Vocation Stories

[sunnysideup]

I started another thread like this....[post="http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=66146"]Deciding Your Vocation[/post] If the link doesn't work it's on pg. 6 of the threads :

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='philosobrat' post='1286933' date='Jun 2 2007, 11:04 PM']Well, the call to the priesthood/religious life is also expressed through the Church as the mystical body of Christ, so if people are asking you if you have ever thought about the priesthood, maybe you should, but that does not mean that you should enter the priesthood if you feel no call to it yourself. I would be flattered that people feel that you would be a good candidate for it!

I do not know about knowing if you have the "vibe"... I guess it is just a "feeling" that people sometimes get (intuition, inspiration of the Holy Spirit, hint from the guardian angels... or whatever) and express to others. It does not mean that it is always right, but I think in Adam's case, the people expressed something to him (a call to the priesthood) and it resonated with something within his heart that perhaps he had never listen to before, or even thought about... so it inspired him to discern it.

I hope that is a little more clear. : [/quote]

The thing about the so-called "vibe" is that it seems to make discernment into some kind of deep mystery that you have to pick apart, like watching "Lost." I've been discerning for almost two years, but more seriously only since last fall with the Archdiocese of Louisville and Conventual Franciscans. It's good to have this time to figure things out, but eventually you just gotta make a move and see if it works out. Protestant pastors don't talk about the pastoral vibe and married people don't get the marriage vibe (well, maybe on the honeymoon... if ya know what I mean... hehe). Of course, religious life is a unique and rare calling, so maybe the Holy Spirit needs to provide a little extra tugging to get us thinking in that direction.

Anyway, a few people along the way have brought up the idea...

#1) About four or five years ago, when I first inquired with my aunt about Catholicism, she told me God might be calling me to the priesthood. I told her, "Well, God better hurry up with it 'cause I'm planning on getting married!" Well, I ain't any closer to marriage than I was then.

#2) Just a few weeks ago, the Franciscan Brother at my parish says he asked me about becoming a priest about three years ago, when I visited the church's outreach center for a service project with my old Baptist church. I don't remember it and it seems odd that he would just now mention this after we've known each other for two years, but he probably thought he had mentioned it before. He is getting up in years a bit, although still pretty active and youthful.

#3) Even my Baptist roommate brought it up, without my prompting, and...

#4) ...another friend, who was going to become Catholic before turning liberal, encouraged me to pursue it.

#5) A Sister (that I had never met before) told me I have a vocation. All I can figure is that I smile a lot, so maybe that helps to give off that "aura" or "vibe."

#6) My cousin says I look good in black. Does that count? He and his wife got their vibe on, so if I don't have kids of my own, at least I now have a goddaughter.

But like you said, the interior calling/desire needs to be present. I've always felt drawn to study God's Word (seminary would be a blast... I'd love it!), always liked being unique in some way (if everyone's doing something, like getting married, I want to be different), always enjoyed serving others, and seem to have a knack for asking questions about spiritual things that get people thinking about God and Truth.

However, some of it is selfish. I know as a priest that sin of Pride would always be creepin' in. I'd also love being the center of attention, the guy that people look up to for answers and advice. That's good when motivated out of the desire to serve, but not good if I start thinking too highly of myself. Also, some of my original desire was motivated out of a lack of dating and career prospects and an increasingly dire financial situation. Religious life solves all of those in a neat little package, but they aren't good reasons for becoming a religious. Well, God provided a good job and a girl, but the girl didn't work out. After pursuing a couple of other dating interests since, and Br. Kerry telling me relationships that never work out could be a sign that I'm called (makes a lot of sense after thinking about it... if they worked out, I'd be called to Marriage), I'm starting to give it more serious thought.

Only three people have contradicted my possible vocation: my good friend's wife, who said, "Jason can't become priest. He likes girls too much;" my mom, because I'm not gay or pedophile; and my dad, who thinks I'm being influenced against my will. My mom was kidding and my dad is just looking out for me, but that first one contains enough truth to give me second thoughts. So I pray to St. Francis of Assisi and St. Augustine since there's no question they both liked girls a lot.

Frankly, Marriage doesn't intrigue me... girls do, very much so , but eventually I always lose interest (perhaps because it's selfish and therefore unfulfilling). Of course, it's possible "the one" just hasn't come along yet. Of course, her name might be Mary

Edited June 4, 2007 by LouisvilleFan

[Tina44]

Mine started in third grade.....I wanted to be a nun so badly. By fourth grade, I was convinced I was crazy and that was the wrong path. Never thought about it again.

Fast forward to high school, senior year. Went on a 3 day retreat and had an awesome, powerful encounter with God. I suppose that's why the retreat was called "Encounter". Realized I was not being true to myself or to who I was, that I was hiding who I really was from the rest of the world. Never thought about religious life. Promised myself no matter what, I'd be honest with me. Decided on an accounting major for college.

Went to college, wanted to change majors badly freshman year. I wanted to double major in Philosophy and Theology. Why I didn't is still a mystery. I thought about it, and said to myself, why in the world would I want to do that when I could only use it as a teacher?! And then, only priests and religious do things like major in Philosophy and Theology. Yeah.....God was calling and I ignored.

Graduated in May 2005 with my Accounting degree and started working. I was in my job for 3 months, and studying for the CPA exam when I became restless and unhappy. My best friend is studying to be a priest, so I started talking to him more about it. Went to a Eucharistic celebration in Philadelphia, where the entire archdiocese was gathered outside. What an amazing experience! SO POWERFUL! God began tugging at my heart.....Then strange things, which now I know were signs from God, started happening. I got scared, and started talking to my pastor, who is now my spiritual director. This was September 2005.

The idea of religious life came up, and I yelled at him to never bring it up again. The next time we met, I was the one to suggest it. Ironic isn't it?! lol

Started praying more often, going to daily Mass, praying the rosary, etc. Every time I thought I heard God calling, I ran away and made a sprint in the opposite direction. Running from God is NOT a good idea..... because HE catches up!

I finally got tired of running, and gave in. My spiritual director put me in touch with the Vocation Directress at the IHM's. By now, it was July 2006. Scared and completely freaking out by what this whole thing could lead to, I went to meet her.

I walked into the Motherhouse and felt such an overwhelming peacefulness and happiness. God was tugging at my heart even stronger now, and I couldn't run anymore. I wanted to stay there forever!

Began meeting with both the Vocation Directress and my Spiritual Director on a regular basis and the vocation just grew from there.

Told my mom in late July 2006 and my dad in August. Dad was beyond thrilled and happy, mom said to give it a try. Both are very supportive. My sister I told in September. Rough road there, but she has made superb progress in supporting me.

I guess it's been a pretty fast track for me. The IHM's just felt right. I wanted an order that was active and teaching was becoming attractive to me. Not to mention they are close to home!

I formally applied on December 13, 2006, the feast of St. Lucy. I knew that St. Lucy is the patron saint of the blind, eye problems, etc. but didn't put it together about "seeing" my vocation and the feast day until I was signing my name to begin the application process. I was completely blown away!

I finished my application in early April, and now I am waiting to hear if I have been accepted I'm so excited I can't stand it!!! I recently went on a 3 day silent retreat and by the grace of God, I received the confirmation that I have made the right decision and I cannot wait to start living religious life!

[Lioness For Christ]

[quote name='Tina' post='1288243' date='Jun 4 2007, 07:49 PM']Started praying more often, going to daily Mass, praying the rosary, etc. Every time I thought I heard God calling, I ran away and made a sprint in the opposite direction. Running from God is NOT a good idea..... because HE catches up!


I finished my application in early April, and now I am waiting to hear if I have been accepted I'm so excited I can't stand it!!! I recently went on a 3 day silent retreat and by the grace of God, I received the confirmation that I have made the right decision and I cannot wait to start living religious life! [/quote]


I cannot give you guys my story now as it's still in the beginning... hehe..

But Tina, amazing story.. I do hope you'll be accepted and will pray for you!

As for the running--I totally hear you there.... Boy, oh boy!

But His draw is irresistable!

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='Lioness For Christ' post='1288489' date='Jun 5 2007, 01:15 AM']I cannot give you guys my story now as it's still in the beginning... hehe..

But Tina, amazing story.. I do hope you'll be accepted and will pray for you!

As for the running--I totally hear you there.... Boy, oh boy!

But His draw is irresistable! [/quote]

Mine is still "in process," so I shared what's happened to this point and where things seem to be going in the near future. But, ya know, after we make this one decision between religious/married/single life, there will be more specific decisions to make about how to carry out our vocation. That will involve more discernment, so our vocation story is never really over and done with until we get home

[AlterDominicus]

Great vocation stories everyone!

Johnny B Girl
+

[the_rev]

When I was born my mother was single and lived with her mother. My mother was not a devout Catholic, and did not want to be Catholic, even though her mother was. The responsibility to raise me in the faith was left to my grandmother because my mother had no interest in it. My grandmother saw to it that I was baptized, received first Holy Communion, and the other sacraments. She took me to Mass on the weekends and holy days and to daily Mass during the summer. In this lifestyle she had raised me in it was practical and normal to think of a vocation to the priesthood.

I found life during this period to be great. I was a pious altar server and wanted to be a priest. However this all changed when I reached the teenage years. I began to hang out with the wrong crowd when I was 13 and as a result I spent three days in a juvenile detention facility facing several charges and the possibility of going to juvenile prison. I did a lot of things that I now regret and as I look back at it I am ashamed of those things. However, I didn't go to prison, and by the grace of God I was allowed to plea bargain and have all charges dropped against me. They did this because I had a good record before everything happened and my grades were good. I was able to supply them with strong character references, and they knew that previous to this I had wanted to be a priest when I grew up.

The time which I spent in jail and the experience of being expelled from school frustrated me, so I stopped praying. I decided that I did not really believe in God and the only reason I went to Church on the weekend and daily during summer, was because of my grandmother. I didn't want to disappoint her by abandoning the faith she had raised me in, especially since she could no longer go to Mass herself. I couldn't bring myself to break her fragile heart by telling her that I no longer believed in God.

I was lucky to be allowed back into school for freshmen year, as if nothing had happened, but yet again I began to hang out with the older kids who were bad influences. I became more involved in sinful things but was able to maintain being a good student.

With the arrival of my sophomore year in high school life began to change. I was asked to work a political campaign; I could not believe I was asked to, but I said yes. It was something that I enjoyed, and as a result politics became the career that I wanted to go into. My experience in politics lead me to change my life from hanging out with the druggies and drinkers to once again being a model student. Even though I was still somewhat involved in parish work as an altar server, my doubts in the existence of God continued.

During my sophomore year I was also asked to make a trip to a place called Medjugorje. Due to my involvement in the parish and church beforehand, I was somewhat familiar with it and knew that the Blessed Mother was allegedly appearing to six people there, but that was the extend of my knowledge. After being asked if I wanted to go on the trip, I Googled it on the internet and found out that it was in a country where the United States once aided in a war. Upon learning that I realized that Medjugorje would be my ticket to learning about foreign government. Most of the trip was paid for through sponsorships by local businesses and by June of 2005 I boarded a plane bound for Sarajevo.

Before leaving in June, I had an interest in Medjugorje, so I purchased several books about Medjugorje. After reading a few of them, I was convinced of the existence of God. One of the very first messages from Our Lady was, “I have come to tell the world that God exists. He is the fullness of life, and to enjoy this fullness and peace, you must return to God". I finally got it, I realized God existed and I must return to his love. I started to believe in the everything the church taught and for the first time in three years I re-visited the idea of a priestly vocation silently, but really had no intent to follow through.

By the time we arrived in Medjugorje it was evening and one of the pilgrims took our group on a mini-tour; afterwards we were all exhausted and retired for the evening. I did everything that a normal pilgrim did.

From the start of the trip there I was amazed at what I found in Medjugorje because I fell in love once again with the faith that I had loved so much as a child. Ordinary Catholics went to daily Mass, and sought reconciliation to God through the confessional; they prayed the rosary and joined in prayer groups. Thousands of Catholics gathered in one village because of what allegedly occurs there; that they might grow in their relationship with the divine.

Encouraged by what I witnessed, I myself sought reconciliation with God for the first time with true contrition in several years. I attended daily Mass and each day I would make my way to the front of the church to sit on the floor because of the abundance of people there. I adored Christ in the monstrance from outside the church since the faithful flowed out of the doors; I was even asked if I was considering the Catholic priesthood, to which I vehemently responded no.

I wanted to be involved in politics and run for public office. A priest in this land told me that I had a vocation to the priesthood and each day for the rest of my stay I must arise and climb Podbro Mountain where the Blessed Mother allegedly first appeared. Reaching the statue of Gospa, (Our Lady in Croatian) he told me to kneel and pray a rosary with the intention being for my vocation. For the remainder of this trip I knelt each morning on the top of a mountain praying to God through the Blessed Mother asking her for a sign that I was called to the priesthood and that in return I would be her priest.

I did what any new discerner would do, and I prayed, “GOD IF I HAVE A VOCATION GIVE ME A SIGN”. Later that day, after praying, I thought I found the answer to my prayer. I was playing with some Croatian children in a fun game of football (soccer) and one of the pilgrims from my group said, “YOU WILL MAKE A GREAT DAD SOMEDAY”. I immediately thought I had a vocation to the married life, because this person told me I would make a great dad! That was the only sign that I really found during my stay in Medjugorje, so with that thought I returned to the United States and told my parish priest that I wanted to have a wife and children because that was the sign that I received in Medjugorje!

I knew that our diocese had a Marian shrine where the Blessed Mother had appeared at the 1800s because I had visited it many years ago. A local newspaper story reminded me of its existence. The paper said that the Bishop would make his annual pilgrimage there on August 15th and would celebrate Mass. I decided that since I could drive I would go to there. Upon my arrival, I found the answer to my prayer that I made in Medjugorje; I knew that this time I had received the true sign.

When I reached the shrine I had to park 1/2 mile away because so many people had chosen to go to there on that day. It was a very “Medjugorje-like” experience in my own diocese, and I knew at that moment that God was calling me to the priesthood. If that wasn’t enough, the words of the Bishop were a clincher as in his homily he retold the story of the Annunciation and how it was Mary's faithfulness, “her saying 'yes' to God, without knowing that one day she would hold her dying son in her arms, that brought about our salvation…We must respond to our own call”.

After that encounter of prayer, I contacted the vocation director. After a year of many dinners and lunches spent discussing the prospect of my vocation and what that would entail, I applied with the diocese for college seminary. On April 20th, 2007, the Bishop accepted my application for seminary.