"Do I have a vocation?"

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I read this and felt great conviction in my heart. If anyone is still following this, would you read this thread I started (not all of it of course) and tell me if you think the quote above applies to me?

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=325667

I have had a great fear in my heart that I must have blown my vocation. It really doesn’t matter now as I have a son, and he is my vocation now. I love him and I wouldn’t trade him for anything, but the regret remains despite the love I have for my son. I really need prayers and I thank all that replied to that last thread and are praying for me.

Further into the thread another user (kargo27) and I began discussing seminary “pitfalls” as it were, like the rampant homosexual population. We both wondered aloud if that in some way destroyed our vocation, and yet someone once told me that there is no such thing as a destroyed vocation but a vocation poorly discerned.

If any are interested pay close attention to posts 1, 5, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22. If you read these, report back here and not on the other thread which really ran it’s course.
Hello Nom the Wise,

I am still following this thread.

From what I have read from the other thread (325667), my answer is: Yes, it seems to apply to you.
 
Chapter IV – Some Signs of a Vocation

An illegitimate son cannot be a priest.
Since 1983, this is no longer an impairment to be a priest or a religious. It is up to the bishop or the major religious superior to determine if the person’s origins would pose an obstacle or not.

In our own community we have had many men whose parents were not married to each other.

I never met this person, but I knew about a case where a young priest was the illigitimate son of a priest.

When I was in novitiate we had a novice who was a convicted murderer and today he is a very holy friar whose life experience has helped to transform the lives of many young people. His biography is now a book.

There have been some changes in some of these regulations. I’m not sure when this article was written, but I would guess that it was before the changes in canon law and the constitutions of many religious communities of men.

Added to these signs of a vocation is the will of the community, if the man belongs to a religious community. Men who belong to a religious community must have their brothers’ permission to be ordained.

They cannot ask for permission until they have made perpetual vows as religious. The community votes and the major superior approves of or vetoes the vote.

If the community denies the permission for ordination, the person does not have a vocation to be a priest, but he is bound to be a religious for life. Some communities only ordain as many priests as they need to serve them, not the faithful. The reason is to keep the community as a lay community. This is more common among Franciscan, Benedictine and the Marianist families. This preserves the equality among all the members of the religious community. Secular Orders also keep the number of ordinations to a minimum.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
Hey everybody! How old should you be to make The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius?
 
thanks for posting this… .I’m not sure about this part however:
b)There are the only children… adored… they are not accustomed to sacrifices. And then, a family for which God is not God, is not proper soil for vocations!
I’m an only child but I wouldn’t say I’m not accustomed to sacrifices or have had it easier than others… and my family is not really religious (in terms of going to church), but I can see God’s grace working in their lives and they do believe in Him. I don’t know… .i believe that God can and does call people to vocations even if their family isn’t extremely devout… what are your thoughts? God bless 🙂
 
I am also in a period of discernment. I have no doubt that I’m being called; I’m just not sure to exactly what (A life of serving the community? A life of contemplation?).

This is interesting reading, and I think it will be helpful to me. Thank you for posting it!

Miz
 
Attached, a book titled “Vocations” by Reverend William Doyle, S.J. in PDF format.
 
For all the posting on vocations in here, perhaps it can be whittled down to the following as a discernment for a vocation:

First, your prayer life. That means reading the Bible, perhaps attending to the Divine Office daily, praying the Rosary, attending Eucharistic devotion, etc. An active prayer life is needed to discern if one may have a vocation.

Second, involvement in your parish. Do you volunteer to work in your parish, to lead prayer or Bible groups, to teach CCD, to be an altar person? Do you attend Mass every week or even on a daily basis? Involvement in your Church is needed to discern if one may have a vocation.

Third, family life. Do you tend to the needs of your family? Do you follow the commandment “Honor your father and mother?” Do you have good relations with your siblings? How about your friends?

These are three basic areas that are needed for discernment. Fourth is to find a good spiritual director who can lead you in discernment.

Good luck and God bless.
 
For all the posting on vocations in here, perhaps it can be whittled down to the following as a discernment for a vocation:

First, your prayer life. That means reading the Bible, perhaps attending to the Divine Office daily, praying the Rosary, attending Eucharistic devotion, etc. An active prayer life is needed to discern if one may have a vocation.

Second, involvement in your parish. Do you volunteer to work in your parish, to lead prayer or Bible groups, to teach CCD, to be an altar person? Do you attend Mass every week or even on a daily basis? Involvement in your Church is needed to discern if one may have a vocation.

Third, family life. Do you tend to the needs of your family? Do you follow the commandment “Honor your father and mother?” Do you have good relations with your siblings? How about your friends?

These are three basic areas that are needed for discernment. Fourth is to find a good spiritual director who can lead you in discernment.

Good luck and God bless.
Good advice.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
For all the posting on vocations in here, perhaps it can be whittled down to the following as a discernment for a vocation:

First, your prayer life. That means reading the Bible, perhaps attending to the Divine Office daily, praying the Rosary, attending Eucharistic devotion, etc. An active prayer life is needed to discern if one may have a vocation.

Second, involvement in your parish. Do you volunteer to work in your parish, to lead prayer or Bible groups, to teach CCD, to be an altar person? Do you attend Mass every week or even on a daily basis? Involvement in your Church is needed to discern if one may have a vocation.

Third, family life. Do you tend to the needs of your family? Do you follow the commandment “Honor your father and mother?” Do you have good relations with your siblings? How about your friends?

These are three basic areas that are needed for discernment. Fourth is to find a good spiritual director who can lead you in discernment.

Good luck and God bless.
I too agree with the Brother on the value of this post. Thank you Peary.

First I must introduce myself. I am married and have two children. I too comtemplated the religious life when I was younger. However I did not have the courage to tell my parents or others as this was somewhat frowned upon. My parents would likely to have supported me if I was resolute but alas I was not. I first wanted to experience the world through God’s eyes, not for my own leisure. But being the eldest and a girl from a traditional catholic family I was not permitted to leave the home until marriage.

In my late teens I gained more courage and rebelled somewhat against the authority of my parents. I was on my way to becoming independent. Then my mother got pregnant unexpectedly and had complications. So I remained at home to help her and the baby once it was born. By this time I was 20 yrs old.

My mother knew it would only be time before I set my wings again to fly on my own. This time I had a clear calling from God. I was becoming so detached from the world and consumed with the urgency to serve God in any way I could; whether it be helping the poor in the community or missionary work around the world.

I never told this story as I am telling you but anyone who knows me knows that I contemplated a religious vocation. Yes I have to admit that I thought of marriage many times but only in a way that would Glorify God; if He willed it for me then I would of accepted.

Truth be told that year many were inquiring about my eligibility for marriage to which my mother gladly assisted. A man known to the family came calling for me. I knew that I was not interested. I wanted nothing more than to study and do God’s will. He was very persistent(very!!!) I found ways to avoid getting closer and he found ways to counter it. In the end his persistence won and I became his wife.

Since then I always thought about the religious life. Now I had to look at it from a different perspective of one who is married with children. All through my marriage I fought for my religious convictions as my husband was not as religious as I am. Though he comes to church almost every Sunday, he seems to be more with the flow than I like.

I have a most difficult time trying to juggle the two sides of my life; that of family and that of servitude to the Lord. Some will say that the two are together in serving the Lord; not always I say. In the words of St.Paul,"The unmarried woman thinks on the things of the Lord, that both in body and spirit she may be holy; but the married is solicitous how to please her husband.”

I am doing all the prescribed steps that Peary gave and I find myself leaning more and more towards the Lord. As my husband says with some humor that soon I shall join a convent. Actually, I will be taking a spiritual retreat for the weekend in a recluse monastery. I find myself comtemplating and praying and feeling great peace. It is as if God is calling me again.

I have faith in God that He will finish the work He started in me. However it will happen I do not know. So for anyone who is still doubting I urge you to follow the steps prescribed above. Live it sincerely and discipline yourself; if it is for you then it will never leave you until you fulfill it. This is my experience.

God Bless
 
Thank you very much for posting this! I heard bits and pieces of this while I was in High School and recently during my first semester of college, but never as a whole.
 
Thank you very much for posting this! I heard bits and pieces of this while I was in High School and recently during my first semester of college, but never as a whole.
I am sorry but what are you refering to exactly?
 
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