The call to religious or consecrated life is not always for those who've experienced massive conversions, but it is also for those living normal Catholic lives, who feel a pull in one direction, to be closer to Christ.
Having to leave her home in Slovakia, Sr. Anna from the Daughters of St. Paul, says it was while studying and living her daily life that she desired something more.
SR. ANNA MATIKOVA
“I had a normal life as a student. I had friends at my university, my interests, my works, a normal life. God doesn't necessarily call strange people. I didn't receive the call by phone. More than anything, I had an attraction to Someone (with a capital S), who at the end won my heart.”
This young Carmelite monk had a similar experience. He had an attraction to the order during an ordination Mass, while he was studying as a young man.
BR. RANJIT
Carmelite monk
“During Mass, I heard the voice of God calling my name. I felt something that pulled me back just to push me forward. This push was none other than the push of Christ and it inspired me to follow Christ going forward.”
These religious explain their vocation came as a continuation of their previous interests. It was through looking interiorly, welcoming silence and being open to God's call, they found their vocation.
SR. ANNA MATIKOVA
'God does not attract us to things that are completely strange and against our heart. Rather, it is through the desires of our heart that He attracts us. Even in the consecrated life, we are attracted to it because we like it. We do not join because we hate it and we have to do it.”
As the 22nd World Day of Consecrated Life is celebrated on February 2, it is a time of thanksgiving and prayer for vocations. However, it could also ignite the flame in the hearts of all those living a “normal life” who simply are seeking something more.
