PRAYER & DISCERNMENT
THERESA DANAHER
How to talk to your family about your vocation by Father Andrew Hofer,
BROTHER TIMOTHY Danaher, O.P. with his parents William and Theresa.
O.P.
Do your parents have doubts about your vocation? Here are some ways to listen and talk to them about their concerns. Father Andrew Hofer, O.P. is the student master for the Province of St. Joseph at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C.
A
FAMILY CAN SEE A RELIGIOUS VOCATION given to a son or daughter as a great blessing. They can also consider it a threat. If you think God is calling you to be a member of a religious community, and your parents are opposed or have serious doubts, here are some things to keep in mind.
Have you listened to your parents’ reasons? Allow them to tell you what their concerns are. They may want you to have a “normal” life because they think that the celibate life is too hard and unnatural. They may think that if you join you will abandon them and never see them again. They may believe you need to have several years of experience after college before you can make a decision to enter a community. They may think that you’re throwing away your education. Maybe they’ll judge from their experience of certain members of religious communities that all religious are misfits. They may condemn the
42 | VISION 2015 | VocationNetwork.org
