I would just like to say thanks to everyone here for their support (the phriendly people I have encountered).

After much thought and prayer, I have realized I am not called to Religious Life. I feel at peace with this culmination after 2 years of serious discernment.

I can say this......I will be looking into being a Pauline Cooperator. The Daughters of St. Paul have done much to help me to GROW in my discernment. I urge all young women to check them out. They are a fantabulous group with the coolest charism and spirituality. They've got it all!

I've come to this decision on my own after meeting someone who has become very special to me and I really think God has other big plans for me (with having a family, etc.).

So thanks all for your support in here.

God Bless you all,
Lauren

Congratulations!! God Bless you in your vocation!

You might be joining the ranks of us lowly married folks, huh?

I trust that you are following the will of God and that's really all that matters. Not everybody is called to religious life, thank God! Somebody has to have babies to keep the whole crazy world populated.

You'll be in my prayers, keep in touch. Remember this is the Vocation Station, not the Religious Vocation Station. Marriage is a fine vocation and if that is the one God has chosen for you then I'm glad you have discerned His will.

God bless,

Michael

That's awesome Lauren! I will pray that you will continue to be open to the movement of the Spirit in your heart!

What he said!

Love and prayers,

PP

Good to hear from you again And I hope that you may become very holy

You know I had been thinking about you recently wondering how/where you were! Congrats on discerning your vocation!

Let us married folk know if we can be of any help

Congrats, but remeber just because you aren't called to the religious life doesn't mean that the discernment process is over. The married people here have a lot of words of wisdom.

God bless-
LGLG

Gratzi all....

God bless you! I'm happy for you!

You have to have a Holy Marriage!

I'm no where near marriage, but thank you.

As you know, I will.

Lauren

God Bless you, and He already has with making this path clearer for you, I am so happy for you, OLAMdad is right, this isn't the 'religious vocation station' it's for all vocations! Your in my prayers, God bless you Lauren!
-uruviel

There are many wonderful saints who were not married and not religious...even our dear Catherine of Siena was a third-order Dominican, which I am guessing what your Pauline Cooperator status is akin to - AND - don't forget the vocation of Consecrated Virgin in the world! May God bless you and keep you close to His Sacred Heart! I am looking forward to seeing more posts from you here. Thank you sharing this part of your discernment with us. It's so refreshing to see someone taking God's voice seriously. What a blessing you are. May you be blessed in many ways, Perpetualove

Congratulations Thank you for sharing this with us. Examples such as yours are very important to us girls!

Very brave to write this here... Thank you for sharing!

It's all good.

I think all of us discerning a call to RL consider associateship in some form, it can keep us rooted in Christ.
Especially if we are not called to RL.

God Bless.

Actually, the call to Religious Life and the call to be wife/mother are intimately related. I was called to be a wife and mother, but I didn't know that Jesus was to be my Spouse and that the children in my apostolate would be my children until later on!

God works in mysterious ways!

Can you tell us more about being a Pauline Cooperator? I am just infinitely curious...We have the Paulist priests & brothers in nearby Canfield, OH & I know they have several different associations for people to join including one for families that consecrtaes them to the Holy Family..Very cool! And I am so happy for you too !

Contact the Daughters.

Here is their website.

www.pauline.org


Lauren

ahh..thanks!

For those who may be interested, there are four secular institutes in this Pauline family: Holy Family is for married folks, the Annunciationists is for single women, the Gabrielites is for single men, and there is one for diocisan priests, but I've forgotten the name of it. The institutes for married people, single women, and single men have a postulancy, novitiate, temporary profession and perpetual profession of the three vows. Don't know how the one for diocisan priests works in that area.

The priests and brothers in Canfield could tell you about the institutes...

Thanks for the info PrayerSupporter. How come you know so much about the DSP?

Hello, OLAM Dad,

Hmmm...since I didn't even mention the DSPs, I don't quite understand where your question is coming from. I know a little bit about the DSPs, and a little bit more about the Pauline family -- which is a group of religious orders (the Society of St. Paul, the Daughters of St. Paul, the Pius Disciplies, etc.) and the four secular institutes mentioned, all founded by Father James Alberione. I once belonged to the Annunciationists before I discerned that it was not where God wanted me. We often had our retreats at the Society of St. Paul's monastery in Canfield, Ohio. And a couple times the DSPs let us use their retreat house in Massachusettes. They even once let us have one of our profession ceremonies in the chapel at their motherhouse. So, while I would not say I know "so much" about them, I do have happy memories of both the DSPs and the Annunciationists.

PrayerSupporter

How beautiful...Canfield is just a hop, skip & jump from me...in fact, I was at their bookstore 2 days ago...The priests occasionally say Mass at my parish too...I had looked into the Annunciationists for awhile, but then felt that God had other plans for me too...