Confused about Vocation, feel like I'm a ping pong ball

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Mr_Fausto

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Hello! I’ve always been rather shy about these forums, having been an observer for ages, “taking part” of many discussion with eyes only and enjoying taking a side seat watching arguments fold out, but then it occured me that since I’m often exploring here…I thought I’d ask a question to anyone who’ll answer I suppose.

See, here’s the issue I’ve been dealing with. I am currently rather young (I can’t even drink yet or anything) but I am living in my own home. I am struggling between discernment for a vocation to married life, religious life, or priestly life. I feel like one of the arcade pinball games, where I am being batted all over the place. I’ll ask God for advice, I feel like I’m getting conflicting signs. I see indications for family, but then monastery, but then I’ll have a dream of Cardinal Arinze telling me I’ll be “Cardinal Rigoberto” in a confessional…my name is not Rigoberto and nowhere close.

To simplify things, I’m at a crossing point. I am getting conflict signs, desires and inspirations. Advice anyone? I feel like my soul is being pulled by three wild horses. :crossrc: :banghead:
 
My friend I know exactly what you are going through. Continue to pray, yes, but also seek out people close to you that you can talk to and that you trust. Have you approached the pastor at church? Make and appointment with him and talk it over. Is there a monastery near you? Contact them for a visit, or ask them to direct you to someone that you can talk to. There should be a vocation director in your diocese. Don’t be affraid to mention that you are contemplating marriage, not just religious vocations.
 
Mr_Fausto said:
Hello! I’ve always been rather shy about these forums, having been an observer for ages, “taking part” of many discussion with eyes only and enjoying taking a side seat watching arguments fold out, but then it occured me that since I’m often exploring here…I thought I’d ask a question to anyone who’ll answer I suppose.

See, here’s the issue I’ve been dealing with. I am currently rather young (I can’t even drink yet or anything) but I am living in my own home. I am struggling between discernment for a vocation to married life, religious life, or priestly life. I feel like one of the arcade pinball games, where I am being batted all over the place. I’ll ask God for advice, I feel like I’m getting conflicting signs. I see indications for family, but then monastery, but then I’ll have a dream of Cardinal Arinze telling me I’ll be “Cardinal Rigoberto” in a confessional…my name is not Rigoberto and nowhere close.

To simplify things, I’m at a crossing point. I am getting conflict signs, desires and inspirations. Advice anyone? I feel like my soul is being pulled by three wild horses. :crossrc: :banghead:
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I would suggest getting a spiritual director. Preferably a priest who could also be your regular confessor. They will be able to guide you in the dicernment process. If you can not find one, your diocesan vocation director should be able to help (often your parish priest is not the right choice).

Anyone seriously considering a vocation needs spiritual direction.

May God Bless you and help you find your true vocation
 
Mr_Fausto said:
Hello! I’ve always been rather shy about these forums, having been an observer for ages, “taking part” of many discussion with eyes only and enjoying taking a side seat watching arguments fold out, but then it occured me that since I’m often exploring here…I thought I’d ask a question to anyone who’ll answer I suppose.
Click to expand...
Welcome!
See, here’s the issue I’ve been dealing with. I am currently rather young (I can’t even drink yet or anything) but I am living in my own home. I am struggling between discernment for a vocation to married life, religious life, or priestly life. I feel like one of the arcade pinball games, where I am being batted all over the place. I’ll ask God for advice, I feel like I’m getting conflicting signs.
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Ahh, I think I know how that feels… :rolleyes:
I see indications for family, but then monastery, but then I’ll have a dream of Cardinal Arinze telling me I’ll be “Cardinal Rigoberto” in a confessional…my name is not Rigoberto and nowhere close.
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:rotfl: That’s hilarious! (The part about your name not being remotely close to Rigoberto.)
To simplify things, I’m at a crossing point. I am getting conflict signs, desires and inspirations. Advice anyone? I feel like my soul is being pulled by three wild horses. :crossrc: :banghead:
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Only three wild horses? You’re lucky! 😃

All joking aside, though - you should seriously consider getting a spiritual director if you do not already have one. Spiritual directors are amazing at making the obvious even more obvious. The key is to really be honest with yourself. A good SD will help you with that. Eventually you’ll be able to take the leap of faith, whichever way it takes you.

And one additional piece of advice - since you’re young, you have time - on both ends. Whether you end up trying out seminary for a couple of years and then discern that you’re not called to the priesthood, or try out working for a few years then enter seminary, you’ll still be relatively young in whatever field you end up in. And remember, just try to live God’s will day to day. As long as you keep striving for holiness, God will take care of you, and He’ll make sure you know what to do.
 
Thank you all for your replies. It seems like one of the most recurring pieces of advice I’ve received is to find a spiritual director. However I have absolutely no idea how to go about doing that. :doh2:
 
Contact your Diocesian Vocations Director and ask him to recommend Spiritual Directors from Priests in the area. That’s what I did :o
 
Mr_Fausto said:
Thank you all for your replies. It seems like one of the most recurring pieces of advice I’ve received is to find a spiritual director. However I have absolutely no idea how to go about doing that. :doh2:
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Hello there,

Yeah, that’s the most recurring piece of advice on these boards as well. And there’s a reason for that. When trying to answer the question of “what is God calling me to in my life”, or trying to interpret spiritual signs, you need to go to an expert.

Just like anything in life… You wouldn’t build a house without going to an architect, you wouldn’t self-diagnose a medical issue without talking to a doctor, etc. You seek out the experts. Spirituality is no different.

If you know a good, holy priest that you can trust, ask him if he can be your spiritual director. If not, CatholicCid’s suggestion is pretty good too. Whoever you choose, make sure it’s someone you are comfortable with and that you trust. Be completely open and honest with him. Listen and act on the advice he gives you. Spiritual direction can seem intimidating at first, but once you get into it it really is a blessing.

Good luck to you! I’ll pray for you at my holy hour tonight.

Tim
 
Thank you so ever much! I need all the prayers I can get. I’ll pray for you as well!
 
🙂 An Old Army quote: “smile things could be worse! So I smiled and things got worse!”

NO!! Not really!!
What is in your heart? Are you willing to take the vows of chastity and be Thy Brothers Keeper in time of need! Are you willing to be a marriage counselor, a problem solver, a witness to grief, on and on the questions go.
ONLY YOU can answer these questions.
Pray for strength! Pray for guidance not answering all the questions but where is your mind!

Quote from the Book; Prayer, A Holy Occupation, by Oswald Chambers:
Prayer is often a temptation to bank on a miracle of God instead of on a moral Problem; that is, it is much easier to ask God to do my work than it is to do it myself. Until we are disciplined properly, we will always be inclined to bank of God’s miracles and refuse to do the moral thing ourselves. It is our job, it will never be done unless we do it.
Reflection Questions:
What am I trying to get God to do that I should do myself?
Choose my career?
What will I take responsibility for today?
“OH, WELL, I will pray and ask God to clean this thing up for me.” God won’t. We must do our own work. God will do more than we can do, but only in relationship to our spiritual growth.

I realize I have not solved your problem! Only YOU can resolve this. Study. Talk to your priest. Take a sabbatical.

If you wish to contact me I shall be delighted to talk with you.

thecrusintwo@hotmail.com

GlenDVogel
 
What a quote…that’s encouraging haha. It’s simply been a period of high tension…and I’m stupid enough to be watching the news all the time which doesn’t make things any better…(gee, I was in peace with the whole Palinmania deal going on…but this smells like rotten, gutted fish!)…I took a three day retreat at this monastery. Now you’ve mentioned those extra responsibilities, say a diocesan priest might have…it does make me scratch my head. Sometimes I worry that I will get confused that any attraction I might have to the cloistered life, from either God’s inspiration or maybe my own laziness (from a narrow limited point of view, a monastery could be an escape from the world’s looniness…). But thinking about family, as I did before, brings no peace at all, sounds absurd on its face, etc. The priesthood seems like an impossible aspiration for me and the religious life sounds like just my own escape based on a secular motivation to escape life in the world. :banghead:
 
Dear Mr Fausto,
First a quick thank-you for your question, and then a later reply to your question.
I am thanking you because just your asking a question, just might help others as they read through your responses.

I have been.

…Curt…
 
Now to tell you my experiences with this type of item and… Well who knows.

I have been turned down by God, it seems, for the Priesthood or
Brotherhood roughly 10 times. He was right on the first rejection and He was right on the last rejection. Yet, my Spiritual Life is The Best. I just needed to wait. Do I have to state, anything really more about that.

If allowed, I’ll add more next.

So you get this now. I’ll submit this. Then I 'll add more.
 
Oops!

Dear Mr Fausto,

I hurried I thought you were on line and picking this up in Real Time. Sorry.

The eventual point is, you other than be being a total jerk or cretan, and then it is still impossible if God decides other wise, you cannot fail to be in a vocation, and you cannot get in or succeed at getting into one if God decides other wise.

There are tons of examples of this I think. So, I will not mention any just yet. I have them though, and enough of them.

Yet, the real hard issue is when you don’t know, and in your case it is quite lovely in a way. You worry over doing wrong. You worry that you might make in error in getting a vocation wrongly, or in not taking a vocation you should take.

Hmmmmmmm! If I were God I would be impressed with you. In case you are slightly clueless so far consider this. What the the real meaning of 'Fear of God."??? So many things are said of this wrongly, and yet you may never be wrong, because you may know what it is.

Fear of God, is Worrying…over…hurting…Him, by your actions thoughts or inactions.

That’s it.

Now, try, just try, to say this isn’t so. Try to say this is not what you are doing. Then realize what Proverbs says, and what is said in other areas about Fear of God…It is …the …beginning…of wisdom. And you thought you didn’t have a vocation. You are in your vocaion maybe. You are maybe in the vocation of getting wise. I don’t know this, but, it is possible. Now, this is cool, to me. What is the first thing God, ever created??? I mean he had to created something first, as it wasn’t done instantly. It took six of an undefined changable with mass of the universe, time period. (Time slows down in the vicinity of heavy masses, or on a heavy mass. The moon, Sun, and stars were all done on days later than three. So, time is and was different for the first three days relative to lower or higher mass observers. Yet, to any and everyone on the earth, they would notice nothing relative to them. Or something like that, it is still a hard concept.) Some think it a personification of an attribute of God. How would God Create something He did not have. Further, this woman, this she, he created, was Wisdom, and note it was not wisdom. God has wisdom. He used that to create Wisdom. It seems to say what it does, There is a woman, called Wisdom, withuot a physical body, and who can send out her spirit, and it is she who decides who gets wise. She teaches, and she says: “Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.”
Cool huh? Well at least to me. I may get some things wrong, yet I think this might be so.

I am going to end, and I am sorry I did not get your question answered in a way, I am sure. I realize I have typed over 15,000 words in the last five hours or so. I think it is time to go. Maybe I can sleep soundly enough to still wake up and go to 7:00 Sunday Mass in four more hours.

Bye…
…Curt…
 
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