Other Young Ladies Discerning?

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LiveforChrist

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Hey Everyone!

I’m a young Catholic girl currently trying to discern what God wants me to do with my life. So I am curious, is there any other young ladies on here that are discerning a vocation to the religious life? I think it would be cool to talk with each other. 🙂

God Bless,
LiveForChrist
 
👋

I’m Emily, I’m 20 and a wannabe nun. Nice to meet you. 🙂
 
Hey! I’ve been struggling with my discernment now for 2-3 years. I’m 21 now, and I believe there would be no greater happiness for me wherever I ended up so long as I was following God. So I am waiting for him to tell me where to go. I find every few months, I am drawn to religious life, then, I go to church and there are babies and pregnant women all over the place, and then I long for marriage and motherhood. So, mostly, I’m taking it slow.
 
Nice to meet both of you! A little more about myself: I’m Catherine, I’m 17 and I’ve been in discernment now on and off for almost four years now. I’m pretty sure God is calling me, but not just yet. :o
 
What orders are you both interested in?

Personally, I’m considering both Carmelite and Benedictine. Leaning more towards Benedictine but I’ve got a visit to Carmel and a retreat with some Benedictines soon so hopefully those will help me figure it out.
 
Dominican all the way. 😃 I love the Chrism of teaching, among other things, and they wear Habits, which is very important to me. If I’m gonna be a sister, I’m gonna let the world know it through the way I dress. 🙂
 
I am really interesting in the Poor Clares. In fact, my discernment started around the same time as my devotion to St. Clare, so that plays a huge roll. Also, I am interested in a teaching order, since I definitely feel called to teach.
 
There are so many orders to choose from sometimes I wonder how we do it! But I guess it’s just a feeling you get and you know that’s the one for you. 😃 Have you found specific communities yet or still looking?

Are either of you on Phatmass? There are lots of young women there who are discerning religious life and there are often really good resources posted there.
 
PerfectTiming said:
There are so many orders to choose from sometimes I wonder how we do it! But I guess it’s just a feeling you get and you know that’s the one for you. 😃 Have you found specific communities yet or still looking?

Are either of you on Phatmass? There are lots of young women there who are discerning religious life and there are often really good resources posted there.
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No, I haven’t found a specific community yet, I’m going to go visit some Dominican convents hopefully this spring though. (One in Nashville, the other in Michigan.) So we’ll see… 😃

And no, I actually have never heard of Phatmass before… I’ll have to check it out. 🙂
 
kiqueen said:
Hey! I’ve been struggling with my discernment now for 2-3 years. I’m 21 now, and I believe there would be no greater happiness for me wherever I ended up so long as I was following God. So I am waiting for him to tell me where to go. I find every few months, I am drawn to religious life, then, I go to church and there are babies and pregnant women all over the place, and then I long for marriage and motherhood. So, mostly, I’m taking it slow.
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I’m sorry, but I think you’re doing this the wrong way. Father David Mary of the Franciscan Brothers Minor says not to wait. That if you have a prompting to Religious life, enter a Community immediately while the iron is still hot, lest it cool down! Only when you live the life can you truly discern it. In fact, doing this will make your discernment go way faster.

Also, wanting to be a mother does not mean you are not called. Most Nuns and Sisters want to be mothers. And so they become spiritual mothers. I would recommend finding a good Community you like and contacting them. When Jesus called the Apostles to become fishers of men, did they stay in the boat and wait silently in discernment? No. Rather, they got out of their boats and followed him immediately.
 
I’m not a woman, but I highly recommend the Franciscan Sisters Minor, and the Poor Clare Nuns. The former are an active Community, as far as I know. I assume they do the same work the Friars do, which ranges from youth activities, door-to-door evangelization (Which sounds quite exciting), praying in front of abortion “clinics”, and catechism classes, combined with CCD. These are just a few things they do. I can’t list it all. They rely heavily on praying, praying all seven hours of the Liturgy everyday. Age requirements are no problem, since they have none. You can be ninety and still join. Also, they have no academic requirements.

I didn’t mean to hijack the thread. This is simply an amazing Community and deserves more recognition.
 
Hello! I am 17 years old and i am discerning to be a carmelite nun. i am currently in contact with the carmelites in Santa Fe, New Mexico and i am waiting for this spring when i will be going on a retreat there for about two months! I cannot wait!!! Nice to meet you 🙂 And congrats on your truly amazing vocation!

God Bless!
 
piparadiso said:
Hello! I am 17 years old and i am discerning to be a carmelite nun. i am currently in contact with the carmelites in Santa Fe, New Mexico and i am waiting for this spring when i will be going on a retreat there for about two months! I cannot wait!!! Nice to meet you 🙂 And congrats on your truly amazing vocation!

God Bless!
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That is so amazing!! Nice to meet you too. I’ll keep you in my prayers. 😃
 
LiveforChrist said:
No, I haven’t found a specific community yet, I’m going to go visit some Dominican convents hopefully this spring though. (One in Nashville, the other in Michigan.) So we’ll see… 😃

And no, I actually have never heard of Phatmass before… I’ll have to check it out. 🙂
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There’s an awesome community at Phatmass, you should definitely check it out. I’ve heard about the Nashville Dominicans, everyone says they’re an awesome community. I am told they are very blessed when it comes to vocations there.
ATeutonicKnight said:
I’m sorry, but I think you’re doing this the wrong way. Father David Mary of the Franciscan Brothers Minor says not to wait. That if you have a prompting to Religious life, enter a Community immediately while the iron is still hot, lest it cool down! Only when you live the life can you truly discern it. In fact, doing this will make your discernment go way faster.
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There is no right or wrong way to go about discernment. While I am sure the Franciscan you spoke to has only the best of intentions and for you that may be the right way to go, it is not so for everyone. A true vocation will not go away or ‘cool down’.
 
kiqueen said:
Hey! I’ve been struggling with my discernment now for 2-3 years. I’m 21 now, and I believe there would be no greater happiness for me wherever I ended up so long as I was following God. So I am waiting for him to tell me where to go. I find every few months, I am drawn to religious life, then, I go to church and there are babies and pregnant women all over the place, and then I long for marriage and motherhood. So, mostly, I’m taking it slow.
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I haven’t met a discerner who doesn’t desire motherhood! For women it is a very natural impulse, we are geared by design towards motherhood and I think it is something all women discerning religious life do have to reconcile. One of the things that really helped me understand motherhood and religious life was this video. It’s a very short video but at one point Sr Allison speaks very beautifully on her desire to be a mother and how she reconciled that with her vocation. It was something that really spoke to me and I hope it will speak to you as well.
 
I am, I am!! I’m starting the application process with these Sisters: torsisters.org/

I’m 21 years old and I’ve been on this roller coaster called discernment for about 4 years. I’m going to have to agree with whoever said to just jump in. If you feel any call to religious life, it’s important to explore that - talk to Sisters, visit some orders. You won’t know until you start visiting some convents. Of course you do have to balance this with prayerful patience.

As far as being drawn to married life - one of my friends once told me not to get distracted by its shininess. Marriage is a beautiful vocation and as women we are all called to motherhood (all to spiritual, some to biological) but try to discern whether you are really being called to marriage, or are just experiencing the natural longing for it.
 
PerfectTiming said:
There is no right or wrong way to go about discernment. While I am sure the Franciscan you spoke to has only the best of intentions and for you that may be the right way to go, it is not so for everyone. A true vocation will not go away or ‘cool down’.
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I’m sorry, but did you just say there is no wrong way to go about a Vocation? So, with that, I should assume there’s no wrong way to go about getting a spouse? That, by instead of going to Catholic youth groups and colleges, and finding a good, dependable, spiritual Catholic woman, I can instead go to bars and have premarital relations with strange women until I find one I like? Your philosophy is against Church teaching. Of course there’s a wrong way to go about discerning a Vocation. Here is why I disagree with those that say to go to college, date, get a job, and “live life” first:

Imagine, you’re a young man who’s just been told by his Spiritual director to go to college and date. By the time you’re out of college, you have a great girlfriend that you want to marry, and a great job opportunity: You have it all. And yet, there is some yearning to go join a Religious Order. See a problem yet? You’re going to fight this feeling with everything you’ve got. And what you’ve got is a perfect life set up for you. Many Vocations, while people still have them, are denied because of such instances.

For more information, please read these links by Father David Mary of the Franciscan Brothers Minor, a great visionary for today’s society: franciscanbrothersminor.com/FBM/Discernment_Part_X_-_Age_Discrimination.html franciscanbrothersminor.com/FBM/Discernment_Part_VIII.html franciscanbrothersminor.com/FBM/Discernment_Part_II.html
 
ATeutonicKnight said:
I’m sorry, but did you just say there is no wrong way to go about a Vocation? So, with that, I should assume there’s no wrong way to go about getting a spouse? That, by instead of going to Catholic youth groups and colleges, and finding a good, dependable, spiritual Catholic woman, I can instead go to bars and have premarital relations with strange women until I find one I like? Your philosophy is against Church teaching. Of course there’s a wrong way to go about discerning a Vocation. Here is why I disagree with those that say to go to college, date, get a job, and “live life” first:

Imagine, you’re a young man who’s just been told by his Spiritual director to go to college and date. By the time you’re out of college, you have a great girlfriend that you want to marry, and a great job opportunity: You have it all. And yet, there is some yearning to go join a Religious Order. See a problem yet? You’re going to fight this feeling with everything you’ve got. And what you’ve got is a perfect life set up for you. Many Vocations, while people still have them, are denied because of such instances.

For more information, please read these links by Father David Mary of the Franciscan Brothers Minor, a great visionary for today’s society: franciscanbrothersminor.com/FBM/Discernment_Part_X_-_Age_Discrimination.html franciscanbrothersminor.com/FBM/Discernment_Part_VIII.html franciscanbrothersminor.com/FBM/Discernment_Part_II.html
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I think you’ve misunderstood what I meant. What I meant is that there’s no one path to discernment. You said that someone else’s path was wrong and I was making the point that you cannot make that judgement. For some people, going to college or working is a necessary part of discernment. Do not presume that you have all the answers.

I also resent you accusing me of going against Catholic teaching. That is unfair and completely untrue.
 
This is a thread for young woman who are discerning. Not a thread to bash each other about what the ‘right’ way to discern is. I’d thank you to leave that discussion for another time and place.
 
LiveforChrist said:
This is a thread for young woman who are discerning. Not a thread to bash each other about what the ‘right’ way to discern is. I’d thank you to leave that discussion for another time and place.
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Yes, I apologise.
 
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