Help! Advice?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Shana
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

Shana

Guest
So I feel called to religious life. I’m a junior in college, majoring in art and minoring in education. I’m not really feeling the whole education thing, I feel compelled to do it to please my parents and to be able to get a secure job if I need to. My mom reminded me that if I wanted permanent teaching certification in NYS I’d have to start working on my masters in two years after getting my bachelor’s. I don’t want to wait three more years before applying for postulancy, especially if it’s doing something…getting my masters…for the purpose of being able to be permanently certified in something that seems like drudgery and enslavement in doing something I don’t really love. I can’t imagine any secular jobs that would fulfill me for that matter and that worries me because I’m not sure if that’s what they would call and inadequate motivation for desiring religious life or if it’s just another indication towards it? I mean I feel I wouldn’t feel fulfilled in what I was doing if I couldn’t spend myself completely and explicitly to spreading the gospel full time though prayer and action. This isn’t the only reason religious life appeals to me…I desire to give all my love to Jesus alone and feel I would wither up and die if I couldn’t recieve Him in the Eucharist everyday and spend time in Eucharistic adoration everyday. What should I dooo? 😦
 
Hello Shana, I think the best thing to do would be focus on getting your bachelor’s degree. At the same time you should look into getting a **spiritual director **and then visit different communities. If say you feel even more drawn to religious life, then instead of going on to get your master’s (providing you have all the necessary requirements) you can enter religious life at that time. You still have about 2 years which is enough time if you are in fact being called. Most communities recommend a degree before entering anyway so you will be set. Take it one step at a time because looking far into the future can cause great anxiety (I know from experience :p). I will pray for you.
 
Yes, I have a spiritual director. I have felt drawn to a particular community for over a year now, have visisted them, and I’ll be speaking with the vocation directress sometime this week about the best way for me to continue discerning with them.

Just the thought of waiting over three more years before I can be with them really doesn’t sit well with me.
 
Patience is a virtue.
Pray for it because everything in life worth doing takes a lot of it.👍
 
If you enter a teaching order they might send you for your Masters. I have been in classes with sisters who were going for their MA for teaching certification. Most Catholic schools where I live now require state certification for all teachers, including religious.
 
I don’t feel called to a teaching order…or teaching for that matter. That’s the issue.
 
Shana said:
Yes, I have a spiritual director. I have felt drawn to a particular community for over a year now, have visisted them, and I’ll be speaking with the vocation directress sometime this week about the best way for me to continue discerning with them.

Just the thought of waiting over three more years before I can be with them really
Click to expand...
doesn’t sit well with me.

I’ve known for six years now that I have a religious vocation and I was hoping to enter this August but realized I need to wait a while before taking that step. It’s been really hard for me thinking about waiting but I’ve come to realize the beauty in it. Of course I don’t want to wait and it really doesn’t sit well with me either but I know now that this is what He wants me to do and if I’m not happy doing what He wants me to do now then how can I expect to be happy with doing what He wants me to do later on in life? I started going to daily Mass this year and one thing that has been hitting me a lot lately is the line in the Our Father “give us this day our daily bread.” I once heard someone compare the daily bread that we are asking for to the manna in the wilderness. God didn’t give them enough for the month, or enough for the week, or even enough for tomorrow. He gave them enough for today and only enough for today! I think that’s a really important thing to remember as you continue to discern. He will never leave you hanging and He will give you enough to sustain you through the day. Then tomorrow He will give you enough for tomorrow and the next day He will give you enough for the next day etc.

Another thing that hit me the other day was when I was reading the Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen and He was talking about the story of the rich young man. He talked about how there is two levels of following God. The rich young man was doing the first level. Following the commandments and being a “good person” but for some reason that wasn’t enough for him. He wanted more. So Jesus invited him to the next level, the radical giving of everything to follow Christ, and it was to much of a sacrifice for him. He couldn’t do it. As I was meditating on this I felt God say to me “I know you are dissatisfied with waiting,but I’m asking you to be satisfied with being dissatisfied because I need you in the world to reach out to people. Find your joy and satisfaction in being dissatisfied because this is what I want for you.”

You will be in my prayers and if you ever want to talk about it please feel more then free to PM me.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria! Let’s see what the good God wills.
 
I don’t feel called to a teaching order…or teaching for that matter. That’s the issue.
Click to expand...
I’ve been having the exact same problem as you - felt called since summer after freshman year, and was majoring in English and Education. After the first year I realized I didn’t like the Ed, but I didn’t know how else I’d get a job. Now I’ve finally dropped the Ed and am majoring in English only, thinking of adding a minor in Art or Business. However, I am a junior and only just dropped Ed after last semester, and I wish I’d done it earlier. Meanwhile I don’t want to be doing it at all because I want to enter religios life.

From experience, I think you should drop the Ed right now. The Ed major is a very difficult one to go into just to get employed, since so much schooling is required for it. I think what you should do is stick with Art, get your degree in Art, and then enter. If your college offers Associate’s degrees in Art, get that, then enter the convent. Most convents will want you to have real world experience before entering, which you will with an Associate’s degree, but that won’t have you waiting 3 years. If the religious life turns out not to be your vocation and you leave, you’ll have that degree and you can go back to school then for a major in art or whatever you are inclined to at the time. Apparently all that is necessary for Ed is the Master’s, so you could major in something other than Ed, get an Ed Master’s, and then teach, if you wanted to. But I completely understand not wanting to- I actually wish I’d majored in art, you can get jobs with art if you’re good, such as designing cards, or even Catholic ones like designing holy cards, vestments, etc. I hope that helped…I’ve been there and my advice is do not wait on dropping Ed, it will only make it more difficult in the future.
 
I’m considering dropping ed and taking up some spanish classes.
 
You have to think about what you could take that would be of use to the communities you want to consider, and even more, if it’s only one community. What is of use to them? Art? Probably more. Talk this over with the vocation directors. Spanish may indeed be of use. Marketing and business may be of use. But if they* teach, *they may want teachers!
 
When you go visit the order, ask for advice. I have been communicating with a Brother at one order and he has been very helpful even knowing how confused I am at the moment. I will pray for you. I leave you this verse to consider (it has helped me immensely!)

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)

I hope you will post as to the resolution of your dilemma. His will be done!
 
Ok, so it seems I’m not in as big of a dilemma as I thought. The state recently changed the requirement of starting working on your masters from 2 to 5 years after receiving intitial certification as a teacher as an undergrad.

So far…

I’ve pretty much decided that getting a masters directly after my bachelors would not be a good decision, but instead applying for postulancy.

I need to decide.
  1. To continue with my education minor/ teaching certification so I have one more option to fall back on, even if that option is something I don’t feel very passionate about. If I do this I would have to spend one semester after graduation doing student teaching. This is the path I’ve been taking for the past few years. I’m thinking I don’t feel like teaching k-12 but maybe I’d like being an art professor and maybe I should keep going with this so I have some teaching experience…idk
or
  1. Drop my education minor/ teaching certification…have one less career option…and take something I’d enjoy more, like Spanish, and not have to stay an extra semester…
I’ll talk to people and pray about this…I’ll be talking with the vocation directress for the order I’m discerning with soon, maybe she’ll have some good advice.

Keep the prayers coming!
 
anode said:
You have to think about what you could take that would be of use to the communities you want to consider, and even more, if it’s only one community. What is of use to them? Art? Probably more. Talk this over with the vocation directors. Spanish may indeed be of use. Marketing and business may be of use. But if they* teach, *they may want teachers!
Click to expand...
I think that you are posting on another forum, and that you mentioned the name of the order that you’re seriously interested in. Have you talked to them about what they would be interested in your pursuing?

Are you interested in other women’s institutes that have a strong background in art? I know of at least two and could probably scare up more. These institutes have members who are serious accomplished artists, and the institutes show and sell their art.
 
anode said:
I think that you are posting on another forum, and that you mentioned the name of the order that you’re seriously interested in. Have you talked to them about what they would be interested in your pursuing?

Are you interested in other women’s institutes that have a strong background in art? I know of at least two and could probably scare up more. These institutes have members who are serious accomplished artists, and the institutes show and sell their art.
Click to expand...
Yes, I am looking into the Daughters of St. Paul. Could you give me the other women’s institutes that are artistically inclined that you have in mind? Thanks.
 
Shana said:
Yes, I am looking into the Daughters of St. Paul. Could you give me the other women’s institutes that are artistically inclined that you have in mind? Thanks.
Click to expand...
  1. ** Congregation of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin**–founded in Canada.
…in NH and MA, but no website contact. However, at the link below, there are profiles of their artists and email addresses, as well as contact info in Canada that you could use for more information re their presence in the US.

sasv.ca/english/arts_visuels.php

jeannesasv@yahoo.com is an email contact for the US.

1) Congregation of St. Joseph, LaGrange IL --even has their own Ministry of the Arts, an online and bricks-and-mortar arts store.

csjoseph.org/ministryofthearts.aspx

**3) Order of St. Benedict, in St. Joseph, MN **, which owns St. Benedict’s College, the sister college to St. John’s University, used to list arts and its museum on its website but does no longer. Nevertheless, they may be worth contacting.

sbm.osb.org/
  1. If you go to www.religiousministries.com and search under “arts” as the search term, and under “women”, you’ll find a list of descriptions of communities which include the word ‘arts’. If you eliminate ‘liturgical vestments’ --unless, you’re interested in this,the Sisters of the Precious Blood in O’Fallon, MO do this-- and eliminate bookstores, you still have a list of 10 or so, whose websites you’’ll have to search carefully, and then probably have to email the communities for still more information.
In general, the Benedictine and Dominican active orders have sponsored the arts, along with teaching in the colleges they founded and where they still serve. You would have to search these sites and contact their vocation directors regarding this.

If you’re restricting your search to habited orders, the list is a lot shorter, but it may be that new entrants to non-habited orders can wear a modified habit. Once again, you’ll have to find out. For those communities in which all members wear a habit, the Daughters of St. Paul may be your best choice.
 
I need help.I left my husband recently because he couldnt stay faithful and i did everything the best i could as a wife for so many years which caused me to have anxiety attacks.Now im a single parant with no direction and things are getting hard.My family is baptist but rarely went to church when i was a kid.and im vey dedicated,loyal and love learning and praying to god with my kids.I moved to a new town and dont know which church to attend.Im in woodstock,il.,and need to find my new path and structure.talking to a priest would be great.thank you
 
angels03 said:
I need help.I left my husband recently because he couldnt stay faithful and i did everything the best i could as a wife for so many years which caused me to have anxiety attacks.Now im a single parant with no direction and things are getting hard.My family is baptist but rarely went to church when i was a kid.and im vey dedicated,loyal and love learning and praying to god with my kids.I moved to a new town and dont know which church to attend.Im in woodstock,il.,and need to find my new path and structure.talking to a priest would be great.thank you
Click to expand...
**NOTE TO MODERATOR:

This post should be moved to the Family sub-forum.
**
 
Good news! I met with my education today and we came to a solution that I feel peace with. I could stop taking education classes and drop my education minor and gradate in a year without the additional student teaching. If I were to decide later on that I wanted to get back into getting certified as a teacher, since I’ve already taken so many education courses, that that wouldn’t take to long to get my initial certification through an alternative certification program at boces and then go on to get my masters, ect.

I’m feeling a lot better about this, praise God!
 
Thanks for the suggested religious communities.

Good news! The problem is resolved. I’m going to discontinue with my minor in education/ initial certification and if I decide down the road I want to pick it up again it would’t take long because I’ve taken a lot of education courses already. That way I keep my options open, investigate what I’ve got to investigate without being under the pressure of a “time clock”.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top