Latest Post
Let's Talk Vocations
One of the saddest things to me, is the misunderstanding of the religious vocation. It is so common now to hear girls speak in fear of having a religious vocation, as if they really hope God doesn't give them one. They view it as a sentence to a dull and miserable life, and pray they somehow didn't draw the short straw. How times have changed!
Do you remember reading the stories of the saints where the young girls would run off to join the convent and their families would drag them back and make them marry someone? Imagine if that happened now! Girls running off to join convents! Granted, there are a lot fewer convents to run to these days, but still, there was a very different understanding of the religious life then. A better understanding.
The lack of exposure to religious in convents is definitely part of the problem here. How are we to desire a path in life that we only vaguely know? That is hard, for sure. A religious life is a big step, a giving up of self to be a part of something bigger, something more. In a way it is like joining the military, you will be challenged, you will be asked to grow into a more perfect version of yourself, you will be asked to work towards the greater good, and you will spend your life actively fighting for the eternal lives of those in this world. It is not for the faint of heart.
But what if I don't want to have a vocation? Well..... God has chosen you very specially for this world. He needs you, right now, right here, and He has planned the perfect path for you to help Him bring as many souls as possible back to Him, including your own. Now, He knows humans pretty well, seeing as He created them and then became one, and He wants you to be happy, He really does. So He plans a lovely life for you to bring you joy, but He also knows that we easily forget things that are not visible to us, so He plans some crosses into our journey, a few here and there so we don't forget all about Him. He balances everything perfectly with your temperament, personality, siblings, location, etc. And then He lets you go, and watches you as you grow, nudging you along on the path to heaven, breathlessly waiting to have you join Him again. So, what if He chose you to love Him more intimately by becoming His bride? Why should you be scared? He wants you. He loves you. He will give you happiness here and in the next world so long as you love Him back.
The call to a religious life is not the call to endless hours miserably staring at the altar on numb knees. Some of the happiest and healthiest people I know are nuns. Seriously, they are always smiling and they never age!!! I visited the Dominican novitiate in France a few years back and the best way I could describe it is that it was like girls camp. It really was. It was a group of young women, laughing, singing, praying, studying, cleaning, and just living their best life as they learned more about the rule of St. Dominic. I was there over Easter break and the fun they had! The novices one day slipped into the Mistress of Novices' room and hid 20 or so little chocolate eggs all around her room. She came to breakfast the next day laughing about finding one in her pillow for a nighttime snack, and another in her shoe that morning as she got up. Chocolate is an important part of the novitiate I guess, because every morning one of them made me a steaming cup of rich hot chocolate as she knew I liked it so much. It was a wonderful time and I wished I could stay, but God had other plans for me.
That week spent there will always be one of my fondest memories. You may not believe me, but go and see for yourself. That is the other thing, a religious life does have final vows, but they are not immediate. You get to go and visit, and if you feel called, join them. Then you have a year or so as a postulant before you even got the habit of a novice! Our modern culture is TERRIBLE with commitment and instant gratification. We hesitate to promise to do anything, to show up regularly to things. And if we are no longer satisfied with something, we instantly want to change it. Let's slow down a bit. Let's give a religious vocation the serious thought it deserves, and let us not be scared to "waste our lives in a convent" whether for one year as a novice, or for our entire life as a professed nun. Look at St. Therese, she begged to join at just 15, in one of the strictest orders of nuns, and she was beaming with joy! Not only that, but her life was far from "wasted" as she has been canonized, recognized as a doctor of the Church, and started one of the biggest ways of spiritual life by her "little way".
God has a beautiful plan just for you, and though you may not think you will love it, He knows you better than anyone and He has chosen the perfect path, so don't be scared to follow Him and I promise you will be the happiest possible version of yourself! Dear Readers,
It has been a while, I am so sorry! I have thought of you all and this blog quite often, but just have not been well enough to work on it. Now that I have had my sweet baby girl, I have much more energy, though less time, to get back into things! So, it may be slow on here for a bit longer, but I am excited to be back!
One thing that has stood out for me with both of my postpartum experiences, is how amazing the community is here in Dickinson. Seriously, I do not know anyone who has as much love and support when they welcome a new little one. We have had meals prepared and brought to us every other day for 3 weeks straight and a few bonus days in between. We have had gifts brought over, many helping hands with errands and babysitting our toddler while we go to the many appointments our little girl has had, and so many prayers and well wishes. Truly I am so blessed!
Communities like this don't just accidentally happen, they are the result of a few generous hearts who inspire others to join them in living out the great commandment to "Love your neighbor as yourself." Perhaps you are also blessed with an amazing community as well, if so, that is wonderful! Perhaps you are not in a phase in life where you need the support of a community, if so, then look around and see who could use that support. It doesn't have to be much, a little bit goes a long way. I won't go too much into practicals here, as I am saving that for the challenge of the month, but take a moment to see what support there is needed and see if you can help. I assure you, there will be grateful prayers sent up on your behalf!
Life really is pretty grand right now. I get lots of baby snuggle time, I get extra time with my husband while he is on paternity leave (yes, after 3 and a half years of marriage I still love spending time with him!), I get to watch my toddler become an amazing big brother, I feel well enough to go to Mass on Sundays again, and life is just as it should be right now: busy, exhausting, but wonderful!
The hard part for me is not being bitter about the time I "lost" these past months, as I struggled with extreme pregnancy exhaustion and morning sickness. It is hard to come out of a difficult phase of life and look back on it with the right mindset. Trust me, I tried offering up those rough months, but it just gets to be so tedious and unending.... I definitely was not a "cheerful giver" during much of it. I know that God sends us the crosses we need, and He never sends more than we can handle, but sometimes I felt that it was just too much, and just too unfair. Mature of me, right? Now that I am out of that phase, I look back and wish I could have handled it better. Oh, I am sure I will have more difficult phases to practice being a better sufferer in the years to come, but doesn't mean it is easy for me to let go of these past few months. I know I am no saint, and definitely still a work in progress. I guess that is just what I need to focus on, that this is "a journey towards eternal life" and I just need to keep my eye on the goal. Yes, reflection can be helpful, but I will never know how productive or unproductive my suffering was, so all I can do is place it in His hands and move on. Right now I just need to be grateful for this time of joy, and prepare my heart for the next trial God has prepared just for me.
I am sure you all have had your phases of life that have seemed unusually hard. It can feel overwhelming, exhausting, and discouraging. I pray that you may find the courage to remain generous and cheerful throughout it (something I am still learning to do). God is good, He has set a path for you that is most likely to lead you to Him, just trust Him. These crosses may not make sense to us, but they are the very real proof of His love for us and impatience to draw us closer to Him. He doesn't want to wait for us to have everything figured out, He wants to make us holy as fast as He can and so He challenges us. And then He sends us a time of joy to relift our spirits. In my case, that is my sweet little Diana Agnes! Have a wonderful last few weeks of summer and a very blessed Feast of the Assumption!
