Hello friends,
Recently I shared on Maidens for Mary about having a good prayer schedule and helpful prayers for young women. I'd like to share similarly here but with a focus on how to grow in prayer while discerning your vocation.
When a young woman is discerning her vocation, it is so very important for her to have a deep prayer life. I only say this because I know. I thought I was doing alright by going to weekly Mass on Sundays, saying a couple morning prayers and our family rosary, but this Lent I decided to increase my prayer time and it has opened my eyes and my heart. There are so many wonderful and beautiful prayers available to young women that we should use frequently and with devotion.
Do you feel stuck or stagnant in your vocation discernment? I certainly did. Day after day passed and I wasn't progressing in anything. I can waste a lot of time on social media. So for Lent, I decided to give up endless scrolling and try to read more spiritual works. This was the push my spiritual life needed. It certainly isn't easy but committing to a time period, such as Lent, surely helps one stay dedicated. Of course, it is really by the grace of God that we can grow in grace and holiness.
1. I started with reading. Yes, reading is increasing my prayer life. How? Well, I started with Matthew chapters 5, 6, & 7 and the the 4th section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This section of the Catechism is all about prayer. As you read, you obviously begin to think about, or meditate on, what you're reading and go over your favorite parts. Highlighting, underlining, or taking notes is a great way to remember your favorite lines even better. I think reading is a very good way to begin praying more often because it keeps your attention. At least a good book will. If you'd like ideas, here are the books I've been reading this Lent:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Life of Christ
An Introduction to the Devout Life
Revelations of St. Bridget: On the Life and Passion of Our Lord and the Life of His Blessed Mother
2. The next step in using these readings for prayer is to contemplate their relevance in your life, and more specifically in your discernment. Then, speak to Jesus in the silence of your heart about them. Talk to Him as if He was sitting right in front of you. Then, sit quietly and listen. You may think of something or you may not. Let God do His work. Ultimately, He is planting a seed in your heart and you may not see it grow and blossom until much later. God will give you His answers and grace exactly when you need it. I know it's hard to sit and just be quiet. My mind wanders.... a lot. Maybe start with 5 or 10 minutes a day to just be silent with God. We can work up to more time later.
3. So this is how reading became a prayer for me. Then, I wanted to follow the direction I'd been given by multiple people and say prayers more frequently. I have one friend at Mass who reminds me, "pray the divine office!" I finally picked it up to start morning and evening prayers every day. The hardest part for me was finding the right pages which you have to look up online. I think this is what kept me from praying them before. But here's a trick: get a wall calendar or calendar planner book and write out the page numbers from https://divineoffice.org/ for every day for the next week or two weeks. Then, when it comes time to pray, you won't have to open your laptop or pull out your phone. Just use your calendar to easily find your place. Another helpful idea is to move your ribbons to the next day's pages when you're finished.
4. The last way I have grown in discernment prayer is by attending morning Mass and adoration during the week. The kick-starter for me was the feast of St. Joseph, March 19th. (Thanks St. Joseph!!) If you can make a point to go to Mass on special feast days, even if they're not holy-days of obligation, you'll be on your way to attending daily Mass more regularly. Figure out when your patron Saints' feast days are and go to Mass then. Also, it's much easier to start getting up for morning Mass if there's an 8:30am Mass (Instead of 8:00am) nearby. Half-an-hour makes all the difference! If there's a rosary or divine mercy chaplet before or after Mass, try to stay for these as well. This way, you can get your daily rosary in and spend time in community prayer.
Ok, now I'm going to go back to meditation for a moment. I always found it hard to set aside time for meditation and contemplation in my day because it's so much better to do this in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I find it hard to concentrate on mental prayer at home but I can't make it to the adoration chapel every day. So instead, I decided to stay after daily Mass in the Eucharistic Adoration chapel. Since you're already at church, you can get your quiet prayer time in while you're there. Even staying just 15 minutes after Mass can make a big difference.
So these are just a few suggestions that can help with increasing your prayer time on a daily basis. Ultimately, we want to make time to hear God's voice so we can discern our vocations. He will speak to you in the silence with a still, small voice. Also, if you're discerning a vocation to the religious life where you'll pray a lot, what better way to discern that life than by starting to live it? (In a small way, step by step, anyway.)
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| "Seek by reading and you will find by meditating. Knock by praying, and it will be opened to you in contemplation." ~St. John of the Cross |
Finally, here are some beautiful prayers for vocation discernment:
My Vocation In Life
I trust in thee, being confident that, since thou art the Mother of my Redeemer, thou wilt also be the Mother of my salvation. If thou, O Mary, wilt not send me a ray of the Divine Sun, what light will enlighten me? Who will direct me if thou refusest, who art the Mother of the uncreated wisdom?
Listen then, to my humble prayers. Let me not be lost in my uncertainty and instability; lead me along the straight road that ends in life everlasting, Thou, who art my only hope, and whose hands are full of the riches of virtue and of life, and who dispensest the fruits of honor and holiness."
Prayer To Know One's Vocation
Lord, my God and my loving Father, you have made me to know you, to love you, to serve you, and thereby to find and to fulfill my deepest longings. I know that you are in all things, and that every path can lead me to you.
But of them all, there is one especially by which you want me to come to you. Since I will do what you want of me, I pray you, send your Holy Spirit to me: into my mind, to show me what you want of me; into my heart, to give me the determination to do it, and to do it with all my love, with all my mind, and with all of my strength right to the end. Jesus, I trust in you. Amen.
Prayer To Know My Vocation
Lord, I want to be happy in this life and spend eternity with You in the life to come.
From the first moment of my existence, You knew my vocation. Please help me discover Your plan for my life.
Help me to know myself. Help me to know my fears. Help me to want what You want. Help me to trust You completely.
Send Your Holy Spirit into my mind and heart so I can see the gifts You have given me, and hear Your call to serve the Church. Increase my desire to bring others to You and to help them reach heaven.
Mary Most Holy, Mother of God, pray for me, that I can discover my vocation and have the courage to respond in faith. Amen
