Discernment update

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Caesar

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It has been awhile (since the great forum crash of '06 I believe) since I have posted any updates on my discernment. Just a couple things to say: found a great spiritual director, and opus dei priest who gives amazing spiritual advice; I recieved more vocations information from differant orders; introduced through my new SD to a group of people my age who meet to discuss spirituality and living holy lives every couple weeks; I have also been really considering the Institute of Christ the King Soveriegn Priest (ICRSS), a traditional congregation- amazing work; my mother seems to be in denial about my discernment and have been trying to set me up with her friend’s daughters.

Thats about it ;). Just wanted to give an update and see how everyone on this forum is. 🙂
  • Jon
 
Caesar said:
… my mother seems to be in denial about my discernment and have been trying to set me up with her friend’s daughters.
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Heh, Sounds like a great way for a young guy who can’t get a date to find women. “Hey mom, I want to be a priest!”
 
Glory to Jesus Christ.

It sounds like you are on the right path Caesar. I have to admit ignorance about the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest but judging from your previous posts I’m sure they’re a holy bunch. It’s a shame your mom isn’t more open to a vocation to the holy priesthood but I’m sure she’ll understand soon. I’ll be sure to keep you and her in my prayers.

God bless you.
 
Caeser,

It seems like you’re doing well. In part I think it’d be neat to be a priest myself, but then again I’d love to have a family so…

Anyway, you mentioned something about Opus Dei, and I wanted to ask you about the cilice. Do you wear one? Because I’ve been wondering about doing something like that…just curious as to how it feels, and if it helps with discipline.

Catholig
 
Caesar said:
my mother seems to be in denial about my discernment and have been trying to set me up with her friend’s daughters.
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Its about the same here. Every chance my mother gets she talks to me about marriage and having children.
 
Catholig said:
Anyway, you mentioned something about Opus Dei, and I wanted to ask you about the cilice. Do you wear one? Because I’ve been wondering about doing something like that…just curious as to how it feels, and if it helps with discipline.
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Hmm…even though I asked an Opus Dei Priest to be my SD, I had yet to have the ocassion to ask him about the cilice and corporal mortification.
 
demerzel85 said:
Its about the same here. Every chance my mother gets she talks to me about marriage and having children.
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“Yeah, but ma, why would I want such a son like me who just gives his parents heartaches?”
 
Hey Caeser,
Thanks for the update. Great to hear how things are going for you. I’ll definitely be praying for you.

I guess I would say that unless you’re completely sure that the priesthood is your vocation, you should consider going on dates with these girls.

My personal discernment has hit a wall. I went to one of those vocation pages and filled out all the information and started getting emails from orders and it terrified me. I don’t know why, but I felt really uneasy getting emails from orders. I have gotten no where in trying to email our diocese’s director of vocations. And honestly my desire to even look into the priesthood has pretty much disappeared completely. Sometimes I’ll see something or read something that will get me a little excited, but for the most part it’s just not there anymore.
 
Catholig said:
Caeser,

It seems like you’re doing well. In part I think it’d be neat to be a priest myself, but then again I’d love to have a family so…

Anyway, you mentioned something about Opus Dei, and I wanted to ask you about the cilice. Do you wear one? Because I’ve been wondering about doing something like that…just curious as to how it feels, and if it helps with discipline.

Catholig
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Actualy the topic hasnt even come up. I dont happen to wear a ciclice.
 
Caesar said:
Actualy the topic hasnt even come up. I dont happen to wear a ciclice.
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That’s later on and higher up the ladder. Numeraries only (I believe).

Anyway, you’ve found a great way to meet girls! :rotfl: That’s my laugh o’ the day.

Godspeed to you, my young friend.

I’m a great believer in young vocations – as long as you are prepared for the perhaps 5 times in your life, after vows, when you will say to yourself: O my God! WHAT have I done? It happens. I mean: it WILL happen.

But it also happens in marriage, and in any form of life that locks out other possibilities. People exaggerate the “agony” of waking up one day and realizing you won’t have children or a companion in your old age. Heck. That can happen to married people also.

A lot of marriages I see make celibacy look pretty good.
 
tkdnick said:
I have gotten no where in trying to email our diocese’s director of vocations.
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Do you mean that you’ve written to him but gotten no response? It seems strange that that would happen…May I ask what diocese you’re in?
 
Thanks for the update, Jon! Let’s pray for each other’s discernment! 🙂
 
Boso said:
Do you mean that you’ve written to him but gotten no response? It seems strange that that would happen…May I ask what diocese you’re in?
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I’ve emailed twice. Once to just get some info about 6 months ago. And once just in the last couple of weeks in response to a newspaper ad to look into attending a discernment retreat that had his email on it.

Sacramento diocese.
 
May the Lord continue to bless you in your search of doing God’s will, Caesar! You are in my prayers!
 
tkdnick said:
I’ve emailed twice. Once to just get some info about 6 months ago. And once just in the last couple of weeks in response to a newspaper ad to look into attending a discernment retreat that had his email on it.

Sacramento diocese.
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That’s odd. As soon as I rogered up to my vocations director he emailed me back in about…three minutes. 😛 He sounded excited. lol.
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Caesar:
my mother seems to be in denial about my discernment and have been trying to set me up with her friend’s daughters.
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I havn’t even TOLD my mother yet, so good for you. 👍
 
tkdnick said:
I’ve emailed twice. Once to just get some info about 6 months ago. And once just in the last couple of weeks in response to a newspaper ad to look into attending a discernment retreat that had his email on it.

Sacramento diocese.
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Maybe he’s not good with email, or maybe these guys get flooded with emails from people who are not very serious? You could try calling on the phone.

I was curious about this because I emailed the director in my diocese four days ago and haven’t heard back yet.

The Dominican director emailed back in three minutes though.
 
It may not be bad to give him a week or so, then to send another e-mail if you don’t hear anything back. Presumably (at least one would hope) these vocations directors are busy. I know from talking with the vocations director of my diocese, it often takes days to a week or so for him to get back to me. (Though I would imagine that with something urgent he would probably respond sooner.) On the other hand, I can be pretty slow to respond to e-mails myself.

Boso, as far as telling your parents, eventually you will need to. It was hard for me to approach my dad and explain that I felt a calling to the priesthood. He is a non-practicing Protestant who was raised in a very Fundamentalist church, so I had no clue as to how he would react. The only advice that I can give you is that if you think your parents will react adversely, is to pray that they too will be open to whatever God has called you to; although they may not be thrilled with it initially, ultimately, they want you to be happy.

Between the time that I mentioned to my mom that I was discerning and when I mentioned it to my dad (about a month later), the thought crossed his mind that the priesthood might be something I was considering, and he came to a peace about it (even if at that point it was an uneasy one). When I finally told him, it was his lack of strong reaction that left me being most surprised. In the past three years he has slowly warmed up to the idea a little more, but has always encouraged me to not shut out considering marriage as well, and his doing so has helped me to not move too hastily. I hope to be accepted as a diocesan seminarian sometime this school year (I’m now a senior in college). Ultimately if you do get resistance, prayer and patience are of utmost importance.

I hope this was at least somewhat helpful.
 
Boso,

Yes, you are correct; that’s what I did. Even so letting one’s parents in on what’s going on is important for discerning any vocation, because they know us well enough to help us some in the process.

May God bless you and everyone else considering a religious vocation.
 
Boso said:
I was curious about this because I emailed the director in my diocese four days ago and haven’t heard back yet.
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Update: I did get a call from him. Not everyone lives on email like some of us do 🙂
 
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