Well, no one can be sure about anything here in the world. Which is part of the scary part. Even if you pray you can't be sure if your prayers are pleasing to God. Or even if you confess your sins you can't be sure that they are really forgiven. Or if you attend Mass and receive Communion you can't be sure its pleasing to God, etc.

Its all so scary.

So you can't be sure that you have a religious or priestly vocation or not. Or if you think you don't, you can't be sure that following the married or single life is pleasing to God either.

But some signs of a religious or priestly vocation are: inclination to such a vocation and no hindrance to fulfilling the duties of such a vocation (for example, a crippled diabetic cannot have a Carthusian vocation).
How does one know? First find a spiritual director. And then spend time in the actual seminary or monastery, etc and see if the lifestyle is the one that God wants you to live in. One thing to wonder is if the lifestyle is too hard, how to do you know if God wants to you to leave or if God is testing you!?! Certainly need Holy spiritual Directors to help with that question...

Only assuming but it might be like anything else, when you have a passion for children as I did, you can't think about anything else except being a mother.

I feel if you have a religious vocation, you would think about it constantly.  

Even if you pray you can't be sure if your prayers are pleasing to God. Or even if you confess your sins you can't be sure that they are really forgiven. Or if you attend Mass and receive Communion you can't be sure its pleasing to God, etc.

This way insanity lies.  Given that all that is required for absolution in confession is an imperfect contrition, you are teetering at the brink of a nasty scrupulosity.

Do you not believe the promises that have been made to us?

 :confused1:

Quote

Even if you pray you can't be sure if your prayers are pleasing to God. Or even if you confess your sins you can't be sure that they are really forgiven. Or if you attend Mass and receive Communion you can't be sure its pleasing to God, etc.

This way insanity lies.  Given that all that is required for absolution in confession is an imperfect contrition, you are teetering at the brink of a nasty scrupulosity.

Do you not believe the promises that have been made to us?

 :confused1:

I agree.

Vladimir, what is going on with you? Have you always been like this? I've noticed your recent posts, and they seem troubling as if you are unsure of anything with the Faith.

We have been given promises by God through His Church, and these are CERTAIN. Your exclamations about "not knowing surely" of anything is despairing in a certain way.

Well, no one can be sure about anything here in the world. ... Its all so scary.

The thoughts God inspires lead to peace, not fear.  I am NOT saying anything about whether you do or do not have a priestly or religious vocation.  What I AM saying is: DO NOT FEAR.  God is your FATHER and ONLY desires GOOD things for you.  Make the best use you can of prayer and the advice of those who actually have the power to help you become a priest or religious if that is God's will, and go about your business IN PEACE :)

The Enemy loves to get into our heads.  We must ignore his fear-mongering nonsense, constantly making little acts of Faith and trust in God.

Its like in the Imitation of Christ when the story of the man who is terrified about his eternal fate and is prostrate in a church and sighs "if only I knew if I were to be saved" and hears the voice telling him to act as if he were to be saved, or something like that.

so no need to excessive fear, but always should fear the justice of God and that you are on the road to Hell.


never should console yourself that you will not be damned. Because even if you are in a state of grace until your last breath - you can still be damned for eternity if you entertain an impure thought in your last agony, etc.

that's why: "make out your salvation with fear and trembling".

what I mean is that this life is so uncertain and we can't know if we are pleasing or offending God in many things, so we need to rely solely on God and not our own perceived merits, which may not even exist. when we are judged, how many of what we thought were our good works will turn out to be of no avail since they were done with impure intentions, etc.


a question for non-sedevacantists though: If one were to want to discern a vocation but entering the SSPX seminary was out of the question for reasons beyond one's own power, would entering the FSSP seminary be advisable? Question aimed mainly at SSPX parishioners.