What should you do if you think God has spoken to you directly?

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evelynicholson

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What would you do if you think God spoke to you directly. He dragged me out of a Protestant family, upsetting everyone.Then after I was accepted I got drawn in more and more .I studiesd all the way through my career and always remained loyal. No just as I was on an even keel, God drew me to a Catechists course, study theology and Latin. I am only an ordinary person but now |God is calling me to do evangelising and I am terrified and I have started to plan podcasts and contribute everywhere. I sometimes wonder if I am mad because I have been drawn from such a different upbringing and wondered if I was becoming a religious maniac-after all I am only a woman and have a family perhaps I am obsessed. I am certainly tired. Where’s it all coming from?I am very happy otherwise, but keep getting drawn out of a comfort zone, but somehow am not allowed to.Does anyone have experience of this?
 
Don’t worry about being an “ordinary person”. God calls all kinds of people. The prophet Amos was just a shepherd, but God called him to be a prophet to Israel. Just follow where the Lord is calling you and pray to Him for wisdom and discernment. 🙂
 
Does anyone have experience of this?
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Well, yes, I can name two.
  1. Moses
  2. Joseph (the one thrown in the well and sold into slavery)
There are many more, but these two come to mind. At any given point in their lives, they probably couldn’t figure out why everything was going so wrong. Little did they know that God was preparing them for great things!

Oh, and don’t forget…
Moses didn’t believe he was good enough to lead the Israelites.
 
discern with the help of a good spiritual director, especially if it means a radical life-change (career, relationship, location etc.)
 
King David was a teenage shepherd boy 🙂 Samuel was only a child when he was first called by God to be a prophet!
 
Yes, but I am only a woman and the people with the power the priests and bishops are all men.The Priests and Bishops are often not receptive. I don’t want to be a priest, so I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t want to be a religious busybody.I have no status, so why should anyone listen to me?
 
The Church wants participation of the laity – women included. There are different roles, of course. I cannot be a priest, for example, because I’m married.

As another poster suggested above, find a good spiritual director – one who is in full communion with the Church – to help you discern where the Lord is leading you.

Who knows? You may be the next Mother Ang
 
AARGH!!! Darn this computer!!! I think the mouse pad is too sensitive or something, because it jumped to “Submit Reply” before I was finished.

Anyway, as I was trying to say…
Who knows? You might be the next Mother Angelica!

Good luck!
 
I agree with puzzleannie that talking to a priest or another spiritual advisor might be a good idea for you. In fact, I’ve heard that if someone really has a true mystical experience where they feel God has spoken to them, aside from occasional inspirations which are a true gift, too, I think that person is strongly advised or required to talk to a spiritual advisor to help them discern the experiences.

I noticed you said you have a family. If you have kids, one thing to consider is that God rarely calls someone to service that is in contrast to their vocation, especially when it could affect children. It’s possible, but pretty unusual. Sometimes people can feel an initial revulsion or fear at what God is calling them to, but you mentioned being really stressed & terrified. If you continue feeling so stressed after time in quiet prayer, & feel like you are not able to serve your primary vocation of caring for your family, these are things to discuss with a spiritual advisor. Good luck, I’ll say a prayer for you!
 
evelynicholson said:
Yes, but I am only a woman and the people with the power the priests and bishops are all men.The Priests and Bishops are often not receptive. I don’t want to be a priest, so I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t want to be a religious busybody.I have no status, so why should anyone listen to me?
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no one, man or woman, may do evangelization and catechesis, claiming to speak for the Church, without the permission of their bishop. I don’t mean the day to day witnessing to those around you, I mean setting up shop as an evangelist who claims to speak with authority, to interpret scripture and to explain Catholic doctrine.

If you truly feel a call to evangelize contact your parish first, find out what is going on, then your diocese, where there is usually an office of catechesis and evangelization. For instance our diocese has just begun a diocesan wide evangelization program beginning in lent, which will be a 3 year program in the parishes, leading to door-to-door contacts and other planned outreaches. For right now, you can do immense good by offering to teach RE, bible studies, adult ed, sacramental prep, outreach to lapsed Catholics etc., especially to groups that currently have a dearth of volunteers willing to work with them.

If you begin with an attitude of butting heads with the hierarchy you are doomed before you begin, because it is not possible for you to be speaking authentically unless you are working ecclesially, that is, within the authority of the teaching office of the Church, and that belongs to the bishop and those whom he commissions. All the saints who evangelized, who founded religious orders for this purpose, did so in humility, obedience and submission to the bishops and the pope.

on the topic of private revelation, hearing God, hearing the saints etc., we are obliged to submit such experiences to the judgement of our confessor or spiritual director. There are well established time-tested spiritual tests of such experiences. One very firm one is if the experience or message leaves a feeling of terror, unease, even physical illness, it is very likely NOT of divine origin. Please let a spiritual director guide you through this. This is not a DIY project. The best beginners guide is A Still Small Voice by Fr. Groeschel.
 
evelynicholson said:
Yes, but I am only a woman and the people with the power the priests and bishops are all men.The Priests and Bishops are often not receptive. I don’t want to be a priest, so I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t want to be a religious busybody.I have no status, so why should anyone listen to me?
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And how much status exactly do you think St Bernadette of the Lourdes apparitions had? Or Blessed Lucia and Jacinta in Fatima? They were poor young girls. These things, especially if they’re genuine, have a way of making people believe in them!
 
I have not butted heads with anybody as I am too respectful and easy to put off, as I am not aggressive as you can see. Also the my own parish priest is quite a laid back liberal who has taken up some of my ideas. I think what is hard for them is that they are stuck in the 60s and 70s as regards evangelisation. I qualify as a Catechist in the summer. I already have Latin and I have followed a very full course of teaching so I am no someone going out on a limb. I am very interested in new media for example and feel this could really be another arm of the church. I have not had an apparition of God or Our Lord or even the Virgin. I am not terrified, but in a way daunted by being drawn or pushed into this and am simply worried about being any good at it.I have seen the people of God walking around thoughtlessly and aimlessly and one thought keeps coming into my head ‘Feed my sheep’ Feed my sheep, but how?What can I do? I am no good at baking but I do have a Masters Degree in Philosophy.My family are fine and I am quite normal and we fit in well with the parish. I guess I simply don’t want to stand up in front of people and talk about Christ, but feel so helpless at the misery in the world, office bullying, people estranged from Gods love, stress and cruelty in the west and the Churches feel overly involved with third world countries which is proper, but the church has no grounding for a catechetical revolution in the Western churches. Our Pastor is very caring but he is terified of controversy. Vatican II has called us to participate, but leaves the decisions with the clergy amongst whom there seems to be no burning desire to grab people’s imaginations. and help westerners who are upset and depressed by what life doles out to them! Hey perhaps I am answering my own questions!! Thank you all of you…
 
God does not call the qualified, he qualifies those whom he calls. If you have your pastor’s blessing to join what is already going on or to start something new, go for it. “I’m afraid to stand up and talk in front of people” is not an excuse he accepts very readily, he didn’t accept it from Moses, he didn’t accept it from Jeremiah, and he won’t accept it from you if he really has given you a heart for catechetics and evangelization. In fact, with the gifts you have been given, if you don’t use them that is a very serious matter.
 
Thank you Annie. That’s a very good clear line of thinking.!
Thanks. Ev
 
might i suggest going on a retreat to “recharge” and realign?
God Bless you in your efforts.
 
All I can say is “Welcome to the Club!” I don’t think you need to have too much anxiety over your call. You do have an obligation to prepare yourself before you take on the job.

Knowledge of the scriptures is one thing but you need to have a heart for people. If you say you have a wonderful family then there are young girls & women who would love to have someone to talk to. One to one evangelization is crucial to the growth of faith in our communities.

You should however be under a Spiritual Director. A SD is not an instructor but rather a person who serves as a compass. Their role is to guide you on your journey. Choose someone who is available and has a love for God.

Good Luck! 👍 👍 👍
 
evelynicholson, I can identify with you. I am the mom of three teenagers, married 21 years. Before I got married, I tried out a religious order that said its charism was evangelization, but all the nuns did at night was watch TV, so I left.
My call to serve God has grown over the years to the point now that I ACHE to serve Jesus full time, not just play a bit part in RCIA or door-to-door evangelization as I do now. What stops me is figuring out how to get started and the big tuition bills for Catholic high school and college tuition for our kids. My hubby does not make enough to pay those bills, so I’ll have to continue working till my 15 year old is out of school. After 26 years in my profession, there is no challege left, so i am restless to do what my heart longs to do.

I have been taking catechism classes, etc to earn a certificate in lay ministry my diocese offers, but I can’t complete because there aren’t enough people to merit forming a formation class for the practicum. I spend a lot of time daydreaming about who I should talk to, what I should do to prepare in the meantime, what ministry I am being called to, etc.

Anyway, I want you to know you are not alone. It is a comfort to me that I am not alone either. I will follow the advice in this thread soon.
 
evelynicholson said:
Yes, but I am only a woman and the people with the power the priests and bishops are all men.The Priests and Bishops are often not receptive. I don’t want to be a priest, so I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t want to be a religious busybody.I have no status, so why should anyone listen to me?
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Follow the call as closely as you can. If you are pure in heart, then those that need to see and affirm your call will do so. Many of the saints were not received well by the clergy. Your status is given to you by God. However, one does not need “status” in this world to fulfull a ministry.
 
evelynicholson said:
Yes, but I am only a woman and the people with the power the priests and bishops are all men.The Priests and Bishops are often not receptive. I
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if you are speaking of Catholic schools and religious education, by an overwhelming majority those in diocesan positions as directors of these endeavors are women, either religious or lay women. So are other administrative positions in most American dioceses becoming the domain of women as there are fewer priests to take on these responsibilities.
 
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