5 Perks of a First-Hand Discernment Experience
5 Perks of a First-Hand Discernment Experience
It’s one thing to imagine yourself as part of a religious order, but it’s another thing to experience first-hand the life of an order by spending a significant amount of time with them. Going to visit the religious order you’re discerning, and staying for a few months when possible, could be the missing element of your discernment journey.
Here are five advantages you can expect when you spend time with an order:
Experience the Day-To-Day We often romanticize life in a religious order. Perhaps you think you’ll have a great deal of time to yourself for prayer, meditation, and spiritual reading. Or maybe you think that the bulk of your time will be taken up with ministry. Spending significant time with the order you’re discerning will help you get a clear picture of what the day-to-day life of that order is actually like.
Participate in Ministry You are called to serve. The only question you need to answer for yourself is how. Perhaps right now you think you’re called to minister to the poor. Or maybe you picture yourself helping addicts overcome their addictions. Maybe you’ve always pictured yourself as a teacher. Getting serious about discerning how you are called to serve by spending time with an order can give you a first-hand taste of what life in ministry is actually like. It may not be what you expected.
Join in Prayer As a member of a religious order, you’ll join your brothers in communal prayer, and you’ll be expected to nurture an intense personal prayer life as well. Every order has their own approach to the spiritual life. You’ll need to spend considerable time with an order to experience the prayer life of that order and find out if it meshes with your own.
Enter into Community Every vocation, whether to marriage or to the religious life, is a call to community. Your brothers in your chosen order will become your family. You will share life’s ups and downs, joys and frustrations with them. As with any family, there will be times when they drive you crazy, and times when you couldn’t imagine life without them. Staying for some time with the order you’re discerning allows you to discover whether you could spend your life with them.
Talk With Members Even after experiencing the life, ministry, spirituality, and community of an order, you may still need some additional feedback to correct some of your misperceptions. When you invest time with an order, you get to know members that you wouldn’t encounter otherwise. These friars may help you clarify any questions that still need clarified.
Here are five advantages you can expect when you spend time with an order:
Experience the Day-To-Day
We often romanticize life in a religious order. Perhaps you think you’ll have a great deal of time to yourself for prayer, meditation, and spiritual reading. Or maybe you think that the bulk of your time will be taken up with ministry. Spending significant time with the order you’re discerning will help you get a clear picture of what the day-to-day life of that order is actually like.
Participate in Ministry
You are called to serve. The only question you need to answer for yourself is how. Perhaps right now you think you’re called to minister to the poor. Or maybe you picture yourself helping addicts overcome their addictions. Maybe you’ve always pictured yourself as a teacher. Getting serious about discerning how you are called to serve by spending time with an order can give you a first-hand taste of what life in ministry is actually like. It may not be what you expected.
Join in Prayer
As a member of a religious order, you’ll join your brothers in communal prayer, and you’ll be expected to nurture an intense personal prayer life as well. Every order has their own approach to the spiritual life. You’ll need to spend considerable time with an order to experience the prayer life of that order and find out if it meshes with your own.
Enter into Community
Every vocation, whether to marriage or to the religious life, is a call to community. Your brothers in your chosen order will become your family. You will share life’s ups and downs, joys and frustrations with them. As with any family, there will be times when they drive you crazy, and times when you couldn’t imagine life without them. Staying for some time with the order you’re discerning allows you to discover whether you could spend your life with them.
Talk With Members
Even after experiencing the life, ministry, spirituality, and community of an order, you may still need some additional feedback to correct some of your misperceptions. When you invest time with an order, you get to know members that you wouldn’t encounter otherwise. These friars may help you clarify any questions that still need clarified.
You're Invited to Discover our Community
The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement would like to invite you to apply to spend a few months with us, and discover what the life of At-One-Ment is really all about! Come stay at Our Lady of the Atonement House of Discernment, and really set your vocation discernment into high gear! It’s simply the best way to discover our order, get some direction, and find the clarity you’ve been looking for. We’d love to welcome you into our community.
©2019 Franciscan Friars of Atonement
©2019 Franciscan Friars of Atonement