How do you determine if you're being called to a type of spirituality?

[AKDee]

Thank you in advance to anyone who reads and responds. Specifically I’m hoping someone who has had a real calling to a vocation or third order etc. will review this and tell me their thoughts.

I’m trying to determine how you know when you’re truly being called to join a certain order of Catholic spirituality. Specifically, in my instance, I have become increasingly drawn to the spirituality of Opus Dei. There is no Opus Dei presence in my state at all (I wrote to them and asked) but I feel increasingly called. The greater emphasis on daily prayer, regular confession, reading scripture, spiritual reading, meditation, and penance, as well as being able to use the ordinary events of every day as an offering to God make me feel this is a type of spirituality that work well with me (I need structure). The only real struggle I see with living more like Opus Dei is daily Mass- finding a daily Mass I could attend nearby that I could work around my job would be very difficult.

But once I started thinking on it, I became increasingly desirous of living this way. Daily emails I get from unrelated Catholic sites on gospel readings etc. are increasingly having quotes from St. Josemaria Escriva (like a reminder for me) and there was a guy at Mass the other day sitting directly across from me on the other side of the Church who looked- I am not kidding- exactly like St. Josemaria Escriva. He looked EXACTLY like him, right down to the very old fashioned heavy black rimmed glasses, face, hair color, hair style. I have never see this guy before at Church.

I know that I don’t have to join Opus Dei to try following their type of spirituality- and I plan on trying to go it alone, although I think I would do better if there were some like minded people near me that I could have as mentors- but does this sound like a calling? Would God call me to a group that has absolutely no presence in my immediate area?

 

[Monica4316]

Maybe through you, God could bring the Opus Dei to your are in the future? I don’t know, but just an idea maybe it would be good to start just learning about it more, practising the spirituality in your everyday life, and just see how it goes… Even if you don’t end up officially joining, it would probably help you grow spiritually

I think one of the signs is being interiorly drawn to the spirituality and benefiting from it as you live it out.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Look into Opus Dei retreats if you can get away to one.

 

[Mintaka]

Usually we determine if we’re being called to a type of spirituality in the Church by…

Ordinary human preference! Yes! This is where you get to do whatever you feel like! It’s private devotion, even if you’re doing it with other people.

Occasionally God makes the pull a little stronger than “this makes sense to me and I like it” or “I think this would be good for me.” And that seems to be what’s going on in your case.

So yeah, I think you should start trying to do some Opus Dei stuff. Pray prayers, bring Jesus to the rest of life, etc. Even if there aren’t any Opus Dei groups in your area, there may be Opus Dei people who live around you. Ask God for some help; that’s what He’s there for, among other things!

Now… I am going to point out that there are plenty of saints who got called to more than one kind of spirituality during their lifetimes. If that happened, it would just mean that God wants you to learn something from one group; when you’ve learned it, he sends you elsewhere. But then again, there are plenty of people who pick one thing and stay with it, which is great because you get to grow deep in that way over a lifetime.

What you are going through is perfectly normal, whether or not you know anybody else personally who is having similar experiences. Don’t worry about it; just start doing a few little things.

 

[Upgrade25]

Benedictines(music), Dominicans(preaching), and Ordinariate(rich history in English language literature); are the three spiritualities I feel called to explore. Fallout-ism isn’t working…

 

[Liturgy_Geek_1]

I was drawn to Saint Mother Theodore Guerin through her journals and letters. She taught extensively on Divine Providence. Saint Mother Theodore founded the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in Indiana, where I live.

As I studied Saint Mother Theodore and the Order she founded, I felt even more drawn. The program for lay members, Providence Associates, was still pretty new. But, I was able to get in and study for almost a year before making my commitment to the Order. Since then, my spirituality has grown even more in my devotion to Divine Providence and in my commitment to the Order’s calling of performing works of love, mercy and justice.

It might sound “corny” but I just knew this is what I was being called to do. There is a large Franciscan presence here in my home diocese but I am just not called to that. I can’t go down to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods anymore for retreats due to being my husband’s caregiver but God continues to draw me further into His mystery of Divine Providence.

So, long story short, that’s how I found my spirituality. I hope you have found this helpful.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Before my wife and myself found the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, OCDS, we were looking for a 3rd order Franciscan group. The only one we found was too far away, so we just figured it was God’s will and we could just follow the Fanciscan Spirituality.

Then, my wife was cleaning out our junk draw, and came across a bulletin from our parish, which was four years old.

In it, was a woman whom we knew, inviting people interested learning about OCDS.

My wife called and the woman was thrilled. Brought us to the local community and we knew right away, this was where God wanted us.

God may be doing the same for you ?

Prayer and being open to where God leads you, is the way you will know.

Jim

 

[Bruised_Reed]

I suggest What Does God Want by Fr. Michael Scanlan. The main points of discernment are here here but it doesn’t have Fr. Mike’s own story. He knew he was called to be in an order but didn’t know which one. He thought the Jesuits, with their acedemic rigor, was where he was called but realized that the Franciscans would challenge him to grow in holiness. He already had the intellectual stuff down, he needed something different to grow.

BTW, I really appreciate Fr. Escriva’s spirituality. I get a lot out of the short paragraph’s in his books. Each one seems to speak to me where I’m at.