Advice for High Schoolers

[:o)Katherine:o)]

I would also suggest "And You are Christ's" it is a great short book but very good at explain what the charism of Virginity is. A good book for your young lady would be The Foundations of Religious Life, Revisiting the Vision. http://www.amazon.com/The-Foundations-Religious-Life-Revisiting/dp/1594711984It is put out by the CMSWR and written by 6 religious from 5 communities (Sisters of Life, Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Sisters of St Francis and the Martyr St George, Nashville Dominicans and Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist). A good book on prayer is "Time for God" by Fr Phillipe http://www.amazon.com/Time-God-Jacques-Philippe-ebook/dp/B003V8BSA4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439662715&sr=1-1&keywords=Time+for+God and The Armchair Mystic http://www.amazon.com/Armchair-Mystic-Easing-Contemplative-Prayer-ebook/dp/B005GRATEY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439662758&sr=1-1&keywords=the+armchair+mystic

I would also look into getting in touch with the Sisters of St Francis and the Martyr St George (http://www.altonfranciscans.org/apostolates/formation ) I met one of the Sisters that runs the Mater Redemptoris House of Formation. One thing she is really trying to work on is providing resources to other dioceses where there isn't that much information available to young discerners.

For the table at the youth rally I would get into contact with lots of different communities. I'm sure they would be more than willing to send you some information. Getting a your seminarian friend involved there too would be great as well.

My advice is to really get to know yourself spiritually. Find out what is essential to you and your preferences in your spiritual life. And remember those essentials and preferences may be different from your peers and even other discerners and thats OK! Also don't be afraid to contact communities, I contacted many communities when I first started discerning. They understand that just because you contact them once doesn't mean that you want to or will enter there.

 

I have seen the first book somewhere! It is either at my office or in my giant bookcase (I have more books than I will probably ever read) ha I will look for it! 

 

 

Overall all the session went well!

It was the first time we have ever done anything like this so it was new territory for all of us. We gave out the book To Save a Thousand Souls to the guys, The Introduction to Devout Life, Vision Vocation Magazine, the Imagine Sisters prayer for discernment, St. Paul's prayer for discernment (From the Daughters of St. Paul) and John Paul II's prayer for discernment (from someone in our diocese). 

 

We will have a follow up session in the next few months to see how they are doing and see where we go from here. We decided not to overload them with too much at once. Hopefully we can create a stockpile or database with resources, books and materials for future sessions.

 

They are steadily working on the vocations table and will feature Vision Vocation magazine, Imagine Sisters, To Save a Thousand Souls, Vocation Station here on Phatmass and more!

 

If anyone has any other websites, movie suggestions (we would like to host vocation movie nights!) books, blogs etc please let me know! 

 

Thanks to to everyone that has shared so far! I shared with everyone that you guys were sharing information, prayed and support they were very excited and appreciative! 

[TheresaThoma]

That sounds like a great start. I really think it is great to get High Schoolers thinking about Vocations. I think if more young people were exposed earlier then some of the more common issues discerners experience (debt. age limits etc) can be avoided.

If you find a few other girls it might be fun to host a nun run. That may be a way to "break the ice" for some of them. I went on my first discernment retreat because a group of my friends were going. 

Another resource you might want to have available is a list of up coming vocations/Come and See retreats close to you. It would take a bit of research to get going (but I think you could find some help on here for that .... ) but once you have a list of communities then it wouldn't be so hard to maintain.

[:o)Katherine:o)]

That sounds like a great start. I really think it is great to get High Schoolers thinking about Vocations. I think if more young people were exposed earlier then some of the more common issues discerners experience (debt. age limits etc) can be avoided.

If you find a few other girls it might be fun to host a nun run. That may be a way to "break the ice" for some of them. I went on my first discernment retreat because a group of my friends were going. 

Another resource you might want to have available is a list of up coming vocations/Come and See retreats close to you. It would take a bit of research to get going (but I think you could find some help on here for that .... ) but once you have a list of communities then it wouldn't be so hard to maintain.

Thank you! We tried to put together a nun run and it fell through. We are hoping to try again in the future! 

We have collected some material so far on local communities(neighboring states). We are hoping to gather more in the next few weeks. 

Word has spread about our vocation session and teens are getting excited about future events! 

[:o)Katherine:o)]

Update!

The teens have now started attending a Holy Hour once a week (on their own!). Our parish is looking into starting the Vocation Chalice Program. Here is a link for those that have never heard of it: http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/vocation-directors/chalice-program-info.cfm

Our diocesan youth rally towards the end of this month will have a talk on vocations and there will be a vocations booth set up where teens can ask questions.

A committee is starting to form in our diocese to help foster vocations. We will have a diocesan wide vocations event (first of its kind!) in February.

 

Thank you to each of you for your input/feedback and prayers! It has been a true joy to watch everything unfold!

[superblue]

What advice would you give to those in high school and/or what resources would you recommend?

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated! 

get the best grades one can now, and start working on good study habits if one does not already have any ( the seminary still is a college environment that requires great time management and study habits ). Don't be afraid to date and be open to the idea that one is following what God wants, not what vocation he or she may want. An to consider but to not be afraid to change ones mind at any time in discerning.  An if there is a rejection to the vocation one hoped for to understand that does not mean they are not called to follow Christ in another direction and that the path they were on, was meant to lead them to the next phase.

Avoid being scrupulous , learn what scrupulous means if they dont know , and then avoid it//// try to make it to reconciliation once a month, attend mass more often than not instead of just on Sundays an Holy Days of Obligation, pray the rosary often, and go to Eucharistic Adoration as often as possible. and lots of personal prayer time( not just at church ) .

an to try n stay calm and make sure to relax and have some good clean fun.

[tinytherese]

I recommend the films Completely Christ's and Fishers of Men. 

Advice I'd give to high schoolers would be to be careful about post-poning the priesthood or religious life after college because you can rack up debt and that can make getting in to a community harder. (This is not to say that you shouldn't go to college before discerning, just to work out a plan if you think that that's what God is calling you to do.)

It's normal for your family and friends not to like the idea of you discerning. Saints faced loved ones opposing them and those who are discerning do too. If you are at least 18, then you're legally an adult and can graciously listen to the advice of your parents or guardians and consider it, but in the end, you make the decision yourself. 

Nothing compares to actually visiting a community or seminary or shadowing a priest. It's one thing to read about or hear about it and another all together to actually do it yourself.  

Also, just because you visit, doesn't mean that you are obligated to apply and join. I once visited a convent where the prioress advised me to wait at least two weeks to contact her on my thoughts about what I wanted to do next. If my memory is accurate, then she also said that it was alright if I told her after the two weeks that I wasn't sure what to think, but to let her know anyway so that she'd at least know where I stood on the issue. Even if she didn't say that, I still would say that that's solid advice. 

Another piece of wisdom from that same prioress, is that when you visit a community, if you find that during your overall time there that you can sleep well, eat well, and pray well there, then that's a very good sign that you've found your home.

I've learned from others, that if you feel peace during your visit and when thinking about that way of life, that that is where you are called to be.

I know that when I thought that I may not be called to the religious life afterall, that I felt guilty because I kept hearing how the Church is experiencing a shortage. One person could not possibly make up for that. Besides, the Church doesn't want anyone to answer the call out of guilt, but those who genuinely want to live that way. The Lord loves us and never desires us to do anything that will genuinely make us miserable. Talk of a vocation shortage is a myth anyway. Follow feelings of peace. 

If you are seriously discerning, please don't date. You can learn how to interact with the opposite sex by forming friendships and acquaintances. I know that I was tempted to date because I wanted to know what it was like to be in a relationship, but realized that that would be using the other person. Both of your hearts are in danger of getting broken that way. I met a guy in college who had a girlfriend who was everything that he wanted in a wife and more. Then she broke up with him out of nowhere because she was entering a convent. It crushed him. 

Here are some articles to keep in mind as well.

http://seraphicsinglescummings.blogspot.com/2013/08/auntie-seraphic-vocations-victim.html 

http://seraphicsinglescummings.blogspot.com/2010/10/discern-this-drama-boy.html 

 http://seraphicsinglescummings.blogspot.com/2010/12/auntie-seraphic-ex-seminarians.html

Edited October 17, 2015 by tinytherese
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[TheresaThoma]

One other bit of advice I would give is to find a spiritual director. Having someone you can talk things over with is key to good discernment. Obviously the Vocation Director for each community or for the diocese can provide some help. However with smaller communities the VD may also have another role (novice mistress or prioress etc). A spiritual director can be that unbiased third party which is crucial.

It is also so wonderful to hear that they are making a weekly Holy Hour on their own. You have a wonderful group of teens!

[:o)Katherine:o)]

Thank you so much for your continued feedback!

To give a quick update:

I have been invited to speak to some girls in November that have never met a religious woman before or been exposed to the fact that God is calling them to something whether it be marriage, religious life, single life etc. It will be brief but will hopefully plant a seed. I am excited to see how things go!

Three of the four guys and the girl are becoming even more involved in the youth group and seem to be more in tune to the world around them. They will be going to the National Catholic Youth Conference in November and going to March for Life in January. Please continue to keep them in your prayers as they continue their journey of discernment.

[TheresaThoma]

Another idea especially for the group that you are going to talk to is have a way for them to contact you (or another leader) after the talk. Maybe set up a separate email account.  There may be some who are interested but a little too shy or embarrassed to talk with you in front of their peers. If you have a small card or something that you give out to everyone it becomes a low pressure situation.

Another good resource that maybe some PMers could help out with is keeping a list of up coming vocation retreats. Some close to where you are at and others farther away. Maybe group them as short drive, long drive and fly. 

[Sponsa-Christi]

Another idea especially for the group that you are going to talk to is have a way for them to contact you (or another leader) after the talk. Maybe set up a separate email account.  There may be some who are interested but a little too shy or embarrassed to talk with you in front of their peers. If you have a small card or something that you give out to everyone it becomes a low pressure situation.

This is a great idea, but it might be better for a college-aged audience. With kids under eighteen, there might be "safe environment"/child safeguarding concerns if kids are able to have direct and private contact with an adult.

But maybe if there was some unstructured social time after the program, you could make yourself available for a one-on-one conversation in a room where a lot of people will still be gathered.