What can I do?

[AllyC1991]

Yesterday when I was coming back to school, I finally told my mom that I still have this strong desire for Religious Life. She says she supports me, but ultimately she wants me to finish my degree first. She said once I graduate, I will be free to do whatever I want. I want to go into the convent now. We had this big argument over it. I don’t want this to ruin my relationship with my mom but I’m worried if I wait that long, I’ll lose my Vocation. I feel like that’s what she’s hoping will happen. It already happened once and I’m determined to not let it happen again. And the really big thing is, I have absolutely no idea when I’m graduating. I’m so desperate to finish that I am contemplating going to school all year long, I already registered for an online summer class. I want to get out of here as fast as possible. What can I possibly do to ensure that my Vocation will not be lost?

 

[aidanbradypop]

Peace be with you!

If God is calling you to the Religious Life, that vocation or calling does not “go away.” Sometimes life gets in the way, but it does not vanish. His calling is eternal! Do you have a Spiritual Director helping you out? Your mother is simply being a mother here .

So loves and only wants the best for you! Simply show her the respect she deserves and gain a SD if you do not already have one. Take some time to descern this calling and stay in constant prayer! Good luck and blessing be with you!

 

[105lynne]

Peace be with you!

If God is calling you to the Religious Life, that vocation or calling does not “go away.” Sometimes life gets in the way, but it does not vanish. His calling is eternal! Do you have a Spiritual Director helping you out? Your mother is simply being a mother here .

So loves and only wants the best for you! Simply show her the respect she deserves and gain a SD if you do not already have one. Take some time to descern this calling and stay in constant prayer! Good luck and blessing be with you!

This!

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

There are things you can do now to enhance your spiritual life. Attend daily Mass, develop your prayer life, take part in church activities, see your spiritual director. And finish your schooling!

 

[hannajomar]

In addition to the good advice so far, I just want to add another consideration. Will you have student loans to repay? My understanding is that many religious orders do not allow entrance if you have loans to repay.

Best wishes for your discernment!

 

[AllyC1991]

Thanks for your helpful responses everyone! As of right now, I am officially registered for two online summer classes. Both of them are required for me to graduate. I’m intending to do everything I can to help me graduate faster. The only good thing about this whole situation is that I don’t know for sure yet which community I want to enter. So I do need a little more time to figure that out. But I just want to get school done.

 

[Christy_Beth]

Don’t push yourself so hard that you won’t get good grades. Know your limits. And start checking into different communities. What kind of community would you want to enter? One that’s completely cloistered? Or one that’s more active? If an active one, what kind of activity? Would you want to go into teaching? These are the things to start asking yourself. While trying to finish school, get your head together enough to lay out the ground work of where you will be going. Oh, and some orders have a “come and see” time.

 

[cessnawag]

I don’t understand how you “lose your vocation”. Does a calling from god have a deadline?

 

[Christy_Beth]

Well, many orders have age limits. Also, I suppose it’s easy enough to ignore a true vocation and get caught up in other things.

 

[thunderboom]

Yesterday when I was coming back to school, I finally told my mom that I still have this strong desire for Religious Life. She says she supports me, but ultimately she wants me to finish my degree first. She said once I graduate, I will be free to do whatever I want. I want to go into the convent now. We had this big argument over it. I don’t want this to ruin my relationship with my mom but I’m worried if I wait that long, I’ll lose my Vocation. I feel like that’s what she’s hoping will happen. It already happened once and I’m determined to not let it happen again. And the really big thing is, I have absolutely no idea when I’m graduating. I’m so desperate to finish that I am contemplating going to school all year long, I already registered for an online summer class. I want to get out of here as fast as possible. What can I possibly do to ensure that my Vocation will not be lost?

If I’m not mistaken, a lot of communities these days require a bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience: i.e., they want proof of maturity. Either way, you’ll have to wait a while. So the best thing you can do is to work on getting closer to God. Get a spiritual director. Visit communities. And stay close to your mother! She loves you more than you can know.

You won’t lose your vocation. God is going to keep calling, no matter what; and you’ll still always hear His voice if you try to stay close to Him. Remember: even if you dropped out of school, you’d still have to go through the same process of searching for the perfect community. For many, that can take months and years; you may as well stay in the comfortable environment of a student for the duration of such a process. If you swing it right, like I somehow managed, you’ll be able to enter your community right after you finish your degree. It works out well like that, I think!

 

[AllyC1991]

If I’m not mistaken, a lot of communities these days require a bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience: i.e., they want proof of maturity. Either way, you’ll have to wait a while. So the best thing you can do is to work on getting closer to God. Get a spiritual director. Visit communities. And stay close to your mother! She loves you more than you can know.

You won’t lose your vocation. God is going to keep calling, no matter what; and you’ll still always hear His voice if you try to stay close to Him. Remember: even if you dropped out of school, you’d still have to go through the same process of searching for the perfect community. For many, that can take months and years; you may as well stay in the comfortable environment of a student for the duration of such a process. If you swing it right, like I somehow managed, you’ll be able to enter your community right after you finish your degree. It works out well like that, I think!

I have read that they want proof of maturity but I’ve also heard of many communities saying they want you to be a high school graduate. So thats confusing. I am hoping I’ll be able to go in as soon as I get done.