We live in Montana, a very large, sparsely populated state. We have a need for more vocations to religious life.
It is difficult for a young (or not so young) person to come in contact with others that might be discerning whether they have a vocation to religious life. This blog is meant to bring them together to discuss their feelings and desires and to ask questions of one another.
A vocation is a call from God to do something specifically for God and his kingdom. The primary vocation of every person is to serve God, to obey his commandments, and to cooperate with Christ in the work of redemption by loving and serving others. Everyone is called to live the vocation of holiness, but everyone lives it in a unique way according to the plan of God. God calls some to the vocation of marriage, some to a vocation of single life, and others to the vocation of priesthood or of religious brothers or sisters.
If you feel the Holy Spirit tugging at your heart, why not join in this blog to exchange thoughts and feelings with others in similar situations. You are not alone. The important thing is to keep an open heart. "If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts."
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Eucharistic adoration is especially effective in your discernment process. The dynamic of silent adoration inevitably leads to the question of: "What do you want of me, Lord."
Those with religious vocations generally come from committed Catholic families...in which both parents are active players in the family's faith. Parents can be serious obstacles to religious vocations in today's culture. Pray tha they will accept whatever decision you might make toward life as a religious.
You might also actively interact with priests and nuns to help determine if their life's work is one that you would find attractive.
Attending World Youth Day has also proven to be at important event in the discernment process.
God has never stopped calling young people to commit their lives to Him. But many have stopped listening. When you pray, be sure to spend time just sitting and listening to the Holy Spirit speak to you.
Religious vocation opportunities for females in Montana include the Poor Clares (located in their new monastery in Great Falls), the Ursuline Sisters, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of Humility of Mary, and Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. Interested persons can google any of these orders to find more information.
Catholics must be unabashed about inviting young men and women to serve the Church. How many young men and women in your parish are caring and compassionate individuals who are good listeners, outgoing, and loving, enthusiastic Catholics? How many of these special, gifted people have ever been invited to consider becoming a priest, sister or brother? The Church needs these people.
Pope John Paul II said, "Christ, who commanded prayer for the laborers in the harvest, has also personally called those laborers. But usually he calls by means of us and our words. So do not be afraid to call. Go among your young people. Go and meet them personally and call them. The hearts of many young people, and not so young people, are ready to listen to you. Many of them are looking for something to live for; they are waiting to discover a worthwhile mission, to devote their lives to it. Christ has attuned them to his call and yours. We must call. The Lord will do the rest."
So older readers of this blog: CALL! Young readers: consider yourselves asked to think about a vocation to religious life.
The Gospel of Matthew promises that those who leave everything and follow Christ will be repaid a hundred fold and gain eternal life. Christ did not make the same promise to those who become doctors, lawyers or corporate executives. Parents, especially, should think about this as they nuture their children.
Hi fisherofmen,
I read an excellent article on vocations on the Catholic Exchange this morning.
http://www.catholicexchange.com/node/22420?page=printer_friendly
Thanks for your efforts with supporting Vocations - this is something we really need in Montana.
Blessings
Most often when a young person is hearing the call to priesthood or religious life, they want an absolutely clear sign that this is what they are supposed to do. Unfortunately, God normally does not work in such a way, hence our slogan is: "There are rarely trumpets or midnight visions." When I am working with a young man who wants this clarity, I start to ask about movements in the heart, what gives him joy and contentment, and start to use this avenue as a way of showing him that this is where God's call starts to be heard, in the ear of the heart.
I encourage you to log onto the website shown in the comment above this one. Also, there is some very important things toward the bottom of another vocation blog which you can find at: http://fatherschnippel.blogspot.com/
Most often when a young person is hearing the call to priesthood or religious life, they want an absolutely clear sign that this is what they are supposed to do. Unfortunately, God normally does not work in such a way, hence our slogan is: "There are rarely trumpets or midnight visions." When I am working with a young man who wants this clarity, I start to ask about movements in the heart, what gives him joy and contentment, and start to use this avenue as a way of showing him that this is where God's call starts to be heard, in the ear of the heart.
I encourage you to log onto the website shown in the comment above this one. Also, there is some very important things toward the bottom of another vocation blog which you can find at: http://fatherschnippel.blogspot.com/
God's call has a joyful ring!
There is an interesting blogsite on vocations that you might want to visit. It is:
http://romancatholicvocation.blogspot.com
I goofed. The website is:
http://romancatholicvocations.blogspot.com
I forgot to ad the "s" at the end of the word vocation.
God's call has a joyful ring! Could God be calling you? "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts."
Here's an interesting read for young men:
posted by Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer on his blog "Spirit and Life"
In a climate of secular hostility toward faith in general and the Catholic Church in particular, it is worth calling to mind the need we have for priests, a need that is built into the very fabric of who we are as Catholics. Holy Thursday is the day in which the Church celebrates, at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the institution of the sacred priesthood. Today we thank God for the priesthood—and for the good priests who have served us so faithfully!
The institution of the priesthood is intrinsically tied to God’s covenant of love for sinful man. This covenant was so perfectly ratified at the Last Supper and consummated by Christ’s Blood on the Cross that it is called the “new and eternal covenant” of the Eucharist which will never pass away. So great is this expression of God’s love that Padre Pio said, “It would be easier for the world to exist without the sun than without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.” Another holy priest, St. John Vianney, said that if we really knew the value of the Mass we would die!
Christ Jesus offered the new covenant on Calvary as the High Priest of our faith, but He also gave men a share in the gift of His priesthood so that the covenant sacrifice could be renewed until the end of time. It is the ministerial priesthood that allows this perfect sacrifice to penetrate the lives of God’s people even on a daily basis. When the priest holds the sacred Host high, he does so in the person of Christ (in persona Christi), not in his own person or name. The priest may be an imperfect man and a sinner, but, thankfully, it is not by his own authority that he serves people! It is Christ who offers the Sacrifice in him. It is Christ who prays for the world with him. It is Christ who ministers to others through him. The priest is spiritually Christ’s younger brother, set apart and consecrated for this indispensable work of bringing the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity to the world as no one else can. Without the priest, the Sacrifice does not reach us.
I remember well the day that my favorite priest took me aside and asked me to consider a vocation to the priesthood. It was at my eighth grade graduation, I was fourteen, I was awed beyond belief, and I don’t even remember the words he used to sow that seed within me. I only remember the effect of suddenly being brought face to face with a wonderful mystery, and from that moment on, my life has never been the same. It was as if he reached into the bonfire of his priestly heart and brought out an ember to plant in my very tiny heart, a spiritual dynamism of love that God would later consecrate for service to His people. I only pray that I will persevere in fidelity to that great gift which I am sure can literally transform the world when it is lived heroically.
The Letter to the Hebrews says of Christ, “Thou are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek,” and the Church has always applied this to all priests. The Sacrament of Holy Orders is an eternal gift which ministers the everlasting Eucharistic love of Christ to the world—and apparently even to the members of the Church Triumphant in heaven too. What a marvelous gift!
On this holy day, let us pray not only for the priests that God has given to His Church, but for a renewal of the priesthood and an abundance of good, holy priestly vocations. May many young men hear that call to serve God’s people through the Church and be willing to plunge their lives into that purifying fire that only the priest’s anointed hands can bring to the world.
thankyou for this blog, it is a blessing to have.
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