Called to order?

[Folk]

How is it, you can tell (or sense), that you are to join an order?

I have banged my head trying to get the answer out for a while now. I’ve been seriously considering joining a monastery and becoming a monk. I have my own reasons for wanting to. But at the end, I would love to work in a church. At this stage in my life, I want to work at something I would enjoy, rather than be stuck in some office job looking after servers.

I’ve never quite understood how you can tell you’re “called”, as I have been told beforehand.

 

[CountrySteve]

im not sure either so im posting a comment to follow the thread sorry

 

[JRKH]

The “calling” can come in many forms just as God can announce his presence my many wonders or a soft breeze.

If you suspect that you may have a calling and would like to investigate it, begin by talking to your pastor. He might be able to steer you toward the groups that fit best with the spirituality you seek.
If it is the monastic life, you might be able to find a monastery that has accommodations for folks in discernment etc. These allow you to take part in Monastic life for a weekend-week- or longer.

Only after a time of discernment will you be able to know if your desire is a calling or not.

Peace
James

 

[HerrZJA]

Liguori Press and the Journey of Faith handouts did a good job of dressing discernment. They proposed a seven-step process to handle it. Oddly enough this is very similar to a business’s decision making process, with the addition of prayer.

1. 
   *]Formulate a Proposition - The question itself, in simple terms. “Should I join a particular religious Order?”
   *]Gather the Data - Be creative. Consider all the options that answer the given question and the pros and cons of each. Consider also any potential obstacles including yourself.
   *]Bring the Gathered Data to Prayer - Now that you have all the information you need to make a decision, it is time to start praying. God will, in time, start to nudge and call us in one direction or another. Sometimes this (name removed by moderator)ut is more obvious than others.
   *]Make a Decision - Sometimes, God will make the calling obvious. In other times, you must make a decision, based on what you have experienced in prayer and what you objectively know. Remember that the right decision is not always the most comfortable or attractive.
   *]Live with the Decision - This is especially important for those of us who are impulsive. Before actually acting on a decision, we must live with it, as if we had already made it. This allows us to see all the consequences and attachments that may still be intimidating us.
   *]Act on the Decision - If we are still firmly convicted that the choice we have made is the correct one, we must then act upon it, even if we are required to give something up to which we are still quite attached.
   *]Seek confirmation in the decision.
   
   Not everyone has the Gift of Discernment, but it is one that can be learned through Trial and Error. It is okay to make mistakes. This is why most orders have long, drawn out processes of initiation; so that novices can have time to come to terms with what they are actually doing.

 

[philial]

A subjective response that has a reasonable prospect of achieving realisation! If you believe ti, go for it. God will bless your attempt, even if it is not His longterm plan for you. I certainly believe that many are called, not for life, but just a few years so they can deepen their faith & understanding, from which God then leads them to their true vocation, which they would not have been able to follow had they not the period of spiritual developement!

The whole of the Church , including the monestaries, are at the service of God, and He will use them as He wishes.

What have you got to lose if you gave yourself to a monestary for a year or two, then decided to leave?