Becoming a Religious - A Gift and A Challenge

            One of the most difficult decisions we make in our lives is that of making personal vocational choices. The alternatives to choose from are many, and they are all good and holy. These life choices, however, are uniquely personal. That means to say, that not everybody is called to be a religious. Therefore, it is necessary that we carefully discern the varied vocational opportunities that are open to us as individuals.  

            The call to Religious life starts like any vocational calling, whether to married life, or to single celibacy. We are seized by the spirit, we are imbued with God's grace and we are moved by God to action.  Ultimately, our God experiences draw us closer to God and to God's people, The call to embrace religious life, however, comes differently in its life context. One hears God's calling more intensely and is drawn by God's grace to follow Christ more drastically in their lives. One is drawn to make the  radical decisions and commitments that are asked of a religious. That is why there is a need for a vocation discerner to listen more attentively to God's call through contemplation and prayer, personal reflection, consultation with close friends and spiritual companions. There is also a need to make personal explorations of religious communities, to truly discern what is God's will for an individual based on his gifts, talents and charisms.

Religious Life has been defined by the way of life that was lived by the early century Christians. It has continued to live as religious make deliberate choices to live the values of the Christian Gospel and to accept the demands of professing the apostolice vows of celibacy, poverty and obedience.  These men and women who chose this way of life have prayer life, community living and service as the major thrust of their lives, in the service of Christ's  Mission, i.e., the unfolding of the reign of God in our world. For the last few decades, much of  this mission has evolved into working for peace and justice for our broken world. If you feel that you are called to religious life and are curious to explore which religious congregation fits for you, please take time to visit this website for further information about religious life, i.e., What is religious life and its timeline. Reprinted with permission from VISION Vocation Guide,www.VocationGuide.org. 

            Religious life has challenges and rewards as any other vocation. Life always has its own moments of joys and of sorrows. We recognize that we are only human beings with flaws, weaknesses and frailties . We rejoice, however, in our human realities. This is because it is in our weakness, that Christ- who-is-with-us, always graces us with the necessary gifts to live out our lives as religious. We are humbled to know that it was not us who chose religious life. Rather, it was religious life that chose us. So in faith, we are filled with hope that God who called us into this life will always sustain us, most especially during our most trying and difficult times.  In "knowing deeply, loving dearly and following closely Christ and Christ's examples" in our lives we will grow closer to our journey of life-long personal conversion and transformation to become more loving and caring for God, for others, for ourselves and for the world.

       God's Spirit is amazing! Just as when we proudly claim that we are doing God's will, that particular God's grace immediately eludes us.  We can not contain God in our lives, we can only mirror it.  We surrender, therefore, to the reality that it is God who does the work of seizing our spirits. We only grow in our openness to God's Spirit by being more willing to be attuned to and to cooperate with God's movements in our lives.   Let us all,  then,  be in awe as we come to acknowledge our total dependence on God's  grace. Let us echo Thomas Merton's prayer as he narrates his mystical experience  in "Thoughts in Solitude."