Parents whose sons are studying for the priesthood have a special role.
One day, should God call these men to the priesthood, their sons will be in persona Christi, or in the person of Christ. They will have consecrated hands and the ability to administer the sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ.
With such a high calling for their sons, parents play a role in supporting and journeying with them in their discernment.
Julie Ratliff and Tammy Dixon, two mothers whose sons are studying for the priesthood in the Diocese of Columbus, wanted to form a group for parents of seminarians.
They received the support of Father Bill Hahn, the diocese’s vocations director, and the group was born. Known as the Guardians of Melchizedek, the parents of seminarians meet monthly to pray, share a meal and support one another.
Their group’s namesake comes from Psalm 110:4: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
The group’s mission is to unify families around their sons’ calling to the priesthood and provide support for families during their son’s journey to the priesthood.
Their goal is to better understand the discernment process, grow in faith and develop relationships with one another through prayer and discussion. They lean on one another as they seek to best support their sons.
The Guardians of Melchizedek held their third meeting on Oct. 25 at Gahanna St. Matthew the Apostle Church. The evening began with Mass celebrated by pastor Father Ted Sill and was followed by dinner and fellowship in the church’s undercroft.
The group will meet again on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at New Albany Church of the Resurrection for a 7 p.m. Mass celebrated by the pastor, Father Denis Kigozi, followed by a meal. They will begin reading “A Priest in the Family” by Father Brett A. Brannen and discuss the book as a group.
Rose Voegele and her husband attended the parent gathering for the first time in October.
“I just wanted to get to know other parents that had children in the religious life since we have a daughter that’s in a religious order and then our son entered in seminary,” she said. “It’s just nice to have some other parents to talk to and just run things by or just see what’s going on.”
The Voegeles’ son, Luke, is studying for the priesthood at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West in Cincinnati, and their daughter is in the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration in Indiana.
“It’s humbling,” Voegele said of having children called to religious life. “We pray for them every day and just Mary’s mantle be over them and pray for more vocations.”
Voegele said both children found their calling while at the University of Cincinnati.
They were active in several Catholic organizations in college including St. Paul’s Outreach and the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, and they were involved with Catholic men’s and Catholic women’s households . She said they also spent time volunteering, which helped to discern their vocation.
Jennifer Fagge and her husband attended the group’s October gathering. She said she enjoyed celebrating Mass as a group, and she is interested in getting to know and pray with parents whose sons discern a call to the priesthood.
Fagge’s son, Justin, is studying for the priesthood at the Pontifical College Josephinum. He is in his second year of college at the seminary.
“When Justin first discerned, I wanted to ask more experienced mothers what their experience was like, and I didn’t have anyone to call or didn’t know who to call,” Fagge said. “And I’d love to be able to fill that role for somebody else if they need it.”
Alan Ratliff, whose wife, Julie, helped form the Guardians of Melchizedek, has enjoyed meeting other parents. Their son, Dominic, is in his third year of college at the Josephinum.
“I feel honored,” Alan said.
He recently spoke with a seminarian whose parents were not as supportive of their son entering seminary.
“The guys don’t always feel supported from their families of origin,” he said.
Alan said this can be because parents often have expectations for their children’s futures. It tends to be more difficult for parents whose oldest son goes to the seminary, he said, because they are experiencing “that natural separation at the same time as he’s in the seminary.”
He noticed that parents whose younger son discerns a call to the priesthood tend to be more comfortable with their discernment. Alan wants to “reach out to” parents who are struggling with their son entering seminary, so they receive the support they need and can be at peace with their son’s call.
He is grateful that people across the Diocese of Columbus are offering prayers for his son.
“Knowing that other people are praying for their sons is really, really, really comforting because it’s a hard decision,” he said. “I’m confident that the power of prayer affects following what God really wants for those guys.”
Parents in the group have sons in different years of seminary. Some of their sons are in the propaedeutic year, which is the beginning stage of seminary, while others are further along in their formation.
Julie said it is nice to have parents in the group whose sons are at different stages. Parents whose sons have been in seminary for several years can be a resource to those with sons in the propaedeutic stage.
She said having a son discern a call to the priesthood can call parents to a greater surrender to Christ, just as their sons have surrendered to God’s will for their lives.
“I feel like we’re finally getting to know each other, like a little bit of our stories and where our sons are at and where each of us is, even sort of surrendering over, too, that this process that our sons are drawing us into,” Julie said.
“It’s great to be with people who have been where we were and who are in the same place, and then, also parents who are further along in the process and just to have that perspective.”
Dixon, who helped form the group, and her husband have a son, Christopher, who is in his second year of pre-theology at the Josephinum. She looks forward to seeing deeper relationships develop among parents of seminarians.
She wants to support parents “so that they can just see the value of how prayer can make a difference for our young men in their discernment process.”
“I think that those walls will come down, where we can really share with each other what’s on our heart and where we can kind of help our sons and journey with them, and again, not smother them, not push them, just be there for them, be still and let the Lord work His way.”