Catholic Questions - Priests

Don't priests miss having a family of their own?

When I was trying to decide whether or not I should be a priest, one of the hardest things for me to imagine was letting go of having a family of my own. Being a priest would mean I would not have my own children or wife. I had always thought that I would have been a good husband and a good dad, and certainly that would have been a noble way for me to spend my life. What I have found since becoming a priest, however, is that I now have many homes and many children that I am blessed to know and love. For me, it has been a beautiful joy-filled life. It is clear to me that priesthood and marriage are more alike than different. Both have moments of great joy; both have moments of loneliness. Both are beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking. Both include times of great fun and are also a lot of work. And both are wonderful ways to give away ones' life to follow Christ. I hope you-and other young men who read this-will consider the possibility of spending your lives in religious service. If you do so with willingness to love God and God's people, you would find it to be a wnderful life indeed.