Eek!

[jiyoung]

I was looking through the converts board and I had a thought pop up in my head, something that had been sort of lurking in the background--"I want to devote my life to praying for the conversion of souls." I'm not going to be like "well, that's it, might as well call off college and just enter now," but...it feels like a definite step in one direction.

I feel scared. I don't know whether it's even wise to wait until after college, or if I need to enter asap, or what...bleh. One step at a time, though, right?

[peacenluvbaby]

Finish college!

[OLAM Dad]

[quote name='peacenluvbaby' date='Jan 18 2006, 04:40 AM']Finish college!
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That certainly is one option.

It sounds like you might have a contemplative vocation in mind. A college degree is totally unnecessary to live in a cloister. If God is wanting you to be a contemplative nun and you remain open to His desires then you're going to have a hard time focusing on college.

Many, many people loose their faith entirely in college. Four years of learning that the number one goal in life is to party and engage in unhealthy activity of all kinds is very hard for a young adult to resist.

So...am I saying don't go to college? No, absolutely not. Just be careful if you decide to go. Choose a good Catholic college (there aren't many of these and they are all pretty expensive) if you can. Absent that option, choose a school that has a strong Catholic student organization and make the right friends. Or... enjoy the best of both worlds and join an order that will send you to college. You'll live in a healthy environment (to say the least!) and you'll still earn a degree if that is necessary for your vocation or if it is a strong desire of yours.

You'll be in my prayers,

Michael (a college graduate )

Edited January 18, 2006 by OLAM Dad

[alicemary]

Sorry OLAM Dad, must disagree Contemlative nuns certainly could benefit from education, all the education you can get. They do not live by prayer alone, but must support themselves. What would they be without trained nurses, computer operators, women who are trained in carpentry? Who will write the books? Who will help define Canon Law? Catholic colleges are certainly wonderful, but as you said pricey. Yes, you are going to find temptation, but temptations are everywhere. When I was at school, the local Catholic college were the beer drinking champs, so a Catholic education is not everything.
Find yourself a good spiritual director. Visit religioius communities and when you find the 'one' they will guide you.
A dumb nun is just that....college is vital today. And what if you didn't perserve, certainly you do not enter thinking that way, but lets face it, the life is not easy and people leave. You will need that education to fall back on so you are not dependent on others.
Good luck to you and just remember to pray!

[jezic]

Well there are a few things to note.

The first and most important is that you should take it to prayer. A call and indeed a vocation is between God and a soul. He is the only one that can tell you the direction that you need to go.

The other thing is that if it is from God it isn't going to go away easily. You will keep thinking about it.

Don't worry about the college thing. If you are going to enter an order they will take care of your education or tell you that you need to finish before you enter.

[Guest Rick777]

[quote name='alicemary' date='Jan 18 2006, 06:47 AM']Sorry OLAM Dad, must disagree Contemlative nuns certainly could benefit from education, all the education you can get. They do not live by prayer alone, but must support themselves. What would they be without trained nurses, computer operators, women who are trained in carpentry? Who will write the books? Who will help define Canon Law? Catholic colleges are certainly wonderful, but as you said pricey. Yes, you are going to find temptation, but temptations are everywhere. When I was at school, the local Catholic college were the beer drinking champs, so a Catholic education is not everything.
Find yourself a good spiritual director. Visit religioius communities and when you find the 'one' they will guide you.
A dumb nun is just that....college is vital today. And what if you didn't perserve, certainly you do not enter thinking that way, but lets face it, the life is not easy and people leave. You will need that education to fall back on so you are not dependent on others.
Good luck to you and just remember to pray!
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Im going to have to disagree with you on that one,lol. Contemplative nuns really don't need a college education although it's extremely helpful and beneficial to the community. I suppose if they needed a nurse they would send a sister to college or whatever. I also dont think that college is something to fall back on so a nun isnt dependent on others, she is supposed to be totally dependent on God.

[photosynthesis]

[quote name='OLAM Dad' date='Jan 18 2006, 06:56 AM']That certainly is one option.

It sounds like you might have a contemplative vocation in mind.  A college degree is totally unnecessary to live in a cloister.  If God is wanting you to be a contemplative nun and you remain open to His desires then you're going to have a hard time focusing on college.

Many, many people loose their faith entirely in college.  Four years of learning that the number one goal in life is to party and engage in unhealthy activity of all kinds is very hard for a young adult to resist. 

So...am I saying don't go to college?  No, absolutely not.  Just be careful if you decide to go.  Choose a good Catholic college (there aren't many of these and they are all pretty expensive) if you can.  Absent that option, choose a school that has a strong Catholic student organization and make the right friends.  Or... enjoy the best of both worlds and join an order that will send you to college.  You'll live in a healthy environment (to say the least!) and you'll still earn a degree if that is necessary for your vocation or if it is a strong desire of yours. 

You'll be in my prayers,

Michael (a college graduate )
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Many people lose their faith entirely in college, however usually these are people who never understood the faith they were raised with. If a person starts Catholic as a strong Catholic, it is most likely they will finish college as a strong Catholic.

It really depends on how naive and impressionable you are. I just graduated from a very small, very liberal college with very few Catholics and many ignorant people who hate Catholicism for no reason. The campus ministry has about 5-10 people in it, and they didn't even have Mass on campus until about 2 years ago. Most of the time you get attacked if you so much as even mention God in the classroom. I started college, as a pro-choice militant feminist gay rights activist who hated the Church. I finished last December an orthodox Catholic. I can't say that the environment [i]contributed[/i] to my conversion at all, but I've always been a non-conformist.

Getting an education can enrich your life, if it's God's will. Most contemplative orders do not require a college degree, but there are certain traditions like the Dominicans that value scholarship, and many cloistered contemplative Dominicans spend hours a day in study without the prestige of a formal degree.

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

Mother Mary Regina has told me on numerous occasions that everything you need to know to live in the monastery, you can only learn in the monastery.

[msahara]

Yes, but college wouldn't be a waste of time for some. I'm discerning (well at this pnt, I'm pretty sure) and I'm still in college b/c of external factors that hinder me from going into the cloister right now.

Prayer is really the key thing as I'm sure we all agree. A vocation comes from Our Lord and the only way to know for sure is to abide in Him by being in constant commmunication and awareness of Him. So no matter where you are at the moment, through prayer and thoughtful reflection, you will know what you should do.

[magnificat]

[quote name='photosynthesis' date='Jan 18 2006, 01:22 PM']Many people lose their faith entirely in college, however usually these are people who never understood the faith they were raised with.  If a person starts Catholic as a strong Catholic, it is most likely they will finish college as a strong Catholic.

It really depends on how naive and impressionable you are.  I just graduated from a very small, very liberal college with very few Catholics and many ignorant people who hate Catholicism for no reason.  The campus ministry has about 5-10 people in it, and they didn't even have Mass on campus until about 2 years ago.  Most of the time you get attacked if you so much as even mention God in the classroom.  I started college, as a pro-choice militant feminist gay rights activist who hated the Church.  I finished last December an orthodox Catholic.  I can't say that the environment [i]contributed[/i] to my conversion at all, but I've always been a non-conformist.
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I couldn't agree with you more! Although I have always been pretty strong in my faith and definately a practicing Catholic, I went to a medium-sized, secular university. While there was a vibrant Newman Center, it was definately not orthodox. I met a close group of about 8 friends who, like me, were orthodox and we worked hard to make it more orthodox and to help other students who [u]were[/u] interested in things like Adoration & praying the rosary. It definately was not an easy battle, but God definately had a plan in bringing us together there. Out of my friends, one will be entering a religious community in the near future, one will be entering seminary next year, one is discerning a vocation to the priesthood, two are getting married in the spring, and I am discerning a vocation as well.

I would just say pray and let God show you the way. His plans are ALWAYS the best ...even if it sometimes leaves us scratching our heads at first.

[Lilllabettt]

Wow, toughie.

Some people need to go to college to grow, intellectually, spiritually, socially, in all kinds of ways. College is really good for that. You find out a lot about yourself, and it's a good opportunity to experience the depth and breadth of what the Church (and the world) have to offer.

I went to school for two years, and my disgust at some of what I experienced there was among the first things that opened my eyes to how unfulfilling the world could be. At the same time, I also discovered a young, vibrant, Catholic culture. The experience led to me signing up for RCIA classes. I loved college! But I don't think I'm going to go back, unless something radical happens. The Vocation Directress at the community I think I'm going to apply to advised me that I shouldn't do anything to endanger my vocation, and accumulating tons of education-related debt would do that.

My parents are throwing a fit, even though I haven't told them I'm way- leaning, in a super-major-pretty-sure way, towards not going back. Just taking a year off to do AmeriCorps has freaked them out.

It is soooo tough.

I guess I'd say, if you're inclined to go to college first, try and figure out what your motives are. If you think you need time to mature in your faith, that's a good reason. If you want to have some fun before you enter religious life, that's not so hot a reason.

[msahara]

[quote name='Lilllabettt' date='Jan 18 2006, 08:15 PM']Wow, toughie.

Some people need to go to college to grow, intellectually, spiritually, socially, in all kinds of ways. College is really good for that. You find out a lot about yourself, and it's a good opportunity to experience the depth and breadth of what the Church (and the world) have to offer.

I went to school for two years, and my disgust at  some of what I experienced  there was among the first things that opened my eyes to how unfulfilling the world could be. At the same time, I also discovered a young, vibrant, Catholic culture. The experience led to me signing up for RCIA classes. I loved college! But I don't think I'm going to go back, unless something radical happens. The Vocation Directress at the community I think I'm going to apply to advised me that I shouldn't do anything to endanger my vocation, and accumulating tons of education-related debt would do that.

My parents are throwing a fit, even though I haven't told them I'm way- leaning, in a super-major-pretty-sure way, towards not going back. Just taking a year off to do AmeriCorps has freaked them out.

It is soooo tough.

I guess I'd say, if you're inclined to go to college first, try and figure out what your motives are. If you think you need time to mature in your faith, that's a good reason. If you want to have some fun before you enter religious life, that's not so hot a reason.
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I agree. go to college to mature in your faith (and trust me, there are campuses with a vibrant Catholic community that aren't even Catholic!) and if going to college won't mature you in your faith then it's probably not best to go.

[jiyoung]

Thanks, everyone...I almost forgot about this thread, har. I am going to college, I'm going to FUS in the fall as a theology and catechetics major with the youth ministry concentration, so I've picked myself a strong Catholic college, I think I do want to finish college, it's always been something I've expected of myself, as well as my parents. And I don't think going to Steubenville will endanger my vocation too much as long as I don't rack up tons of debt, and the order I've mainly been discerning with (Carmelites of the Most Sacred Heart) has a convent at the school--they have sisters who go there. I guess I've been thinking that if I stop school halfway through and join, the sisters might always send me back to finish up, and I won't have to worry about debt

I guess I sort of just panicked when I put up this thread...even though it's still on my mind, I'm not so flustered anymore--school starting might have had something to do with that I wonder if what I'm feeling is that God is telling me where I'm going to go and giving me some time to cope and choose when...but I might be mistaken about the whole thing, too. I second-guess myself a lot. Either way, though, I'll just have to follow whenever and wherever He takes me

[stlmom]

That is great that you are going to FUS. May I suggest that you take a look at the Franciscan Sisters, TOR, of Penance and the Sorrowful Mother? They are based in Steubenville and seem to be a vibrant community.