Category: Vocations and States in Life

This is a category archives page for website postings. Click here for the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (M.I.C.M.) vocations pages.

There are four states in life through which the faithful may sanctify themselves: the priesthood, the religious life, Holy Matrimony, and the chaste single state. The priesthood is a sacred office in the church, which one is only surely given through the “canonical call” of the bishop at ordination. A religious vocation is a life consecrated by vow to the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. If not called to the religious life or priesthood, a man or woman has to make one of two choices: the married state, or the chaste single state. Whatever state one chooses, he must pursue it as a stable form of life through which he can sanctify himself. Of course, before one chooses a state in life, one should seek the counsel of a trusted spiritual director, reflect carefully and prayerfully on this most important of all decisions, and patiently await the answer that God will eventually plant it in the heart.

Many times reading about the saints, or other devout Catholics who made their mark in the history of the Church, can be of great help in discerning a vocation. The articles in this section provide the kind of information that younger readers will find very helpful in choosing the right state of life and older readers will find beneficial in fulfilling the state in life to which they are already committed.

Immediately below are some of the featured entries in this category. Further down, all the entries in this category may be found.

On vocations and states in life, by Brother André Marie, M.I.C.M.

Additional articles by various authors:

Are Young Priests More Conservative?

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The following is a press statement from the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts… In October, The Catholic Project, at Catholic University of America, released a major new study of the American priesthood, which disclosed striking and substantive disparities in beliefs, concerns, … Continue reading →

Is Marriage a Vocation?

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When we Catholics speak of the different options that are open before us in how to live our lives — priesthood, religious life, married life, single in the world — we commonly, at least nowadays, speak of these as “vocations.” … Continue reading →

Called to Be a Brother?

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The vocation to the consecrated life as a religious brother is a great gift of God. Brothers live the vows of evangelical perfection. We also live the common life of liturgical prayer, mental prayer, study, work, and apostolic action in … Continue reading →

To the Men

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On Saturday, April 25, I was one of three speakers at the Napa Valley Catholic Men’s Conference. My two talks were entitled “Religious Liberty vs. Religious Right” and “Montfortian Masculinity” (those links will take you to our store site, where … Continue reading →