"A Candid Conversation about the Source of Vocations"

[DameAgnes]

https://aleteia.org/2018/08/01/a-candid-conversation-about-the-source-of-vocations/

[MaryBethany]

Thank you for sharing!

[JHFamily]

I would like to add that many of them come from intact families that welcomed the children God desired to give them.   

When family size a limited, children are under greater pressure to fulfill the dreams of their parents -- mothers wanting to plan dream weddings with their daughters, fathers wanting the family name passed on, parents who don't want the college degrees to "go to waste", parents who want grandchildren, etc.  In addition, in small families, the children realize that their parents will be reliant upon them in their own age;  there is no one else for them to turn to.   How many threads have been started on this forum addressing these problems?

In contrast, children from larger families have more freedom to choose their own paths.  The dreams are spread out among more children.  Parents can even desire religious and priestly vocations in their children because they feel they are gaining and not losing.  Even those who only had one or two but would have welcomed more have cooperated with God's plan, and they are likely to continue cooperating with His plan.

Edited August 16, 2018 by JHFamily
Added more detail

[maar]

JHFamily,

You've crystallized 4 major pressures I feel as I discern religious life. I think they float around in my mind but never fully surface. (I'm from a small family and parents were not open to life.)  Thank you for your keen understanding of the struggles some of us have in this area. I'll now be bringing these concerns to my SD. 

 

[JHFamily]

It is so very common, but it's the elephant in the room.