

























The Vocations Director and the Discernment of Vocations…   53 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C H A P T E R  4  

 

 

 

The Vocations Director and the 

Discernment of Vocations: Some 

Considerations for Priestly Formation 
  

Ferdinand Nwanagu OKAFOR 

 

 

Introduction 

The twenty-first century is associated with advancement in information 

and communication technology (ICT), like the fourteenth century 

which came with the Renaissance that was associated with new 

knowledge and the scientific method which revolutionized virtually all 

sectors of life including the Church and priestly vocation. The 

discernment of priestly vocations has become a herculean task for all 

those who are engaged in the discernment and formation of vocations 

to the Catholic Priesthood. With the challenges that are rocking the 

priesthood today ranging from sexual abuse, Protestantism, 

materialism and secularism, the question: “How Vocation Directors 
and Formators in the Seminaries discern genuine vocation or discover 

candidates with genuine vocations” has become a front-burner 

question. This is the aim of this essay. This paper, therefore, attempts 

to discuss this topic issue with theoretical and practical insights and 

further make some proposals, that is believed would enhance the 

discernment process. Without being overly presumptuous, it suffices to 

clarify some of the key concepts in this discourse. 

 

 

 



54    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age    

 

The Concepts of Vocation, Vocations Director and Discernment 

Denotatively, the term, “vocation is from the Latin word vocātiō which 

means a call or summons. It is an occupation to which a person is 

specially drawn to, or for which they are suited, trained, or qualified.”1 

In the 15th century, the term was first attributed to a spiritual calling.2 

It was used in reference to those in the clerical order. It was Martin 

Luther who arguably later broadened the understanding of the term to 

mean all Christian calling and every state of life. Thereafter, John 

Calvin gave it the notion of industry and commerce. It was the English 

Puritans in the seventeenth century who eventually stretched the 

meaning of vocation to include any job or trade.3 In ecclesiological 

understanding, vocation is associated with “divine call addressed 
directly to a man’s soul, inviting him by means of a secret divine voice, 
to enter the clerical state.”4  

On the other hand, when the term Vocations Director is 

employed, what easily comes to mind is any priest who has been given 

the mandate to recruit and present candidates for priestly ordination. In 

reality, this is a shortfall from the true meaning and task of who a 

Vocations Director is. The principal task of directing vocations rests on 

the Bishop. He is the first representative of Christ in priestly 

formation.5 However, just as candidates are ordained to share in the 

priesthood of Jesus Christ, so as to assist the Bishop in his priestly 

functions; a priest who is chosen and assigned the responsibility of 

directing vocations is, in reality, assisting the Bishop. Therefore, a 

Vocations Director is a priest who has been assigned to recruit, direct 

and guide and evaluate the suitability of the candidates to the Sacred 

Catholic priesthood. The role of a Vocations Director is to direct and 

guide young boys or young men who express the desire to become 

priests, as well as future priests (Seminarians) so that they may discover 

their calling to the priesthood as well as the nature of the calling. As 

the name implies, the Vocations Director has the obligation of 

directing. However, his function is not only to direct but also to inspire 

vocations in young boys; as well as to form and lead by word of advice, 

encouragement, explanation and example of life, those who express the 

desire to serve in the clerical orders as deacons or priests; and where 

one is discovered not to be a suitable candidate or have the ability to 

serve in the clerical order, he sincerely advises the candidate to 

withdraw and embrace another state of life. The function of a Vocations 

Director and Formators is not about telling candidates what they need 



The Vocations Director and the Discernment of Vocations…   55 

 

 

to do, rather it is much more of modelling and encouraging vocations 

to the priesthood. To be able to function properly, it is important that 

they are exposed to some years of pastoral experience and formation 

course or seminars periodically. The Vocations’ Directors and 
Formators should endeavour to rid themselves of personal biases, 

tribalism, injustice, emotions that may prevent them from truly 

evaluating the qualities that a candidate exhibits. 

St. Francis de la Sales emphasised the need for a guide for those 

who would enter upon and advance in the devout life. He referred to 

the Spiritual guide as a heaven-sent Angel, like the Angel who guided 

Tobias on his journey.6 The role of a vocation director is not in any way 

short of the task of guiding and accompanying candidates to the 

priesthood. This kind of journey together must be characterised by 

genuine love, mutual trust, prayerfulness, openness and sincerity to one 

another, and docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. 

Although in every Diocese or Religious Congregation, the task 

of directing of vocations is primarily assigned to a particular priest, 

nevertheless, every priest is in a certain sense, a Vocations Director. 

Therefore, every priest must inspire vocations to clerical life and 

provide exemplary leadership and influence, as well as guide and direct 

every candidate who aspires to the Catholic priesthood. All the priests 

are united with the Bishop and share his responsibility in seeking and 

fostering priestly vocations. Together with the Bishop, they are agents 

of formation.7  

Be that as it may, since the earliest Christian teachings, there 

has been a strong nexus between the human relationship with God and 

his ability to truly discern reality.8 As far back as the earliest days of 

the Israelites, the notion of discernment was already invoked. The 

criteria for discerning a true prophet from a false prophet was already 

expressed, which were: leading the people to God and fulfilment of 

prophecy (See, Deut 13:1-5; 18:21). In the early days of the Church, 

St. John also warned the Christians of his community against false 

spirits. He admonished them to test the spirits whether they are from 

God (1 Jn 4:1-6). This process of testing of spirit is called discernment.  

Discernment as an English word was borrowed from an Old 

French word discerner.  Discerner was from two Latin words “dis” 
meaning apart, and “cernere” meaning to separate. Discerner in its Old 

French original, meant “to separate, divide, distinguish or discern.”9 



56    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age    

 

Discernment can be employed both in the secular as well as in 

ecclesiological sense. In this secular sense, it refers to the act of 

evaluating or judging or reviewing a decision. 

In an ecclesiological sense, it is the act of prayerfully evaluating or 

judging a decision through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The concept 

when employed in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, refers, 

therefore, to the act of prayerfully evaluating or judging the suitability, 

motive, behaviours, the ability, as well as the natural and supernatural 

qualities of a prospective candidate to priesthood using both human 

reasoning and divine enlightenment. Mcintosh (2004), outlined faith, 

impulses, discretion, divine will and illumination as the elements of 

discernment.10 The purpose of discernment is to know God’s will. 
According to Mcintosh (2004), “human relationship with God was 
distorted, and the ability of human persons to see God’s ways in the 
world was drastically impaired-they could no longer recognise God’s 
truth shining forth in creation because they were no longer rightly 

acquainted with God.”11 

 

Discernment of Vocations and Evaluating the Suitability of 

Candidates  
Priestly formation refers to the art and process of providing orientation, 

guidance, and training regarding priestly life to a candidate who aspires 

to the clerical order. Priestly formation is an essential aspect of the 

priestly vocation. In view of the crises rocking the Catholic priesthood 

and taking into consideration the challenges posed by the world of 

information communication and technology, it has become expedient 

to evolve new methods or techniques in formation. The task of 

formation and the selection of formators should be taken more 

seriously than ever before. Vocations Directors and Formators should 

be truly Formators and not just lecturers or chosen to fill up the gap. 

Often times in the selection and formation of candidates, one is 

tempted to judge whether a candidate is called instead of judging the 

suitability of the candidate. This has often led to a serious error in the 

selection of candidates for the priesthood. It is a dangerous venture to 

create a dichotomy between discernment of call and deciding the 

suitability of candidates. Deciding the suitability of candidates is in 

itself a process of discernment. Using the words of Blowick (1932), 

“the true doctrine of vocation is so straightforward and so simple that 

the question of ‘deciding a boy’s vocation’ is reduced to the exercise 



The Vocations Director and the Discernment of Vocations…   57 

 

 

of prudent judgement and sound common sense.”12 It is important that 

vocations directors and formators in the Seminary know the nature and 

meaning of sacred calling in view of pastoral ministry, so as to be able 

to play their role well. 

The selection and evaluation of a candidate for the priesthood 

will be more difficult for Vocations Directors and Formators if the 

essence of priestly ministry is not put into consideration. In evaluating 

the suitability of a candidate, basic virtues that candidates are expected 

to cultivate as well the current challenges in priestly ministry should be 

brought to the fore at the point of evaluation. Right from the early 

centuries of the Church to the seventeenth centuries, as far as the issue 

of raising men to the status of pastoral leadership is concerned, the 

emphasis of the Church was always on the suitability of a candidate. 

This is what St Paul emphasised in his letters to Timothy and Titus 

regarding the choice of Overseers, Deacons and women who rendered 

special services in the early Church (1 Tim 3:1-13; 5:22; Titus 1:5-

10). In recent times, the Church has also emphasised this suitability of 

candidates in her documents on the formation of future priests. 

However, it seems some Vocations Directors and Formators have 

shifted their focus from this trend of determining the suitability of a 

candidate to the clerical state, and have given room to bias and personal 

feelings. In matters of the priestly vocation, there are already basic 

requirements which are available in the various documents on 

formation to the priestly ministry. Vocations Directors and Formators 

should, therefore, acquaint themselves with these documents. The task 

of directing vocations and formation of the candidate is to determine 

whether given the behaviour manifested by a candidate and evaluating 

such in the light of the Gospel and the teachings of the Church if such 

an individual will be able to fulfil the priestly functions.  

Basically, in the discernment of vocation, the central issues are 

the mission of Christ and the good of the Church, faith and community 

building, and the salvation of souls of the Christian community. These 

issues revolve around pastoral leadership. The process of discernment 

is to determine if the candidate has the human, physical, spiritual, 

intellectual, emotional, psychological, moral and pastoral ability to 

fulfil the role of a pastoral leader and make disciples for Christ. The 

suitability of a candidate is evaluated and determined based on the 

observable human phenomenon, while the calling is the function of the 



58    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age    

 

Church through an appropriate authority (the Bishop). Here, the role of 

the Vocations Director and the presbyterium can never be 

underestimated. No doubt, “the vocation to the priesthood is a divine 
call; it is given by God. But God has empowered certain accredited 

ecclesiastical officials to issue it in his name. These alone can validly 

administer divine vocation.”13 

In the selection and formation of candidates for the Catholic 

priesthood, nothing should be overlooked. The first stage in the process 

of formation of candidates for the priesthood is recruitment. The 

challenge in this recruitment process is often the pressure from priests 

and the parents of the candidates, who may want to prevail on the 

Vocations Director or Formators to consider a particular candidate for 

admission and to continue to ensure his stay in formation, even when 

he is not suitable for the priesthood. Once parents, friends or relatives 

are the ones fronting the process of admission of a candidate or making 

an enquiry on behalf of a candidate into the Major Seminary, that is 

already in itself a red-alert that should be foreclosed. One who is 18 

years old should be able to take basic steps that are necessary for the 

pursuit of his career or vocation.  The first consideration for selection 

and formation of candidates for the priesthood is the genuine intention 

and desire to be a priest to serve the Christian Community. It should 

not be the intention and desire of the parents, brothers, relatives, 

friends, or the parish priest or a priest who is a friend to the intending 

candidate. It should be a personal desire to serve in the clerical state. 

The true test of one’s love for God is the capacity to live for God and 
for others. Priestly life is one of service, sacrifice and commitment. It 

is a call to live not for oneself but for God. As Jesus Christ gave up his 

life for us all, and St. Paul poured out his life as a libation for God (2 

Tim 4:6), so too, those who aspire to the sacred orders should be ready 

to sacrifice themselves totally to God, and should be seen manifesting 

this life of sacrifice already. J. Blowick (1932) identified the following: 

a supernatural attraction for the priesthood, a strong and permanent 

inclination, good intention, possession of natural and supernatural gifts 

that will enable a man to properly discharge the sacred duties of the 

ministry, as signs of an authentic vocation.14 This genuine intention and 

desire to serve in the clerical order must be expressed throughout the 

period or years of formation. 

  The work of formators will be most difficult if candidates who 

already manifest unsuitable behaviour or are known to possess terrible 



The Vocations Director and the Discernment of Vocations…   59 

 

 

behaviours such as stealing, lying, deceit, homosexual tendencies, 

fornication, materialism, and greed, moneygrubbing, nonchalant 

attitude towards the Holy Mass and Church devotions, are sent to the 

Seminary for formation. Sometimes, it is difficult to identify such 

candidates once they are already in formation. And when such is 

discovered later in the penultimate years of formation, sentiments of 

sympathy begin to wade in. At this point, evaluation becomes a matter 

of sympathy to the individual and his family, but to the detriment of the 

Church and the souls of those who will be entrusted to his care. If one 

knows the power or influence in little things to shape or change 

situations, then one will know that nothing should be undermined. This 

is not to undermine the possibility of one with such vices to experience 

conversion. Experience has however revealed that candidates with 

these vices or dispositions can hardly be opened to the process of 

encountering Christ in formation and be purified in the process of 

formation. The human person is a mystery whose life can be influenced 

by any situation. There are at least four results of those who are 

ordained into the priesthood. First, those who from the beginning 

manifested good behaviour but acted badly after ordination. Secondly, 

there are those who manifested good behaviour as candidates and still 

remained good priests after ordination. Thirdly, there are those who did 

not manifest sufficient good behaviour but were admitted on trial but 

in the process of formation were transformed are good priests and 

fourthly, there are those who gave red-alert as candidates but were 

admitted with sympathy with the hope of being properly formed, but 

they found their way into priesthood without getting changed or 

converted,  and their performance in the priesthood was a reflection of 

the red-alert they manifested. 

Priestly ministry goes beyond cultic and liturgical functions. It 

entails the proclamation of the Gospel, the celebration of the 

sacraments and pastoral leadership, which is to guide the Christian 

community in the name and in the person of Christ.15 P. Bernier, 

summarizes ministry to include five basic tasks: Building community, 

Storytelling (Proclamation), Prophesying, Nurturing, and 

Missioning.16
  Priestly ministry is a call to pastoral charity and 

leadership, and it is rooted in the vocation to the mission.17 Leadership 

according to R. L. Daft, is an influence of relationship among leaders 

and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their 



60    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age    

 

shared purposes.18 Central to this definition is the fact that leadership 

is an influence relationship. The call to the priesthood apart from being 

a call to service is also a call to provide exemplary leadership to the 

faithful. Leadership is an essential aspect of the priestly vocation. A 

candidate to the priesthood should possess leadership qualities that will 

enable him to influence the faithful with the gospel message. This 

dimension of the priestly vocation is often not taken into consideration. 

It is important that prospective candidates understand the power that is 

inherent in the Priestly pastoral role. Leadership is a gift and a call to 

service, and it is an inherent part of the call to the priesthood. Not 

everybody possesses the gift of leadership.19 

The focus of priestly vocation is Mission, Service, and 

Leadership (MSL). The challenges in the priestly ministry today 

revolve around bad leadership. That is, the faithful can no longer find 

exemplary leadership in some priests. St. Paul in order to emphasize 

the importance of leadership in the early Church, admonished Timothy 

thus: “Let no one reproach you on account of your youth. Be a model 

to believers in the way you speak and act, in your love, your faith and 

purity of life. Devote yourself to reading, preaching and teaching, until 

I come” (1 Tim 4:12-13). 

Bernier holds the view that the fundamental purpose of the 

New Testament ministry is to preserve the self-identity of the 

Christian community as the community of Christ as well as to 

discover the gospel in the changing circumstances of life.20 Those 

who were appointed elders in the early Church were appointed not so 

much so that they might celebrate the Eucharist, but that they might 

guide and conduct the community and proclaim the Gospel. 

 Right from the time of Moses down to the New Testament 

era when the Church was still evolving, all those who were appointed 

leaders were to essentially lead the people and help them to sustain 

their faith in God. Whoever, therefore, must be admitted to commence 

the journey to sacred Priesthood or promoted to the Sacred Orders 

should be seen to manifest authentic vocation and exhibit evidence of 

his ability to perform the priestly function and lead the faithful in 

faith. The sacrament of Holy Orders is not an individual sacrament, 

like Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance and Anointing 

of the sick, which are received for the benefit of the recipient. Like 

the sacrament of Matrimony, the Sacrament of Holy Orders is both 

individual and social, hence the need to ensure that there are no 



The Vocations Director and the Discernment of Vocations…   61 

 

 

irregularities and impediments, because the recipients will fulfil a 

social function, which is not primarily for the benefit of the recipient 

but that of the entire Christian Community. Therefore, good intention 

alone is not sufficient to assume the office, but certain requirements 

are necessary and are insisted upon by the recipient. 21 

In the early days of the Church when celibacy was not regarded 

as part of the life of presbyters, the consideration for choosing a 

presbyter basically was the styles of life,22 centuries later, when 

celibacy became mandatory for those who are admitted into the clerical 

order, there was a shift from the styles of life to the states of life.23 

Today, in the selection of candidate the styles of life and the ability to 

assume the states of life of a priest are elements to be considered in 

determining the suitability of a candidate. The candidate before being 

admitted into the Seminary, and even while in formation in the 

Seminary and outside of the Seminary, should manifest the evidence of 

his genuine intention and desire to serve in the clerical state in his styles 

of life, disposition and readiness to embrace the clerical state. Intention 

and desire have a correlation in one’s behaviour and outlook. It is an 
aberration for one to desire the priesthood, yet adopt worldly mindset 

and style. It should not in any way be assumed that the candidate will 

change after ordination. The evaluation of the candidate to determine 

his suitability should go beyond keeping the Seminary rules. His 

actions and inactions, his behaviours and dispositions should be 

scrutinised and interpreted in the light of the Gospel, the teachings of 

the Church and the challenges of the church and the situation of the 

world today, and how his actions and inactions and behaviour reflect 

and promote the Gospel message or bear witness to the risen Lord. 

Also to be considered is the initial conversion of the candidate 

as well as openness to ongoing conversion. The initial conversion is 

evident in the reception of the Sacraments of Initiation, and the 

manifestation of the Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love. 

These manifest in his prayer life, Christian devotion and service in the 

Church, as well as his detachment from the world. It is not enough to 

only be baptised, one must be open to conversion. Otherwise, after 

ordination one may behave worse than a non-Christian and do more 

harm than good to the body of Christ, as Alexander the Coppersmith 

did to St. Paul (2 Tim 4:14). Initial conversion will help a candidate 

get rid of such vices like stealing, lying, deceit, homosexual tendencies, 



62    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age    

 

fornication, materialism, and greed, moneygrubbing, nonchalant 

attitude towards the Holy Mass and Church devotions.  

Natural and supernatural endowments of the candidates while 

in formation should be evaluated. The priesthood is a call to pastoral 

leadership. Whoever must assume this status must be seen to possess 

some leadership qualities and must be free from canonical impediments 

and irregularities, which include: amentia, psychic illness, apostasy, 

heresy, schism, attempted marriage, voluntary homicide, procured 

abortion or cooperated in abortion, self mutilation or mutilated another, 

attempted suicide, or has performed an act reserved for those in the 

sacred orders.24 Those who practice homosexuality or have deep-seated 

homosexual tendencies or support “gay-culture,” are not to be admitted 
into the Seminary.25 

The Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “Pastores Dabo 

Vobis” enumerates four dimensions of priestly formation: human, 
spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation.26 These four aspects are 

so important that neglecting or undermining any of these dimensions is 

to do great harm to the entire work of formation and the Church at large. 

The crisis in the priestly ministry today can be linked to an improper 

formation in these four areas. Therefore, only those candidates whose 

human, moral, spiritual and intellectual gifts, as well as physical and 

psychological health and right intention, show that they are capable of 

dedicating themselves permanently to sacred ministries are to be 

admitted to the seminary.27 

The tendency to sometimes downplay the intellectual capacity 

and formation of the candidate often arises. References are often made 

to St. John Mary Vianney, the Cure of Ars, who was regarded not to be 

intellectually bright, yet, was a model of holiness and pastoral life. The 

world we must know is constantly evolving, and the Church expresses 

herself in every age in order to adequately meet the pastoral needs of 

the world. In the age of the Martyrs, Martyrdom was seen as a means 

of proving one’s holiness. After the age of Martyrs, monastic life and 
celibate living became the ultimate way of attaining holiness. We are 

no longer in the era of John Mary Vianney when the priestly function 

was basically the celebration of the sacraments and proclamation of the 

Gospel within the liturgical assembly. With the age of Information 

Communication and Technology, the world where the Church and 

clerics minister has become more sophisticated. It is no longer enough 

to celebrate the Sacrament and proclaim the gospel within the liturgical 



The Vocations Director and the Discernment of Vocations…   63 

 

 

assembly. The Church must move away from the liturgical assembly 

into the world. The Church needs to understand and interpret the 

mandate of Jesus Christ in light of the present-day world. “Go into the 
world and preach the Gospel” (Mk 16:15) must be understood as a call 

for the Church to diversify her apostolate in the world in order to 

effectively fulfil her mission of bringing Christ into the world. To this 

end, a myopic view of the world and reality will be dangerous to the 

Gospel message. Besides, it is only a person with a sound mind and 

intellect, who is constantly open to learning that can sufficiently present 

the Church’s teaching to answer the questions of the modern-day 

human being. Experience has shown that one with low intelligence 

suffers low self-esteem and myopic in world view. Such a person finds 

it difficult to forgive and is more tribalistic, and so he excludes those 

who are not from his tribe or race from benefiting from his goodwill.  

Since the candidate for the priesthood is trained to be a leader, 

whose life can influence the followers, it is important that the candidate 

is prudent in his actions. A candidate who is not prudent will be a bad 

leader and a negative influence. According to Thomas Reese (Jesuit 

priest), “Nothing chases a person out of the Catholic Church and away 
from Christ faster than a bad priest. The priest does not have to be a 

child molester. He may simply be arrogant, patriarchal, insensitive or 

just stupid. More people leave the Catholic Church because of bad 

priests than because of disagreement over dogma.”28 “A good priest 
can spend years building a parish community, inspiring active 

participation in the liturgy, recruiting volunteers for the parish 

ministries and to help neighbourhood poor. A new pastor can destroy 

all that works in a few weeks.”29 

It is not sufficient for a candidate to be spiritual. He must be 

devout. Sometimes the spiritual life of a candidate is mistaken as a sign 

of suitability, to the detriment of other requirements. Yet, such a 

candidate is unforgiving, malicious, and does not see the need to tame 

his emotions. One who has not been able to tame his emotions, no 

doubt, will be a scandal both in his words and in his attitudes. 

The task of directing vocation and forming candidates for the 

priesthood is an onerous one. And those who are appointed to carry out 

this task should be carefully selected. They should be people with 

mature minds and sincere in their approach to issues and evaluation of 

any candidate. These qualities do not necessarily come with years in 



64    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age    

 

the priesthood or biological age. It is much more a personal disposition 

informed by one’s background or situations in life. 
 Priestly vocation apart from being a gift to the recipient, it is 

also a gift to the Church as a whole for the benefit of her mission. The 

Faithful are also agents of the priestly vocation.30 So, in every diocese, 

there should be a vocation team comprising of Priests and Lay faithful 

who carry out the recruitment and evaluation of Seminarians. 

 

Concluding Remarks 

The formation of Seminarians today has become much more difficult 

than ever before. Similarly, the role of the Vocations Director has 

equally doubled. The Vocations Director acts as a sentry for the Church 

within his Diocese, Religious Congregation, or society of apostolic life 

for which he is appointed, and as a guide for the candidate to the 

priesthood. 

The Vocations Director acting as a sentry on behalf of the 

Church ensures that bad elements do not creep into the Priesthood. This 

role has become so important as the devil masquerades to be an angel 

of light (2 Cor 11:14-15). No doubt, he inspires his messengers as 

candidates to the priesthood, to be his ministers in order to carry out his 

mission of stealing, killing and destroying the Priesthood and the souls 

of Christians who believe in Jesus Christ (John 10:10). Wherever the 

children of light are gathered, the devil too sends his angels there (Job 

1:6). Clear evidence of inordinate missions abound in the priesthood 

today, with some young men trying to become priests at all costs. At 

any level of formation, after careful observance, where a candidate is 

found to be unsuitable for the clerical orders, he should in love and for 

the good of the Church be advised to withdraw. It does not matter how 

many years he has spent in formation. He should not be promoted in 

sympathy. To deny one ordination is neither a denial of life or heaven. 

However, it is important that Vocations Directors and Formator 

cultivate the virtue of patience in the formation of candidates. With the 

challenges facing family life, the task of formation will require greater 

patience than ever before. 

 The key players in the process of formation are the Vocations’ 
Director, the Formators in the Seminary and the Presbyters of the 

Diocese or Congregation the Seminarian belongs. This is why it is 

expedient that the Vocations’ Director knows personally the individual 
candidate as well as the family background of those being admitted. 



The Vocations Director and the Discernment of Vocations…   65 

 

 

This can be achieved if there is a synergy between the Vocations 

Director and the other priests in the diocese. Also, a candidate should 

be well known in his parish. So no candidate should be recruited who 

is not well known in his parish. In the early Church, elders were chosen 

from their community and appointed for service in their community. 

Conclusively, the vocation to the priesthood is both divine and 

human. It is the prerogative of the Bishop to ordain young men who 

have been adequately prepared for the priesthood. In reality, the Bishop 

may not really know, at a direct level the level of suitability of those he 

ordains. He acts on the reports that are presented to him. The Vocations 

Director and the entire presbyterium should work together to ensure 

that reliable candidates are admitted for formation. 

 

 

Endnotes 

1 Cf. “Vocation” in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocation, accessed September 

12, 2019 
2 Online Etymology Dictionary 
3 Hahnenberg, E.P, Awakening Vocation: A Theology of Christian Call,     

   Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2010, 3. 
4 Blowick, J, Priestly Vocation, Dublin: M. H Gill and Sons Ltd,  1932, 1. 
5 Pastores Dabo Vobis, n. 65. 
6 https://Introduction to Devout Life in Catholicity.com, retrieved 19/9/2019. 
7 Pastores Dabo Vobis, n. 41.  
8 Mcintosh, M. A, Discernment and Truth,  Newyork:The CrossRoad Publishing   

  Company, 2004, 4.  
9 See, “Discernment” in Wiktionary, https://en.m.wiktionary.org 
10 Mcintosh, M. A, Discernment and Truth, 5. 
11 Mcintosh, M. A, Discernment and Truth,  4. 
12 Blowick, J, Priestly Vocation, vii. 
13 Blowick, J, Priestly Vocation, 238.  
14 Blowick, J, Priestly Vocation, 2 
15 Pastores Dabo Vobis, n. 43. 
16Bernier, P, Ministry in the Church, (2nd ed), New York: Orbis Book, 2015, 

xii-xiii. 
17 Bernier, P, Ministry in the Church, Ibid, xii 
18 Daft, R. L, , The Leadership Experience, MA: Cengage Learning, 2018,  5 
19 Bernier, P, Ministry in the Church, xii. 
20 Bernier, P, Ministry in the Church, 38. 
21 Blowick, J, Priestly Vocation, 315. 

                                                



66    Formation, The Catholic Priesthood and The Modern Age    

 

                                                                                                         
22 Bernier, P, Ministry in the Church, 92. 
23 Bernier, P, Ministry in the Church,  93 
24 Code of Canon Law, Canon 1041. 
25 Congregation for Catholic Education, Instruction Concerning the Discernment  

    of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of   

    their Admission into the Seminary and to the Holy Orders. 
26 Pastores Dabo Vobis, nn 43-57. 
27 Code of Canon Law, Canon 241. 
28 Thomas Reese, “Bad Priests, of all kinds, chase people away from Christ and 
the Church” in National Catholic Reporter, 

https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/signs-times/bad-priests-all-kinds-

chase-people-away-christ-and-church. Retrieved 22/019/2019. 
29 Thomas Reese, ibid. 
30 Pastores Dabo Vobis, n. 41. 


