"What do you want to be when you grow up?". Most of us were asked this question as small children. We imagine what jobs might be fun and interesting. As teenagers, we develop likes and dislikes and begin to make decisions about our future based on these. Few people stop and think, "Maybe I'm considering the wrong question. Maybe I should be asking God, 'Lord, what do You want me to become?'"

As Director of Vocations, I try to get people to ask God what they should do with their lives and help them learn how to listen for the answer. Most people will find their path to holiness as spouses and parents, and in some kind of secular work. God asks others to make a different commitment. Just as he said "Come, follow me" to the fishermen of Galilee, Jesus continues to call young men to lay down their lives to shepherd His people as priests. Just as he invited the rich young man to sell his possessions and become a disciple, Jesus continues to call men and women to embrace poverty, chastity, and obedience as a way of growing in spiritual perfection and as a powerful sign to the world that God is real.

It is difficult to hear this invitation in the midst of a noisy and self-indulgent culture. It is difficult, but not impossible. "With God, all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).

If you have experienced the love of God strongly in your heart and you want to give yourself completely to Him, you should consider religious life. What is religious life?

Two Bible stories come to mind when I think about religious life: one is from the Book of the prophet Hosea. The Lord says, “I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart. This is the experience of a religious woman who has been seduced by the abundant merciful love of God.

The second story is from the New Testament and it is about a woman who pours out the whole bottle of perfume to wash the feet of Jesus. This woman did not use only a few drops but the whole bottle which was poured generously without calculation. This is religious life, the outpouring of one’s life at the service of Jesus in the church. This service to God poured out in the Church is the fragrance of our gifts to our Lord.

During my vocation discernment these meaningful Bible passages became instrumental to make a powerful decision, to become a Sister.

If God has taken you to the desert and spoken into your heart, which means you have experienced the love of God deeply in your life, then the next move is to answer. Pour out the perfume of your love at the feet of Jesus, who is calling you and loves you even to the point of giving His life on the cross for you.

Are you ready to explore religious life as your response?