I think I'm being called to marriage but not sure how to decipher these feelings I'm having

[Riman643]

So for the last couple of years I have been praying and discerning for direction in regards to my future, whether that be the priesthood, marriage, or just being single. Over the past few days my heart has been yearning to be with a woman. This is not the same feeling as lust which I never want in my heart and try my best to fend off everyday. This is a feeling of wanting to be united with someone which I can only assume would be a spouse. I’ve just never had this feeling before and I was curious if anyone else has had a similar revelation/epiphany where you knew that you were called into marriage. This could just be something all people feel at some point but in combination with this sudden urge to purge myself of these sinful attachments I have to things makes this feeling all the more interesting and I’m not quite sure how to decipher it all.

Anyway, if you have any thoughts on what these feelings could mean or have had a similar experience to mine in regards discerning marriage I would very much like to hear it.

 

[bardegaulois]

This is a feeling of wanting to be united with someone

That someone is Jesus Christ, and we should all have that sort of feeling of incompleteness in our souls. I’d venture that what you’re experiencing isn’t necessarily related to vocational discernment, but a call to a closer intimacy with our Divine Master, a call that persons in all states of life should hear. That you are at the same time desirous of letting go of sinful attachments (again, nothing necessarily related to choice of a state of life) fortifies my view that this is just Christ’s call to a deeper relationship with Him, which is the only thing that can order our disordered souls.

I sometimes worry that we Catholics can become too illuministic in our vocational discernment, to focused on what you call revelations or epiphanies so much that we can often make our life in grace subordinate to our discernment. It’s reasonable for us, though, to consider that most persons are likely to (and probably should) marry; we were commanded at the beginning to be fruitful and multiply, and so we may rightly term marriage our natural vocation. I don’t believe there’s really too much need to be too introspective about that, especially as you seem just to be thinking about marriage in the abstract rather than about marriage with a specific potential partner. Celibacy, and thus all the other states of life which are predicated upon that, is a supernatural vocation, though, and Holy Orders, being a sacrament of character, is especially so.

 

[Riman643]

I sometimes worry that we Catholics can become too illuministic in our vocational discernment, to focused on what you call revelations or epiphanies so much that we can often make our life in grace subordinate to our discernment.

I would very much like to avoid putting anything above my love and obedience to God so I will definitely be mindful of this going forward. I guess at this stage of my life where I feel I am uncertain about my future I maybe overly concerned with discernment that I am not growing and further developing my relationship with Jesus.

I don’t believe there’s really too much need to be too introspective about that, especially as you seem just to be thinking about marriage in the abstract rather than about marriage with a specific potential partner.

I agree. Without a potential partner I don’t think one can truly discern marriage and this why I asked the question. I think I am going to take a break in discerning my potential vocation for awhile and really focus on growing with Jesus and continue to seek this need of eliminating sin from my life.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I find your insight valuable and appreciate it greatly!