How do you feel called?

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Rita88 said:
Can you describe your sense of calling?

What happened???
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The answers are as varied as the people themselves.

Priests–usually invited to look into it by their parish priest.

Contemplatives–a longing to be in a monastery.

Active sisters/brothers–desire to be of service to God’s people.

When the right convent/monastery/seminary is reached, the need to look any further ceases.

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
Let’s see, everytime I tried to learn more about the religious life, I ended up with a baby in my arms. :rolleyes:

No, seriously, this wasn’t just a perception. I remember going with a group of teen girls to a local religious order. I ended up sitting with a group of young children visitors while they toured.

👍

On a serious note, I think you just “know.”
 
Thanks for the reply!

I know that the Catholic faith does not allow female priests, but I am an Anglican, and have felt called to both ministry, and to monastic living… I am trying to discern with deep prayer, and just put myself souly into God’s will… but I find it really difficult to explain my “calling” to others. I have spoken to my priest whom had encouraged me (a few years ago before I left the area for three years) into ministry, and my curate, who believes I’d be well suited to a monastic life. I am a very prayerful person, but I’m just looking for some advice/wisdom/opinions etc if any one can help???
 
hasikelee said:
On a serious note, I think you just “know.”
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I think I “know” I’m called (excpet my logical mind does sometimes try to doubt it… ie. I’m not good enough to serve God in such places etc) but :S is that a good enough explanation?
 
Rita88 said:
Thanks for the reply!

I know that the Catholic faith does not allow female priests, but I am an Anglican, and have felt called to both ministry, and to monastic living… I am trying to discern with deep prayer, and just put myself souly into God’s will… but I find it really difficult to explain my “calling” to others. I have spoken to my priest whom had encouraged me (a few years ago before I left the area for three years) into ministry, and my curate, who believes I’d be well suited to a monastic life. I am a very prayerful person, but I’m just looking for some advice/wisdom/opinions etc if any one can help???
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Try the Servants of the Sacred Cross:

thesacredcross.org/

Blessings,
Cloisters
 
I think it is different for everyone. Most articles I’ve read have listed three phases. 1) You feel God prompting you. 2) You respond to the call. 3) As you seek, you get confirmation from others that you’re on the right path.

Ask, and it shall be given to you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.
 
If you’re called, you know.

Ultimately, of course, the Church decides if you’re called.
 
Cloisters said:
Try the Servants of the Sacred Cross:

thesacredcross.org/

Blessings,
Cloisters
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Cool link. I enjoyed viewing their photo album. They take in Catholics, Anglicans and EO. Appear traditional and do not have an upper age limit.

This is what the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Perth said about them:
I am very pleased that people around Australia are becoming interested in your way of life and I hope that you get more vocations from this part of the world. (The Sisters in Perth) are certainly giving good witness to people in their parish … and elsewhere, to Religious Life…….It is a joyful and prayerful vocation."
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Most Rev. B. J. Hickey, Roman Catholic Archbishop pf Perth, Australia
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Thank you all!!! I am in touch with the OHP in Whitby (it’s not a far journey for me). I wonder if anyone who is reading this thread is ordained or lives in a monastic community(?) I guess my problem is, I feel called, but I don’t feel worthy of that call. I’ve begun to try and respond to it, but I am early on that path, and am still quite uncertain as to what purpose I can bring, I certainly feel naive and doltish whilst in the environments where I speak of it… I have grown up in one of the (several) parishes I attend, and in the past twenty years the church is only ever really seen the same faces; so I sometimes feel “young and foolish” in comparison to them. I began to visit other parishes, and have been welcomed with open arms to another local rural parish and enjoy the experiences it offers… but I guess I can’t get over this persistent feeling of worthlessness!?!

I guess though that maybe it is meet to feel so humble when discerning a path that endevours to uphold God’s will?

Any thoughts?
 
Rita88 said:
Can you describe your sense of calling?

What happened???
Click to expand...
Rita,

For me it is nothing more than a whisper in the consciousness that seems to come every time that I have a major event in life. After a success, it says “Yes, but you know that you should be exploring a vocation in the church.” After a setback it says, “Now are you ready?”

Saint Augustine said,

"“Your best servants are those who look not so much to hear from you what they want to hear,
but rather to want what they hear from you.” – St. Augustine’s prayer in Confessions 10.26.37

(After 38 years, I think I’m finally in the place where I can do that and would appreciate your prayers as I go forward. For those of you who are younger and may be thinking the same thing, save yourself the two decades. :o)
 
Full of doubts! Yes, yes and yes.

My thoughts today before the Blessed Sacrament–
First I listed all my faults.
Then I thought of how good and merciful is Our Lord and Savior.
And my final thoughts:
If the one who created me, with all of these faults, who knows even the faults that I hadn’t listed and haven’t discovered yet, can call me–ME–to serve Him in this way, who am I to say no?
 
Seminarian_X said:
If you’re called, you know.

Ultimately, of course, the Church decides if you’re called.
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True, but only to a the point of whether or not you are allow to continue actively persuing it further. One can feel called to the priesthood as a married man for example and yet be in the “wrong” rite to be allowed to pursue it. Now that does not mean you have no options. For example, prior to and during my Protestant faith journey I too felt very called to the priesthood and yet could not explain it because that faith believed all Catholics are condemned to hell. I obviously had issues with that belief deep down and made my journey back to Catholicism by way of the Eastern Church, Orthodoxy. Eventually, I understood that I am a Latin Catholic that really wished that I were Byzantine Catholic. In fact, I already made the contacts to make the move, but my converting wife, daughter of a Protestant Biship and large family of Protestant Ministers, just would go east.

God can call, but the Church is just not ready to make the big move to allowing married men to the priesthood. I am seriously considering with my wife’s approval the diaconate. And I can accept that. Afterall it’s Romes decision on what to do and my calling is not greater than the Church’s needs. I pray that my calling will “rub off” onto young boys and men, especailly my 2 boys. I also hope some of my gifts are shared with my daughter as well so that she will consider a call to the religious life. I want all of my children to be either ordained and/or receive religious vows with celibacy…a beautiful sacrifice for God and Christ’s Church.

I took a vocations test online, and I scored unusually very high. It’s the reason I fought in a sense to move to the Eastern Church or our Orthodox brothers and sisters, and later realize by learning better the teachings of the Catholic Church that I am Catholic. I will not fight that again. The only thing that would cause me to just move away from Catholicism is someone successfully started teaching that ordination of women to the priesthood was acceptable. That would be a sign of the Church of Rome being in error and thus the Orthodox would have been right all these years. But I don’t seriously believe that will happen.

I assume you’re a seminarian, we pray for seminarians and priest as well as religious, men and women alike, all the time.

PAX

[EDIT addition]

Oh and the Lord has lead me to my current vocation as bishop of this domestic church and I didn’t even have to go to the seminary…Well I did go many years ago and left the church returning with 5. Oldest is considering the priesthood now.
 
RevDrNorth said:
Cool link. I enjoyed viewing their photo album. They take in Catholics, Anglicans and EO. Appear traditional and do not have an upper age limit.

This is what the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Perth said about them:
Click to expand...
The foundress of the Servants of The Sacred Cross, Mother Wendy James, is an exceptional person - very holy, astute and quite motherly with two feet on the ground and sound common sense. A really lovely woman. I have heard wonderful things of the Sisters, that they too are very devoted and holy people. Although it is founded as an Anglican Ecumenical Order there is nothing in Canon Law to prevent Catholic women from joining and quite a few of their number are Catholic women and if you apply you need to make a signed statement that you will follow your own Faith Profession loyally…and as you quoted from Archbishop Hickey in Perth - he thinks the world of them. Carmelite priests too have been very supportive of the Order. Worth an enquiry for any interested…Blessings - Barb:)
 
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