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Discerning A Priestly Vocation

Discerning a Vocation, What Does it Mean? Archbishop Allen Vigneron on Jan. 9, 2010 National Vocation Awareness Week
Attending to the Mystery of My Personal Call	Listen
How to Accept the Grace of My Vocation	Listen
The Essence of the Priestly Vocation	Listen

The process of making a decision about your life with the help of the Holy Spirit is called "discernment." It is the process of discovering God's will for you.

As you begin, remember that both you and God ultimately desire the same thing - your happiness. You want to make a decision about your life that will bring you happiness.

Therefore, you and God are not working at
cross-purposes, but for the same goal.

Have You Considered... The Diocesan Priesthood

The Office of Priestly Vocations offers several Discernment Weekends to men who are aged 18 years or older and two Discernment Overnights to men who are 14-17 years of age. During a Discernment Weekend you will be given an opportunity to worship with the seminary community; to meet students and faculty; to sit-in on classes; to meet other men considering the priesthood; and to spend time alone in prayer.  A Discernment Overnight is similar to a Discernment Weekend but is structured for High School students.

There are no fees or obligations to come to a Discernment Weekend or a Discernment Overnight.  Attending a weekend or overnight is certainly not a commitment to enter the seminary. But it is an excellent opportunity to take an honest look at the possibilities seminary life may hold for you.

 Discernment Weekend Information

During a Discernment Weekend you will be given an opportunity to worship with the seminary community; to meet students and faculty; to sit-in on classes; to meet other men considering the priesthood; and to spend time alone in prayer.

There are no fees or obligations to come to a Discernment Weekend.  Attending a weekend is certainly not a commitment to enter the seminary. But it is an excellent opportunity to take an honest look at the possibilities seminary life may hold for you.

The Four Steps of Discernment

Step One - Be in touch with yourself

Know your likes and dislikes, your fears and dreams, your hopes and interests, your abilities and limitations. Get to know how you work under stress, what kind of leadership you respond to, how much structure you need in your life.

See how others view you in work situations, under stress, and at leisure. Reflect how you view others. Are you able to accept others, to work with them?

One way to look at a call for the Lord is to see Him acting all through your life. He created you with a unique personality and allowed you to experience a personal history. Your personality and personal history are part of your call.

As you might get to know yourself, accept what you find. You might want to change some aspects of yourself in the future, but begin by accepting yourself as you are.

You might keep a journal to record your feelings over a period of time. Going back over this journal and reflecting on changes in your feelings and ideas will give a picture of the person you are.

Another road to self-discovery is to develop a relationship with a spiritual director or some- one else whom you trust and who can be objective with you. If you are open and honest with this person, self-knowledge will increase.

Step Two - Be in touch with the Lord

Develop a life of prayer, not just in times of crisis, but regularly. No relationship develops between persons unless they listen to each other. You must learn to listen to each other. You must learn to listen to the Lord in prayer and not merely ask Him to listen to you.

You have to spend time with Him, listen to Him, be honest with Him, and occasionally be willing to wait on Him.

Prayer is a highly personal response to a personal love that God has for you individually. Because you are unique, your prayer response is going to be unique. Don't hesitate to experiment with various forms of prayer until you find those which best express your relationship with the Lord.

Many good books on prayer are available today. One you might want to consider is You-Prayer for Beginners and Those Who Have Forgotten How, by Mark Link, S.J., Argus Communications. It is a guideline for prayerful contemplation and conversation with the Lord. It suggests various forms or experimentation in prayer. Another is He Touched Me, by John Powell, S.J.-also an Argus book.

Look for traces of the Lord in nature, in other people. He is active in all. The better you get to know Him, the more you will be able to perceive.

Step Three - The decision-making process itself

As you become more in touch with yourself and with the Lord, prayerfully gather the facts about your decision. Consider alternatives. Write out the pros and cons of each alternative. Try to project what effect each alternative will have on you five and ten years from now.

In considering religious life, search out information about various religious communities, their works, their life-styles. Consider other careers which might suit you. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Talk to priests, sisters, brothers and to people in other careers. Visit religious houses as well as the work situation of other careers, if possible. Try to see yourself as a priest, brother, or sister ten years from now, and as a married person with a family ten years from now. Which seems to best fit you?

As you gather the facts about the alternative life choices open for you, be particularly attentive to your feelings. If you have been open and honest with yourself in Step One and with the Lord in Step Two, you can trust your feelings. Choose what appears to be best for you and what appears to be God's will.

Step Four - Confirm your decision

After you have made your decision, spend time in prayer for an extended period to see if the decision still seems right. If it does, there should be a continuation of inner peace and satisfaction. This period of confirmation should go on for an extended interval, several weeks or more, to be sure that the peace you feel is true tranquility and not simply the relief that follows a difficult decision.

You can also be confirmed in your decision by sharing it with your spiritual director or someone else with whom you have worked throughout the process.