How do you know

[Ash Wednesday]

[quote name='Noel's angel' date='May 18 2005, 04:40 PM'] you will know, if you don't know-it isn't right [/quote]
That still does not sit well with me, though. I thought I "knew" once.

[geetarplayer]

I know what you mean, Ash

[Ash Wednesday]

I knew a priest who as a layman, had someone he knew ask Padre Pio whether or not he was called to the priesthood or not, because the man was confused about his calling.

He got a note back from Padre Pio and the note said "If God wills you to be a priest, you will be a priest. If he doesn't, you won't"

The look on this man's face and his exasperation was really funny.



So I keep that in mind when you feel stuck, life is confusing and your calling is hard to discern at times.

[geetarplayer]

That Padre Pio...

[MissScripture]

[quote name='Ash Wednesday' date='May 18 2005, 04:23 PM']
That finding true love is not always a gooshy feeling in the heart but, as faith is, is a journey and goes beyond feelings and becomes a willful act.
[/quote]
I totally agree with that, because when you see "love" portrayed in movies or on t.v. or even in books, it is generally about the "feeling" that someone has when they are around that person. That would be more infatuation than love. And that could be why America has so many marriage problems, because when the infatuation passes people don't know what to do, and being the self centered society that we are, try to find "love" somewhere else. I like to think about my grandparents, who were married for 57 years. In the end, my grandpa died of complications from Alzheimers, and my grandma spent the last 6 years of his life taking care of him. Some how I don't think there was any gooshy feeling left, but she still loved him, or she wouldn't have sacrificed all of her time and effort taking care of him.

[sweetpea316]

[quote name='Raphael' date='May 18 2005, 03:29 PM'] A few signs:

1. Satan attacks it like none other.

2. It feels right.

3. If you can't find any logical reason why you love a person, but you just do, that's good.

4. You find yourself willing to give up anything evil and take on anything good for her sake.

5. You would change everything about your life to be closer to her in Christ.

6. You would die for her. [/quote]
I like what you said....especially #5... Because just the fact that I've considered becoming Catholic since being with him kind of speaks for itself... :wub:

[AngelofJesus]

JMJ

If God wants you together, not only will it feel right, but you will also find that everytime you are with that person it will feel like it was blessed. Like He is permitting that relationship. The devil will not attack to destroy or seperate the relationship, rather he will attack your actions inside that relationship.

I have been married for 10 years and before I met my wife, I had 3 other relationships which lasted for a few months. None of my previous relationships felt right, like there were obstacles (i.e., character, situations, distance). Like I was pushing it. When my wife came along, there was nothing that kept us from saying yes to each other. The only obstacle we had was the timing of the wedding.

I hope this helps or contributes to your wealth of wisdom in discerning your vocation.

If you have anymore questions or if you are curious about something, please feel free to ask away.

Your Brother in Christ,
Angelo

[immaculata]

To take this discussion in a slightly different direction... what about internet dating? Do you guys think you can love a person that you've never met in person?

I'm a little wary about it, personally. The way I see it, when you're corresponding over the internet, you can be really selective about the image you put forth. You have a lot more time to carefully choose your words and phrase things a certain way, and it's easier to give the other person a false impression.

Any thoughts?

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='melporcristo' date='May 18 2005, 04:48 PM'] thats a really good question. I don't have an answer, but want to ask a question on top of those hot stuff asked: is it really possible to love someone else even if you have loved before? Because you have given so much to that person and then the relationship ends ... I mean, was it a real love ... or what. [/quote]
I don't think we are limited to just one love in our lifetime

[philothea]

Well, I can only speak for myself, but --

My girlish ideal was a man with a certain name, appearance, and occupation. I found him.

Having convinced him to hang out with me, a number of unusual events conspired to keep us stuck together. We went to the mall. The car died. We got a ride back, brought another car. It died. While we were trying to get cars fixed, a storm took out all the power, all the phones, and flooded the streets.

It's quite a bonding experince, being trapped in a dark, flooded mall parking lot all night, then trying to walk (wade) 10 miles home the next day.

I fear to think what might have happend if we'd tried to break up!

I suppose this isn't really helpful, but at times natural disasters can be a clue.

[geetarplayer]

[quote name='immaculata' date='May 18 2005, 10:33 PM'] To take this discussion in a slightly different direction... what about internet dating? Do you guys think you can love a person that you've never met in person? [/quote]
I am very against internet dating. I think the internet is probably the lowest form of communication ever devised. Okay, the telegraph is pretty bad, so maybe the internet is the second lowest form of communication. Anyway, long story short, I think internet dating is stupid.

-Mark

[immaculata]

[quote name='geetarplayer' date='May 18 2005, 09:35 PM'] I am very against internet dating. I think the internet is probably the lowest form of communication ever devised. Okay, the telegraph is pretty bad, so maybe the internet is the second lowest form of communication. Anyway, long story short, I think internet dating is stupid.

-Mark [/quote]
Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but why do you say the internet is the lowest form of communication?

[Norseman82]

On what basis do people believe that God has ONE person picked out for everyone?

[geetarplayer]

[quote name='immaculata' date='May 18 2005, 11:58 PM'] Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but why do you say the internet is the lowest form of communication?

[/quote]
As compared to face-to-face conversations and phone calls, the internet lacks the body language in face-to-face conversations and the voice inflections in both. Also, "lol" is no substitute for human laughter. E-mails don't have eyes, and you can't touch an instant messanger. There isn't even a guarantee that you have their complete attention for the duration of the conversation.

[hopeful1]

[quote name='Colleen' date='May 18 2005, 05:35 PM'] I agree with Ash. I'm not sure going with something because "it feels right" is such a good criterion. I don't mean to be critical, it's just that there are many things that may "feel right" but are in fact, not good for us. I think that feelings can oftentimes be very deceptive. So I guess I'd just maybe reword that idea to maybe something more like . . . "you know it's right" or based on prayer and time and thought, it seems like the right thing.

Just a thought. [/quote]
agreed