WHAT IS A VOCATION?
Living our Christian life is like a pilgrimage as we follow our personal path to drawing closer to our Lord. There are various paths on this journey to Christ, but each way is a means that God has paved for us to reach our full Christian potential in holiness. It can be to the married life, the single life, priesthood or religious life.
DISCERNING
Discerning God’s specific call for each of us requires listening to His voice deep within our hearts. This listening however requires that we have an active prayer life, in which we daily strive to commune with God.
By regularly receiving the Sacraments of Eucharist and Penance we receive the graces which help us to follow God’s will for us more closely. Being active in our parish assists in realizing the gifts and talents the Lord has given us while strengthening our Christian community.
Becoming involved in charitable work is something the Lord asks of each of us in making His presence known and experienced in your local community. And finding a good religious or priest to assist and accompany us on our journey is very helpful for vocational discernment. It is only through our life of prayer, faith and action that we are able to truly discern the ultimate path on which the Lord is calling us to follow Him.
POSTULANCY
After initial discernment, the next stage of Franciscan formation is postulancy. This is a yearlong program of living within the Franciscan community, learning the daily rhythm of Franciscan religious life while being engaged in in-house classes on Franciscana, Church documents, and living the religious life. The postulant is also involved in a variety of apostolic works throughout the week, such as working with the poor, the disadvantaged and the elderly. The main focus of this year’s journey is ongoing conversion, striving to become one with Christ.
FEELING CALLED?
By the virtue of our baptism we are all called to live a life of holiness. Each of us is to strive to listen to the voice of God within our very selves and live out the virtues of faith, hope and love. Every baptized person is called to build up the kingdom of by bringing others to know and love Christ by our words and the way in which we live our lives.
COME & SEE
We are a community of brothers, fallible and weakened by sin, strengthened by the grace of God and the inheritors of a long family tradition of saints and sinners. We who follow St. Francis of Assisi have a heartfelt and passionate desire to imitate our founder in conforming our hearts to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Like St. Francis we seek to love and serve within the heart of our mother the Church and to follow lovingly in the footsteps of Christ.
Community life is at the heart of our religious life. We vow to live together as Franciscan Brothers and Priests in a way that incarnates the Gospel teaching: “I give you a new commandment: love one another: As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” (Jn. 13:34)
NOVITIATE
When the community and candidate have further discerned one’s call to the Franciscan life the next stage on their pilgrimage is the Novitiate. The novitiate is a canonical year of more intense prayer where one is invested with the Franciscan habit and strives to live in the spirit of the vows. The main focus of this year is contemplation as the novice further discerns their readiness to profess their temporary vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
VOCATION
