Peace

[Lizzy17]

Hello,

If someone is currently in courtship with a woman - but they’re also discerning the priesthood - are they ever going to be more at peace with one vocation over the other? (Not myself) This man seems to be more at peace than 6 months ago, but there is still every now and again times when he feels like God might want him to go in the other direction. (He has said he does not want to be a priest, but knows he will be given the graces to do so if God is calling) I guess I’m just wondering if those discerning their vocations are ever 100% at peace with their decision? How can we be totally sure?

 

[skallal]

Hey Lizzy,

What a great question! And I think you’re already more than halfway to the answer… Thanks be to God that you and this man are both so open to God’s Will. All it takes to have peace of heart is to make a decision with conviction, and not just based on the various inclinations of human nature that pull us here and there like a group of crazy kids tugging on Mickey Mouse. When a person is free to discern God’s will without any outside pressure from friends, family, or significant others as well as being free from the inside pressure of disordered passions, then **those decisions **that flow from our love for God and our self-knowledge (aka “humility”) bring us incredible peace. I myself have made such a decision, and I know many others who are happily married after discerning. To be totally sure we need to have interior conviction. And that conviction comes when we make our decisions in what Ignatius of Loyola calls a “spirit of indifference”, when we get to the point where we tell God, **“You want me to get married, ok. You want me to be a priest, ok.” **instead of where most of us find ourselves shortly after puberty: “You want me to get married, ok. You want me to be a priest, NO WAY!” When we can be like a perfectly balanced scale for the love of God, then God is free to tip the scale of our desires where he wants. This is the secret to finding peace in the choice of our vocation. May God bless you both!