Those who enter seminary do not necessarily belong to a group of people who are more mature, balanced or psychologically stable than their peers. Between 60 and 80 per cent of those who begin discerning a vocation display a level of maturity broadly comparable to that of others their age.
This finding challenges an assumption that remains widespread within our communities: that a person who is called has already been chosen from among the best and possesses superior spiritual and human qualities from the outset. A vocation may be sustained by high ideals, a genuine desire to give oneself and a sincere search for God. Yet the same person may also carry unconscious needs, emotional wounds, relational dependencies and areas of immaturity.
None of this invalidates the call. Rather, it shows why affective maturity must occupy a central place in seminary and priestly formation. St Thomas teaches that grace does not erase a person’s human make-up. It takes it up, purifies it and directs it, while requiring it to be understood honestly.
The problem arises when the choice of priesthood is used, perhaps unconsciously, to avoid confronting one’s own vulnerabilities. Seminary may then become a refuge, clerical dress a substitute identity and ministry a means of obtaining recognition, control or security.
