How to discern a call?

The word vocation comes from the Latin vocare, to call. As in the days of the first disciples, Christ continues to say to some: “Come and follow me”. Responding to such a call is an eminently personal and free act. The Church, through her legitimate authority, accompanies and confirms the choice to leave everything to follow Christ and proclaim the Gospel.

The call of the Lord

When Jesus calls us to become a brother of Saint John, he draws us internally to this particular community and makes us want to be one of its members. Only He can do this.

When this desire continues to grow, then that is the time to speak to a spiritual guide. If you don’t have one, then is the time to look for one.

In addition, it will be good to get to know the brothers better and what they want to experience together. This can take the form of a personal meeting with brothers, a retreat, or spending in a priory, a camp, a festival, etc. Each year a retreat to discern a vocation is offered.

The postulate

For the one whom the Lord calls, these first meetings will increase the desire and ripen the discernment. To apply for the postulancy, the candidate, after talking to his spiritual director, will meet the person in charge of the postulancy.

During the postulancy, which lasts approximately one year, the candidate will be introduced to the life of the brothers, to the first foundations of the prayer life of the Church, of the sacraments and of the teaching of the faith. He will study the documents on religious life and and reference texts on the charism of the Congregation.

The person in charge of the postulancy will accompany each candidate in order to be able to discern the solidity of the call and the aptitudes necessary for life in the community.