Labels: Betsy Joy

So retreat is in eight days. I'm so ready for it I really can't wait! Life has been kind of crazy lately and it's starting to get me down. I'm just so ready for a break from it all. Yet at the same time I'm almost dreading it because it means I have to actually articulate what's in my heart to someone I've never met before and I'm really not good at that. It's so much easier for me to type or write what's on my heart then for me to actually say it face to face to someone. I guess the reason I'm posting this is just to get it out. I've been holding this in for way to long. Please keep me in your prayers.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

Labels: Betsy Joy

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Discernment, especially that of a call to the priesthood and/or religious life, is extremely difficult, particularly for those of us outside of a formal formation setting. To help my fellow discerners, I thought I would share a few suggestions that have been particularly helpful for me.
First, and foremost, we must remember that a call to any vocation is a call that comes from God. We live in an age of careerism, and an age that encourages individuals to ask the question "What do I want to do with my life?", rather than encouraging these people to ask "What does God want me to do with my life?". Because the call to a vocation comes from God, it is important to have a strong relationship with Him, in order to properly discern what He is asking you to do with your life. In order to come to know and love Our Lord more deeply, I make the following recommendations. The first is to set aside regular time each day to pray, at least fifteen minutes. The Liturgy of the Hours and the Rosary are prayers I highly recommend to anyone discerning a religious or priestly vocation. Lectio Divina and spiritual reading, if only for fifteen minutes a day, or a half hour a few days a week, are also very helpful.
The second recommendation I have is to attend daily Mass as many days as you can, go to confession at least once a month, and, if possible, spend at least half an hour a week in Eucharistic Adoration.
My third recommendation is to find a priest you trust, one you would feel comfortable talking to and confiding in, and ask him to be your spiritual director. If you are unfamiliar with the priests in your local area, ask a trusted Catholic friend which priest they would recommend. And, if the schedule of the priest you ask doesn't allow him to help you, ask him for a recommend a few priests who might be able to serve as your spiritual director. Spiritual direction is indispensible when discerning a vocation, and your spiritual director will help you strengthen your prayer life and discern Our Lord's will for you.
Fourth, it is crucial to remember that discernment of a call to the priesthood or religious life is a two-way street. You are discerning whether you are called to that vocation, and so is the diocese or religious order you are looking at. If you get turned down by a diocese or religious order, it's o.k. You haven't failed Our Lord, He just needs you to serve him someplace else, and He'll lead you there when the time is right.
Fifth, For those discerning whether or not you are called to a religious order, whether in the capacity of a priest, monk, religious brother, religious sister, or nun, I strongly recommend reading about the founder of that order. It helps to know something about the founder of the order when discerning whether or not you are called to serve Our Lord through that order. Be prudent in your choice of biography, however, as sometimes dissident theologians will twist the lives of the saints, particularly St. Francis. There's a biography of St. Francis written by Omer Engelbert, however, that I've read and is pretty good. G.K. Chesterton's biography of St. Francis is also good, from what I've heard, though I haven't read it yet. St. Ignatius of Loyola wrote his own autobiography, so I'd recommend that for anyone looking at the Jesuits (I once did, but determined that they're not where God is calling me).
If anyone has any questions, feel free to e-mail me.
May God bless you all abundantly.
In Christ,
For The Sake of Him (formerly LandOLakesJesuit)

Labels: For The Sake of Him

I was lying in bed on Sunday night thinking about my vocation and thinking of how I would respond if someone asked me why I'm becoming a nun. My thought precess went something like this. Because God purposed to me and how could I turn down the perfect guy? He truly is perfect it's not just I think He is perfect because I'm in love with Him, He is God so there is nothing but good in Him. Wait a minute Betsy, God is perfect and there can't be anything but perfection in Him so that means His love for me is perfect and perfect love casts out all fear. You have no reason to be afraid. It was like a light bulb. I get it now. I really have nothing to be afraid of or worry about because His love for me is perfect. I know this should have been obvious to me but I've been struggling a lot with fear of the unknown but in the past two days I haven't felt any fear at all about it. It is so amazing to be able to remind myself when I start to fall into fear or worry that oh yeah, I don't have to worry about it because He is perfect so His love for me is perfect so I have no reason to fear.

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

Labels: Betsy Joy

On November 7th to the 8th the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist are holding a discernment retreat for women ages seventeen to thirty five. It is a time to meet the Sisters, have fun with them and pray with them. There will be talks on the vocation to religious life, personal testimonies and all night Adoration. The cost is twenty five dollars and it is held at the Joy rd. school in Ann Arbor MI. For more info or to sign up visit their website, sistersofmary.org

God bless you!

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

Labels: Betsy Joy

Hi everyone! My name is Betsy. I'm seventeen and am, God willing, going to enter the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor. I am very excited to be able to share with others the amazing ways that God has blessed me and the lessons I have learned. Here is my story.

From the time I was very young the thought that maybe I was going to be a nun was there. This was due in part to the fact that five of my paternal great aunts were Sisters of Saint Joseph in London, Ontario. My aunt and uncle have a cottage in Canada that they let us use for family vacations and we would always spend a day in London at the motherhouse. While yes, it was only seven days of my life, it made such a huge impact on me that whenever someone asked me “What do you want to be when you grow up?” it was always “…or a nun”.
When I was twelve I was sitting on the couch making a bracelet and thinking and praying about my life. All of a sudden I knew that I was going to be one hundred percent God’s. I can’t say what happened, but I knew and have never doubted it since. The first year was very hard for me because I didn’t really understand what that meant. Instead of seeing everything I get when I give myself to God I was focused on everything I had to give up. At my Confirmation Mass, about a year later, my eyes were opened to the amazing thing that being a sister really is and that’s when my romance with God really began. I still had no idea how I was going to live it out.
In August of 2007 I was pretty sure that God was calling me to one of three orders: the Servants of God’s Love, The Sisters of Life, or The Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. In November I was looking more into the Servants of God’s Love and was very attracted to their work with orphans and I was thinking that maybe that’s where God was calling me. Then the fact that they don’t wear a traditional habit started bugging me. I kept telling myself, “Betsy, that’s ridiculous, what they wear doesn’t matter at all, the important thing is the work they do,” but I was having a really hard time with it. Eventually I got so fed up with myself I said, “Okay God, I’m going to go back to discerning between these three orders and if you want me with the Servants of God’s Love you are going to have to change my heart because I’m having a really hard time with this” and He said ,“Okay, I’ll let you know, but not yet.”
In late November I got a phone call from one of my friends asking if I wanted to go on the March for Life in Washington D.C. I said yes, and thought that maybe this would decide the Sisters of Life one way or the other. I went on the trip and had an amazing time of course, but when I got home I couldn’t figure out if something had happened or if I only felt like something happened because I wanted something to happen. I kept going back and forth and just couldn’t figure it out. At the end of February I went on retreat with my youth group and was talking to my small group leader about what was going on and she said to me, “ Betsy, if you believe that God is calling you to the Sisters of Life, then pursue it and if He isn’t He will let you know before your final vows.” I started pursuing it, but there wasn’t anything I could really do about it because they ask you to go to college before you join.. I was just waiting.
My mom and I came to the profession of first vows in August and I was very moved. When the Sisters were prostrate in front of the altar, I saw myself at some point in the future, in a white habit and black veil prostrate in front of the altar at Christ the King. I just brushed it aside though because I was going to have a blue scapular and cape and it was going to be in New York. When we came to the motherhouse, the first thing we did was go into the chapel and right away I felt at home and at peace. One of the things that really stuck out to me was the joy and laughter of all of the sisters, even in the midst of hard work. What also struck me was the genuine beauty of all of you that has nothing to do with the outside.
On Friday, my first thought was “Maybe I’m not so sure about New York.” I told my mom this and she said “Yeah, I kind of thought that might happen.” Later in the day I was doing dishes and I asked God, “Okay, what happened yesterday? I thought you wanted me in New York?” He told me that the reason I thought He wanted me in New York was because He needed to know how much I am willing to give and if I was willing to wait. A few weeks prior to this I was in Adoration and had finally given Him everything and really meant it. He told me that because I had shown Him that I was ready to do anything for Him, He wasn’t asking me to go to New York and do theses hard things but He was asking me to go to Ann Arbor next year.
I am going on retreat with them in November and will talk to Sister Joseph then.
You are all constantly in my thoughts and prayers. God bless you all!

JMJ+
~Betsy

Totus tuus Maria!

Labels: Betsy Joy

Members and Readers of Holy Vocations:

I am seeking (2) two additional administrators at this time. Without 2 administrators to assist me in the running of Holy Vocations, I doubt that this blog will be able to continue much further into the future.

I am looking to expand the blog and update it from template format to layout format in Blogger. I am also seeking to write an invitation to all religious/clergy on St. Blog's Parish Directory and ask them to share their vocation stories with our community.

With these projects and other necessary maintenance in mind, I simply require 2 additional administrators, preferably with some html or graphic design experience. If you are interested, please comment below and/or email me at acatholiclife [at] gmail.com.

You do not have to be a current member of Holy Vocations to become an administrator. And, you do not necessary have to be discerning a religious vocation to be an administrator either.

The other option is that I know of a web designer who would be willing to update the layout and usability of this blog for $100 USD. If someone would be willing to donate that sum, it would also serve the needs of this blogging community.

Labels: Blogging

The list of women's religious links has been updated and defunct links have either been updated or removed.

Labels: Blogging

As a continuation of the annual tradition of the Catholic Blog Awards, this year the Catholic New Media Awards includes new categories including several devoted to podcasts as well as a social networking category.

And, Holy Vocations is honored to have been nominated for Best Group Blog.

If you believe in and support the efforts of Holy Vocations, please consider voting for us at the Catholic New Media Awards! Please forward this message to the supporters of our blogging endeavor!

Note: This will be posted at the top of each day until voting has ended.

Labels: Blogging

Dear Matthew,

Hello, could I please ask that you pray for me this week, and if you know anyone else who is willing to pray too. I've my assessment on [removed for privacy] which will decide if I get into Seminary or not. Thanks very much in advance and God bless you,

in Christ,
[Anonymous]

I ask readers to please keep him in your prayers this week. And, for anyone requesting prayers, please see the list of links to various religious congregations that accept online prayer requests: Creating A Prayer List.

Via A Catholic Life

Please excuse the maintenance which is undergoing. It is our hope that these changes will result in increased functionality and visual appeal for our readers. These changes will probably take place over the next few weeks.

Labels: Blogging

Hello all! My patron saints and the great God himself continually suprise me along my journey! My patron, B. Fr. Seelos, has silently guided my heart to inquire about the Redemptorists congregation. I have recently contacted the vocation director for the Denver Province of North America. I have also talked to some good friends of mine at the Seelos Shrine in New Orleans. The ambition I feel burning in my heart is to put on the habit of my patron. The Redemptorist Congregation was started by St. Alphonsus Liguori in 1732. The Congregation is a missionary order aimed at giving Parish missions, retreats for religious and clerics, school training in seminaries and high schools, and mission work in various third-world countries. Reading the biography of Fr. Seelos, I was prompted to further investigate the life of the Redemptorists. I will continue in prayer though in hopes that God will lead me to whatever he desires. Please remeber me in your prayers!

Labels: teencatholic

In the sidebar of this blog, there is now a search feature for Amazon.com, which I hope will improve the usability of the site. This is one of many updates to "modernize" the blog [modernizing in the good way].

Labels: Blogging

Tonight I edited the links in the "Vocation Links: Men" list and repaired all broken links, so that all links in that section now work properly.

Labels: Blogging

by Fr Tim Finigan

Labels: England, retreats