Guest blogger Audra Turnbull of Awkward Catholic fame writes today of running and discernment in support of Julia who is running a marathon to support the nuns!

“Run for the Nuns” directly supports the work of this ministry. We need your help. We ask you to pledge $1 per mile of Julia’s marathon — that’s $26.20 that will add energy to Julia’s “get up and go” AND support A Nun’ Life Ministry. You can donate electronically or by check — DONATE NOW at aNunsLife.org/donate !

One of the best articles that I’ve read in the 2011 VISION Vocation Guide, was written by Brother Carl Wisdom, O.P. The title of the article is “Get ready to run the race.” It’s about – you guessed it – running and discernment. Brother Carl compares his training for a half marathon to discerning God’s call.

While I am not a marathoner, I now look to discernment as training for a big race. Brother Carl was right when he said that It takes a lot of preparation and little craziness to meet your goal: to find where God is calling you. And while your “training days” are important, your rest days are just as critical.

There are times in my discernment where my “discernment muscles” got tired. I was overwhelmed with over-analyzing everything that might be a possible sign from God.

Just like a runner who tried to run too much, I was feeling sore, scared and frustrated. I had a race to run; a goal to meet- there was no time to stop and recover.

Luckily, God knew just the answer: I needed take a step back and become a human BEING instead of a human DOING. I needed to stop and just feel God’s presence.

Feeling refreshed, I could continue training or, actively discerning, to meet my goal.

Here are a few pieces of advice that Brother Carl gives to discerners:

• Stay hydrated by constantly drinking at the fountain of God’s presence in prayer.
• Load up on carbs by energizing and nourishing yourself daily at the tables of word and sacrament through the Eucharist.
• Before each day’s run, pause and stretch your muscles of faith, hope and love are limber and agile.
• Plan for the “caffeine boost” you will need in the middle of the race by mobilizing family and friends for spiritual support. They can serve to remind you of the nobility of your aspiration to even have begun the race.
• When you get close, but the finish line still feels elusive, turn within and storm heaven while concentrating on each final footfall.

(Source: “Get ready to run the race” by Fr. Carl Wisdom, OP, in Vision Vocation Guide 2011)

What are your images of discernment? if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed while seeking God’s call what helped you stay on course?

Read more from Audra on A Nun’s Life and at her blog The Awkward Catholic and continue following Julia’s running posts.

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Join us for prayer this evening at 6 p.m. CT at aNunsLife.org/live. All you need is an internet connection and to turn up the volume on your computer! You can also share your prayer requests in the chat room.

During Ask Sister 015 we played a clip from Patrice Tuohy of VocationMatch.com. She offered good advice on what to do if you get an overwhelming number of results using VocationMatch.com, a website matching discerning persons with religious communities.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Patrice’s response is to part of a question from Kristina who had asked: “There are so many orders out there and each one is very unique. I have been researching different orders for a couple of years now. There are so many different orders, some well known like Franciscans, Benedictines, Jesuits, Carmelites and Dominicans, but others that I just recently discovered like the Daughters of Saint Paul and the Salesian sisters. The many choices are overwhelming. Do you have any advice for me in sorting through all of these groups? I have used VISION vocation website, which sorts the orders by my interests, but there are still so many out there. I would welcome any resources you might have to guide me. Thanks!”

Listen to the entire AS015 Ask Sister podcast which was broadcast live on February 19, 2010.

Tomorrow, Tuesday at 1 p.m. CST (time zone converter), we have two special guests coming to our LIVE podcast — 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 if you haven’t done so already, read through the executive summary and other related resources (Mythbusters section is quite interesting).

We’ll ask them about the survey itself, its aim and who participated, and also some specifics about the survey such as what it means to create/have a “culture of vocations”. Since both guests have expertise in the field of vocations, we’ll ask them for their observations on and advice for vocation directors and people considering a vocation.

We’d like you to join us by listening and also by participating in the chat room during the live broadcast. The chat room is just for listeners of the show only and it is the place where you can interact with one another and with us. During the broadcast you can ask your questions and offer comments to our guests which Sister Maxine and I will read on the air.

How do you listen? Just come to ANunsLife.org tomorrow … there will be a post with all the info that you need.

For an email reminder tomorrow, please leave a comment below with your correct email in the box that asks for your email or email us directly (NOTE: your email address is never made public).

What do you think about the survey? What questions do you have for Patrice and Brother Paul about the survey or about vocations in general — e.g., discerning a vocation, attracting new members, the state of religious life, etc.? Let’s get a good list going!