Are you discerning religious life? Not sure if your calling is to marriage? The single life?
We recommend Bishop Robert Barron’s new ebook, How to Discern God’s Will for Your Life. It covers all the basics of finding God’s calling, or vocation, for your life.
The ebook, which is free, covers such topics as 1) How to discern your vocation or state in life, 2) Overcome the fear of choosing the wrong path, and 3) How to hear God’s calling in day-to-day situations.
Bishop Barron is well-qualified for such a subject. Born in 1959, he is an author, theologian and evangelist, known for his Word on Fire ministry. He has served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since September 2015. Previously, he served as Rector of Mundelein Seminary in the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.
For the ebook, click on the image below:
Discerning religious life book – meets an important need
Young persons often find discerning religious life, or just discerning their first vocation – a real challenge. Those who practice their faith and who have a prayer life, know that following Jesus Christ is the ultimate goal in their life. But how is God calling them?
Bishop Barron, in the ebook mentioned above, begins his discussion thus:
Many people, of all ages, wonder, “What does God want me to do with my life?” … Let’s start with the biggest discernment question: how do I discern my vocation, my state in life?
…Well it’s a huge question and there are so many ways to get at it. Think of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The whole point of the spiritual exercises is exactly that. How do you determine your status, your state, your vocation in life? Broadly speaking, what God wants for you is the path of greatest love. God is love. Love is the whole point of the spiritual life. Read someone like St. John of the Cross or Reginald Gerrigou-Lagrange or any of these great spiritual masters and they’ll say it all finally comes down to the cultivation of love. So what is love? Love is willing the good of the other. It’s not a sentiment or a feeling—don’t fuss with that so much. Sentiments and feelings have their role but don’t let them distract you.
This discerning religious life book will no doubt be a great help to you. Click here to get Bishop Barron’s free book on discerning God’s will.
Moreover, the late eminent theologian Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., wrote,
…how do you discover a true vocation? The expression “true vocation” is not casual. It is critically important in an age when so many once-promising vocations seem to have been lost.
What are some typical features of a true vocation to the consecrated life? I would emphasize especially three:
- a strong faith in the Catholic Church and her teaching, shown by a firm loyalty to the Vicar of Christ;
- a love of prayer, at least the capacity for developing a desire for prayer;
- a readiness to give oneself to a life of sacrifice in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.
The practical question arises of how to recognize a true vocation to the consecrated life. The need for recognizing a vocation is so important that everything else is secondary. I believe that if every prospective candidate were to make a private retreat, even for a few days, under a competent priest, it would help immensely. The retreat could be especially geared to a person who thinks that he or she has a vocation to the consecrated life. Then, during the retreat, in an atmosphere of silence and prayer, ask God to enlighten one’s mind as to whether or not He is calling the person to a life of Christian perfection. This, in fact, is one of the original purposes of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius: to discover and decide on one’s state of life.
– Come & See: Theological Reflections on the Promotion of Vocations, by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.
It’s clear that a discerning religious life book such as this one can be a real boost for those seeking their God-given vocation in life.
For Bishop Barron’s discerning religious life book, >> click here
Are you a vocation director who wants to learn best practices for recruiting religious vocations with social media? Check out our Come & See Vocation Promotion Program. To start learning the techniques that we use in the program right away, fill out the form below to get your free ebook, “How to Attract Vocations With Social Media.”
