Is God pressuring me into a vocation?

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Lately I’ve been overthinking my religious life. A priest has invited me to a vocations retreat on new year’s day, but I’m not sure if I want to go. Sure, I want to discern God’s will for my life, but I’m 18 and it feels like it’s too early, as if God is rushing me into a vocation. On the other hand, I feel like the priesthood is my only option. Theology is the only thing I excel at, and everything else I do is mediocre at best. Colleges these days treat the world as if you’ll only get a good job if you’re the one student that towers over all his peers.

On top of that, I’ve never had a date in my life, let alone a girlfriend. I’ve been praying for discernment, but everything seems so scary and I can’t make heads or tails of it all. Advice?
 
Hello,
I don’t think it would hurt to go and see if God is really calling you. I think it would be a neat thing to experience. If it is not the path you think you are to be taking, why not get your Master’s in Theology and teach in a college. God needs good teachers who are good at spreading his Word.
My prayers go to you tonight.
P.S. It’s not God who’s pressuring you…you know that, right? I think maybe you are a little nervous and that is totally understandable.
 
Ok, so God isn’t pushing my nose against the grindstone. I read that same priest’s blog, and it made me a little more eased.
 
Jack, listen to your honest feelings. If you feel you need time, give yourself time.
If you feel pressured by the thought of the discernment retreat, then just honestly tell the priest you will go to the next discernment retreat or in a couple of years, not this year.

God may well be speaking to you in the doubts you are feeling for the present.
God may indeed be saying, within your questions and unease, give yourself more time, Jack.
Priests live in the real world and need to understand it as well-balanced adults as well as spiritual men.

God bless you, and give yourself some gentleness and peace.
 
Good advice already. I also say that it wouldn’t hurt to go to the weekend.
It is my understanding that the discernment process for the priesthood is quite rigorous. After all they don’t want to bring people in, invest a lot of time and money in training and then have them decide - oops I guess I’m not really called…

My guess is that, if you talk to your priest friend about your concerns ,he will put them to rest one way or another. After all, that is what discernment is all about.

Peace
James
 
A meditation for you.

At the end of St. John’s gospel, he says that all the things that Jesus has done could fill all the books of the world, if these things were written down.

There you go.

What would your book say, about what Jesus has done in your life? What has He done so far? What’s in the next chapter or two of your book? I don’t know about the priest, but, is Jesus calling you to the priesthood?

I’m 61 and I’ve made horribly embarrassing errors and mistakes in my life. If I could say anything to someone who is 18 or 19, I’d say be careful and always do what is right. Avoid evil. Look ahead and anticipate it, be ready for it.

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus said Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. That is a good description of me, mourning for my sins and all the sins I see around me. The only thing that can comfort me is God.

What do you want to be doing when you are 30, 40, 50, 60? Ask yourself, are you material to be a good husband and father? etc. Do you have a sense of ‘giving’ yourself to others, as a priest is often called to do?
 
Don’t just do something, stand there! And pray. Before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Alone with Him at 3:00 AM. Before mass. During the day. Morning. Noon. Night. Engage in listening prayer, as the Lord already knows your heart, your desires and your anxieties. Your answer will come in prayer. Give it three years, then it’s OK to become impatient.

I just added you to my vocation prayer list.
 
A vocation is not what you do when you don’t do anything else well. Your not having dated and your being interested in religion do not necessarily constitute signs of a vocation, even if observers may try to convince you that they do. What those things ARE a sign of is the fact that you have a lot of growing up and living to do. Take your time, let your talents unveil themselves, make all kinds of friends. You will only make it as a priest, if indeed you are called, if you have done these things first.

Don’t hesitate to go to the vocation event, though. It will give you more objectivity when you consider your choices. Just consider it a learning experience.
 
Dear Jack,

Like what the others have said, I would also encourage you to continue listening to the Lord. Listen to the inner voice in your heart too. Nothing goes about without God knowing and he knows everything about you. You seem to be quite mature for your age at 18 and that is to your advantage. Yes, do continue to pray for discernment and there is no harm in going for that retreat. There is nothing much in that really; it is not like as if you should make a decision there and then. Depend on the format of the retreat and if it is for a bigger group, you’d hear speakers sharing different aspect of vocations and they are not necessarily priesthood.

Sometimes back I was a part of my parish vocation team and what my wife and I did was to share about marriage life. That’s right; you are given a chance to weigh everything because vocation is a calling. It is not something you want to do because it is appealing to you but there is a spiritual element to it. Most of all you have to find peace in whatever your decision will be, that’s why it is wise to try everything first and see and listen.

One of the most touching of God’s calling in the Bible was the call for Samuel. He seemed to hear somebody calling his name but was not sure. So he said to the older priest, “Eli, is that you who call me?” Eli said it was not him. After he heard the calling for the third times, Eli asked Samuel to say, “Lord, your servant is listening”, if he heard the voice again. The rest was history. In modern day that kind of thing could happen to us. The Lord may be calling and we are not too sure. It is good to take the action of Samuel. Listen and ask if God is really calling.

God bless you.
 
I wouldn’t hurt at all to go to the retreat. Even if you come away from the retreat not knowing definitely where the Lord is guiding you, it is still a good thing to do.
 
My priest friend who was vocation director for his order told me when I was applying for the Diaconate, to remember that the call is an invitation, not an order.

Keep that in mind.

Jim
 
baltobetsy said:
A vocation is not what you do when you don’t do anything else well. Your not having dated and your being interested in religion do not necessarily constitute signs of a vocation, even if observers may try to convince you that they do. What those things ARE a sign of is the fact that you have a lot of growing up and living to do. Take your time, let your talents unveil themselves, make all kinds of friends. You will only make it as a priest, if indeed you are called, if you have done these things first.

Don’t hesitate to go to the vocation event, though. It will give you more objectivity when you consider your choices. Just consider it a learning experience.
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What she said!

As everyone else has said, it’s still worth going to.

My priest never intended to be one until another priest made a suggestion. It wasn’t on his radar at all. (In his case, I have to add that he could have been very successful in any number of fields.) Once he took a look he realized it was where God wanted him, and he never looked back.

My life is completely different because my priest heeded God’s call. I thank God all the time for this.

But it was his passion for God that ultimately led him there, not his difficulties in life. In your question, it seems you’re thinking about vocations because of what you lack, not because of what you’ve been given.

For all who said pray, yes, pray. And hear what Betsy said as well.
 
Just remember you have years ahead of you before comitting to anything. So take it easy. There are many different charisms - and this may not be the right one. It may be religious life, married life, a third order, single life, religious life and ordained life. But this could be a stepping stone in discerning that. Know that marriage is also a vocation - and you will be more successful in knowing you are called to that later if you have completely ruled out the other.
 
JackVk said:
Lately I’ve been overthinking my religious life. A priest has invited me to a vocations retreat on new year’s day, but I’m not sure if I want to go. Sure, I want to discern God’s will for my life, but I’m 18 and it feels like it’s too early, as if God is rushing me into a vocation. On the other hand, I feel like the priesthood is my only option. ?
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it is not apparent from your post that God is playing any part at all in what you are experiencing. You report contact with one priest and no other attempts at discernment or spiritual direction, and no information about why you begin pursuing this direction in the first place. Frankly at 18 it seems too young to say one subject is the only thing you are good at, and also hard to see how at such a young age you could claim to be an expert in theology or any other subject. Since you ask for advice, mine is to get a good all around liberal arts education, using the time in college to make friends of both sexes and pursue your interests and see where further study and experience lead you. Concentrate as well on spiritual growth and maturity, get a spiritual director and work on perfecting the virtues. Most of all, service is the answer. Find a way to serve.

Going to one retreat is not a commitment, it is an answer to an invitation that was kindly meant, and a means of gathering information to help you discern in the future.
 
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