prayer & discernment
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DISCERNMENT
can be like
discovering an
orange couch
in a room.
Even if it’s
out of place,
perhaps time
and the rest of
the room will
teach you how
to live with
something you
would never
have chosen
for yourself.
The orange couch behind
the door, or: When good
enough is enough
You don’t have to know everything about how your vocation to religious
life is going to turn out to take the first steps toward it.
o W WiLL i Kno W if this
is what i’m really called to?”
That is one of the most fre-
quent questions vocations directors hear
when talking with men and women in
BY
BROTHER
JOHN MARK
FALKENHAIN,
O.S.B.
H
Brother John Mark Falkenhain,
O.S.B. is the vocation director
for Saint Meinrad Archabbey in
southern Indiana. In addition
to his vocation ministry, he is
a clinical psychologist, assists
with monastic formation, and
teaches part-time in the Saint Meinrad Seminary
and School of Theology.
discernment to religious life. The answer
is quite simple: you won’t! True as it may
be, however, that answer is too short and
not very helpful. A little explanation,
on the other hand, can put someone in
discernment at ease and take some of the
anxiety and pressure out of struggling
with the question, “How will i know?”
Many women and men discerning a
vocation imagine that they need to have
a fairly certain sense that religious life is
right for them before they even take the
first few steps toward actually finding
out. Perhaps they fear getting pressured
12
VISION 2013
