seeds

Seen last week but didn't have time to blog...
Over at the Holy Vocations blog, Estevan had been getting some advice to try the world before entering the seminary. Thankfully, wise priests have given him the advice that you don't take a good seed and put in it bad soil to see how it grows. Rather, you take that good seed and put in fertile soil. Hence for priests, the seminary is the best place to discern their vocation.

Likewise ladies, don't be afraid to enter the convent. You won't be snatched up and locked away for life. Both you and they will be discerning; you won't (and can't) go at it alone.

If there is anything that gives me pause, it is the thought that I might "waste" the community's resources. By "waste" I mean they pour themselves into me only to find out years later that it's not a good fit. I hope to mitigate that risk by being very discerning in the first place, deciding where to enter, and by likewise pouring myself into them when I do enter. I hope their lives will be a little richer for just having me around. Not bragging ... just a human thing. There are folks who have made my life richer just because I knew them, however briefly. (I thank you, God, for the beautiful people you have made.) In the words of someone else, we leave our footsteps in each others hearts. Then in the end whether I leave or take final vows would be a decision that I and the community make together as we discern where it is that God wants me.