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MonjaFutura

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Hi! So, as most of you know I’m 15, discerning a vocation to religious life and a lot has happened that has pointed almost exclusively to religious life. Believe it or not, the Lord has explicitly told me in my heart that He does want me to be His Bride (I asked for a sign as to whether this was Him and it pointed to “yes”.) The problem is, my parents don’t want me to discern heavily. I really can’t obey them in that. I mean, this is the person I love and I want to give Him my whole heart. They think I’m just viewing religious life through rosy glasses. I’m not, though. Honestly, the only reason why I want to become a nun is because God has shown me that this is His Will and that He is the love of my life. I know that this sounds like every other discerning teen, and only time will tell, but God is the one I love like that and I know that I’ll never change. It seems presumptuous but it’s true.
The problem is that my parents have kept me from going to Mass for at least 6 months, which has ragged on my religious side. I know that going to Mass isn’t everything, but I really need to go to Confession and can’t. I also desperately want to receive the Eucharist but I can’t. I’m not as focused on religion without Mass. I can’t pray as well. It’s taken it’s toll on my mental health, too. I’m not going to say I’ve wanted to commit suicide over it, but I never got depressed when I went to Mass regularly. I long for God so desperately. I don’t know what to do. Any advice?
 
How sad your parents aren’t supportive of you. I’d be thrilled to pieces if my child decided that God was his/her one true love! I understand the part about longing for Mass and the Eucharist. I have that too, only my circumstances aren’t exactly like yours. I don’t know what advice to offer, but I can offer my prayers! Good luck, sweetie…
 
God bless you.

Pray the roseary as often as you can. Your parents only love you and want what’s best for you. Abide by their recommendations and try not to dishonor them. If God is truly calling you he won’t stop. He has known you since The beginning of time and loves you. Keep him close to your heart. Search out a saint that may have had a similar experience. I believe there is one that resembles your situation. Pray to the saint. Persevere.
 
Can you give any more information about why your parents won’t allow you to attend Mass? Are they not Catholic? Are they concerned that you are becoming “too religious” or obsessed with religion to an unhealthy degree? I assume they gave a reason for suddenly stopping you from going to Mass. Would they agree to the three of you having a meeting with your priest? Perhaps that can clear up some of the problems you are going through. Sadly, many parents are not very supportive of vocations, but your parents reactions seem a little extreme. A talk with a priest might calm them down a little bit. I mean, after all, if you are a teen now your quite some time away from being eligible to enter a religious community. It’s not as if a bunch of women in masks and black robes are going to sneak up to your house at night and sneak you out of a window.
 
MonjaFutura said:
Hi! So, as most of you know I’m 15, discerning a vocation to religious life and a lot has happened that has pointed almost exclusively to religious life. Believe it or not, the Lord has explicitly told me in my heart that He does want me to be His Bride (I asked for a sign as to whether this was Him and it pointed to “yes”.) The problem is, my parents don’t want me to discern heavily. I really can’t obey them in that. I mean, this is the person I love and I want to give Him my whole heart. They think I’m just viewing religious life through rosy glasses. I’m not, though. Honestly, the only reason why I want to become a nun is because God has shown me that this is His Will and that He is the love of my life. I know that this sounds like every other discerning teen, and only time will tell, but God is the one I love like that and I know that I’ll never change. It seems presumptuous but it’s true.
The problem is that my parents have kept me from going to Mass for at least 6 months, which has ragged on my religious side. I know that going to Mass isn’t everything, but I really need to go to Confession and can’t. I also desperately want to receive the Eucharist but I can’t. I’m not as focused on religion without Mass. I can’t pray as well. It’s taken it’s toll on my mental health, too. I’m not going to say I’ve wanted to commit suicide over it, but I never got depressed when I went to Mass regularly. I long for God so desperately. I don’t know what to do. Any advice?
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The fact you’re 15 makes it pretty difficult. Typically, and legally, there’s the age of consent, in which individuals who reach this age can somewhat be independent of their parents. There’s a point where you can’t honor your parents any longer, if they prevent you from going where you believe God intended you to be. You can honor them for obvious things: giving you life, going through the process(es) of doing such, etc. But, if they treat you in a less than dignified manner, it seems there has to be a point where the buck stops.
 
We cannot find God in noise and agitation.
Hey there…read your post and thought of this from mother teresa … I guess because your allowing to let the materialism to affect you…simplify…if your not 18 and can’t do exactly what you want…it’s for a reason you feel like this…hold fast…use this difficult time to fortify yourself…take it chest first and allow the peace you long for to come to you in any way possible…pray…not obsessively but honestly. Idk…this has helped me…and this quote has helped me aswell. I hope everything ends up alright…you’re doing an awesome thing! You’re great. Never lose faith:) we need women like you.

"Nature: trees, flowers, and grass grow in silence. The stars, the moon, and the sun move in silence.

What is essential is not what we say but what God tells us and what He tells others through us.

In silence He listens to us; in silence He speaks to our souls. In silence we are granted the privilege of listening to His voice.

Silence of our eyes.
Silence of our ears.
Silence of our mouths.
Silence of our minds.
…in the silence of the heart
God will speak."
—Mother Teresa, from No Greater Love
 
MonjaFutura said:
Hi! So, as most of you know I’m 15, discerning a vocation to religious life and a lot has happened that has pointed almost exclusively to religious life. Believe it or not, the Lord has explicitly told me in my heart that He does want me to be His Bride (I asked for a sign as to whether this was Him and it pointed to “yes”.) The problem is, my parents don’t want me to discern heavily. I really can’t obey them in that. I mean, this is the person I love and I want to give Him my whole heart. They think I’m just viewing religious life through rosy glasses. I’m not, though. Honestly, the only reason why I want to become a nun is because God has shown me that this is His Will and that He is the love of my life. I know that this sounds like every other discerning teen, and only time will tell, but God is the one I love like that and I know that I’ll never change. It seems presumptuous but it’s true.
The problem is that my parents have kept me from going to Mass for at least 6 months, which has ragged on my religious side. I know that going to Mass isn’t everything, but I really need to go to Confession and can’t. I also desperately want to receive the Eucharist but I can’t. I’m not as focused on religion without Mass. I can’t pray as well. It’s taken it’s toll on my mental health, too. I’m not going to say I’ve wanted to commit suicide over it, but I never got depressed when I went to Mass regularly. I long for God so desperately. I don’t know what to do. Any advice?
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What, exactly, is ‘it’?

As to obedience,

vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7U.HTM
2216 Filial respect is shown by true docility and obedience. "My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching… When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you."20 "A wise son hears his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke."21
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2217 As long as a child lives at home with his parents, the child should obey his parents in all that they ask of him when it is for his good or that of the family. "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord."22 Children should also obey the reasonable directions of their teachers and all to whom their parents have entrusted them. But if a child is convinced in conscience that it would be morally wrong to obey a particular order, he must not do so.
As they grow up, children should continue to respect their parents. They should anticipate their wishes, willingly seek their advice, and accept their just admonitions. Obedience toward parents ceases with the emancipation of the children; not so respect, which is always owed to them. This respect has its roots in the fear of God, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
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2227 Children in turn contribute to the growth in holiness of their parents.36 Each and everyone should be generous and tireless in forgiving one another for offenses, quarrels, injustices, and neglect. Mutual affection suggests this. the charity of Christ demands it.
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2230 When they become adults, children have the right and duty to choose their profession and state of life.
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I would describe you as zealous in your quest to become a nun and in your desire to attend Mass, take communion and have your confession heard. While no one can understate the importance of attending Mass and receiving communion and confession, I don’t think God or anyone else would hold it against you for not being able to go to church.

As young as you are, you seem to know that God has put you on the path to becoming a nun, yet is it possible that what you are discerning is a spiritual awakening or revelation instead? You alone will have to make the final decision as to where this path will lead, but sometimes the very powerful spiritual encounters we experience with God are mistaken for callings to the priesthood or the sisterhood.

Even if you cannot attend Mass, know that you can easily talk to God anywhere, at any moment. Mass is the place Catholics go to worship God, but is not the only place you will find Him. God hears your prayers and is well aware of your situation. If you are meant to become a nun, time will reveal what is to be. God places a deep yearning in each of our hearts for Him, and even though many are not called to serve as nuns and priests, they can, in their ordinary lives, serve Him well and become saints in the process.

I wish you well on this spiritual journey of yours. Pray to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance and the revelation to truly know what God is asking of you. And then continue to live your life in obedience to your parents and to God.

God Rocks
 
Dominus tecum MonjaFutura,

I also have the same problem, only one thing is different between you and me: I want to be a priest. Also - even my parents are not exactly enthusiastic above my decision to priesthood.
They forbid me to go to Holy Mass, too. They are very upset if they see me praying and so on…

Please pray for all future workers in the vineyard of the Lord, make their way to happiness, which is only in the Lord easy and without oppositions of parents!

Benedicamus Domino!
Brother in Christ, Attempto

Post Scriptum: I apologize if I wrote something wrong.
 
Allegra said:
Can you give any more information about why your parents won’t allow you to attend Mass? Are they not Catholic? Are they concerned that you are becoming “too religious” or obsessed with religion to an unhealthy degree? I assume they gave a reason for suddenly stopping you from going to Mass. Would they agree to the three of you having a meeting with your priest? Perhaps that can clear up some of the problems you are going through. Sadly, many parents are not very supportive of vocations, but your parents reactions seem a little extreme. A talk with a priest might calm them down a little bit. I mean, after all, if you are a teen now your quite some time away from being eligible to enter a religious community. It’s not as if a bunch of women in masks and black robes are going to sneak up to your house at night and sneak you out of a window.
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They are Catholic but they’ve had some rough patches with the church. We were Lutheran for a while and they’ve always been looking around for a new church. They think I’m obsessed with religious life but I really am not. I’m not just saying that as an angsty teen or anything. My priest came over to our house once and asked casually why we weren’t going to Mass. My parents blamed it on my dad’s panic disorder, which is partially legitimate but not the whole story. And about women in masks and black robes getting me, I’ve heard it’s quite common nowadays ;).
 
Attempto said:
Dominus tecum MonjaFutura,

I also have the same problem, only one thing is different between you and me: I want to be a priest. Also - even my parents are not exactly enthusiastic above my decision to priesthood.
They forbid me to go to Holy Mass, too. They are very upset if they see me praying and so on…

Please pray for all future workers in the vineyard of the Lord, make their way to happiness, which is only in the Lord easy and without oppositions of parents!

Benedicamus Domino!
Brother in Christ, Attempto

Post Scriptum: I apologize if I wrote something wrong.
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How old are you? And what is your cultural background? I know in certain households, the priesthood is an honorable vocation, even a hope of the family to have at least one priest in the family. It’s kind of sad, in both your’s, and OP’s situations.
 
I am 17, just three years, I have to wait, then I can enter the seminary.🙂
My family is catholic, in our family we don´t have any priest (the last has been in 1935)
BUT my parents don´t attend to Mass, also they do not pray at all.

Brother in Christ, Attempto
 
Attempto said:
I am 17, just three years, I have to wait, then I can enter the seminary.🙂
My family is catholic, in our family we don´t have any priest (the last has been in 1935)
BUT my parents don´t attend to Mass, also they do not pray at all.

Brother in Christ, Attempto
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I’ll be praying for you, and your seminal journey :). It’s unfortunate your folks lost their faith. I know my two sisters who walked away (I don’t blame them, after how we were brought up in the faith). It’s already hard as it is. But, parents are almost another matter on their own, IMO.
 
Thank you for your prayers and support.👍

Vos amici mei estis! (Jn 15:14)

Brother in Christ, Attempto
 
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