He went up the mountain and summoned those whom He wanted and they came to Him. He appointed twelve (whom He also named apostles) that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. - Mark 3:13-15

Jesus Christ is the High Priest, and an ordained priest shares in His eternal priesthood. If a man senses that he may be called by God to be a priest, he should: (1) pray more, listening to God with the heart; and (2) talk to a happy priest! If you are pondering this question, feel free to contact Father Loftus or the Diocese of Peoria vocation program.

"Why celibacy?" Saint Paul wrote 2,000 years ago: "An unmarried man can devote himself to the Lord's affairs; all he need worry about is pleasing the Lord; but a married man has to bother about the world's affairs and devote himself to please his wife; he is torn two ways." (1 Corinthians 7:32-33) Some hearts can only “be” exclusively for God. As the above passage from the Gospel of Mark shows, Jesus first called men to “be with Him” in friendship; only afterward did He “send them forth”. Celibacy is about giving one's entire person to God and to His people, in a total consecration - which is, in fact, what a man and woman do on their wedding day.