We are close to several priests and see how all-consuming the life is, total devotion to the service of the people of God. They barely have time for decent rest let alone a family life. They hang out with us and other friends for support. Last week one friend had a long day then came a medical emergency so off to the hospital, the lady forgot something she needed, would he go to her house and get it, yes, of course, other people see a priest at the hospital, they ask him to come and pray with their friend/family member, go home, oh wait, the lady is being discharged at 3 am, could you come get her, of course. He maybe had two hours of sleep, maybe, before he had to get up and do it again. A wife and children would always be second place. All of my priest friends are vowed to serve the people and they do 24/7.
If there were more priests, they could share the work and wouldn't be so overwhelmed.
Then that excuse for an unmarried priesthood would be gone.
My family also has several priest friends, and I totally agree with your assessment.
I’ve even asked a couple of them about this very subject. Each one of them answered the same way: “I don’t know how I’d be able to do it while trying to be a husband and a father.”
My parish has 4000 families. Not 4000 people, 4000 families. The priests of our parish are on-the-go around the clock. Sick calls. Last rites. Wakes. Funerals. Bible study. Mass preparation. Parish committees. Blood drives. Wedding prep classes. Confessions (including people calling the rectory to make appointments for Confessions). Catholic school activities. Christmas pageant rehearsals. I could go on and on.
We had one of our priest friends over for dinner in June. It took six months to finally get him to the house — our simple little dinner had to be postponed at least 10 times because Father kept getting called away for emergencies.
“All consuming” is exactly the right phrase. You nailed it.
Regards,