Discerning the Call
A religious vocation is, first and foremost, a personal and unique “call” from a loving God to a human soul. This is a relationship of mutuality. The soul wants to make a total gift of herself to a God who wants to give the soul her heart’s desire by making a total gift of Self to her.

Discernment is a step-by-step journey based on the formation experience of religious women for more than 1,500 years. Its goal is to bring clarity to the candidate and the community.

Discernment is the slow and careful testing of the authenticity, strength, and depth of a “call.” Early contacts with the community and the process of formation itself (passing through the cycles of novitiate onto first and final profession) test whether or not a “call” is from God or is an illusion. Each of us will find our greatest freedom only in the place to which we have been called.

We experience that “call” in unique ways. Some religious describe the feeling of being haunted, hounded, or courted over a long period by an attraction or an attachment that won’t go away.

Others report a moment or two of deep insight when the Lord’s presence is overwhelming and there is a tender sense of invitation. Some find a steady unfolding of their “call” with the help of trusted friends, family members, vocation or spiritual directors, and confessors who might point to the ordinary circumstances of one’s life as an arrow pointing toward vocation. Particular lines of Scripture may make one’s heart burn within. Some of us may have a very gentle hunch.

Discernment is a time for paying close attention to the possibility of an invitation to leave one's fishing nets or one's tax collecting in order to follow Jesus unreservedly. It is a time to do what the early disciples in John's Gospel do: to "come and see" (John 1:35-39)

Discernment is also a period of rich spiritual growth, whatever one's vocation turns out to be. It is a time for developing or deepening one's prayer life, exploring new ways of approaching prayer, and recognizing the dying to self that is a cornerstone of monastic, contemplative life. As Thomas Merton observed in Contemplative Prayer, such a life gives one many opportunities to die to the false masks or selves that separate us from standing honestly, humbly and nakedly before God. These get in the way of intimacy with God and knowledge of our true selves.

In this life of becoming less and less burdened by possessions, compulsions, addictions, and the endless demands of our own wills, we make more and more space for the gift God wants to give us — the gift of Himself. The vows assist us in this journey toward union with God, and community life gives us the joy of companionship while sanding away any edges of selfishness and self-preoccupation. In community we tell the all-too-true joke that there are two kinds of people: saints and those who made them that way.

If you have felt the urgings of the Spirit and want to begin the discernment process in order to test your vocation, here are some basic requirements of the vowed community at Emmaus:

If the Spirit seems to be directing you to Emmaus, we invite you to “Come and see!” Contact us at vocation@emmausmonastery.org