The purpose: is to give men, aged 20-36 years, a year (September – July) where they can learn about priesthood and the various forms of religious life, and come to some conclusion about where God may be calling them. It is for men who are aware of God’s calling but are not sure how specifically to respond, or who need some time for personal or academic development.
What are your plans this summer? Perhaps you would like to consider attending an event for Catholics your age, which you may discover to be a rewarding and spiritually-renewing experience. To see what’s happening over the next few months, please take a look at this Guide to Summer Events.
Leaving God for God is a study of five generations of Catholic Sisters in Britain from 1847 to 2017, and of their wide-ranging ministries to people in poverty.
As members of the Company of Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul – co-founded by St Vincent de Paul and St Louise de Marillac in seventeenth-century France – the Daughters of Charity belong to the largest transnational institute in the Catholic Church.
This comprehensive history, written with full access to the Daughters of Charity’s archives in London and Paris, assesses how far the Sisters have lived out their undertaking to serve the most marginalised in society. Other themes explored in the book include: the nature of the Daughters’ community culture; the development of Marian devotional life in Britain; questions of lay and religious status and of gender in the Catholic Church’s ministry; the Sisters’ engagement in civil society and with the State; and the interplay of national identities in Catholic Britain.
Many men and women who are discerning a religious vocation hesitate in taking the next step because they are restrained by any number of fears. Acknowledging and expressing these fears is usually the first step to overcoming them. Click here to read about five fears common to men and women discerning religious life, and some helpful advice to banish the fear and draw near to the Risen Christ who offers you “peace.”
“A single individual is enough for hope to exist, and that individual can be you,” says His Holiness Pope Francis in this heartfelt TED Talk delivered directly from Vatican City. In a hopeful message to people of all faiths, to those who have power as well as those who don’t, the spiritual leader provides illuminating commentary on the world as we currently find it and calls for equality, solidarity and tenderness to prevail. “Let us help each other, all together, to remember that the ‘other’ is not a statistic, or a number,” he says. “We all need each other.”
Interested in exploring the call to the priesthood? Westminster are organising another vocations event for men considering this call, taking place at Holy Rood Church in Watford. Join them for an evening of prayer and conversation with like-minded people. There will be Mass and the opportunity to hear seminarians speak about their calling. After Mass there is time to relax and speak with priests and seminarians about the call of God. The evening closes with Night Prayer.
Location: Holy Rood Church, Market Street, Watford WD18 0PJ
Contact Canon Stuart Wilson for more information at vocationspromoter@rcdow.or
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1303937973023260/
