God's call

[Teresa9]

Dear friends

God calls men and women to Himself constantly and constantly reaffirms them in Himself. God calls those also to vocation in Him, vocation to marriage/motherhood/fatherhood, celibacy, and Holy Orders. God has not ceased to call, we exist in an age of the self, this conflicts with God’s call.

Is this a matter of being out of touch with our spirituality or is it a matter of closing down our commune with God so that His call is no longer answered to vocations within the religious life. God still chooses and calls, He chooses you, do you answer? Are we choosing not to answer? Are we living in the most spiritually impoverished age? Do we say…‘Be it done unto me according to Thy word.’?

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa

 

[amasimp]

Part of it is that people don’t listen. They hear…but don’t listen. There are always stories of people who in the final analysis wished they would have become priests or nuns, but felt it was easier to get married and have a family.

Part of it is that people aren’t equipped to listen. Vocations must be encouraged. It is not something that happens naturally. How many Catholic parents encourage their children to consider religious life as much as they encourage them to study law or medicine? How many priests publically encourage vocations in their homilies?

It is ultimately a choice. God gives us a vocation and He also gives us a choice to follow that vocation or not. He is the only one that gets to decide the ultimate consequences of that decision.

The important thing is to pray. Pray for vocations and pray for those discerning vocations. Pray for me as I as discern a vocation as a cloistered contempletive Carmelite nun. I don’t know exactly what God’s plan is for me, but I’m willing to at least listen to what He has to say.

God bless,
Amanda

 

[1_Maria]

Teresa,

There are many, many people who do answer God’s call. They are people who have been very receptive to the tremendous outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and who have immediately plunged in whatever they see as being the will of God for them as they strive to bring the Gospel to the world without any fanfare for themselves or the particular movements they have been called to by God Himself.

They strive to always be open to the voice of the Holy Spirit as He continues to lead them in their vocations.

They see Mary as their Mother, their model and their hope and they have the Mass, the Eucharist and the rosary as the necessary aids to growing in holiness, the holiness that the world needs to see in order to believe.

John 17:20-21

"I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.

Perhaps you are familiar with the closing words of the Pope at this congress.

HOLY FATHER’S SPEECH FOR THE WORLD CONGRESS OF ECCLESIAL MOVEMENTS AND NEW COMMUNITIES

Let us turn our gaze to Mary, Christ’s first disciple, Spouse of the Holy Spirit and Mother of the Church, who was with the Apostles at the first Pentecost, so that she will help us to learn from her fiat docility to the voice of the Spirit.

Today, from this square, Christ says to each of you: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15). He is counting on every one of you, and so is the Church. “Lo”, the Lord promises, “I am with you always to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20).

I am with you.

Maria

 

[Teresa9]

Dear friends

There is a lack of Priests in the UK, a severe lack. Older Priests that should be able to enjoy ministering as and when are forced to run large parishes beyond their physical capabilities. No-one should work til they drop!!!

Now you are not telling me that all who are called are answering that call to vocation if there is such a lack…God is calling…so what is the problem then???

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa​

Dear friend

I will pray for your vocation and let nothing impede your path in Christ Jesus, nothing at all. I am a Third Order Formulative Carmelite. Have pity on me and forgive my inexperience. You will remain always in my prayers now.

God Bless you and those you love, much love, prayers and peace to you always

Teresa

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

Hi Teresa,
You probably alreadt know the answer. But heres one thought I heard about.
Many people come up to the Holy Father and start telling him about all the problems in the Church, incl. vocations. And he always tells them to just pray.
The answer lies with us. We are to struggle to become saints. If enough people do this, then the problems will diminish.
I heard a story about an old mystic who reflected on his life when it was drawing to an end. He said, " All my life I have been trying to change people. And now I realise I should have been changing myself."
Thats the answer. personal sanctification. Everything will fall into place if we do this.http://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon14.gif

 

[1_Maria]

Check out today’s second reading. It looks like even the prophets from ages and ages ago were experiencing the same things we are.

St. James gives the advice we all need to hear.

7
3 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 4
8
You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9
Do not complain, brothers, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates.
10
Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. James 5:7-10

Maria

 

[goravens]

The “me” attitude of our society definitely has not helped in fostering vocations. Vocations are not fostered enough just in family life. The root of many vocations starts in the home and family, with a genuinely Catholic upbringing and much prayer. Those families are rare and radical these days. Plus, it’s also worth considering that in America families are becoming smaller and how that affects the number of vocations to the priesthood in particular.

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

Just a brief addition.

In every age there has been troubles in the Church. It has always been holy men and women who have turned things around- Saints.

 

[Jenlyn]

I agree with goravens. I think the devil has done a great job in making the general public believe he doesn’t exist. If he doesn’t exist then there nothing we need to do. There is nothing to fight for. We are in a self-centered era. More and more people are turning away from God. They know about God but choose to not to believe. If there is no devil then there is no God. “Why should we live our lives in a way that a church believes we should? We can all believe in what we want. Everything is okay. Everything must be accepted as okay. It is not our right to impose our views on others. We must all be excepting. If not we are not being true to ourselves or others.”

I just recently had a conversation with a couple that were agnostics. What a sad conversation! These statements above were many that they said.

The problem for vocations is huge. The devil has done a good job at stopping people from believing in God and in him. With this mind set, why should anyone look into being a priest? What the use?

Pray, pray and pray some more!

Jen

 

[1_Maria]

John Russell Jr:

Just a brief addition.

In every age there has been troubles in the Church. It has always been holy men and women who have turned things around- Saints.

Amen!

We are all called to sanctity.

“Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48),

Maria

 

[jrabs]

Teresa9:

I am a Third Order Formulative Carmelite.

Teresa, can you explain this a bit?

I feel God has used this past year to grab hold of me for some purpose, which is beyond me to figure out. Not just to get me back to church, because I have always gone to church. But for a greater purpose.

 

[jrabs]

jrabs:

Teresa9:

I am a Third Order Formulative Carmelite.

Teresa, can you explain this a bit?

I feel God has used this past year to grab hold of me for some purpose, which is beyond me to figure out. Not just to get me back to church, because I have always gone to church. But for a greater purpose.

 

[edwinG]

amasimp:

Part of it is that people don’t listen. They hear…but don’t listen. There are always stories of people who in the final analysis wished they would have become priests or nuns, but felt it was easier to get married and have a family.

Part of it is that people aren’t equipped to listen. Vocations must be encouraged. It is not something that happens naturally. How many Catholic parents encourage their children to consider religious life as much as they encourage them to study law or medicine? How many priests publically encourage vocations in their homilies?

It is ultimately a choice. God gives us a vocation and He also gives us a choice to follow that vocation or not. He is the only one that gets to decide the ultimate consequences of that decision.

The important thing is to pray. Pray for vocations and pray for those discerning vocations. Pray for me as I as discern a vocation as a cloistered contempletive Carmelite nun. I don’t know exactly what God’s plan is for me, but I’m willing to at least listen to what He has to say.

God bless,
Amanda

Hi Amanda,
I am not a catholic. I mention this so you know where I am coming from. “Cloistered” bothers me. From my knowledge of God, He wants you out there as His representative, spreading His love. You are His agent on earth. I do not have any knowledge of any of these orders, but if you are seed of HIm then He is expecting a crop of 30, 60 or even a 100 souls from you. Can you show this type of return on His investment whilst “cloistered” . As I have already said, I know nothing about the orders and this may be really feasible, I just think you should consider this if you have not already done so. Please forgive my intrusion if I am stating the obvious.
Christ be with you
walk in lovehttp://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
edwinG

 

[Teresa9]

jrabs:

Teresa9:

I am a Third Order Formulative Carmelite.

Teresa, can you explain this a bit?

I feel God has used this past year to grab hold of me for some purpose, which is beyond me to figure out. Not just to get me back to church, because I have always gone to church. But for a greater purpose.

Dear friend

I am sorry for the slow reply, I have been a little busy of late. I don’t know what you know of third orders or ‘secular orders’ So I’ll just outline to you what I am up to . I have noticed that your spirituality has greatly deepened over the time I have been posting on this forum. Correct me if I am wrong in saying that. So what you say in your post doesn’t surprise me at all dear friend. If you feel a deeper calling in faith, third orders may be something for you.

My best advice to you is to look into the Saints that inspire your heart and the charisms of the orders they belonged to, eg. St Francis (Fransican) St Teresa of Avila/St Therese of Liseux/St John of the Cross (Carmelite…this is the order I am currently undergoing my formation in) etc etc etcSecular Carmelites and those curious you may like to look into this thread and do a search on the net also to help you discern where your call is to. I prayed extensively before the Blessed Sacrament and to the Holy Spirit to discern my call in Christ and Carmel is where I was led to, primarily this is due to my devotion to Mary our Blessed Mother and the Sacred heart of Jesus and also because of the love and affection bursting to get out someplace from inside me… for others and for God, this order was for me ‘home’.

Also I decided if I am truly called to a vocation in a third order, there is no rush! The call will not go away if it is genuine, it will rather, grow and deepen until it is undeniable as anything but a call from God. God calls everyone to Himself, when we answer we profess our faith by becoming a Christian, then He calls souls into different vocations after that, eg Motherhood, Holy Orders, Fatherhood etc etc. We all have a vocation. I am a mother, this is my primary and most important vocation that God has called me to and my life with my daughter is a prayer as it is for you with your children. To fulfill this role as a mother is my greatest prayer and vocation within faith that God has called me to, my formation as a third order simply illuminates and fuldills my faith and how I live it to a deeper clarity, it is a calling, it is a vocation and it is something I have fallen deeply in love with, Carmel is a way of life as is being a Franciscan and it is walking in faith with Christ Jesus. Many people live the charisms without taking vows within a third order.

I will pray for you as I do always, but I will now pray for you in your discernment of your path in Christ Jesus.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you and those you love

In friendship

Teresa

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

God calls but do we answer? This is a complicated question, at least for me.

I do believe that God is calling me, so do others, or that is what I am told. My spiritual director is among them.

But do I answer? I am trying.

I think there are many reasons why it appears that many are not answering the call to religious life.

It seems that some bishops do not want those called. Or so it seems. I have heard that many orthodox candidates get turned away in some places.

The there is the age thing, many bishops and many orders frown on older candidates.

There is the education issue, many bishops and many orders require at least a bachelors degree before they will consider a candidate.

Then there is the issue of debt, many orders require the candidate to be debt free, add to this the education issue above, they severely limit their prospects.

If anyone is interested, send me a private message or an email, and I will share with you my experiences. It is a wonder that I am still trying with all that I have gone though.

It seems like God is calling and I am trying to answer, but the Church doesn’t want to hear it.

 

[Prometheum_x]

edwinG:

Hi Amanda,
I am not a catholic. I mention this so you know where I am coming from. “Cloistered” bothers me. From my knowledge of God, He wants you out there as His representative, spreading His love. You are His agent on earth. I do not have any knowledge of any of these orders, but if you are seed of HIm then He is expecting a crop of 30, 60 or even a 100 souls from you. Can you show this type of return on His investment whilst “cloistered” . As I have already said, I know nothing about the orders and this may be really feasible, I just think you should consider this if you have not already done so. Please forgive my intrusion if I am stating the obvious.
Christ be with you
walk in lovehttp://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
edwinG

2 things:

1). The text you are referring to does not indicate that the crop expected is that of souls.

2). Even if a crop of souls is expected, it seems you are making the assumption that the only way to lead others to Christ is by physically ministering to them and preaching the Gospel to them. While those things are important, their importance does nothing to negate the importance of prayer, which is what those who are cloistered dedicate themselves to.For, as it says in the letter of James, “the prayer of the righteous man is powerful and effective.”