jennyanne Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Does anyone have a good way of understanding religious life as a higher vocation without feeling put down if one is not called to it? Just wondering why if God loves each of us infinitely He would not want to have the deepest intimacy with each of us instead of only with some...any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InPersonaChriste Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Your own vocation is the highest vocation. Religious life is equally as holy as Married life. Pope John Paul II stated that one discerning should never go into religious life with out considering the benefits of married life, and vice versa. Does this help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faithcecelia Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I don't consider my calling to religious life as a higher vocation, its just my vocation, the life God wills me to lead. I try to live it day by day to the best of my ability - the fact that I am not currently in a community does make that harder, but does not change the fact that everything I do everyday of my life I do for God. This is just one part of my journey as a woman called to be a Carmelite nun. Had God called me to be a wife and a mother then my life would be very different, but my desire would be the same - to live everyday for God, giving my best to the life He has called me to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennyanne Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 Thanks for your answers. I was in the convent at one point in time and it was emphasized to us that the church says that religious life is a higher vocation...now that I am not in religious life it really bothers me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaPetiteSoeur Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 In the "old" days, there used to be this idea that the religious life and the priesthood were "higher" and "better" callings than religious life. But that's not true, and most definitely not the teaching today. Everyone is called by God to a specific vocation to fulfill His holy Will. Not ours, not anyone else, but God's alone. If He leads me to the married life, then that's where I'll go, as that's where God is calling me to be. If He leads me to the single life, I'll go. Currently, and for the past four years, He's led me to the religious life. And because of that, I've gone, and am still discerning His Will. One of my favorite series of books is the Catherine LeVendeur mystery series. Catherine at first was a novice in convent, but later left (after solving a mystery and meeting a young seminarian...the books are great, and highly recommend them). Rev. Mother says to her "Married people go to heaven to." As this was set in the 13th century, she was terribly worried she wouldn't, as religious life was considered the "higher" vocation. Married people, single people, and religious and priests can go to Heaven. No vocation is higher. All are perfect, as God has called us to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruciatacara Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I think perhaps there is a different interpretation of the word 'higher' here. Higher in the world is very ambitious, but Jesus told the apostles that those who would be the leaders must be the servants of all... so to get higher, one must go lower. There is no reason why serving one's family and community and Church in the married life can't also be a calling to the utmost intimacy with God - in fact many great saints have been married and/or leaders (kings etc). In fact, in can be much harder to try to live a life of intimacy with God outside religious life and the support of a community and structure that allows one to fully focus on that aim. So the effort involved must be most pleasing to God in the married state (and even the single state if that is where one ends up serving others). I think this worry about which life is 'higher' is a worldly way of looking at things because our society stresses achievement so much. God looks at the heart, not the appearance. Just keep the thought of the Pharisees and the sinner in the temple before your mind's eye and remember what Jesus said about who was more pleasing to God. Your own personal desire here is already a great gift to God. Trust Him - He loves you more than you love Him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennyanne Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 Well...I was taught [i]recently [/i]in a very well respected religious community that religious life is a higher vocation. I actually think they had church documents to back them up on that...In any case I know the sisters did not just make it up. I like the idea of all vocations being equal, just not sure it is true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faithcecelia Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 All vocations come with joys and with responsibilities. While these are different, I simply do not believe that one is 'higher' than another, and have never heard it said in current times. Yes, as a nun I will be able to spend far more 'one on one' time with God, but I will sacrifice other joys and intimacies. I am currently a nanny for an autistic 4yr old. As his mother is disabled I do an awful lot of the normal parenting roles. I feel extremely blessed to have been able to come as close to experiencing motherhood as I can without actually becoming a mother and I can honestly say I spend so much time in prayer whilst doing this too. Okay, so its not silently on my knees in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, but its most definately prayer. Similarly, I see God in so much of what the child does - I see the wonder in his eyes when he discovers something new, the total trust of a child coming for cuddles, etc. In all my vocational discernment I have aspired to be like Our Lady. She was most definately a true contemplative, but she was also a wife and a mother. I cannot see at all why one is seen as higher than the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissScripture Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 [quote name='jennyanne' timestamp='1314402669' post='2295535'] Well...I was taught [i]recently [/i]in a very well respected religious community that religious life is a higher vocation. I actually think they had church documents to back them up on that...In any case I know the sisters did not just make it up. I like the idea of all vocations being equal, just not sure it is true. [/quote] I believe that it was at the council of Trent that they talked about it being a higher calling, but I could definitely be wrong. I do know that a friend found it in the Baltimore Catechism and it did have the backing of a council, however. As a married person, however, I really don't take that offensively. If I WERE in a convent, I would be failing miserably as that is not MY calling, whether it is higher or not. Also, the way that it may be stated in Latin may not come across as clearly in English. But I was actually just thinking about this the other day at Mass. My sister (who is in a convent) is going to have a much better time cultivating a spiritual life and her relationship with God and keeping in mind "the higher things" because of her vocation. I, on the other hand, will have to be worried about things of this world, because I will not only be responsible for myself, but for my children, as well. It's, of course, still very important for me to have a spiritual life and a deep relationship with God, but I can never give it the same amount of time that she will be able to, because she won't have to worry about how to afford her daughter's education or how to stretch the budget to make sure all the kids get what they need. It's not like God is looking down on me for that, because He gave me that responsibility. In a nutshell, her vocation is "higher" because she can spend more time on "higher things" whilst I have to have some concern for the things of this world inasmuch as they related to my family and children. And it's not like there are vocations that are unimportant, since without strong marriages and families, there wouldn't be many vocations to religious life. I really hope at least some of that made sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennyanne Posted August 27, 2011 Author Share Posted August 27, 2011 Is it possible God loved me more when I was a sister? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faithcecelia Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 [quote name='jennyanne' timestamp='1314404988' post='2295553'] Is it possible God loved me more when I was a sister? [/quote] No. God loves you infinitely. He loves me just as much too. And everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennyanne Posted August 27, 2011 Author Share Posted August 27, 2011 i feel so rejected by God. i hate my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faithcecelia Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 Ive sent you a message x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InPersonaChriste Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 Do not feel rejected, God loves you for who you are. This may be a growing experience, I will pray for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theresita Nerita Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 This reminds me of the part in Story of a Soul when St. Therese talks about how her sister explained different people's vocations (or something) by filling up a smaller glass and a bigger glass with water. She filled them both to the brim and then asked which was more full. Of course they were equally full. The point was that small souls (as St. Therese considered her own) when completely full of God are no less full than "bigger" souls. So I'd say that although we don't know which vocations are possibly "better" or "worse" no one is ever rejected by God! You may feel this way but it's not the truth. Even if your vocation was the humblest in the world, if your soul was completely filled to the brim with love you would be just what God wants you to be, and you would be more holy than someone who has a grandiose vocation and doesn't manage to fill all the way up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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