On Wednesday we broadcast our first live podcast here at A Nun’s Life. You’ll notice a new widget on our sidebar which is an audio player for our live podcasts and past episodes. Be sure to listen to our first podcast Lying Awake Book Discussion 08-12-09.

Sister Maxine and I are in the process of creating regular podcasts–both live and pre-recorded–for the A Nun’s Life community. We’ll be exploring topics similar to what we are doing on the blog while at the same time taking full advantage of the benefits of an audio format.

We have two live podcasts already scheduled. Today at noon CST (time zone converter) we will pray The Angelus live with you. Join us for a 15-minute sacred pause at midday.

On Tuesday at 1 p.m. CST (time zone converter) next week we will be interviewing Brother Paul Bednarczyk, CSC, Executive Director of the National Religious Vocation Conference, and Patrice Tuohy, Executive Editor of VISION Vocation Guide. They’ll join us to discuss the newly released study on Catholic Vocations and Religious Life. This is a very important study and I encourage you to click on the link to read through the executive summary and other related resources. We’d like you to join us by listening and also submitting your questions using the comment box below or during the live broadcast there will be a chat box that you can use to ask questions.

For an email reminder for the Tuesday podcast, please leave a comment below with your correct email or email us (NOTE: your email address is never made public). We’ll give you more details this weekend about the survey and the Tuesday podcast.

Is God really calling me? How do I figure out what God is trying to say to me? Am I the only one who feels this way?

If you have some of these questions, especially if you are kinda, sorta attracted to (but simultaneously terrified of) a call to consecrated life in the Catholic Church, then the Vocation Forum is for you. What is the Vocation Forum, you ask? It’s a discussion area for people who are discerning God’s call in their life. It’s a place to share vocation resources and questions with other discerners. It’s a fairly new forum and one that we hope will grow and continue to be a welcoming, supportive place for people discerning. Got a friend or daughter or coworker who is thinking about religious life or wondering what their call is? Send them over to the Vocation Forum.

Occasionally I or my nun Sister Maxine Kollasch, IHM, will be on the forum to support you and to figure out any weird technical issues, but mainly this is your place, your conversation.

Not sure if this is for you? Well, give it a shot. A good way to get to know the forum will be at our live “social hour” this Sunday, February 8, 2009, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It’s an opportunity to get to know others and to discuss thoughts and questions around discerning God’s call.

You need to be a member of the forum to participate, but not to worry, membership is free and easy to do. If you have any questions, just let me know. Feel free to comment below. Also, if you have any other requests or suggestions around how A Nun’s Life can help with vocational questions, issues, etc. please let us know!

Are you thinking about becoming a Catholic sister or nun or perhaps a monk or priest? Maybe you’ve got questions about figuring out God’s call and you’d like to hang out and talk with others who have similar questions and experiences.

If so, I encourage you to check out the Vocation Forum, a place for discerners to gather together and talk about what is important to them. I visit the forum now and again along with my nun Sister Maxine Kollasch, IHM, as behind-the-scenes administrators, but the discussion is for you, the discerners.

In the forum, you’ll be able to use an alias, set up a profile, converse with others around topics that are on your mind and heart, and keep track of what you’ve written about your vocation journey.

On February 8, 2009, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, we’ll be having a “social hour” in the vocation discussion area for those who are members (membership is free and easy to do). And what a good day for a vocation gathering, as one of the forum members pointed out — It’s World Day for Consecrated Life!

You can always access the forum by clicking on the top menu of this blog or by going to www.VocationForum.org.

Every person is called by God, and that means you too! Sometimes this call is best expressed through a life of marriage and parenthood, and other times through consecrated life such as being a Catholic sister or a monk or a deacon. God also calls us in other ways, such as to this or that relationship or job or ministry. No matter who you are, no matter what creed you profess, no matter your history or how you are living right now, you are called.

It can be both exhilarating and perhaps a bit spooky to know that is calling you (yes, you). The spooky part (for me anyways) came from my fear that God had one expectation for my life and if I didn’t figure it out I was screwed. But I’ve realized that’s not the case at all. God’s desire for us is always goodness, that which helps us to best be us and to best relate to God and to serve our community (be it our family, neighborhood, country or universe). There can be many ways to live out God’s call. I’ve also realized that we’re not stuck trying to figure things out by ourselves. God’s Spirit is right there with us, guiding and nudging us along, in sometimes unexpected ways.

Take a listen again to yesterday’s “nuncast” podcast with Sister Pat. She said some pretty powerful things about being called by God and what God’s desire is for us.

If you are sort of, kind of, maybe but not really, thinking about religious life, why not give it a shot and check it out. And if I can help in any way, drop me an email and I’d be glad to listen and help out.

Also, check out the Vocation Forum on A Nun’s Life. You just might find others like yourself who have questions and who are open to exploring how God is working in their life.

How is God calling you?

The calling to be a nun is a pretty amazing thing. It’s a real adventure because it is always full of twists and turns and the unexpected. You never know where the Spirit will lead you. Being a nun is also pretty countercultural — we live in community, we hold all things in common, and we are celibate — all these things are meant to help us be free, free to serve God and God’s people. It’s a radical way of life.

Sometimes it’s difficult to know if what you feel is really real until you begin to act on it, test it out. Keep this desire in your prayers and take some steps to see what being a nun is like. Read a book about or by a nun, go on retreat at a convent, or get to know some sisters. Also, it’s okay to want to think about becoming a nun but also feeling bummed out about being a wife and mom. Any life choice a person makes involves some kind of sacrifice — doesn’t mean that a nun wouldn’t have made a wonderful mom or wife. This is definitely something that is good to pray on and begin to talk with a spiritual director about.

For some people, the call is crystal clear. For others, like myself, it’s a process of trying it out, testing it, and ultimately living into it to see if that is where God is calling me. I think it becomes clear when you feel like it is as natural as breathing air, that it just “fits” with you. When you feel like you are living fully into who God calls you to be and feel like you are growing and able to use your gifts and talents for the good of God, the Church and the world. For me there was no precise moment or flash in the sky, it’s just that I grew into it and was at peace, even though I doubted, struggled, resisted, yelled … there was always this undercurrent of peace.

I personally never wanted to be a nun. It was the kind of thing that snuck up on me. I resisted and resisted because I wanted to be married and have a family. But the more I considered religious life, the more it just seemed to fit me. I tested it out, even when I wasn’t totally sure. What I found was that learning about religious life and getting to know sisters helped me to sort of try it on and begin to imagine my self as a sister and see if it was really something God was calling me to. There was a lot of uncertainty, but also a lot of peace. It took time time for me to grow into God’s call for me. Over time a lot of questions were ones that I was able to live with — and be happy with.

If you are thinking about becoming a nun or are discerning any major life decision, find ways to test it out and don’t be discouraged if things are unclear or unsettling for a bit. Hang in there and know that the Spirit is with you and is guiding you. If you’d like to hang out with others who are discerning, do stop by Vocation Forum.

Blessings!