How Did You Decide Your Vocation?

[TheresaThoma]

For those discerning religious life -- in your experience did you feel specifically called to a certain order which helped you realize your vocation -- or after realizing your vocation have you then had to discern which order you feel called to enter? 

Sorry for the awkward wording, I realize it's a rather strange question.  The thought was prompted by marigold's comment, "My godmother took me to a monastery and I loved it. You know that feeling when you meet someone for the first time and you know you're going to be friends?" 
 

 

I think that knowing a couple of specific orders helped me realize my (potential) vocation however I very quickly discerned that I was not called to either of them and so have been searching. I have found that with each community that I have looked into and discerned with I have learned more about myself and my vocation.

So I guess for me it is the second case. Though I have certainly heard of stories where the first community that the person met ended up being the community that they entered.

[1054]

Thank you for sharing your experiences! 

[petitpèlerin]

For those discerning religious life -- in your experience did you feel specifically called to a certain order which helped you realize your vocation -- or after realizing your vocation have you then had to discern which order you feel called to enter?

 

I have a friend who first felt clearly called to religious life, then she had to find the right community. Turns out it was the one that was right under her nose all along, but for whatever reason she dismissed it for a time. She entered last year and is happy there.

 

For me it was something in between the two. I was open to the possibility of religious life but wasn't actively seeking it out when I met a great community. I lived near them and studied with them, developed relationships with them, and I loved them, but for a long time I didn't see them as a possibility for me, although my contact with them definitely helped me realize the likelihood that I had a religious vocation myself. I thought that if I had a vocation it would be with another community, and I made a weekend visit to that other community, where I found that they lacked something that was really kind of essential to me in my own life, and which was also essential to the first community. I started seeing how they could be the right fit for me, and eventually realized that if religious life were for me then this community was the one. Then I went through a long period of questioning whether religious life was for me. I just got that sorted out recently.

[Blue.Rose]

For those discerning religious life -- in your experience did you feel specifically called to a certain order which helped you realize your vocation -- or after realizing your vocation have you then had to discern which order you feel called to enter?

I had a few thoughts pop into my head prior to becoming a Catholic that my place was in Religious Life ( I entered the Church age 21) a year later, I moved to a new city and discovered a community through a local Catholic Newspaper. When I saw a photo of the Sisters I was like "that's them!" - I just felt so much joy at the thought of becoming a Sister with them.
I don't feel that way about any other community.

I have to wait until next year though before I can apply so I'm just finishing off Study/working and getting Spiritual Direction until then :)