Hi

[orapronobis]

Hi, I don’t know if anyone remembers me, I used to post in here in about 2015. In the past 4 years I’ve fallen away from actively practicing the faith, although I still pray my rosary and go into churches when masses aren’t on in order to pray. I’m in a happy and committed relationship but I still feel this pull to religious life. I would appreciate any prayers and advice you may have! 

[Antigonos]

Nice to have you check in, no matter what direction your life's taking.  Hope you had a nice Easter.

[Guest]

Yes, good to see you around again.  And a very Happy Easter Season.

I am not a religious nor discerning.

I don't think that a pull towards or a desire for religious life should ever be ignored.  My advice would be to seek out spiritual direction from a priest and perhaps a religious order priest or even a nun.  It is important that you feel comfortable with each other.

The Lord does not call the qualified, rather He qualifies those He calls and this is what the discernment journey is about especially within religious life.  Many a religious has something of 'a past', including lapses from The Faith.  Many too have been in happy relationships prior to entering

Nor is it unusual for the unlikely in human eyes to make a very good nun or religious sister, brother or priest, or some other form of consecrated life.

It is very positive that you are still praying..........keep it up and ask Our Lady and Her Son to guide you.  I hope you might be able to drop into a Church during Mass.  You could even drop into a Confessional in a Church where you are not known if that is comfortable for you.  It is not so much the holy who need Confession I don't think, rather those of us stumbling along the way.  And many of us, I suspect, need to confess the same old same old each time.  I also suspect we are by far in the majority.

Prayer for you.

Edited April 24, 2019 by BarbaraTherese

[beatitude]

If I understand your post correctly, you haven't been going to Mass. The first thing to do is to return to the sacraments. As you're able to pray the rosary, ask Our Lady to help you get there, because we can do nothing without them. It doesn't make sense to think about giving your life to Christ as a religious if you can't bring yourself to receive his gift of himself to you in the Eucharist. As he said to Peter, "Unless you let me wash your feet, you can have no part in me." I think the same thing applies here. I'm happy to see you back on the phorum, and I will pray for you.

[possiblesista]

That's so great to hear! The first thing you should do is start going to mass and confession. Pray to Our Lady,she will help guide you. I don't think you should ignore the pull to religious life,but getting to mass and the sacraments should be your first priority. You will be in my prayers.

[Sister Leticia]

Hello and welcome back!

Different things seem to be happening for you, and to be interweaving. They might or might not be connected, which means they might or might not need to be looked at separately or together.

You begin by saying that you no longer practice your faith, and yet you simultaneously feel drawn towards prayer, but away from the Eucharist. So you still have an active belief, and desire to spend time with Jesus, which is a good, strong basis on which to build - and as others have said, Our Lady can help you come closer to her Son (in fact, she's already been helping, as you've been praying the rosary). 

But I appreciate that coming back isn't necessarily straightforward, and you will need to look at why you have stopped practicing your faith; there may also be bad memories or anger which needs healing. You might feel awkward discussing all this with a priest or sister, but luckily, there are many lay people who have been trained in spiritual direction (and here in the UK, often better trained in SD than many diocesan priests), and who know how to be genuinely non-judgmental and empathetic. If there are any retreat or spirituality centres in your area they might be able to help you find someone. 

Meanwhile, you're in a happy, committed relationship, but feeling some kind of niggle or pull in a different direction. This often happens in relationships (the seven-year itch can also happen after two years!) and to people who have entered religious life or priesthood: we can feel dissatisfied, or restless or hemmed in, and start to think "what if...?" or "if only..." or yearn for something currently unavailable. Sometimes it can be the beginning or catalyst for a change of direction, at others, it's an itch or temptation which needs to be addressed. So this niggle/restlessness does need to be looked at, whether or not it's God calling you to religious life, or an itch you need to scratch to help you settle more into your relationship. 

Be assured of my prayer for you.

[gloriana35]

There's been some good advice on this thread. I have not the slightest idea of whether this applies to  you - I'm only remembering a few friends from the past. 

On occasion, someone who does not practise the faith, or perhaps never did feel a strong sense of vocation, can fear that God might want them to enter as a 'sacrifice'. There is too much emphasis, with many devout sorts, on suffering and sacrifice - and on "God's will", as if anything that makes us happy does not conform to this. One friend of mine (who never did enter, has been married for 40 years, and was not a practising Catholic) confided in me that she could not get past the worry that God might want her to enter religious life. Another friend, the eldest of seven children, knew her (staunch Catholic) mother was pregnant when her parents married, and feared that she herself might be called to enter the convent to atone for her parents' sin. Perhaps such ideas are rare nowadays, but they just came into my mind.

I agree that you need direction. If you indeed do find you feel a vocation to religious life, you need the sacramental grace of the Eucharist and confession. Blessings - whatever path you find is right for you.