Companions on the Journey
-
Catholic Vocations-Reno Diocese
National Coalition for Church Vocations
Vocation Network
Jesus Himself said to “Pray the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers into his harvest.” To this end, we call your attention to the special “Vocation Crosses”located on the shelves in the vestibule. We encourage you to take a cross home, along with the prayer card. Place the cross in a prominent place to remind you to pray daily for vocations. Use the prayer card, but also add your own prayers. After one or two weeks return the cross to the parish in the vestibule. Don’t be bashful. There is more than one cross available. No sign ups needed. -
Are You Called to Serve?
Are you considering a Vocation to the Priesthood?
Are you curious about what it means to be a priest?
The Office of Vocations for the Diocese of Reno
is here to assist you.
Starting this fall, we will host every other month
group meetings to answer questions
and discuss vocations.
We will also broadcast this via the web so that
those who live outside of the Truckee Meadows
may participate.
If you are interested, please contact us at Vocations@catholicreno.org.
You can also reach us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DioceseOfRenoVocations
or through our website: renodiocese.org/vocations
Saint Rose of Lima
Catholic ChurchAre You Called toA message for young people (and the not-so-young) contemplating their future.
Serve in His Vineyard?
Marriage...single life...priesthood…religious life… what does my future hold?
A lot of young people think that a vocation is something that will happen to them in the future. One day, at some point in time, a person decide to get married, stay single, become a priest, or enter religious life.
But this is not an entirely accurate viewpoint, for although it is true that there will be a major decision along the way, this decision does not come out of the blue. It is the result of many smaller decisions and choices madethroughout our lives. We grow into our vocation.
In fact, your choice of vocation is happening right now. The seeds of a healthy vocation are planted in your life today, and each day.
A scary thought? Also an exciting one if you are willing to take responsibility for the direction in your life!
Let’s talk about the seeds of love, faith, and commitment which can be planted today towards our decisions tomorrow.
Sowing the seeds of a healthy vocation
Every vocation starts with:
▪ A decision to love
At the source of every healthy vocation is a capacity and willingness to love and be loved. The basic training ground for learning to love is a family life and significant friendships. The critical role of strong marriages and family life in health vocational choices cannot be stressed enough.▪ An openness to God
God calls us. At each moment of our lives, through all our joys and difficulties, we are being invited to draw closer to God. A healthy vocational choice is fueled by an openness to God’s call—not just at one critical, decisive moment, but n all the little choices and decisions we make throughout our lives. A life of regular prayer, and a willingness to ask ‘What does God want of me?’ are cornerstones to every Christian vocation.▪ A willingness to serve
I am always suspicious of a man who says he wants to be a priest but has no track-record of involvement in parish ministry or some other kind of Christian service. A willingness to serve is essential to Christian life. As Christians, we believe that God gives us our gifts and talents, not just for the benefit of the individual person, but for the sake of our faith community in its mission to the world.
A life of service starts when we are children. We may remember accompanying a parent on a visit to a sick neighbor. Such experiences are invaluable. This is where we learn what it means to give and to put the needs of others before our own. As we mature, we begin to make our own decisions: How will I spend my time, money and talents?▪ What do we mean by ‘vocation’?
The English word ‘vocation’ has its origin in the Latin ‘vocare’ (‘to call’). ‘Vocation’ today is understood to be a call to holiness /wholeness for ALL Christians by virtue of their baptism. Married life, single life, ordained and religious life are all responses to this baptismal call to live in the love of Jesus Christ and to bring the gospel alive to the world.
In pre-Vatican II years, the word ‘vocation’ was used to refer almost exclusively to ordained and religious life. Today, however, we recognize that it is the responsibility of every baptized Christian to use one’s gifts to build up the body of Christ and to promote the reign of God—in our homes, our work and study places, our neighborhoods, sports venues and shopping centers. So a Christian vocation is not just about special church work. It is a way of living and loving expressed in the ordinary relationships any circumstances of life.▪ Relationships
‘Show me your friends and I’ll tell you the kind of person you are.’ There is truth in this cliché. We cannot help but be shaped by the people who surround us. Hang around with negative people, and you will notice a trait of negativity insidiously creeping into your conversation. Fill your life with hope filled people and your world-view will likewise be affected. How important it is to choose our company carefully—that is, those key people whom we consider to be our closest friends. Such relationships have significant bearing on the direction of our lives.▪ Joy
One thing I look for, both in the couples who come to me requesting marriage and the men who apply for seminary is joy. Are they basically happy people? If they are always down in the dumps or negative or cynical about the world, then I have serious doubts about their capacity to thrive in their choice of vocation. Christianity is about Good News—and Christians are called to be Good News people.▪ A sense of freedom
Discerning one’s vocation is about freedom: the freedom to consider all possible options of life-choices. To dismiss the possibility of marriage because of a bad experience in a relationship, or to refuse to consider a religious vocation because of outdated ideas of religious life is to restrict one’s freedom. When we are open to exploring all valid possibilities, we are in a much stronger position to make a truly free life choice.▪ Sexuality
We are sexual beings. We are male or female and approach life as such. We are never ‘asexual’. We are always relating through our gift of sexuality because it is integral to our humanity. This is as true of priests and religious and singles as it is of married people. Even if one`s vocation excludes genital sexual activity, it never excludes the gift of one’s womanhood or manhood. In every vocation, God calls us to use the gift of our sexuality, our masculine and feminine qualities, in a way which is loving, life-giving and faithful to one’s calling.▪ Courage and commitment
That’s one thing I look for a prospective seminarians. I look for evidence that the person has gone after a goal and persevered with it. If a mature age man comes to me never having had a job for more than a year, I am cautious about his capacity to commit himself to a life-long vocation like priesthood or religious life. It’s not just a question of whether or not he will ‘last’, it’s a question of whether he will really put his heart and soul into his vocation—especially during the tough times. We can gauge that capacity in people now by looking at how they have handled their lives to date. Do they follow-up their commitments? Do they persevere in their goals? Do they keep their promises—even in the little things?▪ A vision for the future
I often ask a person (or a couple) “Where do you want to be and what do you want to be doing in five, ten year’s time?” I am interested to know if the person or couple has goals for the future. Can they imagine a way forward? Are they people of hope? Do they have ideals pulling them forward? Are they people of hope? Do they have ideals pulling them forward? Is there a desire to leave their mark on the world? Generally speaking, healthy vocational choices are not made by people who just bob along, letting the current of life take them wherever it will. I get excited by individuals and couples who ask, ‘Will the world be better because we were here, and because I made this choice?
What seeds are you planting now?
Questions and choices critical to every vocation.
§How do you treat your family, your friends? Are you willing to allow others into your life? Are your decisions ‘I’ decisions or ‘we’ decisions? §How do you use your gifts, time, money and talents? How are you of service to God and God’s people? §Develop your prayer life. Give God plenty of time in your day. Learn from wise people of faith. §Put care and effort into your friendships. Choose your company and your role models carefully. §What is your dream for the future? Where do you want to be in five, ten year’s time? Set some goals. §Pray for the grace of joy. Smile! Affirm people. Allow yourself to exude genuine warmth and enthusiasm for the
goodness in the world around you.§How well to you relate to the opposite sex? Learn to appreciate the masculinity/femininity within yourself and others. §Be a man/woman of your word. Keep your promises—even the small ones.
SIXTEEN QUESTIONS ABOUT CHURCH VOCATIONSAnd honest answers to your questions about priests, sisters, brothers, vows, sexuality, community life and more.
1. What do priests, sisters and brothers do all day?
Just like most adults, we spend a portion of each day working. We call our work ministry because the model and motivation for what we do is Jesus, who asked that we follow his example of service to God’s people.
But we don’t just work! In order to live in a healthy, balance way we try to keep a mix of prayer, ministry and play in our lives. These three things—prayer, ministry and play—help us stay healthy so that we can be more effective ministers and happy people.
In the area of work or ministry, many priests, brothers and sisters have one main job, such as teaching, parish ministry, social work or hospital work—all of which have somewhat regular hours and predictable demands. Our daily schedule can look different than the typical adults. Often we have evening meetings, and those of us who are priests or parish ministers usually work on Saturdays and Sundays and take some time off during the week.
The unpredictable demands also lend richness to our lives. These often center around
meeting the needs of people, whether that be children in schools, families preparing to celebrate the sacraments, or the sick, elderly, angry, hurt, hungry or imprisoned. We try to share our lives with others and to reveal Christ in all we do.
Those of us who are members of contemplative communities (communities dedicated to prayer) fill our days with a combination of work, prayer and recreation. The difference is that we might dedicate more of our time to prayer than other brothers, sisters or priests. Sometimes we will grow our own food and do income-producing work, like baking and selling the hosts used for Mass, or making cheese or candy. Our prayer usually consists of Mass, silent prayer (called contemplation), reading, and praying the psalm-based Liturgy of the Hours (an ancient practice of praying psalms together at regular hours throughout the day).
2. How important is prayer in your life?
Because we’ve chosen a way of life which says that God is most important, prayer is central to our lives. Think of it as a deep level of communication with God, similar to the kind of communication that happens between any two people who love each other. Our relationship with God grows and deepens with prayer.
Since prayer is important, many priests, sisters and brothers spend about two hours a day praying. Part of that time we pray with others at Mass. We also pray other formal prayers like the Liturgy of the Hours or the rosary, or spend time with others less formally reading and reflecting on readings from the Bible. Part of the time we also pray alone, perhaps reading or just being quiet with God. One of the positive effects of prayer, whatever shape it takes, is to keep us aware of God’s activity in the people, events and circumstances of daily life.
3. Is prayer always easy for you?
Not always! Even those of us in contemplative life—whose ministry is prayer—go through “dry spells” when our prayer time seems dull or uneventful. As we grow in our experience of prayer we learn how to adjust to these changes. We often depend on the support of our communities or the help of a spiritual director (someone like a coach) to help us keep praying during difficult times. Those of us who are parish priests have our parish communities and our fellow priests to lead us toward prayer even when we’d rather not be bothered. We try to be faithful even when we don’t feel like it.
4. What’s the difference between a diocesan priest and a religious priest?
A diocesan priest ordinarily serves the church within a geographic area called a diocese. He ordinarily serves the people as a parish priest, but he may also be involved in many other forms of ministry like teaching, hospital ministry, campus ministry or prison ministry.
A religious priest is a member of a religious congregation whose ministry goes beyond the geographic limits of any diocese. A religious priest seeks to live a life of poverty, chastity and obedience within a community of men. The community shares a common vision and spirituality and often emphasizes a particular type of ministry.
5. What’s the difference between a brother and a priest?
A brother is a layman who commits himself to Christ by the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. He usually lives in a religious community and works in a ministry that suits his talents and gifts. A brother might be a teacher, electrician, cook, lawyer, technician, parish minister or artist. He tries to live his faith by being a “brother” to others.
A priest is ordained for a distinctive role as a minister of the sacraments. He celebrates Eucharist and witnesses marriages, baptizes babies and adults, and brings God’s healing presence to people through the sacraments of penance (confession) and of the sick. He is involved in a variety of other works as well—most often parish related—but sacramental life is his special ministry.
6. How are religious orders different from one another?
Each religious order or congregation has a charism (a gift given for the service of the church) that helps them focus on the mission members hope to accomplish in community. That mission could be prayer in a cloistered convent (a home that community members rarely leave), or it could be an active ministry aimed at working with people.
Many congregations are like-minded or have similar ministries, but each is distinct in one respect or another. Many groups of religious men and women were founded at a time when travel and communication were limited. Some congregations were founded for similar purposes and at the same time but in different places by people, who didn’t know each other.
New communities continue to be formed today in response to God calling men and women to particular forms of spirituality, community and mission.
7. How long does it take to become a diocesan priest?
Generally it takes four years of college, followed by five to six more years of seminary study. A seminary is a college or university run by the Catholic Church for educating and preparing men to be priests.
8. How do you join a religious community?
The process of joining a religious community actually takes some time and involves several stages. While these vary from community to community in name, length of time, and format, the basic stages include:
Contact: A person of high school age or older who is interested in religious life but is still searching to answer the question, “What does God want of me?”, can join a program of contact with a religious community. The formation program is usually very flexible. The person may meet monthly with a priest, brother, or sister and share in experiences of prayer and community life. Others may take part in a “come and see” program to visit a community and experience its way of life.
Candidate: This period enables the candidate to observe and participate in religious life from the inside. He or she must indicate interest and have the community agree to accept him or her as a person in the process of joining. The candidate lives within the community while continuing his or her education or work experience. This period enables the candidate to observe and participate in religious life. It also allows the community to see whether the candidate shows promise in living the community’s life. A person may be a candidate for one or two years.
Novice: The novitiate is the next state of formation. This is a special one-to-two year period that marks a more official entrance into the community.
Novices spend time in study and prayer to learn more about themselves, the community, and their relationship with Jesus. At the end of the novitiate, novices prepare for temporary promises, or vows.
Vows: Promises of poverty, chastity, and obedience may be taken for one, two, or three years, depending upon the decision of the individual. These promises are renewable for up to nine years. As soon as three years after making temporary vows, a person can make a promise to live the vows for life. A man studying for religious priesthood must also undergo seminary training. During this time he studies theology, scripture, church teachings, and the skills he will need to be a priest.
9. What vows do priests, brothers, and sisters make?
Brothers, sisters, and priests in religious communities make three vows, and some congregations make other vows as well.
The three most common vows are:
Poverty—We share our goods in common, live a simple life, and realize that we depend on God.
Chastity—We choose to love and serve God and all God’s people, rather than to love one person exclusively in marriage. We offer our celibacy as witness and testimony to God’s love.
Obedience—We live in community and try to listen and follow the will of God by taking part in the community life, goals, hopes, and works.
10. What promises do diocesan priests make?
Diocesan priests make promises of celibacy and obedience to their Bishop and service to the people. They do not make a vow of poverty, for they don’t live in a community of shared goods, but they do try to live simply so they can be of service to God’s people.
11. Can priests, brothers, and sisters date?
No, they can’t because dating is meant to lead to marriage, and as celibates we plan not to marry. However, we very much want and need friendships, and we have friends of both sexes.
12. Are you ever attracted to others in a romantic way?
Of course! We still experience normal, human needs, feelings, and desires. As celibate people we choose to channel these feelings—our sexual energies—into other healthy directions. We work at remaining faithful to our vow of celibacy through prayer, closeness to Jesus, good friendships, and healthy physical exercise.
13. What if you fall in love?
It does happen. The basic responsibility in such a situation is to preserve the original, existing commitment we’ve made—which is to live as a sister, brother, or priest. We try to develop the relationship within the limits and responsibilities of our commitment to celibacy.
Obviously, falling in love can be a very difficult situation for a sister, priest, or brother. Yet we know that all Christians eventually face pain and difficulty in their lives. It isn’t always easy to be a faithful spouse or a single person of integrity either. Dealing with such a challenge can make us stronger than ever in our vocations.
14. Do you have to be a virgin to be a brother, sister or priest?
This is a common question we hear from young people! Past sexual activity does not in itself prevent someone from becoming a brother, sister or priest. A person’s past life is not the main concern. If it was, men and women who were once married could not become priests, brothers or sisters (and they do). The question is whether a person is willing and able to now live and love as a celibate in the service of others. Some of the great saints—St. Augustine and St. Francis of Assisi for example—made other choices before turning to religious life.
15. Does it matter what your sexual orientation is if you want to be a sister, brother, or priest?
No. Religious orders and dioceses are seeking people, who are sexually integrated. Being sexually integrated means having a strong sense of self and understanding your own needs for affection and closeness.
Candidates to religious life or the priesthood should also have the gifts and talents to live celibately. They should understand what are appropriate expressions of love in a celibate context.
16. Why do some of you wear religious clothes while others do not?
Those who wear habits or clerical collars do so for various reasons. One is that religious dress is a sign that may be instantly recognized as a symbol of faith in God and commitment to Christianity.