How to know you have a vocation to the religious life?

Picture: http://catholiclivingtoday.blogspot.com

Signs of a Vocationby Martin Pable, OFM Cap.

I was asked to share with you some thoughts on how a person knows they have a vocation to the religious life. It is difficult to pin that down because a vocation is first of all a mystery. God does not just Jump out of the sky and tap us on the shoulder or knock us off a horse the way He did with some people in the Bible. Ordinarily God uses very ordinary instrumental means to let us know what He is calling us to, and that is always a mysterious thing. It is very personal to each one of us. I can't give you any absolute rules for this. I guess, in one sense, the wonderful thing is - that God respects our individuality and treats us all as persons. He respects our freedom and he wants us to use our heads and hearts in trying to discern our vocation. Remember that famous line in A Man For All Seasons, where Thomas More says something like "God made the animals to serve Him by instinct blindly but He made man to serve Him wittingly." That is, to use his wits. We have to use our wits to try to discern what God is asking of us.

To read the whole article: http://www.vocations.com/discern/signs_pable.html

A Short Passage From Pope John Paul II Message on the World Day of Prayer for Vocations (2001)

Theme: "Life as a vocation".

Every life is a vocation, and every believer is invited to co-operate in the building up of the Church. However, we turn our attention, in a special way, to the need and to the urgent requirement for ordained ministers, and for persons who are ready to follow Christ on the arduous path of consecrated life in the profession of the evangelical counsels.

We need ordained ministers who are "in different times and places the permanent guarantee of the sacramental presence of Christ, the Redeemer" (Christifideles laici, 55) and who, in their preaching of the Word and celebration of the Eucharist and the other Sacraments, guide Christian communities on the paths of eternal life.


We need men and women who, by their witness, "remind the baptized of the fundamental values of the Gospel", and who foster "in the People of God an awareness of the need to respond with holiness of life to the love of God poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit, by reflecting in their conduct the sacramental consecration which is brought about by God's power in Baptism, Confirmation or Holy Orders" (Vita consecrata, 33).

To Read the Whole Message:  http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/messages/vocations/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_20001125_xxxviii-voc-2001_en.html

The Feast of St. Benedict

THE LIFE OF SAINT BENEDICT

The life of St. Benedict is told rather simply, yet his example and writings are filled with wisdom for all ages, including the present.

Benedict was born in Nursia, Italy, around the year 480, and was the son of a noble family. As a youth, he went off to Rome to study. At that time, Rome was showing signs of moral and political decay. Turning away from such Corruption, Benedict discontinued his studies and withdrew from Rome and went into solitude.

For three years Benedict remained in solitude in a cave. Through a life of fasting and praycr, he sought to grow closer to God. Being such a holy person, the local people would seek him out. They desired that he pass on the message of Christ to them during a time in history that was greatly in need of the Gospel.

In the year 529, after having lived these years as a monk, Benedict established a monastic foundation where men, who wanted to live a life in common and together seek out the Lord, could come to dwell. This new "school of the Lord" came to rest on a hill near Cassino in Italy. Hence, the monastery came to be known as Monte Cassino. There, Benedict established his community and wrote a rule, that is, a guide to be followed in the daily lives of his monks. Benedict guided the community as the father, also known as the abbot, until his death around the year 547.

Since this humble beginning of the Benedictine monks, that is, those vowing to live their lives under the Rule of St Benedict, the religious order has spread throughout the world down to the present day. From Monte Casino many other Benedictine communities have been established.

From: http://saintbenedict.org/stblife1.htm

Novices Invested with the Monastic Habit

From Left to Right: Br. Mark Liatti, Br. Ignatius Camello, Fr. Bonaventure (Vocation Director), Br. Matthew Hershey, and Br. Charles Hopkins

Before the Novices were Invested with the monastic habit they listened to a reading from 1 Samuel 3, the Lord's call to the young Samuel.  This reading reminds us that the Lord calls each of us in our own special way.  Sometimes we fail to recognize the voice of the Lord, but when the Lord's voice becomes clear, Samuel shows us that our only response should be one of complete obedience, receptivity, willingness, and Love.  May these new novices continue to be open to the Lord's voice and may they be given the grace to persevere.  Amen.    

1 Samuel 3: 1-10

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!" 5 and ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call; lie down again." So he went and lay down. 6 The LORD called again, "Samuel!" Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The LORD called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

Novice to Profess First Vows

"If after due reflection he promises to observe everything and to obey every command given him, let him then be received into the community" (Rule of St. Benedict, Ch 58)

At Evening Prayer, on July 10, 2013, Br. Lawrence will profess the monastic vows of: Stability, Conversatio Morum  (Conversion of Manners, or, Fidelity to Monastic Life), and Obedience.

By the vow of Stability, Br. Lawrence will seek to live the monastic life in the context of a specific community (St. Vincent Archabbey), mutually supporting the community through his work and prayer.

By the vow of Conversatio Morum, Br. Lawrence promises a life of constant conversion, taking up his Cross each day, dying to self in loving service to God and others.

And by the vow of Obedience, Br. Lawrence will strive to hear and obey the Word of God through the loving discernment of the Abbot.  Such obedience is liberating and it enables the monk to cast aside any doubt and fear to completely embrace the will of the Only True Master.

For more on the Benedictine Vows: http://www.stvincentmonks.com/vows-freedom-in-communion