{"id":2841,"date":"2008-09-14T18:46:00","date_gmt":"2008-09-14T18:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2008\/09\/a-late-call.html"},"modified":"2008-09-14T18:46:00","modified_gmt":"2008-09-14T18:46:00","slug":"a-late-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/09\/a-late-call.html","title":{"rendered":"A late call"},"content":{"rendered":"

Statistics show that more men are entering the priesthood later in life — and now a paper in Illinois is taking a closer look<\/a> at this phenomenon: <\/p>\n

In what he calls his past life, the Rev. Geoffrey Horton worked at a Bloomington-Normal insurance company, coached a women\u2019s softball team, owned a home and invested in a 401K.<\/p>\n

Although life was good, Horton, 43, felt something was missing. In May, he found his calling as a newly ordained Roman Catholic priest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI became a priest for the only reason anyone should ever become a priest, because I felt that\u2019s what God was asking of me,\u201d said Horton, currently assigned at a church in Peoria.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The Rev. Michael Bies heard the same call, but before he did, he worked 20 years as a machinist in his native Chicago and even considered marriage. Ordained about four years ago, Bies, 52, is associate pastor of St. Mary\u2019s Church in Pontiac.<\/p>\n

The two Central Illinois men aren\u2019t alone in making such monumental mid-life career changes.<\/p>\n

Paul Sullins, a professor at the Catholic University of America, said the average age at ordination has risen by 10 to 15 years since the 1970s \u2014 part of a national trend toward increased education and later-life commitments.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn increasing proportion of priests today are entering their second or third careers,\u201d said Sullins, adding the trend may help relieve the shortage of priests in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Monsignor Paul Showalter, vicar general of the Peoria Diocese, agreed. Showalter said, in general, the trend toward older priests is beneficial.<\/p>\n

It all comes down to \u201cwhen they get the calling,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Horton and Bies both agreed their life experience can help them be better priests.<\/p>\n

Bies, for instance, can identify first-hand with parishioners who are out of work because he was without a job several times as a machinist.<\/p>\n

Horton, likewise, hopes his experience in the corporate world gives him more empathy for parishioners stressed out by everyday business life.<\/p>\n

Horton is unique in another way, having been an Episcopalian until he was 36.<\/p>\n

The switch in religions together with his mid-life career switch doesn\u2019t bother Horton\u2019s mother, Johanna Horton of Jacksonville. \u201cIt seems right,\u201d she said, adding her son has always had deep religious feelings.<\/p>\n

However, there can be aspects of the mid-life switch that aren\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n

Hardest for Bies was giving up some of his independence. As a priest, he\u2019s bound to his parish and that \u201ctakes a bit of getting used to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Knowing that \u201cGod is using you to bring solace and peace,\u201d helps him cope, he said.<\/p>\n

The celibacy requirement is actually a gift, said Bies, because it \u201cfrees you up to see all people as part of your family.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Visit the link<\/a> for more. <\/p>\n

Photo: Fr. Michael Bies by Steve Smedley\/The Pantagraph<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Statistics show that more men are entering the priesthood later in life — and now a paper in Illinois is taking a closer look at this phenomenon: In what he calls his past life, the Rev. 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Prior to that, Deacon Greg worked for 26 years as a writer and producer for CBS News, where he contributed to \"The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric,\" \"60 Minutes II,\" \"48 Hours,\" (Emmy Award, Writers Guild of America Award) and \"Sunday Morning.\" He was co-writer for the acclaimed documentary \"9\/11,\" hosted by Robert DeNiro. (Emmy Award, Christopher Award, Peabody Award, Writers Guild of America Award.) His radio essays were featured in the bestselling book \"Deadlines and Datelines\" by Dan Rather. He's also a two-time winner of the Catholic Press Association Award. Other places you may find him: AMERICA, U.S. CATHOLIC, CATHOLIC DIGEST, REALITY (Redemptorist Communications) and THE BROOKLYN TABLET. He also contributes homiletic reflections to the parish resource CONNECT!, published by Liturgical Publications. In November 2009, he began serving a three-year term as a consultant to the Communications Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Deacon Greg grew up in Maryland (Go Terps!) but he and his wife today live in the beautiful borough of Queens, New York. You can contact Deacon Greg at dcngreg@gmail.com.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/author\/gkandra"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/204"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2841\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}