How does one know?

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There has been some talk on this forum about some people receiving their calling to become a priest or nun or just a calling to become Catholic.
I’m just wondering how they know this? is it a deep down feeling? an overwhelming desire? a voice?
I have had some unexplained overwhelming feelings during mass especially just before Communion…when the Agnus Dei ids sung. I have tears come down so fast and feel so overwhelmed that I often have to hide my face, I DON’T seem to have control over this.
Just wondering if others here get these same type of feelings?
I was told it was the gift of tears…but wonder if it’s more than that.
 
I am just guessing here (specifically, about vocations), but I would imagine it’s first of all a case where the person isn’t under any outside pressure at all (like the parents always praying in the kid’s hearing, “Lord PLEASE make my son a priest”), but the person also feels that he/she can’t not do it. That’s also the way I felt about my conversion; I still had questions, but I knew I had to do it anyway.

DaveBj
 
This is an nteresting question and one I wondered about when I was in grade school. How would I know I wondered. When I was having my first child, my friend from grade school said she was so happy for me because that is all I ever talked about growing up. It came as a revelation to me because I had not realized that I had talked so much about children.

So how do you know? I still am not sure but I was told to pray and ask to be shown and looking back I guess that is what happened.

I agree that you have the gift of tears.
 
It is a simple prayer, “Lord, let YOUR will be done in my life. Lord show me, beyond any shadow of doubt, what you want me to do.”

I was decerning the Diaconate when the Lord showed me, with out a doubt, where he wanted me.
 
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kayla:
There has been some talk on this forum about some people receiving their calling to become a priest or nun or just a calling to become Catholic.
I’m just wondering how they know this? is it a deep down feeling? an overwhelming desire? a voice?
I have had some unexplained overwhelming feelings during mass especially just before Communion…when the Agnus Dei ids sung. I have tears come down so fast and feel so overwhelmed that I often have to hide my face, I DON’T seem to have control over this.
Just wondering if others here get these same type of feelings?
I was told it was the gift of tears…but wonder if it’s more than that.
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It does sound like the “gift of tears.” However, you can have the gift of tears and a “call” as well, especially if you are thinking it may be a call. A call takes time to discern but also action. Pray and continue to seek guidance especially from someone who knows something about vocations.
 
the way i can discern God calling me is that i feel a gentle tugging at my heart in a certain direction. My reconciliation back to the Catholic CHurch was definiately one of those times.

For me, i can only describe it as a gentle whisper (tho it’s not anyone talking to me), it’s a very quiet and gentle nudge in a certain direction.
This gentle nudge is the same in intensity. It doesn’t get “louder”. It doesn’t get softer, but it is definately a quiet voice. And this gentle nudge is always there. It doesn’t go away but tugs at me ever so gently but ever so constantly too.

This is why prayer is so important. For me, the Holy Spirit speaking to me this way is hard for me because often times I am way too distracted by everything else in life.

I know that in my conversion back to the Church, that nudge was there for several eyars before I saw it for what it was and was honest enough with myself to admit that it was the SPirit calling me.

I really believe that God, for the most part, works within the quietness of our heart.
And if we aren’t actively listening, we will certainly miss it.

and i struggle with this a lot becuase there is so much in life to be distracted with. I wish I had better discernment, but I need to work on it.
 
I can only explain it from my perspective. I’m a convert. I’ve been in the church only since 1997. Yet, years before that, years before I even CONSIDERED becoming catholic, I had tug in the direction of becoming a nun. I “felt the desire,” to be a nun.

Since becoming catholic, I’ve looked into it. I ran into some barriers, so I dropped it for awhile. But I’m back in the fray, so to speak. I’m in contact with one order that has partially opened the door. During the last couple of years, I have been praying extra hard in this area. My prayer has been that if this is God’s will, He will open the doors for me. If not, that He will remove the desire. It hasn’t all come together yet, but it’s looking like it might. So, I’ll continue the process until I have a definate answer.
 
My coming home to the Catholic Church was very similar. I had years ago in my youth left the faith. But years of that gentle nudge lead to a stronger yearning on my part. Finally after much prayer, while I was attending an Episcopal Church, the answer came to me loud and clear. It was only after I had made the decision to accept the Lord’s will, whatever it may be, that it became clear to me. So I uprooted my family from the Episcopal Church that we all loved, to come home to the Catholic Church. My wife has been supportive, although not so enthusiastic, as she was raised nominally protestant, and has a former Catholic dad who is bitter towards the Church. In spite of the obstacles, it has been the most spiritually fulfulling experience, coming home last fall. I thank God for not giving up on me.
Dave
 
I would imagine its like being in love. No one has to tell you you are in love, you just know.
 
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