Five Signs Religious Life Might Be For You

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http://youtu.be/U-FBEO0Os9o

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5 signs religious life might be right for you

By Sister Colleen Therese Smith, A.S.C.J.  

 

 

Not long ago a young woman posed this question to me: “Does God send signs?” She had been praying to God for a very specific sign that would alleviate any doubt in her mind once and for all that God indeed was calling her to consecrated religious life. Don’t we all long for that kind of clarity?

But can you really expect that God will reveal God’s will for you by sending you tangible signs? Whether or not that may be, often young men and women are hoping that God will show them an obvious sign that will confirm where God is leading them. The simple truth is that you cannot really calculate the exact “sign” God should send nor expect God to answer “on cue.”

Nonetheless our faith assures us that God is always communicating God’s will to us. God’s message is consistent, sure, and irrefutable. The Letter to the Ephesians summarizes God’s intentions for us: “God has given us the wisdom to understand fully the mystery, the plan to be decreed in Christ in the fullness of time: to bring all things into one in him, in the heavens and on the earth” (1:9-10).

That’s the plan! And every “sign” that comes from God simply reminds us that ultimately our vocation will be a means to a lasting union with God. So that we are not alone on this journey, Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us on the way. In fact the Holy Spirit teaches us how to read the “signs” that point us in the right direction. Here are five of the “signposts” I have noticed on the discernment journey.

 

For five signs - more...

http://www.vocationnetwork.org/articles/show/359

 

 

[Spem in alium]

This is great. Thanks for sharing :)

[TheresaThoma]

Love this article and love this Sister! She is definitely very wise and has helped me personally in my discernment!

[John Ryan]

The problem I have with these five signs is that they are hopelessly vague and presume an antagonism to the idea of marriage. God's holy peace is not antithetical to Holy Matrimony. The video implicitly assumes that God cannot be found through marital love. I firmly believe you can find God in the eyes of a lover, not just in the liturgical space of a Church or a Convent. 

Edited October 22, 2013 by John Ryan

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The problem I have with these five signs is that they are hopelessly vague and presume an antagonism to the idea of marriage. God's holy peace is not antithetical to Holy Matrimony. The video implicitly assumes that God cannot be found through marital love. I firmly believe you can find God in the eyes of a lover, not just in the liturgical space of a Church or a Convent. 

 

 

Actually, these five signs might apply to almost any decision one makes. If there is peace, deepest desire, impossible becomes possible, others can see it and the joy - well, pretty good indicators that one is on the right track in any situation, religious life, marriage, career change, etc.

 

Sure, they're vague, but unless God manifests as a burning bush or appears as the Archangel Gabriel, it's not always easy to see the signs. At the end of the article,  she calls a rainbow a sign. In fact, she sums up the whole thing pretty neatly...

 

“Does God really send signs?” I nearly laughed aloud as I beheld a rainbow stretched across the clouds. “Just as in the days of Noah,” I pondered, “God continues to send us signs.” I now realize that all of God’s signs continue to point to the same reality: “I am with you! I will never leave you!”

God is constantly communicating God’s will to us every day of our lives: “to bring all things into one in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10). You can be sure that God’s plan is unfolding as you experience an unshakeable peace; you discover and trust your deepest desires; the impossible suddenly becomes possible; others affirm God’s grace in you; and finally an unmistakable joy gives that telltale sign: God is with you.
 

[Gabriela]

Yup, these signs were oft-mentioned by my research participants. They're the common link in a lot of vocations—the happy ones. ;-)

[John Ryan]

Sure, they're vague, but unless God manifests as a burning bush or appears as the Archangel Gabriel, it's not always easy to see the signs. At the end of the article,  she calls a rainbow a sign. In fact, she sums up the whole thing pretty neatly...

 

I guess what I am saying is that if you are torn between a religio-celibate life and religio-marital life, these signs will not exactly dispel the fog. 

[AccountDeleted]

I guess what I am saying is that if you are torn between a religio-celibate life and religio-marital life, these signs will not exactly dispel the fog. 

 

 

Probably not, but if you're waiting for some kind of non-vague 'sign' from God as to what to do, you will probably be waiting a long time. She is just trying to give some guidelines that might help along the way.

 

There's a lot more to discernment, but it doesn't hurt to use some indicators along the way and these aren't bad.

[TheresaThoma]

I think the confusing comes in here. Most people think of a sign as a one time specific event. I think what she is trying to show though is that signs from God are more subtle and long term,