K
KindredSoul
Guest
Hi everybody! I’ve been discerning for quite some time what my calling may be…after a very brief stay in Seminary, I found myself leaving for a number of reasons. Either the calling to the priesthood isn’t mine, or isn’t for me to be at that stage yet…
But the character traits and personal inhibitions that rule out or delay a possible vocation to the Priesthood still do not rule out the possibility of some sort of vocation in a state of celibacy, whether it’s the call to Religious life, or the call to single life…either of which is open, of course, to eventually taking back up the journey to the priesthood, if I find that such a call was only delayed instead of non-existent. However, regarding Religious life I fear that I have certain impediments that may bar me from acceptance…and also, due to my state of life right now, I cannot quite find peace with the idea (though if I do, for some reason I’m deeply drawn to the cloistered life…which is harder to find for a hopeful monk than for a hopeful nun).
Another possibility entirely has thus occured to me, and I want to know if this is too strange and off the wall to even consider, especially in our day and age. It occurs to me that I might be willing, if a parish was willing, to be taken in by a priest if he was so allowed, who would simply furnish me with a place to sleep and (possibly meager) meals. In return, I would do any work he needed me to do around the rectory and the parish, etc. The thing is, I have a deep desire to immerse my life in specifically religious work, even if it sometimes sometimes includes mundane chores but lived out in a religious setting (much like chorse in Religious life). I am not quite as passionate about anything else, though there are other things I’m capable of enjoying. Yet I have my personal (religiously motivated) reasons for possibly feeling called to give up the temporal rewards of money altogether. Of course, thus, such a life would entail celibacy as one couldn’t rear a family in such conditions. And though I have yet to master celibacy in terms of perfect chastity (in a private sense, not that I commit sexual acts with others), chastity is something I must work toward in order to be a good Catholic anyway.
I’m beginning to ramble. Anyway, here’s the question: Am I crazy or weird for thinking that such a situation might work or be plausible? Should I definitely look into Religious Life in a Cloistered community first, since that also holds some appeal? Before answering the latter question, note that to some degree the pull of the unique (if outright strange) possibility is just as strong as the pull of the Monestary, in some ways…for one, I’m not entirely sure if I’m called to a Contemplative or Active role. The strange idea has more room for the active…but again, I realize it’s just so dern strange, at least in our modern culture.
Thank you for your patience, and for any encouragement you may have!
But the character traits and personal inhibitions that rule out or delay a possible vocation to the Priesthood still do not rule out the possibility of some sort of vocation in a state of celibacy, whether it’s the call to Religious life, or the call to single life…either of which is open, of course, to eventually taking back up the journey to the priesthood, if I find that such a call was only delayed instead of non-existent. However, regarding Religious life I fear that I have certain impediments that may bar me from acceptance…and also, due to my state of life right now, I cannot quite find peace with the idea (though if I do, for some reason I’m deeply drawn to the cloistered life…which is harder to find for a hopeful monk than for a hopeful nun).
Another possibility entirely has thus occured to me, and I want to know if this is too strange and off the wall to even consider, especially in our day and age. It occurs to me that I might be willing, if a parish was willing, to be taken in by a priest if he was so allowed, who would simply furnish me with a place to sleep and (possibly meager) meals. In return, I would do any work he needed me to do around the rectory and the parish, etc. The thing is, I have a deep desire to immerse my life in specifically religious work, even if it sometimes sometimes includes mundane chores but lived out in a religious setting (much like chorse in Religious life). I am not quite as passionate about anything else, though there are other things I’m capable of enjoying. Yet I have my personal (religiously motivated) reasons for possibly feeling called to give up the temporal rewards of money altogether. Of course, thus, such a life would entail celibacy as one couldn’t rear a family in such conditions. And though I have yet to master celibacy in terms of perfect chastity (in a private sense, not that I commit sexual acts with others), chastity is something I must work toward in order to be a good Catholic anyway.
I’m beginning to ramble. Anyway, here’s the question: Am I crazy or weird for thinking that such a situation might work or be plausible? Should I definitely look into Religious Life in a Cloistered community first, since that also holds some appeal? Before answering the latter question, note that to some degree the pull of the unique (if outright strange) possibility is just as strong as the pull of the Monestary, in some ways…for one, I’m not entirely sure if I’m called to a Contemplative or Active role. The strange idea has more room for the active…but again, I realize it’s just so dern strange, at least in our modern culture.
Thank you for your patience, and for any encouragement you may have!
