Laity are Called to Be Holy, Too

"Are you sure you don't have a vocation to the religious life? It's a great life and would be worth it."

May God be praised. In the four weeks that I've been on the farm after my time spent in St. Louis, I've come to more fully process my experience, and as my spiritual director said, I've begun to learn how to listen to my heart. 

Time and time again, people have told me they sense I have a religious vocation. Thank you. But, also, no thank you. I'm not saying people shouldn't say that or that we should not encourage people to consider religious life. I'm saying that I let what other people say and think about me affect what I thought about myself and my vocation. We have to learn to distinguish between the voices we hear: God's, ours, the world's, and the devil's. Do we listen to the voice, correct the voice, or rebuke the voice? (simple lesson in spiritual direction...)

Yes, I can and am closing the door on discerning religious orders. I am called to live with a depth of holiness in the world. I think the reason so many people encouraged me towards the religious life is because, by God's grace and many gifts, I have a faith, a spirituality, a prayer life that is deeper than many people, so much so that it is odd or intimidating to them. Okay. So be it. It is not of my own accord, but by the will of God that I have been blessed so, and that He has given me the grace to accept it. Through many experiences, talks, conversations, and prayer, I've come to realize that just because you are called deeper into prayer and spirituality doesn't mean you are called to be a priest or religious. We need that kind of holiness in our laity. If you are prompted or think you are called, it does not hurt to check out a religious vocation.

The very first statement of this post is some thing that was said to me yesterday morning, by a priest I had just met. It once again made me question my vocation. Just a week prior, I had been so absolutely certain. The uncertainty continued to bug me a bit throughout the day. In the environment I was in, a CLAY retreat, I saw another laity, a father of four, striving to include the liturgy of the hours in his day. It was a reminder that that's the kind of holiness I want to strive for. Finally, on my drive home last night, I was once again certain that pursuing the religious vocation would not be following my own heart and the authentic me God is calling me to be, rather it would be following the expectations of the people around me.

The secular life of laity does not have to be an unholier life. Laity are called to be holy, too. 

St. Maria and St. Isidore, pray for us. 

Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin, pray for us.
Blessed Maria and Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi, pray for us.