MY STRUGGLE to own a call to the priesthood meant having to acknowledge that
my life was going to be taking a 90-
degree turn in a direction most people
were not going to understand—and
many might not support.
Russell: “There’s no such thing as a
normal life . . . there’s just life.”
Rules for discernment
I think there are two rules to keep in
mind when discerning. The first rule
is: “It takes as long as it takes.” Some
people are ready sooner, some later. It
took me almost 10 years to get to the
point where I was ready to join a religious order. It frequently looked like
indecision to the outside world. In
truth, there were some areas of my life
in which I needed to do some growing
up, and, without going into too much
detail, it seemed that the best place to
do that particular work was outside of
religious life. At times it certainly got
complicated. Sometimes I just wanted
to chuck the whole discernment
process and never go to church again,
and there were other times I wanted
to just rip the Band-Aid off and join
already. But now that I am in religious formation with the Paulists and
I see some of the mountains that lie
ahead of me, I am so grateful I waited
and took the time I did.
VISION 2009
For more features go to VocationGuide.org
Enter #042 at VocationMatch.com
What do you
have to lose?
Come and experience
a community of
Benedictine monks,
founded on an
excellent liturgical
tradition, who are
seeking God and
serving the
Catholic Church.
Everything.
Office of Monastery Vocations
100 Hill Drive
St. Meinrad, IN 47577
(812) 357-6611
vocations@saintmeinrad.edu
www.saintmeinrad.edu
Enter #014 at VocationMatch.com
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