Nineteen is not too young to be thinking about the religious vocation. It’s a good age to be thinking about vocation. St. Therese of Lisieux became a nun at the age of 15 and felt her call to the religious life many years before. I think she felt her call to the religious vocation at the age of 9, something like that. My grandparents got married in their late teens and lived a happy marriage all the way to today. The religious vocation is as serious as marriage. Successful religious discernment can happen that young, though obviously Jet100 isn’t even going to be allowed to join an order for three years after her Confirmation, so she’ll have plenty more time to think about it.
According to the
Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, 2% of all consecrated men and women religious are under the age of 20. And that’s people who are already religious who are that young. Pastors often encourage teenagers to think about the possibility of a religious vocation, and every religious order I’ve looked at in my own personal vocation search has said that 24 or 25 is a wonderful age to join an order. Seeing as Jet100 is almost 20 now and one has to wait for 3 years after Confirmation before the Church allows a person to join an order, she’s doing fine.
Pope Benedict XVI
said to the youth at Malta, “In this Year for Priests, I ask you to be open to the possibility that the Lord may be calling some of you to give yourselves totally to the service of his people in the priesthood or the consecrated life. Your country has given many fine priests and religious to the Church. Be inspired by their example, and recognize the profound joy that comes from dedicating one’s life to spreading the message of God’s love for all people, without exception.” He encouraged them to be open to the religious life. He didn’t think they were too young to be thinking about such things.
Thinking and planning for what one is going to do with one’s life is completely fine at any age. I agree that teenage years are young to be deciding such things, in general, but that doesn’t mean one shouldn’t be thinking about them and discerning
. And Jet100 is a young adult, not a young teen like Therese of Lisieux was (though Therese followed Christ’s will truly in her vocation search).
There’s a lot of variety amongst the different religious orders. Some are doing better than others.
I don’t see the relevance of that. Why should their enmity to Catholicism have a bearing on her vocation?
I don’t know anything about this. But if she has feelings like that, they are something for her and her priest to deal with, and she has years ahead of her to do so before she’d be accepted into a formation program. I’m not in a position to make any judgment on her mindset based on this.
It’s fine for people of any age to be thinking about what they want to do with their life. Thinking about it and making final decisions are two different things.
So do many people on their way into conversion. I fully agree with you about the importance of faith formation and becoming better informed at this stage, as I said in my last post. This is very important.
Anyway, these are just my thoughts on the matter, and they are what I believe, though I know I might be wrong.
We just have to be patient and open to God’s will and remember it is ultimately in His hands.
