This is what it was like for me. It might be different for you, but I thought you might like to hear something specific. Some of the questions are likely to come up in any initial meeting, no matter in what direction the conversation goes.
When I first met with my diocesan vocations director I recall that the meeting went a little like this:
He made me a cup of tea (I live in England, so not to do so would be scandalous!).
He asked how long I had had a sense of vocation. This part of the conversation naturally led to the history of my relationship with God and the Church, and we discussed adolescence and all that. This was the bulk of our conversation since we talked about being called, my conversion etc.
He asked whether I had considered a particular order. Since I am considering the Carmelites, we then discussed different callings for women religious, such as apostolic and cloistered sisters and nuns.
He asked who I had told. Had I talked to my parish priest? What about my parents? At that time, I hadn’t discussed it with them, so we talked about their possible reaction.
He asked about my prayer life. Do I have a regular pattern of prayer? How often do I attend Mass?
He asked about relationships - what are my friendships like, had I had relationships with the opposite sex? Since I have been single all my life apart from a brief teenage relationship, we didn’t dwell on this much, though I imagine that his question might have led to questions about marriage, celibacy.
He asked about my mental health history. Had I ever suffered from depression? Bear in mind that this will not preclude you from a vocation per se.
He asked if I had any debts. I think that it might be a part of Canon Law that a religious may not have any debts, but I’m not sure on this point.
He asked if I had any alternative plans or a second choice if the religious vocation didn’t work out.
We talked about arranging for me to have a spiritual director, and we left it at “I’ll call you”. He got in touch again about 3 weeks later to arrange a visit to a Carmelite convent.
You might like to give some thought to how you would answer these questions, but remember that whatever he asks you is to help you out, to get to know you and to understand better, rather than to catch you out!
All the best for your meeting and for these first steps you are taking!
