Insights into a religious vocation, by St. Francis

We are beginning a short series on discerning a vocation with the Visitation Order, based on St. Francis de Sales’ own conference (Conference 20) on why one should become a religious.

You are welcome to join in this series with your comments on this page or in the chat room.

We hope this will help all of you who are thinking about or who have already inquired into the possibility of becoming a candidate as a monastic Visitandine.

St. Francis de Sales is quite direct as he begins:

“The question which our Mother wishes me to explain to you, my dear daughters, as to what intention one ought to have in entering religion, is indeed the most important, the most necessary, and the most useful, that can be discussed.

Certainly, my dear daughters, many persons enter religion, who do not know why they do so. They come into a parlor, they see nuns with a serene countenance and pleasing manners, very modest, very happy, and they say to themselves, “Good God! how pleasant it is there! Let us go there, for the world does not smile upon us, we shall not find what we wish for in it.”

Another will say, “Oh! How well they sing in there!”

Others come to find peace, consolations, and all sorts of sweetness, saying in thought, “Oh! how happy the nuns are! They are out of the reach of father and mother, who do nothing but complain and whom one can never please, one has always to begin again. Our Lord promises many consolations to those who leave the world for His service; let us go then into religion.”

Here are, my dear daughters, three kinds of intentions, which are of no value for entering the house of God. It must, of necessity, be God who builds the city; otherwise, although it may be built, it would have to be destroyed.”

Do you find any of these motivations among your own? Is this discouraging?

Why not list your own deepest motivations as you pray over them? If you are willing to share your thoughts about these points, please leave a comment here or in the Chat Room. A Sister will also be happy to discuss this with you off line. Use the contact page to send a private message.