will for the nation and for individuals and contrasted this with the godless schemes and designs governing men who relied on self rather than on the divine leading.

The central teachings of the Old testament were never peripheral to Christ’s gospel. Rather, He gave new point and emphasis to the older beliefs. It was His understanding that God had a plan or calling for every created soul. Examples of this spring quickly to mind, but nowhere as emphatically as in Christ’s own ministry with its opening words, “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” Again, almost its closing scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will, but Thine, be done.” Jesus knew that God had a plan for the destinies of individual souls. So it was that St. Augustine, centuries later, provided piercing insight into this truth with his oft-quoted words: “Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”

Christians believe that God’s purpose is to win for Himself sons able to share His life. He does not draft nor conscript. Rather He wants our voluntary enlistment in His service. That means conscious choices, made over and over again in the course of our lives.
God does not coerce His children; we still may decide whether or not we will do His Will, follow His guidance. We are free to “miss our calling,” though we are sure to be restless until we have found our rest in Him who is our peace. We may be sure that though God does not coerce, He does bring to bear upon us His prompting love.

God still calls and we are to listen, and then respond with obedience. He calls in a thousand ways. Usually, they are in quite natural and undramatic ways. We are to answer and give Him the loyalty of our hearts and minds and wills. It is not for us to say that He must speak in unusual and dramatic fashion. He may speak to us through life experiences, through the reading of good books, through our relatives and friends, through chance encounters with strangers, through discussion or sermons. Through any of these media and many another the voice of God calls.

There are many lines of communication and God uses an infinite number to bid for our allegiance in the glorious liberty of sonship to Him. In all of them there is His very voice and the call of His holy Will. Life between birth and death is one constant adventure of offering one’s self to God, of making the response of glad obedience to the divine will.

It has been frequently said that if two archangels were sent to this earth by Almighty God to do a piece of work for Him, one to be a metropolitan bishop and another to be a metropolitan traffic officer, neither would care which of the two tasks was allotted to him. Each would be glad to do the will of the Father. Brother Lawrence scoured the pots and pans of a monastery kitchen with as much joy in the confidence of vocation as his abbot perhaps knew.

So it is that we must contemplate the importance of ends. If the purpose of God is to bring the life of his children into union with his Eternal Life, then servants and sons are needed to carry out His will in every aspect of our human life. God must have vocations in commerce and art and letters as well as in the ministry. At the turn of the last century, a young man went to Oxford intent upon reading for holy orders. Instead, he became an artist. He later explained this change in his life work by saying that had he become a priest he would have been an atheist, that is one who does this when God says “do that.”

Every human life is to be an answer, and countless answers must be given to make complete the response of our world to our loving God. This means a willingness to listen to God’s calling, and to expect it in myriad forms and under manifold guises. The sensitive student, concerned about the state of our world and of human society may discern the voice of God in the very affliction, want, and misery all about him. He may not know it at the time but he is being called to help in the healing of the sorrowful, the dispossessed, and the fearful. In the parable, the men on the right of the king exclaimed, “Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, thirsty, a stranger, or naked, sick, or in prison . . .”

It is clear that a sense of vocation, to whatever station in life, is dependent upon one condition. The individual must cultivate a listening ear and be ready to obey when he hears the call. The individual must be prepared to make his appropriate response, and not try to limit the nature of his obedience nor restrict it in any way.

If the way of discipleship insists that human life is at God’s disposal, then the individual must be prepared to accept and follow the divine calling. We are not to be selfish about the disposition of our lives, for God’s will cannot be realized when we rebel or are petulant. When He calls, we are to do his bidding. We are not to set the terms of our acceptance. We must give Him instant compliance, knowing that only thus can we achieve our destiny as those who are to enjoy union with Him forever. We are not to be concerned about the vocations of others. We must be very much aware of the intimacy of God’s dealings with each of us in our own right. “Lord, and what shall this man do?” “What is that to thee? Follow thou me.”

A man’s vocation may be in art. It may be in jurisprudence. It may be in medicine or law. It will for some be in the home or in the Trades. It may be in commerce or in the classroom. It may be in industry.

It takes multitudes of obedient sons glad to follow God’s prompting, eager to hear His voice and act upon it, to redeem the times. The divine purpose includes all created souls and all of us should pray that our pride and self-love may not cause us to miss our calling. We should pray for increased sensitivity to His voice, for obedience to the heavenly vision, however that voice may be heard and that vision seen.

Be sure of this simple truth. Life will possess meaning and purpose only as the individual learns to align himself with God’s will. Men and women in every age and in every estate of life testify to this truth. There must be just such an insight into reality, such a harkening to God’s call, such a response of obedience.

The fruits of spiritual awareness witness to their source. So the Christian saints and heroes lived lives that have testified to the gracious leading of a loving God. It was their insight, their intuition, their perception of purposeful divine leading that gave them spiritual victory and freedom in vocation. They knew themselves to be in touch with that “something whose possession is the final good.”

Be assured. God still calls. The Christian who listens for his voice and answers with glad obedience wins thus a spiritual victory and so enters into the joy of his Lord.

One other important matter bears mentioning What is the relevance to the life of the Church of all that has been written in this chapter on vocation? We saw in the preceding chapters that the Church is a priestly Body. The baptized Christian, through membership in the mystical Body of Christ, shares in the priesthood which is the Church’s since it is Christ’s Himself. All the members of the Body share in the priest-hood of the Head of the Body. We will develop this truth and its consequences later, but it should be pointed out here that every vocation of every member of the Church should be a priestly vocation carried out in priestly fashion.

Our manifold and diverse vocations are not merely to be ways of “making a living,” but means whereby we live out our priesthood within the Body of Christ. The Christian religion when true to itself makes profound and searching demands upon its entire membership. “Every member of the same in his vocation and ministry” is to serve God freely and fully.

All must be in readiness to render any needful service. There are no gradations of obligation. All of us are claimed for God in our varied vocations. All of us are to glorify Him in those callings. Our vocations differ, but there is no higher and lower, no important and unimportant. All is His and all that we are or hope to be is to be given gladly to Him through whom we have access to the Father.

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