How do I Know?
“How do I know whether God is calling me to Religious Life?” Ask Him! It is doubtful that you’ll wake up one day and out of the blue say, “I’m going to be a monk,” although that IS possible. But more than likely you’ll see that you are attracted to frequent prayer and spending much time in front of the Blessed Sacrament; you’ll find yourself reading anything that has to do with Catholicism; you will be at daily Mass as much as possible; you’ll find yourself seeking-out priests and religious to talk to; volunteering and mission related work will be a part of your life. – If these things are happening over a long period of time (one to several years), it is vital to get a spiritual director if you do not already have one. He will be instrumental in guiding you in discerning God’s call.
The aforementioned things are great indicators that you have a religious and/or priestly vocation. But it is possible to be doing all of these things and yet be called to marriage or the single state! Working with your spiritual director and much prayer will ultimately lead you to a decision point, where you can: A.) Decide one way or the other, or, B.) Not decide and be forever riding the fence. I like to tell people that they can see the path God has been leading them down. He brings them to a precipice, with a deep chasm below the edge. On the other side of this chasm they can see the path continuing. But they have to jump to get there. Their heart–of–hearts knows the path is either religious life or marriage or single life. They either jump and make that firm decision, or loiter at the side of the cliff indefinitely. In other words, GO FOR IT! - In my own case, I knew that if I didn’t take the jump for religious life and had gotten married, I would always wonder, “what if…”
- Fr. Mark A. Purcell, O.S.B.
Below are excerpts from the Catechism that may be of interest to you.
III. THE CONSECRATED LIFE (from the Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Evangelical counsels, consecrated life
915 Christ proposes the evangelical counsels, in their great variety, to every disciple. The perfection of charity, to which all the faithful are called, entails for those who freely follow the call to consecrated life the obligation of practicing chastity in celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, poverty and obedience. It is the profession of these counsels, within a permanent state of life recognized by the Church, that characterizes the life consecrated to God.454
916 The religious state is thus one way of experiencing a "more intimate" consecration, rooted in Baptism and dedicated totally to God.455 In the consecrated life, Christ's faithful, moved by the Holy Spirit, propose to follow Christ more nearly, to give themselves to God who is loved above all and, pursuing the perfection of charity in the service of the Kingdom, to signify and proclaim in the Church the glory of the world to come.456
Religious life
925 Religious life was born in the East during the first centuries of Christianity. Lived within institutes canonically erected by the Church, it is distinguished from other forms of consecrated life by its liturgical character, public profession of the evangelical counsels, fraternal life led in common, and witness given to the union of Christ with the Church.466
926 Religious life derives from the mystery of the Church. It is a gift she has received from her Lord, a gift she offers as a stable way of life to the faithful called by God to profess the counsels. Thus, the Church can both show forth Christ and acknowledge herself to be the Savior's bride. Religious life in its various forms is called to signify the very charity of God in the language of our time.
927 All religious, whether exempt or not, take their place among the collaborators of the diocesan bishop in his pastoral duty.467 From the outset of the work of evangelization, the missionary "planting" and expansion of the Church require the presence of the religious life in all its forms.468 "History witnesses to the outstanding service rendered by religious families in the propagation of the faith and in the formation of new Churches: from the ancient monastic institutions to the medieval orders, all the way to the more recent congregations."469
944 The life consecrated to God is characterized by the public profession of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, in a stable state of life recognized by the Church.
Promises and vows
2101 In many circumstances, the Christian is called to make promises to God. Baptism and Confirmation, Matrimony and Holy Orders always entail promises. Out of personal devotion, the Christian may also promise to God this action, that prayer, this alms-giving, that pilgrimage, and so forth. Fidelity to promises made to God is a sign of the respect owed to the divine majesty and of love for a faithful God.
2102 "A vow is a deliberate and free promise made to God concerning a possible and better good which must be fulfilled by reason of the virtue of religion,"21 A vow is an act of devotion in which the Christian dedicates himself to God or promises him some good work. By fulfilling his vows he renders to God what has been promised and consecrated to Him. the Acts of the Apostles shows us St. Paul concerned to fulfill the vows he had made.22
2103 The Church recognizes an exemplary value in the vows to practice the evangelical counsels:23
Mother Church rejoices that she has within herself many men and women who pursue the Savior's self-emptying more closely and show it forth more clearly, by undertaking poverty with the freedom of the children of God, and renouncing their own will: they submit themselves to man for the sake of God, thus going beyond what is of precept in the matter of perfection, so as to conform themselves more fully to the obedient Christ.24
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