It is quite common for me to hear about suppressed vocations. For parents to tell their children they cannot be a Priest or join the Religious life. I recall a while ago a woman saying that her local Priest spent a while teaching young boys how to be altar servers. They spent a good while doing this, and by the time the parents came to pick them up, one of the younger boys ran up to his parents excitedly and told them about how much he enjoyed it, and said that he wanted to be a Priest. The father replied quite simply "No." The boy looked quite disappointed, and said "Well, I do like to do a lot of things anyway..." That was it. He walked with his parents back to their car, and that was the end of it. How truly sad that this happens, and how truly sad it is that this is so common. Parents fall into the problem of imagining what their children will do. The career they envision for them varies, but ultimately, they always envision the child to get married and have children. Once they have this vision for their children, they refuse to have it taken away, and when the child suddenly takes an interest in the Priesthood or Religious life, they become angry, and tell their child that they can't. The same people that go to Mass every week and say "Thy will be done" thousands of times don't actually mean it. In reality, they're saying "Thy will be done... *Whispers* As long as your will is my will..." You cannot truly say you want the best for your child if you don't want what God wants for him/her.
I have been blessed with a family that is accepting and in fact encourages my vocation (Except for my brother, but that's a different story). I have some family that if I told would think it was completely stupid and I can imagine that they will talk about how my parents didn't raise me right, but I have mostly been in a very good environment. Because of this ability to freely discern it has been easier for me to realize my deep inclinations towards the life, and when I am of age I plan to visit many communities, and I can rest easy that I won't have to tell my parents that I am "doing errands". I would encourage everyone here (Especially parents) to encourage people that are discerning, and to in fact encourage them to start discerning in the first place. Father David Mary of the Franciscan Brothers Minor says that you should in fact discern the Religious life or Priesthood first, not marriage. Encourage people to visit the Community they like, to go on the Diocese's annual visit to the Seminary, and to truly look deeper into it. Instead of saying "No." encourage them, help them to discern, show them where to go, and let God's will be done.
Edited by FuturePriest387, 03 March 2012 - 09:49 PM.
