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LeeAnn
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Please share the story of your grown-up child's path to religious life or priestly vocation.
I am sure we have some moms of priests, religious brothers or sisters here...don't we?  Please share with us your "secrets" so we can all learn how to help our children answer God's call to the religious life.
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my four children are 17, 15, 11 & 8 - all now attend public school - we read many 4Real recommended books at home
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LeeAnn
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my four children are 17, 15, 11 & 8 - all now attend public school - we read many 4Real recommended books at home
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Willa
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I know at least three moms who sometimes visit this board who have children who are in the process of discerning a religious vocation, or have taken vows. I'm not sure if they are currently reading board topics but this thread has some information.
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Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
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Eleanor
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In the meantime, you might enjoy reading this vocation story from the late Father Edward Warren, a holy Jesuit priest who did the Lord's work here in California for many decades.
There are no "secrets" (other than God's, of course), but it's beautiful in its simplicity.
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MaryM
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Like Willa mentioned I know there are members on the forum whose children have entered the religious life. They may or may not be reading. So if you know one of those members, maybe give them a heads up about the question so they could join in.
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Mary M. in Denver
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Alison
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OK I am going to be the first to hesitantly post.
Our son is 25 and in formation as a Capuchin friar in Australia.
If you click on this link it should take you to his testimony. It is a few years out of date now and he looks so young in the picture.
The two young men that made their temorary vows with my son have since felt God calling them in other directions and so have left the order but our son is still absolutely certain this is where God wants him for the present.
In speaking to him he always says that the single thing that helped him to make his intial decision and that has kept him in his commitment is (aside from Mass) time before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
And I am being very human now when I say that seeing our oldest with his youngest brothers this Christmas and the great relationship he has with them I don't grieve that he will not have children of his own, but that is my human weakness and not God's srength that has brought our son this far.
I am raving on too much so I'll end with the link. I hope it is helpful and that I am doing the right thing in posting itDuncan's testimony.
Alison
Homeschoolingdownunder
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ladybugs
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Eleanor wrote:
In the meantime, you might enjoy reading this vocation story from the late Father Edward Warren, a holy Jesuit priest who did the Lord's work here in California for many decades.
There are no "secrets" (other than God's, of course), but it's beautiful in its simplicity.
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I just want to say that Father Edward Warren was one of the priests who married my hubby and I at Our Lady of Peace in Santa Clara, CA!
WE LOVED FATHER WARREN......what a marvelous example!
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Love and God Bless,
Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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Nique
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What an exceptional young man Duncan is, Alison! No wonder you are popping your buttons  Thank you SO MUCH for sharing his story (told by him).
Having chosen the married state, I've always been curious if the "grass is greener on the other side". So I appreciated his honesty when he wrote:
"I came to understand that fraternity is not some warm feeling inside- it requires patience, self-sacrifice, and a sense of humour."
He will be remembered in our family Rosary always! As will the rest of your family!
Superb thread LeeAnn!
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I had always thought that once you grew up you could do anything you wanted - stay up all night or eat ice cream straight out of the container. ~Bill Bryson
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Lara Sauer
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Thanks for sharing the story of your son, Alison. So very beautiful the way God works in the lives of His children.
You and your family will be in our prayers.
Peace.
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jackiemomof7
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Our oldest daughter belongs to the order of "Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles" They are a traditional order. (www.benedictinesofmary.org)
Secrets?? I don't think there is one really. I can remember when people in our parish found out the news that our daughter was joining, many of the moms came to me asking "how did you do it?" My husband and I responded with a "not us but God" Hopefully all we did was help her to hear the call and move any obstacles along the way that might have distracted her. Making sure she had a good and holy priest to talk to. Yes we have always prayed the Rosary together, she was always homeschooled and we (hopefully) gave her a firm good foundation. But was this the reason she answered His call? Maybe, I don't know. She has told us that she feels she heard her call due to our lifestyle and she is grateful to us for being homeschooled. But my husband and I truly believe that we have been blessed with good and holy priest that have guided our children. Our 4 children who have graduated from homeschooling each have gone through a discernment process to make sure they did or did not have a religous vocation. Our 2nd oldest even after finishing his schooling at Le Cordon Bleu, came back and spent time again discerning.
Our second daughter who is 15 plans to join the carmelites in Neberska, now she has planned on being a nun since she could talk. In fact she was so mad at her sister who became a nun for quite a while. Our oldest daughter didn't even plan on becoming a nun or started to think about it until her senior year of highschool. So our 2nd dd thought it so unfair that dd 1 got to go to the convent when dd 2 has been planning on it all her life. (truly a story most like St. Theresa, in fact I can remember when our oldest dd wrote once to her sister she told her she most be like St. Theresa and wait her time)
Well, I don't know if I helped any but I am more than happy to answer any questions.
God bless,
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Jackie wife to Jim for 27!! years, proud army mom of Chris(25),Chef Matthew(24) and Sister Grace of Benedectines (21),Joshua(19),Nicholas(17),Jaymee(15), Elizabeth(13) and 2 in Heaven.Grandma to 3!
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LeeAnn
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Jackie and Alison,
First, thanks for responding!  Hopefully there are some more moms of grown children with religious professions out there as well!
I wanted to ask: How did your child initially discover the order they ended up in? Did you have a lot of personal interaction with religious during your child's childhood? Did you have a lot of friends or family who had previously made a religious profession or was your child unusual among your friends/family in seeking this life?
Am I correct in saying both Br. Duncan and Sr. Grace are in contemplative orders? Or are they living a combination of active life and contemplative prayer?
Finally (for now!), how ofted do you see your children? Are there limits on the number of visits? Do you help your children in any way with their work or in support of their religious community?
Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!
~LeeAnn
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my four children are 17, 15, 11 & 8 - all now attend public school - we read many 4Real recommended books at home
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LeeAnn
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jackiemomof7
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LeeAnn,
Sorry to be so long to reply!
1)DD found out about the order through our priest then through a friend who entered 2 years before she did.
2)Yes they are a comtemplative order. They also make vestments for priest to help support their order.
3)We are able to see our dd 3 times a year. You have family visiting days at set times of the year (usually around Christmas time, Easter and in the summer)You have Saturday and Sunday usually 9-5 to visit with your dd and the other sisters. We also may write her once a month. (but not during lent,advent or the months that we have visitng days) She is allowed to write us once a month also she can only use one sheet of paper (smaller paper not notebook size) she may write on front and back of this paper. Our letters can be longer than that.
Since their order is in the process of building a new monastry, we help them with projects connected to this. If we are ever there to help with something we do not speak to our dd unless we are given permission. Most times when we our helping we don't even see her. She is in charge of the kitchen and is usually very busy making and planning meals for 22 young women!
I hope I have answered your questions! Anything else just ask!
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Jackie wife to Jim for 27!! years, proud army mom of Chris(25),Chef Matthew(24) and Sister Grace of Benedectines (21),Joshua(19),Nicholas(17),Jaymee(15), Elizabeth(13) and 2 in Heaven.Grandma to 3!
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Patty
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Our oldest daughter is a novice in the Little Sisters of the Poor, whose apostolate is to care for the elderly poor. Their founder, St. Jeanne Jugan, was canonized just this past October.
We did not have many religious in our family. My father is not Catholic and my mother was a convert at age 19...she went to a Catholic school of nursing. My mil had several aunts and at least one uncle who were sisters/priests, but we did not know them.
Our daughter had a wonderful spiritual director at her college. She was discerning between the religious life or being a single lay doctor serving the poor. The summer between her sophomore and junior years of college, a wonderful opportunity opened up for her. She went to India with three other students to volunteer for the Missionaries of Charity. This was a life-changing experience! She also did a "Come and See", living with the MC's for two weeks, but as much as she loved them, she did not feel the distinct call to join.
In the middle of her junior year, she met the Little Sisters of the Poor at a FOCUS conference and they invited her to come work for them the following summer, which she did. While she was there, she drove to a neighboring state to visit another religious order, and during this retreat she felt the unmistakable call from God to be a Little Sister.
I don't have any "secrets" and I am not an exceptional Catholic mom. My answer is the same to everything...prayer and the sacraments! Then let God's grace work and say "yes" to Him even if...and especially when...it's hard.
We can visit our daughter once a year, but if she were within driving distance of our home, she could come visit for a day every month or two. Not sure if that will ever happen!
Our daughter will take first vows and become a "young sister" and leave the novitiate this summer. Here is a link to a video about them, though our daughter is not featured in it. If I can find what she has written about her "call", I will share it. She is a very good writer.
Little Sisters of the Poor Profession of Vows
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MaryM
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Patty wrote:
| Our oldest daughter is a novice in the Little Sisters of the Poor, whose apostolate is to care for the elderly poor. Their founder, St. Jeanne Jugan, was canonized just this past October. |
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We LOVE the Little Sisters of the Poor! We helped them celebrate this fall when Jeanne Jugan was canonized by putting on a short performance of Jeanne Jugan's life for the residents of their nursing home here. I learned so much about her. Especially profound was how she bore with silence and humilty a grave injustice toward her.
The sisters are very good about reaching out to the young girls in our coummunity and encouraging them to visit and be open to that vocation. They have a hospitality club for teen girls to volunteer at the home. My daughter is hoping to join with some of her friends. I think opportuntities like that are a great way to foster an openness to religious life.
Thanks Patty for sharing your daughter's story.
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Mary M. in Denver
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