We have many insightful articles, resources, and interactive features online to assist you as you discern your life's calling and explore religious life.
- Prayer and Discernment
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The three keys to successful vocation decisions
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- To discern your vocation means to sort through the movements of your heart and unfold the truth of who you most deeply are.
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Five steps to better prayer
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- Prayer helps us to know and love God more. Through prayer we become more and more the kind of person we really want to be: a person of love, integrity, compassion, forgiveness, and joy.
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Pray all ways—three ways to begin
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- Prayer traditions observed in a small “monastery town” can lead to new prayer horizons and practices as well as a newly energized prayer attitude.
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How to survive a "quarterlife crisis"
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- People don't necessarily settle into their lives in their 20s anymore. Sometimes it seems that life itself is filled with experimentation, change, and uncertainty.
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How do I know God's will for me?
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- Are you trying to figure out God’s will for your life? You need look no further than scripture, the church, and your own personal history.
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The brothers will be my prayer
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- Thirty-three Ecuadorian nuns and a monk of Mepkin Abbey taught Cistercian Brother Dismas Warner that finding a God he cannot see involves trusting the visible, all-too-human community.
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In God we trust
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- A veteran vocation director reflects on the process of finding the life choice that will allow you to be most at home with yourself.
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Dear Discerner: Notes on love and promises
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- For you who are considering religious life, trust in God and in your experience of falling in love with the good future that God holds before you.
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How to know where God is leading you
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- In exploring a call to religious life, certain attitudes are crucial for success: openness, trust, expectation, and inner freedom.
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Four steps to hearing your call
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- Throughout the ages, people have struggled to understand God’s call to them. Four basic steps of discernment—becoming aware, gathering information, making a decision, and looking for confirmation of your choice—can help.
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Let God’s Word open the door to your heart
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- Praying with scripture can help you hear the voice of the Spirit stirring inside your heart and inviting you to break open the Bible and come to know God more personally.
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Point and click to pray
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- A guide to websites that bring prayer and spiritual development
right to your computer.
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It all begins with a call
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- From Abraham to Peter, Andrew, James, and John to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and extending to you, scripture reveals that nothing is so life-changing as the call we hear that originates in God.
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Nine ways to open up God's will for you
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- During my 35 years as a vocation counselor, I've discovered nine steps to help people find what they want--and what God wants for them.
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What does it mean to say that God is calling me?
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- Jesuit Ignatian tradition sees God as actively and personally involved in each of our lives....God is engaged in a lifelong dialog with us. Our role in the dialog is to pay attention, listen, and try to respond.
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Prayer sustains my vocation
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- Each day as I grow in my awareness of the community in which I live, I see health problems, relationship problems, and addictions. These problems, by the grace of God, I bring to the eucharistic table.
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My four months at a house of discernment
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- For four months during 2001 I lived at Emmaus House--a Toledo, Ohio "house of discernment" run by the Sisters of Notre Dame.
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Finding the right fit
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- No two religious communities are alike. An insider gives tips on what to look for and the questions to ask when exploring religious communities.
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Likes God
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Be a saint in your own way
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- Everyone is a unique creation of God, and the way to sanctity is to be your unique self.
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Ten things to know about discerning a vocation
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- Out of a long and sometimes challenging journey to religious life come these ten suggestions for others still in discernment.
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A user’s guide on the ways to pray
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- From formal to informal to spoken to silent, the Catholic faith offers a wealth of prayers and ways to pray.
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My life in a college house of discernment
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- My advice to anyone considering a discernment house is: “Take advantage of it.” Be as much a part of the community as you possibly can. You won’t regret it.
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Spiritual direction for dummies (and other smart people who don’t know where to start)
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- Spiritual direction is a relatively new practice for many Catholics, and many times people are mystified by it. Put simply, spiritual direction is an ongoing process of nurturing your spiritual life.
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Other vocations that may be right for you
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- By virtue of their baptism, all Christians have a vocation, whether to marriage, single life, ordination, or consecrated life. Here are some Catholic vocation choices that are less well-known than traditional membership in a religious order, including information on how to learn more about them.
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The orange couch behind the door, or: When good enough is enough
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- You don’t have to know everything about how your vocation to religious life is going to turn out to take the first steps toward it.
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Come and see!
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- Vocation discernment retreats offer opportunities to experience the prayer life and work of a religious community and let you get a feel for this unique way of life.
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How to stay open to God’s call
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- Discerning a vocation is about trusting in what God, who knows you best, wants to give you through your life.
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My week with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester
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- The SSJ Volunteer Corps offers young women and men the opportunity to work alongside the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester in their vital urban ministries.
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What are you afraid of?
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Three habits to make you a better disciple
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- Living with Jesus is a great adventure of love. When you admit Jesus into your heart, nothing is predictable, but everything becomes possible
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The essential facts about secular institutes
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- Members of secular institutes work in the heart of the world while dedicating themselves to God and taking vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.
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Pray always
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- We try to crank up the thoughts and feelings we think we should be having when we pray. But prayer is “lifting mind and heart to God,” and that means lifting up, at any given moment, exactly what’s there.
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What happens in spiritual direction?
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- What is spiritual direction, how do you do it, and what is supposed to come of it? A spiritual director sheds some light on those questions.
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When making life choices, turn to the Eucharist
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- With Bible in hand situate yourself in the presence of the Eucharist, begin with a short prayer or scripture passage, and then listen. When good thoughts come to me, I trust that they are from God.
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How to use Vocation Match
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- This short instructional video explains how to use VISION Vocation Match to help you discern your calling.
- The Art of Discernment
- Religious Life
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Uncovering the mystery of celibate love
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- I don't know why but I'm fulfilled in this life, and that alone is Mystery to me.
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Eight myths about religious life
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- Contrary to popular misconceptions, religious orders aren't filled with crooning priests, flying nuns, and crotchety church ladies ready to rap your knuckles.
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Enter the real world of community life
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- Three skills are absolutely essential to community life:
Look to the future. Persevere in the present. Tell the truth.
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Does chastity matter?
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- Our values assist us in making responsible choices, including how to use and not misuse the sexual energy that makes us the vital people we are.
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Family matters
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- It’s good to get the support of your family when you choose a church vocation, but it doesn’t always happen—at least not at first.
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Thriving among the generations
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- Younger members of religious communities talk about living out their call in multigenerational settings.
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Religious Life Timeline
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RELIGIOUS LIFE THROUGH THE CENTURIES
From the days of the ancient desert monks to new forms of community today, religious life has always responded to the challenges of the times. Here’s a sampling of the major moments in the history of religious life.
Download VISION's Religious Life Timeline.
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Celibate chastity: One way to be a sexual person
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- Why did I choose a life and continue to choose a life that includes celibate chastity? Because of the deep sense of happiness I’ve found in this way of living.
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Five reasons we need religious communities
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- Knowing and working with a number of men and women in religious communities, I have found that they enrich our world with five qualities that clearly demonstrate why we need them.
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Follow your passion
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- At the time I wrote this poem, I had been a social worker in Newark, New Jersey for many years, working with families whose stories could keep you up at night. Then in the 1980s, in addition to poverty and addiction, these same families confronted a new struggle: HIV and AIDS.
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Chastity is for everyone
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- Chastity is more than a list of don'ts. It's a way of harnessing our sexual energy for good, whatever our state of life: single, married, ordained, or vowed.
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Community: We're on your side and at your side
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- Saying your solemn "Yes!" in monastic vows means being welcomed into a community of believers who commit themselves to rooting for you and encouraging you all along your way.
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Trust God and hit the road
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- A 300-mile journey in the spirit of Saint Francis became a pilgrimage of trust—in God, one another, and the people encountered along the way.
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Why I encourage my kids to consider religious life
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- I've met and worked with hundreds of generous, Spirit-filled priests, brothers, and sisters. Many of them have a happiness that comes from the inside, from dedicating their lives to something with lasting meaning.
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How is your family taking it?
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- “For my parents, being happy meant getting married, having good jobs, and a nice house,” she says. “I think my mother thought that the longer I waited, the more chance Mr. Right might come along!”
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Six myths (and some truth) about the gift of celibate chastity
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But what if you fall in love?
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- I learned very early in my discernment process that just because you are a nun doesn’t mean that you are never going to fall in love.
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Community is the key
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- In her first years as a Franciscan, Sister Gayle discovered that community is not only a lively and joyful way to live but also the means to many spiritual ends
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Sacred places: Where beauty and grace meet
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- A look at the spaces religious communities have renovated and adapted for modern worship and prayer.
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More sacred places: Where beauty and grace meet
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- VISION 2010 featured a photo story on the spaces religious communities have renovated or built for worship and prayer (click to view the original story in either the online or digital edition version). Due to space constraints we could not feature in print all of the submissions we received. Here are some additional photos of the truly spectacular worship spaces religious communities enjoy.
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Stay on the right path
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- Practicing the vows of poverty and obedience—not perfectly but faithfully over time—keeps this brother from losing his way.
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Living the vows
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- The promises of poverty, celibacy, and obedience are less about giving things up than about living a full and free life.
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What does it mean to be a Carmelite?
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- Carmelite spirituality enables God-seekers to discover new heights and depths in their own hearts and in the God who calls and loves them.
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A dictionary for discerners
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- It may seem that religious life has a language all its own. Here’s a guide to understanding some of the terms you might hear in discerning a vocation with a religious community.
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Love calls me to celibacy
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- A conversion experience led me to God. My promise of chastity as a religious sister, in turn, leads me to foster life and love in others
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An insider view of community
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- Someone once said that community is like shaking a jar of rough stones until they become smooth and beautiful. It’s easy to say “I love everyone” when you live alone. In community, you have a chance to prove it.
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Words for the wise: Defining the vocabulary of religious life
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Taking on new habits
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- In a long-established ritual, three men from different walks of life enter a monastery to live for a year among the monks and see if it is right for them and for the community.
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How I satisfied my hunger to make a difference
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- Questions, decisions, and dreams fill young adulthood. Many of us have developed a social conscience and are looking for ways to live it out in the fullness of our lives.
- Sisters
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For Sister Jamie Phelps, life’s joys outweigh struggles
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- Whatever Sister Jamie Phelps, O.P. “gave up" to become a religious sister, has “come back a hundredfold," says the educator, psychiatric social worker, community organizer, liturgist, choir director, spiritual director, and theologian.
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A wild ride with the Holy Spirit
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- When you're on a life adventure, you never know what's awaiting you around the next bend. "My life has gotten larger, yet more intimate."
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A free spirit finds her niche
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- The past 30 years have been a wild ride—one I would not have missed for the world.
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Sister Dorothy Stang: Her dying shows us how to live
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- Sister Dorothy Stang, an advocate for the peasant farmers in the rainforests of Brazil, made powerful enemies who eventually gunned her down as she read from scripture.
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How a 16th-century nun guides me in religious life
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- As a child Sister Julie Vieira chose Saint Teresa of Avila as a confirmation name and pretty much forgot about her. But over the years Teresa remained with this I.H.M. sister, waiting for Sister Julie to come by her convent cell and chat awhile.
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Serving as the finger of God
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- The Oblate Sisters of Providence want the world to feel the touch of God’s love, and they’re working on it one child at a time.
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Teacher first, sister always
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- For Sister Lee Ann McNally, R.S.M., ministering to prisoners started as a new adventure, but it was also an extension of the work she is sure God had in mind for her right from the start.
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Stopping long enough, I heard God’s call
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- I had succeeded in athletics and my career, and I had never lacked materially. But all of that paled to insignificance after being at the Queen of Angels Monastery.
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A new sister looks at the vows
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- As my life shifts and takes new turns, I continue to grow in my experience and understanding of the vows that will anchor my life: poverty, chastity, and obedience.
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Taking my vows to heart
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- When I was a novice I was intensely learning our values of communal and private prayer, work, study, leisure, and hospitality. Today, I'm trying to take what I have learned and actually apply it to real life.
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Call me sister
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- “You have to be strong in your identity—who you are and whose you are,” says Sister Patricia Ralph, S.S.J., and “not allow anyone to take your dream away.”
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Sisters form a colorful bouquet
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- The unique call to sisterhood draws a wide array of followers.
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Why I'm giving religious life a try
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- A persistent yet gentle voice began to ask questions and offer a way of life that was previously anathema to me and all my plans for the future. I had a sense of Christ inviting me to something more.
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Community Life: How the many became one
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- Sharing and openness with the other sisters is built up little by little. In community we are not necessarily living with our best friends, so it takes time and a sense of growing in trust to share faith this deeply.
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From my beach front condo
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- I had to ask myself, at the end of my life, what would be the one thing I regretted not trying? So here I am living with about 230 sisters and basking in an incredibly passionate relationship with God
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The best decision I ever made
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I realized that volunteering for a few years in church service was not enough. God was asking me to radically give over my life. At age 26, I finally took the plunge and entered the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, New York.
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God had a few surprises in store
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- Ten years ago, I was a happy little New Ager. I had my crystals and a psychic. Now I am teaching religion to elementary school students. What happened? It’s a long story . . .
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Portrait of a sister in the making
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- An inside look to following life of Brenda Velasco as she enters into life with the Sisters of Providence
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The power of positive energy
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- While not all nuns are incredibly positive people, the ones in the worst material circumstances or doing the most difficult work with the least attractive populations, do tend to radiate a kind of energy that inevitably attracts notice. So what is it with us nuns?
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Testing the waters of my vocation
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- What drew me, a 30-something high school teacher, to monastic life? From my first visit to the monastery in Virginia, I felt a tug on my heart. Each time I returned, I could feel myself falling more deeply in love with the life
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A searing presence
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- Religious sisters, at their best, were never meant simply to be a labor force in the church but spiritually grounded women who respond vigorously to the needs of our time.
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Six compelling excuses for not becoming a nun—debunked
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- Don’t see yourself becoming a religious sister? Think again.
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Called, and called again
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- Entering the door of religious life led this Sister of Mercy to the fulfillment of her dreams, and beyond.
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The education of Sister Bridget Bearss, R.S.C.J.
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- When she was young, Bridget Bearss wanted to change the world through education. As a sister, she’s found a way to do it.
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In search of the missing piece of myself
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- When I met with my spiritual director after a retreat, I told him I believed I was being called to religious life. He said, “What took you so long?
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How I let go of old ideas
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- My choice to enter religious life was not only about ministry or being part of a group, but more about a conversion to thinking about things differently, to throwing whatever gifts I may have into the ring to help foster the reign of God.
- Priests
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How I see the vows: then and now
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- My experience teaches me simply that I am happier with a wide circle of friends than I am in a relationship with a single person.
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Vocations in the works: why we’re considering life as a priest or brother
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- Why do some people explore the possibility of religious life? As the person in charge of ushering new members into his community, Father Marvin Kitten, S.J. wanted to know. So he put the question to the men he knew who were considering life as a priest or brother. Here’s what 11 men had to say about what draws them to a life lived in religious community.
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Full circle
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- For Father Manuel Williams, C.R., there was no one blazing moment of insight that called him to the priesthood. Instead, he walked for years among priests and sisters who were always quietly planting seeds, making the world a better place. In time, he dared to follow them—all the way back home.
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On the road to priesthood in the company of a faithful God
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- My journal entries over the past 30 years serve as testimony of God’s unwavering fidelity
- Missionaries
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Jesus at the door
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- Whenever people in need come to Father Vic Subb at an “inconvenient” time, he remembers the words of one of his brother priests: “That was Jesus on the phone.”
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Mission to South Africa: Living in joyful hope
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- Despite the many difficult tasks of being a missionary—not to mention the elephants and rhinos—Father Dermot Roache sees hope. “We are a people of the Resurrection! Hope is part of our being.”
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Sister Dorothy Stang: Her dying shows us how to live
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- Sister Dorothy Stang, an advocate for the peasant farmers in the rainforests of Brazil, made powerful enemies who eventually gunned her down as she read from scripture.
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Missionary sister falls in love
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- With intentions of being a do-gooder, I arrived in Mexico; instead I have been enriched and humbled by the goodness I’ve discovered.
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Lessons in love from central Brazil
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- In 1963, the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate—the Joliet Franciscans—answered a call to work in Brazil. Today, both U.S. and Brazilian sisters make up the community in Brazil. They work in parishes, run a school, and train health workers.
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Catholic sisters thriving in a Muslim world
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- Catholic sisters have quietly carved out a Christian presence of loving service in the largely Muslim North African country of Tunisia.
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Religious communities offer help in Haiti
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- After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, religious communities have been responding to people’s needs with faith, dedication, and service.
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You were meant to be a missionary
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- Imagine if even one tenth of Christians in America (that’s more than 6 million) worked to replace hatred by love, self-interest by altruism, coldness by compassion, and avoidance by encounter. That’s what the missionary call of Baptism invites each of us to do.
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Missionary adventures in Papua New Guinea
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- A typical day for me as a pastor in Papua New Guinea could be filled with activities ranging from counseling to carpentry. I don’t think I ever lost the sense that what I was doing was indeed an adventure.
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Building the kingdom one step at a time
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- Fr. Doherty shares his experiences while working in Africa as a memeber of the Society of African Missions.
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Thank you, Gregory Peck!
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- After watching a Gregory Peck film about a missionary priest in China, I knew law school was probably not in the cards for me after all.
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Holy Toledo! How I wound up in Taiwan
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- Why did I become a priest, and why in Taiwan? To answer these two questions frequently asked by my students, I remember the two people who most influenced my decision to be a missionary.
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And Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
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- Serving at a children’s hospital in Haiti—surrounded by sick, hungry, and dying children—I have come to realize that if I am committed to Jesus, I cannot ignore the misery that is the daily lot of three quarters of the world’s population.
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Beginning again in Ireland
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- With its long history of Catholicism, Ireland might seem an unusual place for the work of evangelization, but in a place that once exported thousands of priests and members of religious communities, “All has changed, changed utterly.”
- Being Catholic
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Enter into the divine
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- At Mass, people frequently start with themselves. What would happen if they started with God?
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Faith and everyday life
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- Being a Christian means adopting a certain way of life, and spirituality is living the Christian life in the concrete situation where we find ourselves.
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Does chastity matter?
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- Our values assist us in making responsible choices, including how to use and not misuse the sexual energy that makes us the vital people we are.
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Holiness is for everybody
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- If God is content that an individual is trying his or her best (for the moment) to fulfill God’s hopes, that person qualifies as a saint.
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Following Jesus: Be ready for some surprises
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- How do we imitate Jesus? By looking like him or duplicating his actions? How about praying to make us feel the way he did?
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Ten great things about being Catholic
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- Some may settle for a baptism, wedding, and funeral in the church and feel they’ve gotten the best. But if you choose to live all the moments in between from the perspective of the Catholic worldview, you can enhance your life beyond your wildest imaginings.
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Full of grace: Reclaiming the rosary
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- Praying the mysteries of the rosary we weave our intentions, thoughts, imagination, emotions, and desire for union with Christ.
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Catholic social teaching: a guide
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- You shouldn’t have to learn about Catholic social teaching on the streets—but that’s not a bad place to start!
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Back in God's embrace: <br>How to make a good Confession</br>
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- Confessing our sins helps us to recognize our weaknesses and our need for God's forgiveness and embrace.
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What Catholics believe about Jesus
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- Son of God, a human being, a healer, one who gave his life for the world and is present with us today—all these and more answer the question: Who is Jesus?
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Why Catholics care about people living in poverty
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- Whether it’s getting the oatmeal right in a soup kitchen or advocating to end global poverty, Catholics should and do care about those on the margins of society.
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Accept the gift of forgiveness
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- The path to peace and serenity all begins with the humble admission: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned . . .
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What do Catholics mean by “authority”?
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- When it comes to the big issues in life, you want to find the source that speaks with integrity and can point you in the right direction. That’s what the teaching office of the church is for.
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The Creed: A force to be reckoned with
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- The creed took centuries to develop and will take more than the lifetime of each believer to fully comprehend, but its main truth is disarmingly simple: You are loved.
- VISION spotlight
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Give us this day our daily blog
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- The blogosphere is not lacking when it comes to Catholic religious life and discernment.
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Workers in the virtual vineyard
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Help is at hand: Guidebooks on the way to religious life
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- VISION
ASKED VOCATION MINISTERS in the U.S. and Canada to recommend some of the best books on life as a priest, religious sister, or religious brother. What follows is a list of some of the good reading they recommend.
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Lives that lead to God: Biographies and memoirs
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- Find out what's new and interesting in the vocation-related books.
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Inspired images
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- Members of religious communities connect beauty and the sacred—and their religious vocation with their art.
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More inspired images
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- VISION received many items about the art of members of religious communities. Here is the art and artists who were not featured in print and digital editions of the 2011 Catholic Religious Vocation Discernment Guide, as well as more about the artists whose work appears on page 136 of the magazine.
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More about the artists . . . .
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- More about the artists whose work appears in "Inspired images" and on page 136 of the 2011 edition of the VISION Catholic Religious Vocaton Discerment Guide.
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Created in community
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Women of Spirit
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- Since the arrival of a small group of sisters in New Orleans almost 300 years ago, Catholic women religious have educated, cared for, and served millions of Americans. A recent traveling exhibit tells their story.
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Spinning with the Spirit - VISION music podcasts
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- Having trouble finding your groove---let me--DJ Phyre--help you find it.
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PODCAST: Sacred Music
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- Spiritual music takes you into the heart of Christ
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PODCAST: Welcome Back!
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- As the summer fades, reflect on the good times and prepare for the year ahead.
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PODCAST: Runner's delight
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- Find your happy pace! Get up, get moving, and have a good time!
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PODCAST: Called to be saints
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- Do you think you have what it takes to be a saint? Here is a playlist dedicated those who are saints and those who are working on becoming saints.
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PODCAST: Tricks and Treats
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- BOO! Hopefully there won’t be too many tricks this Halloween, but as for Treats, oh do I have the playlist for you.
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PODCAST: Thankful Thanksgiving
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- Gobble gobble!! No need to worry about the tryptophan setting in after your Thanksgiving meal. I plan to have you and the turkey up and dancing!
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PODCAST: Christmas Jingles
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- HO! HO! HO! It's Christmas time and tis the season to be jolly! These Christmas favorites will have you rocking around the Christmas tree all night!
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PODCAST: Cupid Shuffle
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- Love is in the air! Watch Out Cupid!! He won't be needing his arrows this year with this amazing playlist of ultimate love songs just in time for Valentine's Day!
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Podcast: Erin Go Bragh
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- WARNING: EXCESSIVE GREEN!! Happy St. Patrick's Day!! This playlist willl have you Irish Dancing all over the town!
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Podcast: Spring Fever
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- April Showers bring May Flowers! We all seem to be having some Spring Fever and this playlist will get you ready for those May flowers!
- Prayer and Discernment
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The three keys to successful vocation decisions
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- To discern your vocation means to sort through the movements of your heart and unfold the truth of who you most deeply are.
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Five steps to better prayer
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- Prayer helps us to know and love God more. Through prayer we become more and more the kind of person we really want to be: a person of love, integrity, compassion, forgiveness, and joy.
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Pray all ways—three ways to begin
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- Prayer traditions observed in a small “monastery town” can lead to new prayer horizons and practices as well as a newly energized prayer attitude.
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How to survive a "quarterlife crisis"
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- People don't necessarily settle into their lives in their 20s anymore. Sometimes it seems that life itself is filled with experimentation, change, and uncertainty.
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How do I know God's will for me?
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- Are you trying to figure out God’s will for your life? You need look no further than scripture, the church, and your own personal history.
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The brothers will be my prayer
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- Thirty-three Ecuadorian nuns and a monk of Mepkin Abbey taught Cistercian Brother Dismas Warner that finding a God he cannot see involves trusting the visible, all-too-human community.
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In God we trust
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- A veteran vocation director reflects on the process of finding the life choice that will allow you to be most at home with yourself.
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Dear Discerner: Notes on love and promises
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- For you who are considering religious life, trust in God and in your experience of falling in love with the good future that God holds before you.
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How to know where God is leading you
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- In exploring a call to religious life, certain attitudes are crucial for success: openness, trust, expectation, and inner freedom.
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Four steps to hearing your call
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- Throughout the ages, people have struggled to understand God’s call to them. Four basic steps of discernment—becoming aware, gathering information, making a decision, and looking for confirmation of your choice—can help.
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Let God’s Word open the door to your heart
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- Praying with scripture can help you hear the voice of the Spirit stirring inside your heart and inviting you to break open the Bible and come to know God more personally.
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Point and click to pray
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- A guide to websites that bring prayer and spiritual development
right to your computer.
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It all begins with a call
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- From Abraham to Peter, Andrew, James, and John to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and extending to you, scripture reveals that nothing is so life-changing as the call we hear that originates in God.
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Nine ways to open up God's will for you
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- During my 35 years as a vocation counselor, I've discovered nine steps to help people find what they want--and what God wants for them.
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What does it mean to say that God is calling me?
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- Jesuit Ignatian tradition sees God as actively and personally involved in each of our lives....God is engaged in a lifelong dialog with us. Our role in the dialog is to pay attention, listen, and try to respond.
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Prayer sustains my vocation
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- Each day as I grow in my awareness of the community in which I live, I see health problems, relationship problems, and addictions. These problems, by the grace of God, I bring to the eucharistic table.
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My four months at a house of discernment
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- For four months during 2001 I lived at Emmaus House--a Toledo, Ohio "house of discernment" run by the Sisters of Notre Dame.
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Finding the right fit
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- No two religious communities are alike. An insider gives tips on what to look for and the questions to ask when exploring religious communities.
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Likes God
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Be a saint in your own way
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- Everyone is a unique creation of God, and the way to sanctity is to be your unique self.
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Ten things to know about discerning a vocation
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- Out of a long and sometimes challenging journey to religious life come these ten suggestions for others still in discernment.
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A user’s guide on the ways to pray
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- From formal to informal to spoken to silent, the Catholic faith offers a wealth of prayers and ways to pray.
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My life in a college house of discernment
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- My advice to anyone considering a discernment house is: “Take advantage of it.” Be as much a part of the community as you possibly can. You won’t regret it.
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Spiritual direction for dummies (and other smart people who don’t know where to start)
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- Spiritual direction is a relatively new practice for many Catholics, and many times people are mystified by it. Put simply, spiritual direction is an ongoing process of nurturing your spiritual life.
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Other vocations that may be right for you
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- By virtue of their baptism, all Christians have a vocation, whether to marriage, single life, ordination, or consecrated life. Here are some Catholic vocation choices that are less well-known than traditional membership in a religious order, including information on how to learn more about them.
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The orange couch behind the door, or: When good enough is enough
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- You don’t have to know everything about how your vocation to religious life is going to turn out to take the first steps toward it.
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Come and see!
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- Vocation discernment retreats offer opportunities to experience the prayer life and work of a religious community and let you get a feel for this unique way of life.
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How to stay open to God’s call
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- Discerning a vocation is about trusting in what God, who knows you best, wants to give you through your life.
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My week with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester
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- The SSJ Volunteer Corps offers young women and men the opportunity to work alongside the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester in their vital urban ministries.
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What are you afraid of?
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Three habits to make you a better disciple
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- Living with Jesus is a great adventure of love. When you admit Jesus into your heart, nothing is predictable, but everything becomes possible
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The essential facts about secular institutes
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- Members of secular institutes work in the heart of the world while dedicating themselves to God and taking vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.
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Pray always
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- We try to crank up the thoughts and feelings we think we should be having when we pray. But prayer is “lifting mind and heart to God,” and that means lifting up, at any given moment, exactly what’s there.
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What happens in spiritual direction?
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- What is spiritual direction, how do you do it, and what is supposed to come of it? A spiritual director sheds some light on those questions.
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When making life choices, turn to the Eucharist
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- With Bible in hand situate yourself in the presence of the Eucharist, begin with a short prayer or scripture passage, and then listen. When good thoughts come to me, I trust that they are from God.
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How to use Vocation Match
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- This short instructional video explains how to use VISION Vocation Match to help you discern your calling.
- The Art of Discernment
- Religious Life
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Uncovering the mystery of celibate love
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- I don't know why but I'm fulfilled in this life, and that alone is Mystery to me.
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Eight myths about religious life
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- Contrary to popular misconceptions, religious orders aren't filled with crooning priests, flying nuns, and crotchety church ladies ready to rap your knuckles.
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Enter the real world of community life
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- Three skills are absolutely essential to community life:
Look to the future. Persevere in the present. Tell the truth.
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Does chastity matter?
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- Our values assist us in making responsible choices, including how to use and not misuse the sexual energy that makes us the vital people we are.
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Family matters
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- It’s good to get the support of your family when you choose a church vocation, but it doesn’t always happen—at least not at first.
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Thriving among the generations
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- Younger members of religious communities talk about living out their call in multigenerational settings.
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Religious Life Timeline
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RELIGIOUS LIFE THROUGH THE CENTURIES
From the days of the ancient desert monks to new forms of community today, religious life has always responded to the challenges of the times. Here’s a sampling of the major moments in the history of religious life.
Download VISION's Religious Life Timeline.
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Celibate chastity: One way to be a sexual person
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- Why did I choose a life and continue to choose a life that includes celibate chastity? Because of the deep sense of happiness I’ve found in this way of living.
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Five reasons we need religious communities
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- Knowing and working with a number of men and women in religious communities, I have found that they enrich our world with five qualities that clearly demonstrate why we need them.
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Follow your passion
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- At the time I wrote this poem, I had been a social worker in Newark, New Jersey for many years, working with families whose stories could keep you up at night. Then in the 1980s, in addition to poverty and addiction, these same families confronted a new struggle: HIV and AIDS.
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Chastity is for everyone
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- Chastity is more than a list of don'ts. It's a way of harnessing our sexual energy for good, whatever our state of life: single, married, ordained, or vowed.
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Community: We're on your side and at your side
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- Saying your solemn "Yes!" in monastic vows means being welcomed into a community of believers who commit themselves to rooting for you and encouraging you all along your way.
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Trust God and hit the road
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- A 300-mile journey in the spirit of Saint Francis became a pilgrimage of trust—in God, one another, and the people encountered along the way.
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Why I encourage my kids to consider religious life
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- I've met and worked with hundreds of generous, Spirit-filled priests, brothers, and sisters. Many of them have a happiness that comes from the inside, from dedicating their lives to something with lasting meaning.
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How is your family taking it?
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- “For my parents, being happy meant getting married, having good jobs, and a nice house,” she says. “I think my mother thought that the longer I waited, the more chance Mr. Right might come along!”
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Six myths (and some truth) about the gift of celibate chastity
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But what if you fall in love?
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- I learned very early in my discernment process that just because you are a nun doesn’t mean that you are never going to fall in love.
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Community is the key
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- In her first years as a Franciscan, Sister Gayle discovered that community is not only a lively and joyful way to live but also the means to many spiritual ends
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Sacred places: Where beauty and grace meet
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- A look at the spaces religious communities have renovated and adapted for modern worship and prayer.
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More sacred places: Where beauty and grace meet
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- VISION 2010 featured a photo story on the spaces religious communities have renovated or built for worship and prayer (click to view the original story in either the online or digital edition version). Due to space constraints we could not feature in print all of the submissions we received. Here are some additional photos of the truly spectacular worship spaces religious communities enjoy.
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Stay on the right path
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- Practicing the vows of poverty and obedience—not perfectly but faithfully over time—keeps this brother from losing his way.
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Living the vows
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- The promises of poverty, celibacy, and obedience are less about giving things up than about living a full and free life.
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What does it mean to be a Carmelite?
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- Carmelite spirituality enables God-seekers to discover new heights and depths in their own hearts and in the God who calls and loves them.
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A dictionary for discerners
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- It may seem that religious life has a language all its own. Here’s a guide to understanding some of the terms you might hear in discerning a vocation with a religious community.
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Love calls me to celibacy
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- A conversion experience led me to God. My promise of chastity as a religious sister, in turn, leads me to foster life and love in others
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An insider view of community
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- Someone once said that community is like shaking a jar of rough stones until they become smooth and beautiful. It’s easy to say “I love everyone” when you live alone. In community, you have a chance to prove it.
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Words for the wise: Defining the vocabulary of religious life
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Taking on new habits
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- In a long-established ritual, three men from different walks of life enter a monastery to live for a year among the monks and see if it is right for them and for the community.
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How I satisfied my hunger to make a difference
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- Questions, decisions, and dreams fill young adulthood. Many of us have developed a social conscience and are looking for ways to live it out in the fullness of our lives.
- Brothers
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Why I hate Tuesdays and Thursdays
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- An evening class takes this brother from a highlight of his day. Here’s why waiting for dinner can mean so much.
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Man with a mission
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- Brother John Skrodinsky has always been passionate about serving those in need. When he found a religious community that cared as much as he does, he found his home.
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Being a brother is like surfing
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- A former beach bum explains his vocation in terms of catching the perfect wave.
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How God tricked Duc Pham into becoming a brother
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- Franciscan Brother Duc Pham says he found his call through false advertising. He answered an ad looking for a teacher but the Franciscans had other plans for him. He’s glad he followed their lead.
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Brother Mark Elder makes an art of spirituality
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- Vincentian Brother Mark Elder, creator of some of the most striking murals in the United States and elsewhere, uses art in his quest to help the poor and disenfranchised.
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Why did I become a brother?
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- Why did I choose to join the brothers? The answer is simple but profound: community. The brothers were my first experience of Christian community, an experience that triggered my search for religious life.
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Big Brother is watching you
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- Holy Cross Brother Roy Smith has earned a reputation as someone who is always there for kids, or as his students at Holy Trinity High School in Chicago would say, he's got their backs.
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Brotherhood made simple
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- If you are a brother, serving God by serving others is going to be the center of your life. It’s that simple.
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Why I love being a brother!
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- Religious brotherhood can be way of life that will bring you deep peace, real fulfillment, and great satisfaction in knowing that you are closely following Christ.
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Brotherhood: making all the right connections
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- After two and a half years of torturing myself as a biochemistry major and having a wonderful experience working summers in a program for delinquent boys run by the brothers, becoming a brother began to make more sense to me.
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Lifestyles of the (spiritually) rich and not so famous
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- No longer defining myself by my work or skills brought me closer to who I really was—someone who wants to make my relationship with God my main focus.
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The Uncertainty Principle: my free fall into my vocation
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- In the movie The Matrix, Neo, the protagonist was disconcerted because his world was being shaken, but he was exhilarated for the same reason. I feel much the same way
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I am a brother to 2,000 college students
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- A brother rediscovers the gift and art of community when he takes up residence with college freshmen.
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Brother behind bars
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- I started volunteering in prison because the choir needed some help. In turn, my experience there transformed my outlook on church, freedom, and my vocation as a brother.
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My journey to being a Brother of Mary
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- The call to be a religious brother means to surrender fully to the will of God and the service of others.
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Exactly where he should be
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- Everything I was looking for in life I’ve found with the friars. They helped me find what it is to be human.
- Sisters
- Priests
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Vocations in the works
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- Why do some people explore the possibility of religious life? As the person in charge of ushering new members into his community, Father Marvin Kitten, S.J. wanted to know. So he put the question to the men he knew who were considering life as a priest or brother.
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The joy in being a priest
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- The church should be a community in which people discover God’s delight in them. This is the ministry of priests. This is my life.
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What being a priest means to me
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- If you are going to do something as radical as following a religious vocation, says Father Laurence Freeman, it would be wise to allow the process of conversion a chance to begin.
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Feeding Jesus’ friends
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- Even in the face of opposition Sacred Heart Father Guy Blair and other homeless advocates did not shy away from their mission: calling people to do what they were supposed to do for the poorest of the poor.
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What does it take to be a good priest?
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- Being a priest is an awesome honor and responsibility. To be of service to others is to be a channel of God’s grace, and that is the heart of this special vocation.
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Just call me Bishop Gustavo
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- "I say to young people, 'God is calling you to something. Let’s find out what it is.' "
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Full circle for Father Manuel Williams, C.R.
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- For Father Manuel Williams, C.R., there was no one blazing moment of insight that called him to the priesthood. Instead, he walked for years among priests and sisters who were always quietly planting seeds, making the world a better place. In time, he dared to follow them--all the way back home.
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Change today? One man's journey into priesthood
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- A homeless person’s call for change hit me not as a request for money, but as a command for altering my life. I had to change, or my destructive and selfish ways would surely consume me.
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My mountaintop journey toward priesthood
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- I believe God moves gently in most people's hearts, but with me he needed a hammer and one faithful dying man.
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A breath of Spirit
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- Over the years I've learned that when a seminarian is good, he is very good and when he is not . . . it's best to do things yourself. I wasn't sure about the new guy yet.
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Ed's story: Lose a dream, find a life
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- "I'd thought about being a priest, but I thought about it like most Catholic kids--idly, poking at the thought here and there, never really facing what it might mean, the joys of it, the hard parts, the reality."
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Three ways my community makes me the priest I am
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- “I am a Franciscan and a priest,” says Father Jim Kent. “God’s call for me would have it no other way.”
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From break dancing to breaking bread
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- As a priest Father Leo Patalinghug often celebrates the sacraments and gives presentations on faith issues. But he’s equally at home on the dance floor, cooking a big meal, or practicing martial arts.
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Blessed are we who comfort the mourners
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- The experience of a friend’s death affirms a young seminarian in his vocation.
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Go In Peace
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- This article originally appeared in U.S. Catholic, published by the Claretians. Reprinted with permission from the author.
His tenure ended finally, as things do, and John was transferred. But before he left he said one last Mass, which was crammed to the gills
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How I see the vows: then and now
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- My experience teaches me simply that I am happier with a wide circle of friends than I am in a relationship with a single person.
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Vocations in the works: why we’re considering life as a priest or brother
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- Why do some people explore the possibility of religious life? As the person in charge of ushering new members into his community, Father Marvin Kitten, S.J. wanted to know. So he put the question to the men he knew who were considering life as a priest or brother. Here’s what 11 men had to say about what draws them to a life lived in religious community.
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Full circle
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- For Father Manuel Williams, C.R., there was no one blazing moment of insight that called him to the priesthood. Instead, he walked for years among priests and sisters who were always quietly planting seeds, making the world a better place. In time, he dared to follow them—all the way back home.
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Hounded by a relentless God
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- If God pursues you to follow a particular path, you’re not going to get away. If you do, that’s sure proof you’re meant to serve in some other way.
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On the road to priesthood in the company of a faithful God
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- My journal entries over the past 30 years serve as testimony of God’s unwavering fidelity
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Why I love being a priest
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- I love being a priest for all the usual reasons, which are excellent, and I revere them, but there are some others.
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The three essentials in every priest’s life
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- Parish priests are called to articulate, suggest, and celebrate the presence of God in people’s lives.
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Confessions of a happy priest
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- Sometimes I still can’t believe that people let me do this as my job, my career, my life’s work. It is never easy work, but I still feel like the luckiest person on earth.
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All because of God
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- Franciscan friar Bob Lombardo knows whom to thank for his flourishing urban ministry.
- Missionaries
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Jesus at the door
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- Whenever people in need come to Father Vic Subb at an “inconvenient” time, he remembers the words of one of his brother priests: “That was Jesus on the phone.”
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Mission to South Africa: Living in joyful hope
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- Despite the many difficult tasks of being a missionary—not to mention the elephants and rhinos—Father Dermot Roache sees hope. “We are a people of the Resurrection! Hope is part of our being.”
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Sister Dorothy Stang: Her dying shows us how to live
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- Sister Dorothy Stang, an advocate for the peasant farmers in the rainforests of Brazil, made powerful enemies who eventually gunned her down as she read from scripture.
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African dream: my 17 years in Kenya
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- What I experienced those first months in Kenya is still my experience after all these years. The Kenyans are welcoming, hospitable, and extremely generous people.
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Catholic sisters thriving in a Muslim world
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- Catholic sisters have quietly carved out a Christian presence of loving service in the largely Muslim North African country of Tunisia.
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Religious communities offer help in Haiti
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- After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, religious communities have been responding to people’s needs with faith, dedication, and service.
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You were meant to be a missionary
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- Imagine if even one tenth of Christians in America (that’s more than 6 million) worked to replace hatred by love, self-interest by altruism, coldness by compassion, and avoidance by encounter. That’s what the missionary call of Baptism invites each of us to do.
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Missionary adventures in Papua New Guinea
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- A typical day for me as a pastor in Papua New Guinea could be filled with activities ranging from counseling to carpentry. I don’t think I ever lost the sense that what I was doing was indeed an adventure.
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Building the kingdom one step at a time
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- Fr. Doherty shares his experiences while working in Africa as a memeber of the Society of African Missions.
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Thank you, Gregory Peck!
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- After watching a Gregory Peck film about a missionary priest in China, I knew law school was probably not in the cards for me after all.
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Holy Toledo! How I wound up in Taiwan
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- Why did I become a priest, and why in Taiwan? To answer these two questions frequently asked by my students, I remember the two people who most influenced my decision to be a missionary.
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And Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
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- Serving at a children’s hospital in Haiti—surrounded by sick, hungry, and dying children—I have come to realize that if I am committed to Jesus, I cannot ignore the misery that is the daily lot of three quarters of the world’s population.
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Beginning again in Ireland
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- With its long history of Catholicism, Ireland might seem an unusual place for the work of evangelization, but in a place that once exported thousands of priests and members of religious communities, “All has changed, changed utterly.”
- Being Catholic
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Enter into the divine
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- At Mass, people frequently start with themselves. What would happen if they started with God?
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Faith and everyday life
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- Being a Christian means adopting a certain way of life, and spirituality is living the Christian life in the concrete situation where we find ourselves.
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Does chastity matter?
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- Our values assist us in making responsible choices, including how to use and not misuse the sexual energy that makes us the vital people we are.
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Holiness is for everybody
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- If God is content that an individual is trying his or her best (for the moment) to fulfill God’s hopes, that person qualifies as a saint.
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Following Jesus: Be ready for some surprises
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- How do we imitate Jesus? By looking like him or duplicating his actions? How about praying to make us feel the way he did?
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Ten great things about being Catholic
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- Some may settle for a baptism, wedding, and funeral in the church and feel they’ve gotten the best. But if you choose to live all the moments in between from the perspective of the Catholic worldview, you can enhance your life beyond your wildest imaginings.
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Full of grace: Reclaiming the rosary
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- Praying the mysteries of the rosary we weave our intentions, thoughts, imagination, emotions, and desire for union with Christ.
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Catholic social teaching: a guide
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- You shouldn’t have to learn about Catholic social teaching on the streets—but that’s not a bad place to start!
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Back in God's embrace: <br>How to make a good Confession</br>
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- Confessing our sins helps us to recognize our weaknesses and our need for God's forgiveness and embrace.
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What Catholics believe about Jesus
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- Son of God, a human being, a healer, one who gave his life for the world and is present with us today—all these and more answer the question: Who is Jesus?
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Why Catholics care about people living in poverty
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- Whether it’s getting the oatmeal right in a soup kitchen or advocating to end global poverty, Catholics should and do care about those on the margins of society.
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Accept the gift of forgiveness
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- The path to peace and serenity all begins with the humble admission: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned . . .
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What do Catholics mean by “authority”?
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- When it comes to the big issues in life, you want to find the source that speaks with integrity and can point you in the right direction. That’s what the teaching office of the church is for.
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The Creed: A force to be reckoned with
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- The creed took centuries to develop and will take more than the lifetime of each believer to fully comprehend, but its main truth is disarmingly simple: You are loved.
- VISION spotlight
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Give us this day our daily blog
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- The blogosphere is not lacking when it comes to Catholic religious life and discernment.
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Workers in the virtual vineyard
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Help is at hand: Guidebooks on the way to religious life
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- VISION
ASKED VOCATION MINISTERS in the U.S. and Canada to recommend some of the best books on life as a priest, religious sister, or religious brother. What follows is a list of some of the good reading they recommend.
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Lives that lead to God: Biographies and memoirs
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- Find out what's new and interesting in the vocation-related books.
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Inspired images
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- Members of religious communities connect beauty and the sacred—and their religious vocation with their art.
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More inspired images
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- VISION received many items about the art of members of religious communities. Here is the art and artists who were not featured in print and digital editions of the 2011 Catholic Religious Vocation Discernment Guide, as well as more about the artists whose work appears on page 136 of the magazine.
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More about the artists . . . .
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- More about the artists whose work appears in "Inspired images" and on page 136 of the 2011 edition of the VISION Catholic Religious Vocaton Discerment Guide.
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Created in community
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Women of Spirit
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- Since the arrival of a small group of sisters in New Orleans almost 300 years ago, Catholic women religious have educated, cared for, and served millions of Americans. A recent traveling exhibit tells their story.
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Spinning with the Spirit - VISION music podcasts
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- Having trouble finding your groove---let me--DJ Phyre--help you find it.
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PODCAST: Sacred Music
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- Spiritual music takes you into the heart of Christ
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PODCAST: Welcome Back!
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- As the summer fades, reflect on the good times and prepare for the year ahead.
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PODCAST: Runner's delight
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- Find your happy pace! Get up, get moving, and have a good time!
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PODCAST: Called to be saints
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- Do you think you have what it takes to be a saint? Here is a playlist dedicated those who are saints and those who are working on becoming saints.
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PODCAST: Tricks and Treats
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- BOO! Hopefully there won’t be too many tricks this Halloween, but as for Treats, oh do I have the playlist for you.
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PODCAST: Thankful Thanksgiving
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- Gobble gobble!! No need to worry about the tryptophan setting in after your Thanksgiving meal. I plan to have you and the turkey up and dancing!
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PODCAST: Christmas Jingles
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- HO! HO! HO! It's Christmas time and tis the season to be jolly! These Christmas favorites will have you rocking around the Christmas tree all night!
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PODCAST: Cupid Shuffle
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- Love is in the air! Watch Out Cupid!! He won't be needing his arrows this year with this amazing playlist of ultimate love songs just in time for Valentine's Day!
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Podcast: Erin Go Bragh
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- WARNING: EXCESSIVE GREEN!! Happy St. Patrick's Day!! This playlist willl have you Irish Dancing all over the town!
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Podcast: Spring Fever
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- April Showers bring May Flowers! We all seem to be having some Spring Fever and this playlist will get you ready for those May flowers!
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