As we continue “Archbishop Mark Coleridge’s Reflections on 50 Years of Pastoral Service” series, this week, Archbishop Mark focuses on his advice for young people discerning the priesthood.
Reflecting on his own journey, Archbishop Mark would urge those entering the seminary to embrace the path without fear of losing too much, as the gains far outweigh the losses. He emphasises the importance of having a true sense of vocation before pursuing ordination, which he notes, is just the beginning, similar to obtaining a driver’s license—real learning happens on the road. He recalls his own overconfidence at 25, thinking he knew everything, but real ministry revealed how much he had yet to learn. He encourages young people to be prepared for surprises and to understand that the priesthood is not about constructing a career; it’s about answering God’s call. Trust in God’s plan, he advises, and let Him guide the path, much like signing a blank cheque for Him to fill in.
Watch the Archbishop’s reflection here:
Ep5 – Signing a Blank Cheque
Do it! No well, I say it to young guys now who might be thinking of the seminary or of being ordained. Don’t be afraid of losing too much. A lot of people think if they say yes to Jesus they’ll lose too much. Now, in a sense when you’re ordained a priest you do lose something but you gain far more. So I would say first of all, don’t be afraid of losing too much give yourself to it, say yes to the call if you don’t think you’re being called then just wait a bit hold back, don’t get ordained unless you have a sense of vocation. I think that’s important.
The other thing is I’d say don’t be afraid of the experience of weakness, don’t be afraid of the experience of failure. And don’t think once you’ve made it to ordination that you’ve learned everything you will need to learn as a priest. Because you haven’t, it’s like learning to drive a car. When you get your license you’ve learnt enough to get the license to pass the exam and the driving test. But you really learn to drive a car only after you’ve got your license. Similarly with the priesthood as I came to discover, I didn’t think this on the day I was ordained. I thought I knew everything.
But what I came to see, certainly in my first experience of parish ministry is there was so much I didn’t know. And in many ways I was woefully under equipped for what I was being asked to do and I was all of 25. And when I meet young guys now at 25 I think, that was me when I was ordained. But lack of confidence has never been one of my problems, on the contrary it might have been an excessive confidence that was the problem, too much confidence in myself. So when you get ordained I would say, don’t think you know it all, don’t think you are the finished product in a sense you’re only beginning.
The final thing I’d say is get ready for all kinds of surprises because it’s not going to be what you expect. Looking back to that day, the 18th of May ’74. I signed a blank cheque. I didn’t think it was blank, but it was and I just put my signature on a blank cheque. A bit like Mary when she says yes at the Annunciation, she signs a blank cheque too. And then through the years someone else, I happen to think God, fills in the cheque. But it’s better if you leave it to God. If you try and fill in the cheque and construct a career for yourself the priesthood turns dark and can turn destructive.
It’s got to be a yes to someone else’s call and not me constructing my own career. But the temptation to do that, to construct a career is very strong, very seductive. But it has to be resisted. Now that gets a bit easier as you get older, but when you’re young and the world is your oyster and all doors are opening and it is very tempting to indulge in a kind of opportunism, a kind of careerism. But all of that is dangerously seductive, that’s not what the priesthood is about and it’s not what the episcopate is about either.