Family, The Greatest Sacrifice A Priest Needs to Make?

It was around 10 pm that a friend of mine who is a priest candidate called and asked me whether he could come to my home, paying a short visit. He was to leave to his seminary for vacation duties and so he was not so happy. Who really likes separation? While talking with him, I also pointed to him the news which stated some women requesting the Pope to allow the priests to marry. This incident made me think on the sacrifice a priest makes.


When I experience the love and care of my wife, when I see my child laughs opening its small mouth and showing up all those cute little teeth, I always thank God for providing them to me. The loving hug of my mother and the protecting care of my father, caring hands of my siblings, all are very sweet to me and I always love being with them. All the more, I have the freedom to be with them at any time.

But what is the condition of a catholic priest? Does he have the opportunity to be with his family members (save wife and children) as we do? No, he does not. And this is the greatest sacrifice which a priest makes. When I- as a married man, can enjoy all these, the priest has to leave his entire kin and family members, and go to a place with the mission of serving the people of God.

The priests have everyone but will always remain alone. When a man takes the decision to become a priest, he is actually separating himself from his family. What I mean is that he is no more the asset of that particular family but of the entire group of God’s people.

All the more he must be sure of the fact that he is not going to have a wife and child for himself in this life. Let us see who a wife is. She is not just someone with whom the man has to live his entire life but rather she is what makes him COMPLETE MAN. A man becomes a full man only when he is joined with his wife and that is why we call her his BETTER HALF. Why we call her the Better Half if she were not important.

But this alone shows that she is more important than you and that is why she is called the Better part of you. Meanwhile it is to be noted that the wives must think in the other way. You will read in the Book of Proverbs “House and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.” (Prov. - 19; 14) and “A wise child makes a glad father.” (Prov. 10; 1)

I just quoted the above two verses from the Book of Proverbs only to highlight that a priest is sacrificing these two gifts for the sake of serving the Christ. When the first verse pictures wife to be given by the Lord, the latter says that the child is what makes a man glad.

So by becoming a priest, a man loses these two greater gifts from the Lord. All the more, he is leaving behind his loving parents, caring siblings, and the entire group of his dear and near ones. We all know how difficult it is to be away from our dear ones. And then think how greater sacrifice the priests are making when they set out for serving the people of God. Is it not really a commendable thing that a priest does?