How Will I Know If I'm Called to Religious Life? Most of us who have ever wondered if the vocation to religious life was for us must have asked the question, "How will I know?" It comes in many forms. "What is God's will in my life?" "How do I find happiness and fulfillment in my life?" "What is the ultimate purpose of my existence?" "How will I know that God is calling me to live the religious life as a priest, brother, or sister?" An inherent part of life is the responsibility to make difficult, challenging and sometimes even painful decisions. To make important decisions often requires time, prayer and discernment. Perhaps today more than ever, we face a greater multiplicity and complexity of decisions in ordinary day-to-day living. In the discernment process, we consider the options, balance the advantages with disadvantages, and carefully examine the consequences. "How will I know...what is good, right or best? How will I know what God is calling me to?" Before the rainbow wasshown in the sky, perhaps Noah wondered, "How will I know?" Before John the Baptist sent his disciples from his prison cell to find Jesus he must have asked, "How will I know?" When Thomas heard from the disciples that Jesus rose form the dead, he must have struggled with the question, "How will I know?" As Mary Magdalene gazed into the empty tomb that first Easter morning, she must have pondered, "How will I know?" Today, as in Jesus' own time, God continues to give signs to help us to decide, to discern and to know what the Lord is asking of us. In particular there are four general signs which are often seen: Availability and openness: Am I open-hearted to whatever God is calling me? Am I disposed and free to respond to that call? Desire: Do I sense a degree of potential satisfaction, hope or joy when i consider religious life? If it is God's will, do I trust that it can be fulfilled? Proper motivation: Is my primary motivation of a spiritual nature, such as serving and loving God and God's people? Would I experience adequate happiness and fulfillment? General Disposition: Do I have reasonably good health, emotional stability, social ease and spiritual-centeredness? Discernment In a more specific way, there is a rather practical spiritual discernment process which can be a tool or guide to help us determine what God is calling us to do. This discernment process combines reflection, prayer, dialogue and Scripture. 1) Present disposition (Mt. 16:1-4) a. Silence and remembering how God works in my life, how Jesus is present to me. How God's promises are fulfilled in my life. b. Solitude and considering... How Jesus may be calling me; what Jesus is saying to me. (Lk. 9:28-36) c. Surrender and expectation... What do i expect and anticipate from God? What do I hope for? (Mt. 5:1-16) 2) My reflective experience (Mt. 8:18-27) a. As I review my life story, what have been the most important decisions in my life so far? b. What were my feelings, my hopes or my fears in the process of those decisions? c. What were the consequences or outcomes of those decisions? 3) My prayer (Mt. 6:5-22) a. What are the "gospel values" in relation to my present discernment? Discipleship, God's kingdom, perseverance, truth, poverty, single-heartedness, fidelity, justice, mercy, hope, love, humility? b. What does the life of Jesus say in the context of my discernment? Healing-wholeness, trust, courage, forgiveness, change-of-heart, faith, suffering-persecution, fullness of life etc... c. Do I recognise the power and enlightenment of God's grace within me in common, ordinary ways? In confusion or doubt? In my weakness as God's strength and in my folly as God's wisdom? In my vulnerability? 4) Consult significant others (Mt. 7:7-12) a. Friends and loved ones b. Family c. Spiritual director d. Vocation counselor/director/promoter 5) Listening to self - being in touch with me (Mt. 6:24-34) a. Name my honest feelings: can I trust them? b. What do I say to others? (my messages to myself) c. What is my sense of the "inner voice", the Lord within me? What is my gut-level intuition? d. The ultimate question: Does this decision, direction, or choice give me life? Is it life-giving for me and others (a quality and depth of life)? 6) Confirmation by... affirmation by... (Mt. 12:33-35) a. my prayer b. Holy Scripture c. my feelings d. loving others e. a spiritual director f. a vocation counsellor/promoter/director Ultimately, through discernment, we discover that God wants only what is good for us - whatever brings wholeness and leads to holiness. For "I have come that you may have life, life in abundance." |
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