Diocesan vs religious discernment

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I am young (17) but have been discerninh a potential vocation for quite a while. At this very moment, I feel my ideals match up most with the charism of the Dominican order and i thus feel called most in this direction. My question is regarding the similarities between the process by which one becomes a diocesan priest vs a religious priest, more specifically the early stages. Are the same requirements put into place for a discerning religious than are imposed for one looking to serve their diocese? By this I mean the psychological evaluation, physical evaluation, lengthy application material etc? I am mostly concerned with the psychological component, so if someone could discuss that as it relates to the Dominican discernment process (if it is does at all) that would be great 👍
 
I believe so, but considering my age I would rather not burden him with claims of a vocation or questions such as these when I couldn’t even look into aspirancy until what will likely be five more years, because I woulf want to get a ba first. I would hesitate to take up his time with such noncommittal discussions when he certainly has more pressing matters, such as men ready to enter the order, to tend to
 
I take it you are a minor? Your Priest and Parish would love guiding and helping you get all the info you are going to need to make a decision.

I will pray for your vocation.

🙏🕊️
 
Each Diocese has a vocations Director. This person will be made available to you through your BA journey , etc
 
Awesome! I am female and an aspirant in a Community. We have Priests, monks, sisters, lay members. It’s a wonderful community and the help support and prayers are truly a gift from God.
 
Cool! What community? Also, could you please ask some members of your community to pray for my vocation and fortitude in faith? I really need it. I’ll pray for your intentions as well
 
Discernment would be very similar. A spiritual director can help you in determining which direction you may be called. Obviously there are differences too. For a diocesan priest, the vocation to priesthood is foremost. In religious life, a vocation to the community is foremost.

Regarding the application process, it is very likely the same. There may be slight differences, like the number of letters of recommendation, or the specific psychological exams, but there will be psychological exams. Probably several. I forget the specifics now, but for religious life I had to do somewhere around 5 or so different written psych exams, 2 or 3 more exams/evaluations that the psychologist administered directly, where he wrote my answers down, I think one was an IQ test. And there’ll also be a psychological interview.

At least in my case, the Order doesn’t see the individual results of each exam. Rather the psychologist analyses averything and writes up a detailed report about your personality, and what ever else the order/diocese is looking for. In my case, the order saw the report, not individual scores or answers to questions.

I don’t think you’re too young to contact a vocation director. Sometimes there are programs available for high school aged students. We’ve had people younger than you attend discernment retreats in the past. In any case, at least talk to your priest.
 
In terms of the psychological interview, did you find the questions were as direct and invasive as they are considered to be for diocesan priest? By that I mean direct questions about sexuality, substance abuse, etc? The directness of these questions kind of freak me out
 
Yes, the psychologist will inquire about all those things, but if he’s any good, he should be able to make you feel more at ease, and explain it to you. But those are just a small part of the whole thing. It’s mostly you just recounting your upbringing, family, friends. It’s not confession where they’re trying to find out every sin you ever committed. It’s one piece of the puzzle in providing him with a complete picture of who you are, and what makes you, you. Yes, that includes past romances and other histories most of us wouldn’t want to tell our parents about. And although it might feel awkward, It’s really not anything to be worried about. They want to know the good stuff too. They want a COMPLETE picture. Nobody…NOBODY has an absolutely pristine background. Everybody comes with some sort of baggage, and admissions boards and formators understand that. If nothing else it allows potential formators to identify where they might need to give you a little extra help along the way. The important thing is to be honest, and allow God to sort everything out.
 
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