The following resources for discernment are taken from Vocations Anonymous: A handbook for adults discerning priesthood and religious life, by Sr. Kathleen Bryant, RSC.

What is discernment?

• To spend time listening
• To admit we are powerless over our own ability to be certain, to be in control, to have all the answers
• To set out on a journey with God, confident that we will be cared for, that we will have all we need, that we have nothing to fear (Psalm 23)
• To really live by the choices we make and not allow ourselves to be the victims of circumstance. This means taking responsibility for the direction in our lives, for the decisions we make and not blaming anyone else for our unhappiness
• To actively cooperate with God in co-creating a future full of hope, meaning and promise (Jeremiah 29)
• To be alert, frightened, surprised, joyful and rooted — sometimes all at once

 

First steps (or what to do when the first lightening bolt strikes)

When you first begin to think about priesthood or religious life, it can be frightening! It is difficult to know where to begin. Where would be a safe place to start? Who can you trust with this thought? Here are some suggestions for the very first steps in checking out your vocation.

• Pray! Relax, open up, give God some quality time. Become aware of God’s presence.
• Get a notebook. Write down what you experience. How do you notice God’s call to you?
• Remember — recall your personal faith history.
• Talk to someone you can trust — talk to one person. In the early stages of vocation discernment, don’t tell your family and friends. Talk to someone who will freely let you discern your call.
• Start looking around — pick up a Catholic newspaper to find ads for vocation events. Write a seminary or religious order for vocation literature.
• Get involved — volunteer in your parish’s ministries.
• Enlist the support of prayerful people — ask people to pray for you. You don’t have to specify an intention.
• Pay attention — notice what is lifegiving, energizing for you. Write incidents, relationships, scripture verses, in your notebook. They are all pointers and clues.

 

Some steps in the process of discerning

After spending time getting yourself to a place of openness and inner freedom, of plowing the soil of your heart and believing the angel who says you’re favored, you can begin a method of discerning. Throughout the process you need to pray for openness.

This eight-step process is only for major decisions. You don’t want to discern trivial matters.

• Define very clearly and succinctly the matter for discernment.  Limit yourself to one focus statement. For example: “I will enter a religious community next year.”
• Gather relevant information. This takes time.
  • Read about religious life
  • Participate in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults or take some catechist formation classes if you need some basic Catholic spirituality or faith formation.
  • Attend vocation events like retreats, talks, or discernment groups. Browse through brochures, catalogues and vocation magazines.
  • Speak with priests, sisters, or brothers and ask them about their lives. Listen to their vocation stories.
  • Find out the requirements to enter seminary or formation programs.
• Use your imagination. Spend some time fantasizing. Imagine yourself as a priest or religious.  Imagine yourself going through a typical day in the life of . . . .  Does it feel like it fits? At another time imagine yourself as married or single.  Leave a space of time between the fantasies.        
• Given your background, experience, gifts, talents, and weaknesses, is there any other possibility that you have not considered? You want to be open to all possibilities. Brainstorm! Create options you have never considered before. Imagination takes freedom.
• Throughout the process pay attention to what God is saying. What is God saying through the other people in my life, through the Scriptures, through events in my life? Keep a journal of those with significance for you and your future.
• Spend time listing all the reasons against your decisions (the cons). What would be the disadvantages of your becoming a sister, brother or priest? List these cons. Spend a few days on the cons and continue the list. Notice what you experience internally as you consider them. Pray with them.
• Allow time to pass, a few days or a week, then list all of the advantages for choosing a church vocation (the pros). What are the pros of making this choice? Write them down. Give yourself several days to ponder these pros and continue adding to the list.
• Go with the direction of consolation. With a spiritual director, talk over your pros and cons, your affective responses and what you learned from the information you have gathered. Come to a tentative decision through this consultation and prayer.