If you think that the Lord might be calling you to priesthood, then you can only do so much discerning from the outside. You reach the point in which the next step is to “date the priesthood.” This means entering seminary. Does it mean that you will be a priest? No. It means that you are open to God’s Call and you will begin a serious time of discernment.

There are often seminarians who will say to me, “I don’t know if I am called to the priesthood, but I do know that I am called to seminary.” If you have received signs along the way and a growing desire that the Lord may be calling you to priesthood, take the time to meet seminarians from your diocese, visit a seminary, and consider the possibility of dating the priesthood. “You can’t marry unless you date.” “You can’t swim unless you jump in the pool.” Or as Father Brett Brannen writes, “You can’t drive a parked car.”