Discerning a religious vocation

DISCERNMENT

VOL. 2, NO. 1                                                                                                                    MARCH 2011

      

   In the February issue of Discernment, we looked at one way that one becomes aware of God in the seasons of one’s life. In this issue, I will look  at two practical steps in becoming aware of the vocation to which one is being called. The first step is an awarness of God’s call itself.  That call comes from deep within one’s soul, as does the call to any of the other vocations in life. In the deep recesses of one’s soul, God speaks, God invites, God offers the gift of consecrated life.

   A prerequisite to awareness is a listening stance. To hear God’s voice, one needs to create an environment in which one’s quiet, inner voice  can be heard. That whispering voice of God’s Spirit can easily be drowned out, shut out, ignored by the noise of other voices that shout at us from outside the self. God is not in the screaming voices that demand this or that of us or that corral us into doing domething or choosing something just because everyone else is doing it or choosing it. For each of us, God is in the choices that are right for us, that are His will for us.  The prophet Elijah teaches us this truth. Elijah was in hiding—what was happening around him was too much to bear and scary to listen to.     God summoned him to leave his place of hiding and ascend the mountain (a symbol of seeking and praying to the Almighty) and God would pass by.  A powerful earthquake shook the earth. Then a fire broke out followed by a quiet, “murmuring” breeze. God was not in the earthquake nor in the blazing fire but in the gentle, whispering breeze. God is not in that which the world promotes as making us  powerful, prestigious, popular or wealthy—the next blazing hot commodity or experience above all experiences, accomplishment that exceeds all accomplishments—but in His will for us.

     Like Elijah, we need to come out of hiding—the hiding that can occur by being super busy, overextended, connected 24/7, wired 24/7, addicted to whatever--and listen alone to God on the “mountaintop”.    To discover God’s plan for our lives, we need to want to make that discovery.  God’s will for us may, in fact, be different from that which our parents, grandparents, teachers, friends, co-workers want for us. How will one know? By taking in what one hears, looking at it from within, seeking enlightenment, wisdom, counsel, understanding from God. We need to pray for the grace to see what God sees, hear what God hears, especially if God’s will is different from what we hear everyone else saying it is.  We need to ask God to make us aware of His plan through whatever source He chooses and let go of ours.

     Once an individual is conscious that God is calling her to religious life, that person is then faced with a second step in the discernment process. That step is gathering information about different religious communities. There are 1000’s of them. How does one know which one is the right one? The same way a young woman called to marriage knows which man is the one with whom she will enter the married state. The knowing is an inner knowing. One arrives at that knowledge by getting to know men to whom one is attracted. One arrives at knowing which religious community is right by getting to know different religious communities: doing research, visiting, spending time with its members (praying with, listening to, discussions with), learning about the founder/foundress, the community’s charism, spiritualitiy, mission life, ministries, prayer life, community life.  At some point, both you and that community believe this is the right choice for you, as two people believe they are called to marriage.

Sister Dorothy Ann Dirkx, SSM

Vocation Director of the U.S./Caribbean Province of  the

 Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother

The Lenten Journey

As we begin the journey of lent, we intensify our quest for God. We also witness God's intensification of His quest for us!  Yes, Jesus, by going to the cross, is God searching for us, thirsting for us, pining for us.  Jesus learns obedience to the Father's will by what He suffered on the cross. It is on the cross that Jesus surrenders His life to the Father and thus returns to the Father's glory, from whence He came and opens the way for us, too, to return to God.  Because of Jesus'death and resurrection, we, too, are capable of learning obedience from the sufferings in our life. By dying to that which we need to die to in order to experience new life, new hope, deeper love and true freedom, we, too, return to the glory of the Father, from whence we came. Through death, we experience resurrection.  O, happy Lent. O, Blessed Savior. O, holy God. O loving God, who did not spare His only begotten Son so that we may have life eternal, not only when we die physically, but as we die in this life to that which bars us from God's love, God's will, God's compassion, God's mercy, God's justice.

Making all things new

I was reflecting on today's Scriptures (the tower of Babel and Mk 8:34-9:1--Those who wish "to save [their] life will lose it," but those who lose their "life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it"). The image came to me of a two-year-old building a lego structure and how my ego sometimes acts like a screaming two-year-old when a sibling knocks down his/her structure. Instead of being open to what the Spirit can build when we are open to the input of others, when we compromise and truly listen to one another, our egos usually want to be understood first. Forget about understanding the other's point of view. And, guess what, the structure crumples and we don't experience what the Scriptures promise: "See I make all things new" (Rev. 21:5). I actually laughed aloud at how correct this image is at times.

Awareness of God in one's life: A Discernment Skill

Becoming aware: One of the first steps in discerning God’s will in one’s life is becoming aware of how one encounters God. One way might be looking back over one’s life’s experiences: the good and the “bad,” the ups and the downs, the “winters,” “summers,” “springs, and “autumns” of one’s life. What do I mean by that? The “spring times” would be times of growth, of new life, new energy, new opportunities. One dies to some things, buries them in “the ground” so that something new springs up. During the summers of one’s life, so to speak, the seeds sown during the spring times were beginning to grow and mature, results were showing.    In fall, a harvest is garnered and some things are also dying. One is letting go of some things, as the leaves let go of the tree to which they were attached. In winter, the going is harsh, cold, dark, sometimes dangerous. Life seems barren. Grief abounds.   During each of the “seasons” what was one’s beliefs about God during that time? How did one experience God then? Write the story of the seasons of your life and your experience of God’s presence, His challenges, His Wisdom, His comfort that seeps through, strengthens, nurtures you in each of those seasons.  What were your beliefs about God in the “good” and “bad” times of your faith journey? in the light and dark times, the "days" and the "nights."

Knowing how you encounter God is an important part of discerning what God is calling you to along life’s highway. God’s will for you is not just about a vocation in life (marriage, single life, religious life). It is also about becoming the best person God has called you to become. It is about becoming YOU in all of your beauty, your strengths, challenges. It’s about developing and being aware of your intelligence, your giftedness, your vulnerabilities, your potential for greatness (spiritual greatness).

As you go through the “seasons” of your life, how did your beauty come through? What strengths surfaced? What gifts were developed? How did you nurture your potential of becoming the great human being God created you to be? Of what vulnerabilities did you become aware?  Did any of your beliefs in God change? How?  What were they prior to the experience? What were they following the experience? What are they now?

Enjoy this method of developing the skill of discernment.

God's guarantee of eternal life to those who believe

Today's Scripture readings are awesome.  In  Heb 10:19-25 we read about the incredible gift of eternal life. Jesus opened the gates to eternal life for us through "the veil," His flesh. Because of Jesus, we can approach eternity with utmost confidence and unwaverly hope. The water and blood that poured out from Jesus' heart on the cross cleanses our consciences and purifies our heart--the very body and blood of Jesus that enters our very being in Holy Communion. Over and above these gifts,  Jesus intercedes for us before the throne of His Father on a daily basis--think of the power of this intercession, when we know our own intercessory prayers make a difference in the lives of those for whom we pray. What an awesome God. No wonder, in the Gospel, Jesus asks that we do not put our light under a bushel basket. Our very nature is to radiate God's glory fully alive within us, especially after we receive the Eucharist.

"He casts out devils by the prince of devils"

Imagine how insulted Jesus must have felt when the Pharisees accused Him of casting out devils by the prince of devils.  How ludicrous! How bizarre a thought. Would the Pharisees ever see any good in Jesus? Would the pharisees of today ever see any good in another human being.  You and I are capable of assuming a pharisaical role, seeing "specks" in the lives of others while a beam lodges in our own eyes, the beam of prejudice, fault-finding, negativity, jealousy, gossip and so on.  We can also look at the Gospel of today and marvel at the Spirit working in our lives as the Spirit worked in the life of Jesus, giving us the strength to remain confident of God's power at work in us when we are falsely accused, belittled, degraded by the harsh remarks of our accusers or by our harshness toward ourselves. May each of us stand firm in God's grace.

Being Drawn to Christ

This year the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother are celebrating the 11^th death anniversary of their Foundress, Mother Frances Streitel.  Mother Frances was declared “Venerable” by the Church in March of 2010. That means that she is a candidate for beatification and also for canonization. By being declared “Venerable,” the Church is saying that she practiced virtue to a heroic degree. She is someone all of us can emulate.   Let me begin this year’s Spiritual Journey by reflecting on Mother Frances’ love of the Lord. Already as a child Mother Frances found ways to imitate her Savior and grow close to Him. At age nine she contemplated what Jesus meant when He said “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself” (Jn 12:32). She also looked for ways, as a child, to reach out to those in need, imitating her mother who shared meals with the poor of her day. Amalia, as she was known as a child, saved her desserts for them. She was willing, already then, to make sacrifices for the Lord, as He did for her in leaving His Father’s House and taking on human nature.