Discerning His will

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I was curious if I might be called to be a priest, I am not yet Catholic but will begin RCIA (again, I moved in the middle of this year’s) next year. I feel a desire to serve the Christian community, feel respect and love for the most Holy Eucharist, and desire to serve God first, others second, and myself last (though this I haven’t yet achieved). Should I wait to discern my vocation until after I am baptized and confirmed? What do you recommend to grow in virtue and holiness?
 
Discernment is a long process. The first thing you need to do is recognize this. I began seriously discerning the priesthood myself three years ago (a few months after I reverted), but I was conflicted between this vocation and the secular job I was studying for. It was only a year ago (so, two years into my discernment) that I was able to let go of my desire for the career I’d been studying for, but now I still have to decide- am I called to priesthood, or the diaconate? Diocesan, or religious life? Reaching the conclusion of this will be a long process on its own, so you’ll need to prepare for it.

I would suggest bringing your thoughts to your parish priest after your confirmation and let him know that you’ve been feeling this for awhile. He’ll probably put you in contact with the vocation director at the seminary, who will be your point of contact throughout your discernment.

As for growing in holiness, the only way to do so is through prayer. Try to establish a regular schedule for organized prayer (rosary, liturgy of the hours, et. al.) and allow spontaneous prayer to occur throughout your day (thanksgiving for good things that have happened, asking God to help those you meet who need it, etc.). You should also take some time for reading Scripture each day, but how long you spend doing this is up to you.
 
Thank you for your response! I’ve been wanting to start up today and LOTH again. Also do you have any recommendation for reading scripture besides the mass readings, as I already read those?
 
Thank you for your response! I’ve been wanting to start up today and LOTH again. Also do you have any recommendation for reading scripture besides the mass readings, as I already read those?
It depends on how much time you have and what it is precisely that you want to achieve. When I simply wanted to get to know Scripture better, I read about five chapters a day of whichever book I found myself in (when I do this, I start in Genesis). Since I’m currently interested in Eucharistic theology, I find myself looking for its Old Testament signs (generally in the Pentateuch). You’ll be able to start a plan based on your goals and time availability.
 
You will get more graces and more understanding as you enter into the church and receive the sacraments. Don’t course-lock on a calling yet, keep thinking about it and take it all one step at a time. You might be called to marriage or singlehood. Pray about it and id suggest spending some time in adoration
 
I think I’ll read in order to become more familiar with the OT particularly the Deuterocanon. I’ve read all the Gospels 4+ times and most of the epistles and letters 2+ but I haven’t been that familiar with the old testament!
 
Sounds good. That’s the route I took when I read the Bible for the first time through, and I think it’s the preferable way to go about it. You won’t find yourself looking at commentaries or googling as much when you get to the New Testament if you’re already familiar with the Old.

One thing I’d suggest you do differently than I did is to read one of the Psalms and one Proverb each day, going back to the very first once you reach the end of the book (so, go back to Psalm 1 after reading Psalm 150). You’ll get bogged down if you try reading the entire books straight through. Plus, it’s a great way to begin (or conclude) your reading.
 
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First, discern if God is calling you to be Catholic for the rest of your life. Pray and go to Adoration as well as Mass. Listen. Meeting with a priest, deacon, brother or sister an talk about the joys, fears etc helped me a lot during the time it took to become Catholic.

Second, most dioceses have a three year waiting time for converts before they can start to discern to enter into possible religious life or seminary for the priesthood. There is a very good reason for this and as a convert myself, I needed time to “get to know the Church more deeply and just be and live Catholic”.

There is an expression that is very much used and that is “When the time had come…”.
 
As for growing in holiness, the only way to do so is through prayer.
Prayer is absolutely important. However, St. Teresa of Avila, the “Doctor of Prayer”, if I may, talks very little of prayer in her first three mansions and maintains that to grow in prayer in the early stages, requires growth in the virtues and mortifications. Start small. Concentrate on one virtue per year. Start with one little mortification you know you can do every day. Then, grow from there. Oh, and continue to pray.
 
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