Keep me into your prayers, my name is Yesenia Elizabeth Salamanca. I will be visiting the Poor Clares Colettines Monastery that is located in Cleveland, Ohio by this month Sept. 2018. Then, I will be going to Rome afterward for two weeks. Pray for my vocation.
If God wants you to be a religious, He will unmistakeably let you know. Samuel said, 'Speak, Lord, Thy servant is listening.' and God did not waste His words.
I am currently doing a novena ( daily mass and adoration ) for clarity on my vocation. I was always drawn to a consecrated life ever since a young age. But now I have grown mature and that my health has changed I don’t know if I can handle the consecrated life. What does that mean?
Thank you for your question, which we will submit to Father Albert for response in his Ask Father series. In the meantime, an excellent way to find clarity in the question of whether one is being called to religious life is to visit a convent as a prospective applicant. Most cloisters have a "Come and See" program. benedictinesofmary.org/content/discernment
I don’t know why but I am buying books from Angelus Press. A priest crucifix. Catechism of council of Trent. I am very attracted to Catholic religious books and Sacramentals. Queen of the holy Rosary I deserve only the Cross of your Son.
The remark made about vocation "staying with you" caught my attention, as I was (apparently) baptised a Catholic, but raised without the Church. I became a high-church type Protestant, but left after I found myself somewhat burned-out by congregational politics. From an early age, however, I've had a feeling that I should wear a Franciscan habit or a Roman collar. I'm not even Catholic, so is it even possible to have such a vocation?
Yes, if you are not married. But the first step toward realizing such a vocation would be to learn the fundamentals of the Catholic Faith and to embrace its practice. The best catechism we can recommend is "The Sincere Christian," by Bishop George Hay. A free internet file archives this important work in two volumes here: archive.org/details/worksofrightrevb00strauoft archive.org/details/worksofbishophay02hayuoft
Is it okay if you *want* to follow through and *want* to join an order? In every story I hear, the brothers/sisters say they didn't want to at the beginning. Is that a sign of a true vocation? If someone *wants* to do it, would that mean it's not a true call?
+Wanda Ricca We certainly encourage you to follow your inclination toward this high and much needed calling. Religious houses have persons ready to help you discern your vocation. The first step is to arrange a visit to see what the life involves and to test your suitability for it. Possibly the sort of stories that are most often repeated are of interest because they are exceptional, out of the ordinary -- or also because their lesson is important, that even if a person does not feel drawn to the religious life, he or she should not rule out the possibility of a vocation. Recognizing and desiring both the beauty and utility of such a life seem to be perfectly in line with a true calling to it. Are you familiar with what Our Lady of Good Success said about the religious life? "Woe to the world should it lack monasteries and convents! Men do not comprehend their importance, for, if they understood, they would do all in their power to multiply them, because in them can be found the remedy for all physical and moral evils. ... No one on the face of the earth is aware whence comes the salvation of souls, the conversion of great sinners, the end of great scourges, the fertility of the land, the end of pestilence and wars, and the harmony between nations. All this is due to the prayers that rise up from monasteries and convents."
Curt Wakeman - You might like to check out the book, The Man Who Got Even with God, by Fr. Raymond. It is the story of a cowboy who became a Trappist Monk. The book is relatively short and was first published around 1940. Just Google the title to find out more. Happy Reading & God bless you!
