Crusader_4 Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 My family would hate the idea (slowly working on it as it may be my calling still discerning it). Ask for the intercession of St. Thomas of Aquinas. I always look to his story for hope in this regard. I think he wanted to become a dominican (could be wrong) and his mom hated the idea so he was literally locked in his castle in a room. His brothers even tried sending a hooker to remove his chastity but he held firm ground and eventually his family came around to the idea if you get a chance read the story about him somehwere...awesome story. Besides look at how important he became to the Church . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pio Nono Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 JMJ 6/15 - Eleventh Tuesday Thomas' story is really cool; his family wasn't against his vocation to the religious life as they were against his being a Dominican. They wanted him to be the Benedictine abbot of Monte Cassino; in fact, they had bartered with the monks to let him wear a Dominican habit while being a Benedictine monk! But he held ground, glory be to God, and instead of transcribing Aristotle he "baptized" Aristotle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daugher-of-Mary Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 If I recall the story correctly, St. Thomas went after the woman his brothers sent with a burning log he pulled out from the fireplace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sista2b Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 ...maybe i need to ask more intercession from St. Thomas when i talk about entering the Dominicans everyone says "but the Benedictines are so much closer" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaustinaVianney Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Sista2b~ that's funny because everyone I tell say 'at least it's not those Benedictines.' hehe My parents have yet to accept that I am even Catholic, but I have at least a year before I will be able to enter the convent, so I have a little bit of time to tell them. I haven't been supported by my parents in anything I did, so whether or not they accept my Rel Life vocation will not matter to me. The only thing I worry about is being true to God and what He calls me to do in this life. I have other Catholic friends that lift me up in prayer, so I have no worries. It would be nice to have the support of my parents, but God gave me too much strength to stand beside Him instead of my parents. Don't expect a crown of gold when God received a crown of thorns... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qfnol31 Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 Well, I was born, and have been raised Catholic since conception. Anyways, I have been discerning a Vocation to the priesthood for about 13 years now (okay, that may seem a little excessive, but it's pretty accurate. A few years ago, however, I became more active in my discernment. This actually became apparant to my parents, as I didn't really mention it to them. At first they (especially my mom) tried to convince me not to. My dad wanted me to date and everything, but I'm not really interested, plus I can't get a girlfriend if I wanted to. Anyways, come to find out, the reason my parents didn't support it at first is because they didn't understand it very well. My dad told me one night that he has never felt called to the priesthood and so he has a hard time comprehending how anyone else could be, it's just a foreign feeling for him. My point in all of this is that your parents will come around eventually (it took my dad about two years, and I definately haven't decided either way, it's all up to the Father. Just pray for them, pray for yourself, and don't pressure them at all. Lastly, remember that they don't decide your Vocation, God does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlz7486 Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 I told my dad of the possibility of me becoming a nun, and he flipped out... he told me I was "wasting my potential" - I had the mind to be a doctor and find the cure for cancer, and I'd waste it as a sister. I thought he was very wrong. But after that, he kind of left me alone about it. Just be honest with your family, there's nothing else to do. If your parents really love you, they'll support you in anything that you do. They may be shocked at first, but they'll warm up to the idea. They won't hate you forever simply because God has a different plan for your life than what they expected. Most parents tend to have these preconcieved notions and expectations of what they want their kids to be. I lot of people I know want their children to have well-paying jobs, with large families and big houses - that's their idea of success. But we all know that success and true fulfillment comes in many different forms, and if your calling is to the priesthood, then that's where you'll be the most successful with the gifts that you have. I've always wanted to be a doctor, because that's the only way I thought I could help people and heal them, but recently I've been thinking about becoming a nun and practicing a different type of help and healing - the spiritual kind. A good friend of mine, who is a priest, spent four years in college preparing to recieve his law degree, solely because his parents had this vision of him becoming a high-end successful lawyer. He loves his job now, and currently his parents are very supportive of all that he does. Pray about it and be open and honest with your parents and family. Don't give up on what you truly feel your calling is just because you're worried about the reactions that your family will have. Don't worry - whatever God's plan is for you, it will happen, regardless of what you or other people think. He is stronger than you and your family anyway. Peace to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voiciblanche Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 [quote name='dUSt' date='Jun 10 2004, 01:07 PM'] As a parent myself (and specifically, a dad), it would be a DREAM if my daughter decided to be a nun. haha... No boyfriends to worry about. [/quote] dUSt, you sound like [i]my[/i] dad... except for the whole daughter-being-nun as a dream part... to my dad it's... weird. [quote]I told my dad of the possibility of me becoming a nun, and he flipped out... he told me I was "wasting my potential"[/quote] Dlz7486, I know what you mean. My mother is "Catholic" but she hates the idea of my possible vocation to the Sisterhood. She thinks the same thing about wasting of potential - especially when I say that if I thought my vocation was the Sisterhood, that I'd probably be a cloistered nun. She basically said that if I was a nun, she'd expect me to be doing something else, like being a teacher or a nurse, etc. To her, cloistered nuns are the women who are stupid and can do nothing but pray, and that's why they spend their life doing it. To her, they spend their life locked away with no one but other mean old ladies as companions... I thought of my dear St. Therese, so far from my mother's conception of cloistered nuns, and almost cried... But, anyway... I agree with what's been said above... PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeraMaria Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 wow, good to know I'm not alone. The thought of religious vocation for me never crossed my mom's mind. to her nuns magically appear. she's almost never met one and doesn't know anyone who's entered religious life. so she would get a heart attack. my dad would never let me. I still have a long time to pray about it Jesus, confio en ti!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philippe Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 (edited) isnt it sad how many parents arnt supportive... i think my parents would be incredibly shocked so im gonna give it time before tellin them im interested but i think they'd be supportive i :wub: my parents Edited June 20, 2004 by lifeteener Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeraMaria Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 so do i. i :wub: my parents. I just wish they'd be more supportive...isn't this supposed to go the other way around? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 My parents are very supportive of whatever vocation I am eventually called to (still not quite sure what it is yet), so I'm really grateful for that. But as for my extended family, well, I know some of them would be ecstatic if I had a religious vocation, but others would probably make fun of me and try to discourage me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaustinaVianney Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 I told my father today that I am thinking about entering Rel Life. It was NOT well received. He said that they don't DO anything. hehe Apparently praying is doing nothing, but I want to enter a contemplative-apostolic so I will BE teaching. hehe I am the only Catholic in my family, so my father nor anyone else in the fam understand the vocation. Whether or not I have my parents approval doesn't matter, because I lean on God and if He wants me to do something than I shall... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qfnol31 Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 (edited) FV, I'm sorry to hear about that...I hope it goes well with them. I don't know how my extended family feels about all this, but I know that my mom doesn't think I'm good enough with people to do it (well, that's the impression I get from her). Oh well, I don't worry about it. She's not the only mommy I listen to..... Now my parents think that I want to join some really active order (such as CFR...) but truth be told, I could just as easily join an order much like Thérèse's. I love their lifestyle! Oh well, watch me meet some awesome girl next year and God laugh at me. Edited June 21, 2004 by qfnol31 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voiciblanche Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 [quote name='Colleen' date='Jun 20 2004, 05:22 PM'] But as for my extended family, well, I know some of them would be ecstatic if I had a religious vocation, but others would probably make fun of me and try to discourage me. [/quote] My dad's family is a long line of Catholics. Good ones, for the most part. My great uncle is a priest, and he'd love it if I was a nun. My grandparents, too. The rest of the family would probably be like, "Hmm. That is very nice, Amber." Lol. My mum's family, though... none of them are Catholic. Most of them are agnostic, I guess, or are "Baptist" or "Methodist" but have never been to a church in years. And I've mentioned a possible vocation as a cloistered nun to my aunt, and she was... disappointed. -_- Zach- How are you not good with people? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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