My Future Vocation

Category Archives: My Future Vocation

LifeTeen.com Blog

An Open Letter to St. Joseph

By | March 19, 2013

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Dear Saint Joseph, First of all, as a new dad, I’ve just got to ask you: how much sleep did you get? You see, while I may think my baby girl is the best and most beautiful baby (and I mean come on, she’s adorable), she’s no baby Jesus. Did He keep you and Mary up all night? Because the past few nights my baby girl has decided that the middle of the night is the perfect time to practice her new talent of rolling around . . . I can’t help but wonder if you experienced stuff like that Read more [...]

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Stop Worrying, Your Vocation is to Love

By | March 9, 2013

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The idea of discerning our vocation can cause a lot of anxiety. Wondering if we are called to be married, enter religious life, who we should date, if we should visit convents or try out seminary can be overshadowed by fear – fear that we’ll do the wrong thing or that God will plant us somewhere that will make us miserable.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Discernment in 3 Easy Steps

By | March 5, 2013

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Figuring out what to do in the future is one of the things that most young people struggle to figure out. Now that you know your identity, you can remind yourself that God, indeed, has a purpose for you. You were created for a reason, and figuring that reason out will be one of the most exciting things you ever do.

Discernment is simply seeking and discovering God’s will in your life. It’s an adventure with God and it begins with bringing a question to the Lord. It’s easier if the question that you ask isn’t an open-ended question.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Imagine Sisters

By | February 27, 2013

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“Joy is really a gift of the holy spirit, it’s something that God pours into your heart. And when God invites you to do something and you respond, usually what happens after that is beyond your wildest dreams because you begin to encounter the Lord in new ways, and in mysterious ways that you don’t even really fully understand. But it’s all just so beautiful and I think that’d be the word that captures my life as a sister.

I just feel like I encounter and experience beauty in way that I’ve never understood before. It helps me to trust the Lord more, to trust in His love for me, to know that I belong to Him, that i’m His spouse . . . “

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Popularity is Overrated: And Other Advice for the High School Me

By | February 25, 2013

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Well, a lot has happened in those 15 years, and as I prepare to turn the ripe old age of 33 (my Jesus year), I’ve been reflecting on a lot of hard lessons I’ve learned along the way. If only there had been older adults giving me advice during my high school years, perhaps I could have been saved from a lot of heartache and bad decisions.

But, since I didn’t listen to my parents, I made a New Year’s Resolution to develop a time machine, crank it up to 88 mph, and have a little chat with myself.

If this were actually possible, here are 22 things I would tell the high school me:

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Today Matters

By | February 5, 2013

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When we hear the stories of the saints, the men and women who loved with all their hearts and responded to God’s call with everything they had, it’s like watching a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl. The heroic examples of the saints are not some random occurrences that just kind of happen; they are the products of lives spent learning to say “yes” to God’s call in a thousand small ways. Before Saint Agnes or Saint Maximilian Kolbe ultimately gave their lives as martyrs, they had been practicing sacrifice and learning to trust God in the small things of daily life.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

After the Vows: Sex Within Marriage

By | September 17, 2012

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I’ll never forget what happened at about 2:05pm on April 14. In front of my family, friends, and God, I swore in church. And then the girl standing next to me swore. It wasn’t inappropriate. It wasn’t bad; it was actually a good thing.

We swore that we would love each other faithfully for the rest of our lives and we begged God to seal and strengthen our commitment. We were so excited to get married, but we knew that the sacrament wasn’t just about us.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

How to Pray About Your Future

By | April 26, 2012

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The most important part of all of this is in Jesus’ first three words to Peter, “Come after me.” With these words, Jesus is not only saying that Peter must physically follow him, but that Peter’s desires are to come after His as well. If we focus on doing what Jesus is asking us to do, our lives will change radically. Obviously, not all of us will become Pope, like Peter, but I guarantee that God will do far greater things with your life than you could ever do on your own.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Vocations: The Gift of the Love of God

By | April 25, 2012

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Dear Brothers and Sisters, The 49th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which will be celebrated on 29 April 2012, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, prompts us to meditate on the theme: Vocations, the Gift of the Love of God. The source of every perfect gift is God who is Love – Deus caritas est: “Whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16). Sacred Scripture tells the story of this original bond between God and man, which precedes creation itself. Writing to the Christians Read more [...]

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Catholic Advice for Every Girl

By | February 28, 2012

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It’s such an honor to be able to write just for you girls this time. I love being able to share with you some of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the past couple years about being a woman and being a Catholic. It took me a long time to learn these things! I hope you can put this advice to good use in your own life.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Being a Catholic Man: Lessons I Learned the Hard Way

By | February 21, 2012

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One of my favorite things about being a man is that we know everything. Or . . . no . . . wait a minute. We think we know everything. There, that sounds more like it.

But seriously, in high school I thought I had it all figured out. Why? I don’t know. Maybe it was because I got my driver’s license and drove a really cool beige minivan, or maybe it had to do with my ability to make sweet graphs on my TI-83 calculator. Perhaps my ever-increasing bench press played a role. (Ok, that last one may be a bit of a stretch.)

But yet, for some reason, I thought I knew it all. If you had a question, I had an answer. If you couldn’t figure something out, I could. And, armed with this array of knowledge, I was gonna teach the world a thing or two. That is until I started getting older and realized something: I didn’t know as much as I thought.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Service and Vocation (John Paul II Lenten Reflections)

By | April 13, 2011

Why are you here, you young people of the nineties and of the twentieth century? Do you feel perchance within yourselves “the spirit of this world”? Have you not perhaps come here — I ask you again — to convince yourselves once and for all that to be great means to serve? This service is certainly not mere humanitarian sentimentality. Nor is the community of the disciples of Christ a volunteer agency or social help group. Such a concept of service would imply stooping to the level of the “spirit Read more [...]

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Video

A Poem for Single People

By | April 11, 2011

When we find videos that inspire and point back to God, we love sharing them with you. This video is of a young woman sharing the heart of a single person with all of its joys and hurts, but ultimately the trust she finds only in God. Share this video with all of your friends.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

What's It Like? Comparing the Married life, the Single Life, Priesthood & Religious Life

By | July 21, 2010

So let’s get real about your future. God has a plan for you and your future. But what does that future look like? As Catholics, we believe there are 3 types of vocations: married life, single life, and the priesthood & religious life. Let’s take a detailed look at 4 components of each vocation: commitment, sex, joys, and hardship.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Answers to Your Questions about the Seminary

By | July 21, 2010

Many young men considering the priesthood have BIG questions about going into the seminary. Here are answers to your top 13 questions.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Understanding the 6 Types of Religious Vocations

By | July 19, 2010

Did you know there are 6 types of religous vocations? If you are considering a religious vocation, take a closer look at the different ways you can serve God: 1) Diocesan Priesthood 2) Religious Priesthood 3) Contemplative Life 4) Religious Brothers 5) Religious Sisters 6) Secular Institutes

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Free Resources for Vocations and Discernment

By | July 15, 2010

Below you will find free downloads of planning guides to help Priests and Youth Ministers host Life Nights or Bible Studies about Vocations for teenagers. Teens, if your church doesn’t ever talk about teens trying to figure out what they’re going to be when they grow up, download these resources and email them to your parish priest. You can usually find his email address on your church’s website. Skip to: True Life | Holy Orders: The Vocation of Holy Orders A Marriage Made in Heaven For Better Read more [...]

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Considering the Priesthood? Answers to Common Questions

By | July 15, 2010

1. What is a diocesan priest? 2. Why would someone become a priest? 3. What do priests do? 4. Who qualifies to become a priest? 5. How long does it take to become a priest? 6. Are there programs available for an older man considering the possibility of becoming a priest?

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Cool New Website: ForYourVocation.org

By | July 1, 2010

Our friends recently launched a cool new website called ForYourVocation.org with great information for young people who are trying to figure out whether or not they’re called to a religious vocation. Also, there are interesting sections for Parents and Educators & Youth Leaders. The site also features some original Life Teen videos. Be sure to check it out! If you are a parent or youth minister, don’t miss our Free Downloads of resources here on lifeteen.com: True Life | Holy Orders: The Read more [...]

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Tips for Journaling about Your Future Vocation

By | July 1, 2010

There’s a lot of pressure when you’re young to know what you will do with the rest of your life. People are always asking what you want to do when you grow up. Although the world likes to organize your future by job title–doctor, lawyer, accountant–we Catholics see things differently. Some people are called to be single, others are called to be married, and still others are called to the priesthood or religious life. So guys, has the thought ever crossed your mind that you might be called to Read more [...]

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