Editors Share | Discerning a Vocation
/The spiritual life is an ongoing journey, constantly propelling us into new stages and seasons of learning, living and loving. The process of discerning a vocation to single, married, or religious life moves each individual into new realities of more fully embracing the call to holiness through love.
Today, members from the Spoken Bride team share a little about their own discernment processes and reveal how intimate and unique these journeys are for each person in their walk with God.
PHOTOGRAPHY: RED FERN PHOTOGRAPHY
Jiza Zito, Co-Founder and Creative Director
Throughout my late teens and early twenties, I was seriously discerning the call to religious life. Naturally, I visited the Blessed Sacrament and meditated on the Rosary as often as I could and had regular spiritual direction. When God started to close the doors as my entrance date to the convent approached, it was through the gentle and powerful intercession of Our Lady who made it apparent where God was calling me.
Carissa Pluta, Editor at Large
I always felt a strong call to the vocation of marriage, but it wasn’t until college that I prayed for my vocation with an open heart, really giving God the opportunity to to make His will known. When the call to marriage was made clear (and right after a break-up), I began praying a novena of masses for my future husband and spending time in Adoration. Not only was that time spent with Christ healing for my broken heart, but it deepened my relationship with God, who soon revealed the man I would marry.
Mariah Maza, Features Editor
I met the man who would become my husband on my first day of high school, when I was only 14. He was a devout Southern Baptist, and I was a devout practicing Catholic. Looking back, I realize this is not the typical story! I can honestly say I always took my Catholic faith quite seriously, even then, but I had never entertained an honest thought about discerning religious life. I almost felt afraid of it, or like the idea of becoming a sister or nun was more of a joke than an actual possibility.
It wasn’t until more than four years later in college that I met other young Catholic adults who actually “discerned their vocation,” whether to marriage or religious life. This was a new mentality and practice I had never encountered before, but I suddenly felt a strong urge to do some actual discernment myself.
To make a long story short, after some interesting Holy Spirit encounters in adoration, I called up my boyfriend-of-four-years and cut off all communication for a month to immerse myself in discernment of religious life and general spiritual growth (imagine the shock of my poor Baptist boyfriend hearing that).
A month later, after discerning no real call to further explore entering an order, I called up my boyfriend again, who had actually discerned himself in that month that he needed to become Catholic! I was absolutely amazed. He entered the Church nine months before our wedding, and we’ve been married almost two years now. The Lord works in mysterious ways!
Stephanie Fries, Associate Editor
My discernment process started with a lot of fear. I had a very twisted misunderstanding of what it means to live in collaboration with God. To summarize my experience of vocational discernment, I learned three main things:
Through many hours in the presence of the Eucharist, I learned how to differentiate between the voices in my head: between temptation from Satan, pressure from my family, a projection of my own fears or wounds, the voice of God, and the tender love of Mary.
Through a monthly novena to St. Therese, I learned to see the equal yet different beauty of each Vocation. I grew in my ability to honor and celebrate the various vocations and the ways each individual is called to love and be loved.
Through a lot of grace, I learned how to discern the desires of my heart, which are implanted in my heart as a gift from God. In turn, I began to pursue a vocation to married life with clarity, confidence, freedom, peace, and joy.