Discernment: "I want to be a sister"

You may be wondering how you will know that your desire to be a Sister is God’s will for you.  You might gain some insights into the answer to that question by viewing it from the perspective of how you would have known that you are called to marriage.  I suggest that you reflect back on a time when you  were dating and considering marriage.  How did you know whether marriage might have been right for you and that God might have been calling you to that vocation?  First of all, if you are a God-centered person, you  shared your thoughts about  marriage with God and sought God’s thoughts of marriage for you. You will have wanted to know God’s thoughts about you finding the right partner with whom to raise a family in the faith.  Second of all, both you and the gentleman would have sought certitude that you are meant to become husband and wife, to commit to each other in love forever.  You would have talked about it with each other.  You would have supported one another right up to the altar and beyond.  Both, not just one of you, if you both view life from a God-stance, believed marriage is a call from God for both of you.

Applying that experience to your desire to become a Sister, you and God have talked about it.  You have shared your thoughts with God and God with you.  In your relationship with God, you would have taken the position of a child talking to his/her parents, holding nothing back and seeking God’s input and His approval.  Second of all, you will have shared your thoughts with the Vocation Director of the religious community to which you feel called. Both you and the Vocation Director will have come to believe that consecrating your life to the Lord as a Sister is, in fact, God’s call to you and that this particular community is a good fit; namely, that you have the potential to commit yourself permanently to live out your baptismal call to build up God’s Kingdom here on earth as a member of this religious community,  giving expression to the charism and mission of the community and by being a faithful  community member.