Faith Features

Obedience, poverty and celibacy are not the sorts of attributes that you would normally associate with the young men of today. But that’s exactly what you have to commit to if you want to be a Roman Catholic priest in a missionary order.

Michael with Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor

You may think, therefore, that it’s not entirely unsurprising that the numbers training for this role are dwindling. But that’s not to say that there aren’t men who are prepared to go down this route.

One of them is 26-year-old Michael O’Rourke who is currently living in St Albans, where, as a pre-novitiate with the order of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, he is living with other priests in the community at the church of St Alban and St Stephen, while also attending a seminary in London as part of his training to be a priest, a process which could take at least six or seven years.

Liverpool-born Michael told us all about what his training involves and when he first got the call to begin his journey.

Michael, you are training to be a priest. This is a big thing to take on isn’t it?

Michael: Yes, it’s a big step for anyone. If someone had said to me years ago, “you’ll be in a religious order training to be a priest”, I would have said “not in a million years”, because I don’t come from a particularly religious family or a practising family.

So, you weren’t in a practising Catholic family but it was a Catholic family?

Michael: Yes, my mum converted when she married my dad, who was from an Irish Catholic background. We went to Catholic schools so the foundations were there for the faith but we didn’t used to go to church, even at Easter or Christmas, the essentials! It wasn’t that they didn’t want us to go, it was just I that I think for my dad, it had been strict when he was growing up so I think he maybe wandered away from the faith a little bit and had had enough by the time he was 16/17.

I think that happens to a lot of people if they’re made to go when they’re younger?

Michael: Yes, that can happen, whereas with me, I was always curious, so it worked the other way. I think if you see young people coming into the church today, it’s the same. They are curious to see what the church has to say and discover what the difference is between having a faith and not having a faith?

So it must have been Catholic School that first got you interested?

Michael: I think so, also I had a great aunt who was a regular at Mass each day. I remember always going round to her house where she’d have the pictures of the Sacred Heart, and she’d always say she was lighting candles for me and praying for me. I think that left an impression on me because she was always a joyful person. Sometimes there’s a feeling that people who enter religion are kind of strict but that wasn’t the case [with her] and it left a deep impression on me growing up.

So when did you first get the call? Because it’s not like deciding to be a doctor is it? And quite often when you talk to priests they’ve had a calling and almost ignored it, like they didn’t want it to happen, but then they do it anyway?!

Michael: I think with me it was a gradual thing. It wasn’t something that I would have thought about doing, but looking back with hindsight, I think the call was there in the small things.

I can’t explain it but I had an attraction to the church from when I was small. I always felt comfortable there, I always felt at home and I think even as a child I was on a journey to discover God because I was quite an inquisitive child and I used to ask a lot of questions. I used to love science and always asked about why we’re here, that kind of thing – I used to drive my mum and dad mad!

In school I always used to be fascinated by astronomy and I did want to go down the science route when I was doing my GCSEs, but I had dyslexia. I didn’t know that at the time but I was rubbish at maths. And at A Level I really wouldn’t have had a hope because the maths got harder. But at the same time I was thinking maybe it’s not science that deals with the types of questions I was asking, maybe it’s theology, maybe it’s religious studies?

That’s interesting because science is very “provable”. It’s based on hard evidence. And yet having a faith is about well – faith, isn’t it?!

Michael: Yes – it’s a leap isn’t it really! But I think that the questions that I was asking - like why are we here? - were the things that I was searching for. I think that science can tell us so much about the physical world around us but for the deeper questions, that’s not what science is for and I think that’s where faith comes in. I think that’s where God planted the seeds in me to ask these questions and discover him. That’s the way I’ve seen it anyway.

So what did you do next?

Michael: I did A’Levels but I went to a college that didn’t offer theology so I ended up doing Biology, History and Geography. However, I wasn’t happy with the courses and thought that I should have gone to a college and done theology, so after my A’Levels I went to university to study theology.

At this point I think my faith started to develop more as well. I started to go to Mass and to pray more, and I think that’s when I started to feel an attraction to the priesthood as a way of life. But at first I thought ‘no’ because I was scared! I took a step back and thought I definitely couldn’t do it. Not being a very confident person, I thought there was no way I could stand up in front of people give a sermon and say the Mass.

Not only did I think that confidence-wise I couldn’t do it but I was also thinking that celibacy was an issue, and moving away from family and friends was a big issue as well because I come from quite a close knit family. I thought that I just couldn’t do it, but then as the years went on I began to think about what I was going to do with my life and with my theology degree. I thought maybe I could go into teaching, but again there was a confidence issue.

I graduated and ended up getting a job in ASDA, which wasn’t the best of jobs, and I thought ‘what am I doing here?’ And I think that’s when God started to talk to me.

God came to you in ASDA?!

Michael: [laughs] Sort of yes, because although the people I was working with were nice, it wasn’t the job for me so it was then that I thought I had to give it [the priesthood] a try.

It’s quite a leap though isn’t it?! Most people who don’t want to work in a supermarket would just go and get another job! There must have been quite a big shift in your mind to decide on the priesthood?

Michael: Yes, but I think in the back of my mind I kind of knew what I had to do, I just think I had been putting it off for a long time.

So what changed? You mention issues like confidence and the vows - celibacy, obedience and poverty are not the sorts of vows that you would expect a young man to take?

Michael: Yes. It was a big step and we live in an age now where [those kinds of vows] are so counter cultural. But I think that anyone who has a genuine love for God sees beyond that. Yes, it’s hard and I’m not going to say that it’s not, because at the end of the day we’re still human beings and we still have feelings like normal people, but it’s a worthwhile thing to do, to dedicate your life to, and I think that’s where the strength comes from. If this is what God wants then he will give you the means to do it.

I think you can look negatively on celibacy, but I think you can take a step back and say it can be a gift as well. Because that love that you would have for one particular person, well maybe you can use it and give it to other people.

It’s a big issue at the moment because the numbers of people like you, training for the priesthood, are dwindling and people are saying that if you let them marry, then that will solve the problem?

Michael: A lot of people do say that, but I would definitely disagree with it. I think that at the end of the day, if this is what God wants of you then you are going to do it no matter what because it’s a worthwhile step to take. Yes there are sacrifices but there are sacrifices in other walks of life as well. If you get married there are sacrifices too, so yes, it’s a big sacrifice but it’s a worthwhile thing to do.

I guess if you’re prepared to make such a big sacrifice, it shows that you really want to do the job?

Michael: Yes definitely. And I think that you can also focus too much on saying that it is a sacrifice, but you get a lot from it as well, such as the people that you meet and being able to make a difference.

What did your family think?

Michael: I have a twin brother and he wasn’t that surprised. I think he had an idea. My mum and dad were taken aback a bit. I think my mum, like all mums, was a bit nervous at first. She wasn’t too keen on the idea especially because joining a missionary order, she was scared where I might be sent to and wondered if I would be lonely or unhappy. But I think that now she’s seen what I’m doing she’s come round to the idea and is quite happy, I think she’s quite proud. My dad, as my mum was, was supportive too. If they know that I am happy doing something then they are quite happy with the choices that I make. They were supportive but nervous at first, but then that’s parents isn’t it?!  But now that they are seeing what I’m doing I think they’re quite proud!

Find out about Michael’s training in Part 2.