Missionaries Of The Divine Mercy
MISSIONARIES OF DIVINE MERCY
VOCATION
How Do I Know I Have A Vocation?
1
GOOD HEALTH
You don't have to be an athlete, but if you can play as well as the other boys in your neighborhood, you probably have average or better health.
4
Good Moral Character
If one is not at least ordinarily devoted to religious practices, one can hardly be fit for more than ordinary religious practices.
These are all the characteristics of a good ordinary boy. Besides these, there may be other signs inspired by God as an invitation to follow Him.
2
Average Mental Ability
You don't have to be a genius. The patron Saint of parish priests, St. John Vianney, failed in the seminary several times, but he did not give up. Sometimes a slow learner digs deeper into the subject than a quicker student.
5
A spirit of zeal
A special form of charity that inspires one to work for saving souls.
3
Reasonable Independence
If one must care for parents, for instance, one is not free to enter the order.
6
A spirit of detachment
The power to leave the world behind, control emotions, and be willing to live a celibate life.
7
A desire to become
a religious
The conviction that for him the surest way to save his soul is to serve others by being a religious.
It is a mistake to believe that a religious vocation must be so absolutely clear when a man begins his discernment.
Prayer Life
Without any doubt, the most important element in religious life is daily contact with Our Lord through Holy Mass, the Divine Office, the Rosary, and personal meditation. The priests and brothers come to know not only the history and the rubrics of the Sacred Liturgy, but also its inner meaning and great power for their spiritual lives. Every single gesture of the Classical Liturgy has a profound signification. Every detail matters when it comes to our relationship with the Lord.
The personal faith of our seminarians has to be measured by the objective holiness of the liturgical mysteries and by the unchangeable truth of the Catholic Faith. Subjective piety and objective grace have to form a unity linked by the celebration of the Traditional Latin Liturgy. Neither exterior formalism nor pietism can survive when a seminarian, under the guidance of the authority of the Church which is represented by his superiors, strives in his liturgical participation and his interior life to "do what the Church does." This authentic Roman Catholic harmony between the subjective and the objective, between nature and grace, between the human and the Divine is a fruit of obedience towards the tradition that the Lord Himself has given and guarantees to Holy Mother Church.
A Community Life
For young men it is especially important to learn that everyone who lives in a family, whether it be a small or large community, has to take on responsibilities for others. At the same time, he also must learn to integrate his life into the discipline which serves as the foundation of true charity toward others. It is not always easy, and it will cost sacrifice and mortification of the will. However, in the end, through free obedience and hard work, it will give everyone joy and satisfaction.
