Any teens discerning vocations?

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@Kima
You seem like you have a very strong spiritual life and discern very well. If God wants you to join the Sisters of Life, He will provide the way. Keep trusting in Him.

I don’t know too much about Norway. Is it a Catholic country or are Catholics a minority? Or Is it kind of like the U.S. where it seems like no one really cares about religion anymore?
 
20 year old jumping in here; I haven’t read the whole thread - I got to 100 and then was ambushed by a younger sibling so I gave up - but here’s my two cents!

I think for now I discerned out of the nunhood. I didn’t fall in love with the order when by all rights I should have, and I realized that I could “handle” being a nun. Vocations aren’t about what we can “handle”, it’s about how we can best serve. God does want us to be happy! So, I don’t know where I’m headed, I haven’t met any guy who fits my minimum parameters and wants to date me, so right now I’m focusing on college and my family.

One time when I was having a crisis of vocation (“Why am I still single am I supposed to be a nun and just ignoring it aaaaa”) my Dad calmed me down by saying “What do you mean crisis? Your vocation right now is housemaid.” He was joking (to be clear!!) but it made me realize that there are other vocations - sister, daughter, servant, student, etc. Never stop discerning, but also don’t psych yourself into thinking you’re missing your calling. If you are open to God’s will by saying so and giving yourself quiet periods to listen to Him and do what you can, He’ll handle it and take you where you should be. Take it a step at a time, be not afraid (:
 
@Hawkmaid7
That is an awesome comment. You sound like you have a really awesome family. I have been looking for resources about what a teen can do to bring his/her family closer to God and deeply invest in them but I haven’t really found any. Do you have any recommendations?
 
Thank you - I appreciate it. However, I’m very much struggling with my day-to-day prayerlife nowadays, which I’m trying to do something about.

I’m very engaged in the pro-life movement (tho only a very small one) here in Norway, and I’d definitely love being able to contribute to helping people choose life for their children.

Norway is a very secular country and most people don’t care too much about religion. Our population is very diverse as a result of immigration during the latest decades. We Catholics are one of the greatest religious minorities as we consist of about 150 000 registered Catholics, which is about 5% of the total population. Most of the Catholics here are also immigrants. I’m full-blood Norwegian as to say, thus I converted to the Faith almost 3 years ago.
 
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I´m going to adoration tomorrow. So if anyone has any kind of prayer request - feel free to write them and tagg me here or send them on PM. If anyone is interested, I´ll make a list and then dispose it after church.
 
54 day novena my friend, also ask St. Monica for intercession, in general talk more about them to God than talking to God about them.

I have the same problem.
 
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Hawkmaid7 said:
but it made me realize that there are other vocations - sister, daughter, servant, student, etc. Never stop discerning, but also don’t psych yourself into thinking you’re missing your calling.
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Good piece of knowledge, often I diminish the value of schooling (mostly as an excuse because I don’t like it) by saying things like “What’s the point when I could be a monk right now!” Or something like that 😆. But right now I have to be a student, and it’s good to recognize the value in that, it teaches humility, obedience, and perseverance. All of which are valuable virtues of being a monk and follower of Christ. What I’m trying to say is, often I look into the future and long for what I don’t have, but forget to acknowledge the things God has given me to prepare me for what is to come. Perhaps it’s kind of like a mini-vocation.
 
Funny story, it all started in good old history class. We were learning about monks and St. Benedict and after hearing about it, I felt pretty drawn to it. Nothing before really captured my interest, and I knew I didn’t want an ordinary life (as some people are called to), so I did more research and watched a few documentaries. Before all of that I was very non-religious, basically leaning towards atheism but not willing to say anything. At first I was realllly apprehensive about becoming Catholic because I didn’t know much about it except that it was probably evil (although I was very impressed by the faith and simple, honest lives of the Catholic monks in the documentaries I watched). I looked into being a Lutheran monk, but it just didn’t feel right, so I researched more about Catholicism, picked up some nice books (including a Bible) and basically did nothing except learn about Roman Catholicism for a couple months, and also gave up my laptop and phone to test my vocation. Now I’m here, and I kind of feel bad for not praying about my vocation very much. Like I just started a 54-day novena, but not about discernment. I guess it is because it was all so unlike anything else I’ve experienced, and God’s will seemed very clear and obvious to me, even if it was revealed in a less than orthodox way.

How about yourself? Make sure you talk alot to compensate for my unnecessary rambling :+1:t2:
 
@Chistian-ity
Chistian-ity said:
54 day novena my friend, also ask St. Monica for intercession, in general talk more about them to God than talking to God about them.
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Thank you for that! I’ve seen a little bit about the 54 day novena, I kinda started one but then my prayer was answered so I honestly kinda forgot about it. (that shows a little bit about my lack of gratitude 😐)
Chistian-ity said:
How about yourself?
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I am kind of similar to you in the sense that I haven’t prayed about my vocation very much. Ever since I was like 8-10 I have felt called to the priesthood, diocesan in particular. There was never a big moment or anything, I have just always assumed that was what God wanted me to be so I never gave it much prayer. Then a couple months ago my spiritual director challenged me to start praying about it. He said that the priesthood will be a vocation where assuming will not help very much, I have to be sure so that I can call back onto that in the hard times. And then when I was praying you sent me the message inviting me to this thread, it was really an answer to prayer pointing me in the right direction! I have started to read “To Save a Thousand Souls” but haven’t gotten to far yet. This thread has really been helping me think about my vocation, so thank you! The Holy Spirit is working through it! You have an awesome story so far! I can’t wait to see what God does in your vocation!!
 
Adoration was good, thanks for asking. Prayer was a little dry, but I suppose that´s just what it´s like from time to time. At least I made it to confession which was refreshing.
 
Dry prayer seems to be an unavoidable part of life. If you have not done so you should try reading an introduction to the devout life because it has very specific instructions to help you, which I find more useful. I couldn’t help but think that it probably has something in there that could have helped you (although it won’t eliminate dry prayer). Anyways, dry or not dry there is nothing quite like praying in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. And then to receive absolution also makes for a great day.
 
Absolutely. Do you have a link to the article/book you talked about? I´d definitely be interested in checking it out!

It´s definitely a great help to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament and it was such a good feeling to be absolved. I think I just need to go back to Christ often and continue to seek Him in the sacraments.

I´ve been asking my priest for some advice with regards to the situation of my prayer-life. However, it´s been hard to implement. So I think I need to speak with him again and ask for some more advice on this. Prayer is so so important and essencial to the spiritual life, and it´s truly a great battle.
 
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I had this thought the other day that basically what I am hoping to do with my life is join an extreme Jesus fan club. That gave me a bit of a chuckle.
 
Dry prayer is normal sometimes. And it is awesome that you were able to go to confession!
 
I finally got an email from the Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker. The vocations director was not helpful, she just invited me to their discernment retreat, which I cannot go to.
 
Maybe another opportunity will pop up. I’ll be praying for you!
 
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