For Priest and others that have gone through this process: Did you know when you first began discerning the priesthood? Was it something that, in looking back, you started before you were able to say yourself "I'm contemplating the Priesthood."

I wanted to be a priest (Episcopal) when I was kid, outgrew it, thought of it again in my thirties after I became more committed to my faith (I never quit, but I wasn't at church every Sunday), wasn't thinking of it when I turned Catholic, and found it harder and harder to get rid of the idea.

We're u ordained episcopal before you became Catholic?

No.

Do seminarians have any choice in what school they go to? Do they have the option to switch seminaries if they feel one isn't working out? Also, have people ever transferred from being a priest in an order to a regular dionecian priest or vice versa?

What are some good resources on the types of priest one can become?

Most (I think all) dioceses and orders have the final say where a seminarian goes to school. They might offer him a choice among some approved options, but I don't think that's common.

If a given seminary is not working, the diocese/order will look carefully to see if the problem is with the seminary or if the seminarian has a problem that will manifest itself no matter where he is. Men do change seminaries sometimes, but it's not their call.

It is possible to switch from order to diocese and vice versa (I would guess that diocese->order is a bit more common), but not encouraged and not frequent.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "type." There are only two sorts: diocesan and religious. If you are asking what orders are out there, the answer is "hundreds." The biggest order is the Jesuits; the Franciscans have three major branches and who knows how many smaller groups; Benedictines (main and many subgroups); then there are Dominicans (my favorite), Carmelites (two kinds), various cloistered communities, all sort of smaller orders.

How do you know if your vocation is diocesan or religious?

Are you attracted to a particular order? Are you attracted to community life? Or, on the other side, are you attracted to a life of solitude and prayer? If the answer to one of these is, "Yes," then there's at least a chance you're called to religious life. If not, then probably not.

It is not at all uncommon for seminarians to switch from religious to diocesan or vice versa--much more common than it is for priests.

Fr. Thank you very much for your help. I will surly have more questions in this thread.

Also, do u still post your homilies anywhere?

Yes, but I didn't have to preach last week and won't this week either.

Have you ever helped other seminarians get through the process before? What are the main reasons a prospective seminarian drops out?

I have not worked much with seminarians since I was in seminary. I did talk with a few guys while still in seminary who were thinking about leaving.

I would bet that the number one reason a man leaves is that he doesn't think he's called to celibacy. Others are just not sure enough of their call to continue on.

Obi, do u that no the Church encourages vocations enough now adays? My father says priests would come to his highschool and give presentations on th priesthood, try and encourage anyone who might be interested. I've never seen anything similar and have been in Catholic schools from elementary to college.

Hey, sorry I kind of butchered my last post, I blame the iPhone.

What I was trying to ask is, in your opinion, do you think the Church and especially the parochial school system does enough to encourage and support discernment towards ordination?

Who is "the Church"? Some places do more than others.

Everyone, from the laity to Archbishop. I ask because in going through 18 years of Catholic schooling, no one ever suggested the priesthood. Not as in to me personally, but I don't remember any presentations or general information sessions. From the Teachers, Parents, or even the Priests themselves.