What does it mean to "be called"?

God chooses you and calls you to religious life. But the choice is yours in accepting that call. You can begin a process of discernment by following these simple steps*:

  1. Pray! Make a conscious choice to be aware of God's presence. God is bombarding us with blessings and presence everywhere and at all times, but we are often unaware. Relax. . . Open up. . . Give God some quality time. Try to spend a minimum of 20 minutes per day listening to God in prayer.
  2. Get a notebook. Start writing down what you experience. When did you first notice this call? What comments, encouragement, or invitation have others given you? Are there any particular events that started you thinking about a vocation to religious life? Any Scripture texts that struck you to the core?
  3. Remember. Recall your personal faith history. Where have you been? When did you first experience God? How has your image of God changed since you were a child?
  4. Talk to someone you can trust. Talk to one person you can trust and who can be objective with you about how you feel. It would help if that person knows and understands religious life.
  5. Start looking around. Slowly start looking around at Sisters you have known. Pick up your local Catholic newspaper, magazine, or directory to notice ads for vocation events, retreats and other activities. Some people begin writing to a sister or a vocation guidance person. Find some vocation literature and review it occasionally.
  6. Get involved. Get involved in some form of service or parish ministry, such as teaching a religious education class, serving as lector, minister of the Eucharist, visiting the elderly, feeding the homeless.
  7. Enlist the support of prayerful people. Ask people to pray for you. You don't have to specify an intention. You could suggest that you are trying to discover God's will for your life or that you are trying to make a decision. Consider asking for prayer from your family, close friends, a prayer group at the parish, a rosary group or cloistered contemplative women. Call them on the phone and ask!
  8. Pay Attention! Notice and pay attention to what is life-giving or energizing for you. Where's the passion? What is the attraction? When you find an incident, relationship, or Scripture, that catches your attention, write it in your notebook. These are all pointers and clues.

*Adapted from Vocations Anonymous: A handbook for adults discerning priesthood and religious life by Sister Kathleen Bryant, RSC c. 1996 NCCV. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Founding Congregations: Sisters of Divine Providence; Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Houston; Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament; Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio; and Dominican Sisters of Houston.