Marian Apparition in Dream

[emmaberry]

Hello,
I am a college student at the University of Dallas, an excellent and devout Catholic University. My family and I converted to Catholicism two years ago and I had my ‘true conversion’ in the fall of 2011, where I truly fell in love with Jesus and His Mother Mary.

While at school, I had a dream that Mary-more specifically, Our Lady of Fatima-was floating in my family’s home. I recognized her and was overjoyed to see her, so I began shouting and kept telling my dad, ‘It’s Mary! Look!’ He would not acknowledge her, and no one seemed to believe me. The dream ended with a feeling of helplessness that none of my family (specifically my dad) recognized Mary in our own home! This is especially strange since my dad led us to the Church in the first place! Of all people, I would think he would recognize Our Mother.

After the dream, I called my mom and told her the details. She choked up and said that she and my dad should probably cultivate a greater devotion to Mary. She also advised me to talk to a priest. I found a priest and all he said was, ‘Think of the dream as a little gift from Our Lady.’

The reason I find this dream so significant is:
#1-Our Blessed Mother was there! Hello, she’s a big deal!
#2-I experienced a ‘locution’ from God in the fall of '11 as well, which-in short-told me that I am called to religious life.

I have come home from my first semester of college for Christmas Break, and my dad is counseling me somewhat against religious life, ESPECIALLY the life of contemplation and solitude I feel called/drawn to in the Carthusians, Carmelites, and Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem. In fact, every devout Catholic adult I seek out counsels me to stay in school for 4 years and to take the discernment process very, very slow.

Do you think this is what the dream was referring to? Is Mary trying to tell me that people around me will try to discourage my vocation and act like Mary and Her Son aren’t present when they are??? Should I find another priest?

On a side note, Mary was wearing the robes and had the expression of Our Lady of Fatima, however, she had golden blonde hair flowing from under her white veil. I know Mary is not blonde, so why was that?

Thank you for reading this looong post!

 

[DihydrogenOxide]

Are you blonde? Just curious.
Many times Mary appears looking similar to the people she appears to, because she wants to look like a “mother”.

It could also be that you need to pray for your dad. Don’t worry about your family. If they make it hard for you, consider it a stumbling block put there for you by the devil. The evil one likes especially to put close friends and relatives against us to try to sway us. Pray for them.

For me, I would say that Mary will be there for you, even though your parents may not be. It’s our society, and our society says that religious are crazy fanatics or just plain “not good enough to be married”. It’s a protestant/secular viewpoint.

One young woman that is a couple years older than me had an difficult time when she discerned that she was supposed to be a cloistered religious sister. She had just converted to catholicism after she turned 18, from a very staunchly protestant family. Her relatives always pitied her for her decision. Then, when she decided to join a cloister, her mother acted like her daughter had terminal cancer and was going to die. She would go to her friends crying about her poor daughter, because she did not understand. Her daughter is now very happy at the convent, because she is doing God’s will for her.

If you feel like it’s God’s will, you don’t have to take it slow, but make sure you know for sure. You could always go through a novitiate and see whether it’s something you would like before committing. Just pray. If the dream was a sign from Mary, then I think she’s probably behind you, but just make sure for yourself. Only you will know your calling, because it is special for you alone.

You know what my priest told me to do when I was discerning religious life? He told me to pray every day for 2 months. Pray for the vocation to be revealed to me. I did, and I didn’t feel like I was supposed to be a religious sister at this point in my life, so I continued on.

I suggest that to you. Pray about it. See what happens.

 

[marty1818]

emma,
It’s important to remember that it was a dream and dreams do not always make sense. Continue to pray for your family and continue to discern your vocation. Lastly, while your dream has given you something to think about, I think that if God is trying to tell you something in a dream He will make it completely clear. Just look at St. Joseph’s dreams.

 

[JRKH]

Hello,
I am a college student at the University of Dallas, an excellent and devout Catholic University. My family and I converted to Catholicism two years ago and I had my ‘true conversion’ in the fall of 2011, where I truly fell in love with Jesus and His Mother Mary.

While at school, I had a dream that Mary-more specifically, Our Lady of Fatima-was floating in my family’s home. I recognized her and was overjoyed to see her, so I began shouting and kept telling my dad, ‘It’s Mary! Look!’ He would not acknowledge her, and no one seemed to believe me. The dream ended with a feeling of helplessness that none of my family (specifically my dad) recognized Mary in our own home! This is especially strange since my dad led us to the Church in the first place! Of all people, I would think he would recognize Our Mother.

After the dream, I called my mom and told her the details. She choked up and said that she and my dad should probably cultivate a greater devotion to Mary. She also advised me to talk to a priest. I found a priest and all he said was, ‘Think of the dream as a little gift from Our Lady.’

I agree with your priest. This is a wonderful little gift. For the present it is important not to attach too much significance to it, but at the same time to recognize the blessings of such a dream.

The reason I find this dream so significant is:
#1-Our Blessed Mother was there! Hello, she’s a big deal!
#2-I experienced a ‘locution’ from God in the fall of '11 as well, which-in short-told me that I am called to religious life.

I have come home from my first semester of college for Christmas Break, and my dad is counseling me somewhat against religious life, ESPECIALLY the life of contemplation and solitude I feel called/drawn to in the Carthusians, Carmelites, and Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem. In fact, every devout Catholic adult I seek out counsels me to stay in school for 4 years and to take the discernment process very, very slow.

Since your call is fairly new (just months ago) and we don’t know what concrete steps you’ve taken (visits to convents, discussions with priests or vocation directors etc…I tend to agree with your dad. Take the process slowly. Stay in school for now. Begin the discernment process with someone who knows about these things.

Do you think this is what the dream was referring to? Is Mary trying to tell me that people around me will try to discourage my vocation and act like Mary and Her Son aren’t present when they are??? Should I find another priest?

I can’t say for certain what the dream was referring to. God will make that clear to you in time. It’s best not to discuss these matters too widely. They are very private and should be “kept in your heart”, like the things that Mary held close to her.

That said, you most certainly can expect that most people will counsel you against a religious vocation, or at least will counsel caution and patience. In fact this is part of the discernment process.

As for your priest - no I don’t think you need to find another priest.

Good luck on your journey.

Peace
James

 

[emmaberry]

Thank you everybody for your replies. To DihydrogenOxide, yes I am blonde and my mom is as well, so I could have projected that onto Mary.

 

[KiwiBliss]

Hello,
I am a college student at the University of Dallas, an excellent and devout Catholic University. My family and I converted to Catholicism two years ago and I had my ‘true conversion’ in the fall of 2011, where I truly fell in love with Jesus and His Mother Mary.

While at school, I had a dream that Mary-more specifically, Our Lady of Fatima-was floating in my family’s home. I recognized her and was overjoyed to see her, so I began shouting and kept telling my dad, ‘It’s Mary! Look!’ He would not acknowledge her, and no one seemed to believe me. The dream ended with a feeling of helplessness that none of my family (specifically my dad) recognized Mary in our own home! This is especially strange since my dad led us to the Church in the first place! Of all people, I would think he would recognize Our Mother.

After the dream, I called my mom and told her the details. She choked up and said that she and my dad should probably cultivate a greater devotion to Mary. She also advised me to talk to a priest. I found a priest and all he said was, ‘Think of the dream as a little gift from Our Lady.’

The reason I find this dream so significant is:
#1-Our Blessed Mother was there! Hello, she’s a big deal!
#2-I experienced a ‘locution’ from God in the fall of '11 as well, which-in short-told me that I am called to religious life.

I have come home from my first semester of college for Christmas Break, and my dad is counseling me somewhat against religious life, ESPECIALLY the life of contemplation and solitude I feel called/drawn to in the Carthusians, Carmelites, and Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem. In fact, every devout Catholic adult I seek out counsels me to stay in school for 4 years and to take the discernment process very, very slow.

Do you think this is what the dream was referring to? Is Mary trying to tell me that people around me will try to discourage my vocation and act like Mary and Her Son aren’t present when they are??? Should I find another priest?

On a side note, Mary was wearing the robes and had the expression of Our Lady of Fatima, however, she had golden blonde hair flowing from under her white veil. I know Mary is not blonde, so why was that?

Thank you for reading this looong post!

I stumbled onto your forum today because I’m still trying to comprehend or trust in a sense an apparition I had with Mary in a dream 2 years ago (forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=953971).

Nowadays though, I am torn between the religious life or marriage. It’s one thing to discover my calling to a simpler lifestyle for God detached from the world and being captivated by the religious life, but it’s another to recognize my family and best friend trying to talk me out of it. Often, I find myself crying deeply in my room with God because it hurts that they, my own close parents & friend that I love so much, can’t accept me as anything more than pursuing marriage because that’s what they did. My aunt is a Franciscan nun and there’s an invisible wall between my relatives and her because they don’t understand the life she chose for God. The majority of my childhood consisted of my relatives and parents talking behind my aunt’s back and mocking her for being not like them. She would quietly listen and change the subject. I confronted my Mom a few times how much that bothers me and continue to educate her about the religious life to put her in her place. She has shared my thoughts on the subject with relatives and now they don’t talk about her when I’m around or perhaps from now on. If they can’t accept her as a nun, how could they accept me as a nun/sister someday? It goes both ways.

I’m thankful for having discerner friends, friends who are priests, nuns, and sisters along the way who are so supportive of my faith journey (as I to them) that no matter what vocation I decide, they will love me no matter what. Although I’m expected to get married someday to the right man, God created me to stand out from the crowd since I was young. I’ve been The more I explore the religious life, the more God I see Him providing for me & the more I trust that wherever my life takes me, “everything’s going to be okay.”

Trust Christ with your life and aim to please Him only… He has always been with you, no matter what outer influences think you should do. He knows what’s best for you. Trust the Holy Spirit within you to continue to guide you. Spend more time with Christ alone to listen and let His plans for you unfold in His time. He loves you unconditionally & know that whatever happens, “everything’s going to be okay,” because He and Our Lady will continue to provide for your needs. May God continue to bless you.

Sister-in-Christ,
Lauren

 

[Katherine438]

Coming from experience … I entered a convent at 19 … only to wind up leaving … I think a period of discernment is very good. However, without going into too much detail, personally … if I were to go through the situation I did again … I would give no attention to what my father or mother were saying about my vocation … it turned out for me that my mother’s insistence on being against it was one of the reasons why I left the convent … and although I went on to marry and have a good life with a husband and a child … I still feel pain about leaving the convent for the reasons I did.

The decision to enter a convent must be your decision and should not have anything to do with the way your parents, friends or other relatives feel about it. However, I do believe a good period of discernment is important … also you must discern which convent would be best for you … convents allow girls to spend weekends there … you would go through the vocation director to facilitate that happening … it would give you a better feel for their way of life. Personally I had joined a teaching order, and in looking back, I do believe I would have been much better off to have joined a contemplative order … there is a huge difference in a vocation to these different orders … discernment is very important.

God Bless you in your choices, and you will be in my prayers.

P.S. I think your dream meant that you need to pray to Our Lady for discernment for your vocation.

I now just noticed how old this post is … so I guess my comments were not needed … but I will leave them here in case someone else should need to read this thread.