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Diocesan or religious?

Brendon asks:

How do I discern whether to be a diocesan priest, or a religious, and if I am called to be a religious, how do I decide which order? 

Dear Brendon,

 

It may sound like a trick answer to you, but it goes to the heart of the matter: you have to see what God is doing in your soul.

 

How do you do this? Many ways. You pray for light and ask the Holy Spirit to make you docile to his promptings. You seek the advice of a spiritual director. You get to know the different vocations. If one particular vocation captivates you, you stop there and follow through on it, without complicating things by looking into others. You can read about the priesthood, especially the lives of great priests and apostles, so that they can inspire you.

 

As you do this, you will discover things you can't see yourself doing and things you can; some ways of life despite seeming good will not attract you, but don't worry, keep going until something speaks to you. For example, suppose there is a great tradition of monastic life in your country and even in your family, but you find that as you think and pray about the Church and its needs, while you do see the need for the prayer and sacrifice of monks, you feel more strongly the need to address more directly the concrete needs of people (visiting the sick, teaching, preaching, hearing confessions), this is usually God's way of speaking to your soul.    

 

Ask Christ to help you purify your intention so you will not be seeking yourself but his will.

 

As you do your search, make sure you do so with absolute trust and hope. You are not making your vocation, you are discovering it. God already knows it, and he has his time to reveal it to you.

 

God bless.

 

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