Vocation to the Religious Life as Sister or Brother

So a vocation is literally “God’s call,” a call that we hear by listening to God’s voice within us as God speaks through our inner and outer experiences. Listening to God’s call is an interactive process–a dialog–between God and us.

If we look at the major, archetypal calls in scripture, we see this pattern borne out. Whether it is Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Jeremiah, Mary, Jesus, or Peter, they all somehow hear God’s voice, often in the interior of their hearts and sometimes through external experiences. Regardless of how they hear God’s voice, each of these models from scripture eventually responds generously and openly. After a time, their calls seem obvious and literally define who they are. But this is not the case initially.

At first each one responds with confusion and doubt. Each one’s first reaction is a variation on “Not me, Lord!” “I’m too young” (Jeremiah) or “I have a stutter” (Moses) or “I’m too sinful” (Peter and Isaiah) or “I haven’t had sex, so how can I bear a son?” (Mary). But as they try to listen attentively and respond generously and openly, they eventually discover what God is calling them to. And the more deeply they respond over time, the clearer their sense of having been called becomes. They develop a genuine, profound sense of vocation.  

Resource: http://www.houstonvocations.com/religious-life/gods-call/

Visit the http://www.houstonvocations.com/ for more information and a listing of all religious communities for women and men in our archdiocese.