Vocation Questions

[reginascribam]

I’m a young woman who has recently been courted by a Traditional Catholic man. We are looking at getting engaged shortly. However, lately, I have been persecuted with doubts as to whether I’m doing the right thing. I have never felt called to religious life and my deepest desire is to be a wife and mother. I was reading a theology book that said God punishes those who had a vocation to religious life and married instead and cited some sources.

Since reading that, I have become extremely afraid that my accepting a proposal of marriage would result in my being damned or punished with the loss of children or even my future husband’s death. The anxiety resulting from it is causing a huge strain on my ability to even function. I still don’t feel called to religious life, I pray about it constantly and from my prayers, I have been led to believe that I am indeed supposed to marry this amazing man who is so holy and so kind to everyone around him. Could anyone here please help me with this?

 

[CilladeRoma]

You don’t feel called to religious life.
Why do you think God would punish you for following your heart?
Please discuss this with your priest .

 

[reginascribam]

I really don’t know. I want nothing more than this future ahead of me, but I am terrified that I could somehow mess it up. I will try to get in contact with a priest

 

[E11a]

I have felt something very similar to you, so I completley understand. It’s this sense of I feel like I’m called to be a christian wife and mom, but somehow I am afraid of it because even though I don’t feel the calling to become a nun I don’t know so many what ifs.

Iv’e been having a lot of anxiety and crisis because of this, but something that has really helped me is realizing that God is a loving God and if you don’t feel anything on becoming a nun and you feel like whats for you is marriage then don’t fear.

I will for sure keep you in my prayers.

 

[YourNameHere]

Pray to God and follow your heart.

 

[HeDa]

It is very common to have all those “What if…?” questions pop up in our heads before we are making a life changing decision like marriage, being received into the Catholic Church or enter into religious life.

I think the visdom of the elderly could come in handy here. Is there a granny like woman you could have a chat with? Or a priest, deacon, sister? Your own mother?

 

[Hodos]

Being a wife and mother IS a religious vocation. God himself established it.

 

[SusanneT]

I think it is quite a common and normal thing for religious girls / young women to either feel a call to a religious vocation, feel that they should or even to wish that they did. But most of us are ultimately called to marriage and motherhood.

 

[Charybdis]

If you have always felt called to be a wife and mother and have never felt a religious call, then you should not worry or have anxiety about it. You are probably being called to that state, a wife and mother, nothing wrong with that!

I remember when I was in college, I got to know a recently ordained priest who was not too much older than I was. He was very cool and we became friends. I could understand how a person could be called to the priesthood, but at that time, I also felt very strongly that I was not called to the priesthood. I, too, felt that I would marry and have children which I did in the end.

To make a long story short, eventually, after 5 children and still going strong in my marriage, I was ordained three years ago to the diaconate!

So, even though you might marry and have a family, you can also live out a live of faith very deeply perhaps even as a Third Order of a particular order…there are many ways to serve our Lord!

God Bless!