Lady Cygnus:
There are actually a whole lot of threads on vocations and discernment. Lately we’ve had two, which you’ve probably looked into
Help for discerning:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=97084
And an good article on it:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=97907
Books that have been suggested to me so far:
The Liturgy of the Hours (Morning and Evening at least)
Introduction to the Devout Life - St Francis De Sales (it is about living a devout life no matter what your vocation).
True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin - St Louis Marie de Montfort (not so much about vocations as about a devotion to our Lady, but it’s a good read).
I would recommend both those threads, however watch out for the OP in the first one; he’s a bit of an egoist.
Seriously though, I would highly recommend you pick up on the Liturgy of the Hours. I picked it up just this past December and am loving it. The prayers throughout the day do so many things: sanctify your day, keep your mind on God, provide excellent readings from the Scriptures, many wonderful prayers to accompany the psalms, provide you with a structured prayer life (One of my problems is “falling asleep” with my prayers; not to say I actually fall asleep, though that does happen, but my prayer life does begin to lack after so long a period even though and, just like the Apostles, I manage to get a rude awakening from the Lord and I still manage to fall asleep again.), and the Divine Office provides you an insight, though only slightly, into the religious life (Seeing as most religious orders require the use of the Divine Office). But the most beneficial thing about the Liturgy of the Hours is the Office of Readings. It’s everything from Scripture to Church documents to lives of the saints. It’s really incredible how much you can learn. I use the four volume set and would recommend it over the single volume, simply because the four volume has a larger selection for the Office of Readings.
That all being said, the Divine Office is something difficult to learn since it is so structured. You can ask your priest about it, or whatever religious order you’re thinking about (You may also want to ask the order if they have their own, unique Breviary as well.) Just don’t give up on it. Once you get through a few weeks you should be fine, then you’ll be wondering why you didn’t start earlier.
I would also recommend True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin by St. Louis Marie de Montfort. You can view it online
here or check out the book
here. It will provide you with very blessed and helpful thoughts on Mary. It would also help your vocation greatly, especially if you’re looking into a religious order with a devotion to her.
And, finally, you can get some prayer requests for help in your discernment from
Shoshana and
this thread.
God bless you in your discernment journey!
