You are at the great crossroads of your lives, and you must decide how your future can be lived happily, accepting the responsibilities which you hope will be placed squarely on your shoulders, playing an active role in the world around you. You ask me for encouragement and guidance, and most willingly I offer some words of advice to all of you in the name of Jesus Christ. In the first place I say this: you must never think that you are alone in deciding your future! And second: when deciding your future, you must not decide for yourself alone.
It can take great courage to respond to the promptings in prayer that God may be calling you to a consecrated vocation in the Catholic Church. This page is designed for you, to encourage you and offer next step suggestions and resources. Life with Christ is a great adventure and this is not a solo adventure – Christ is with you!
Daughter – Bride – Mother
In a world that wants to identify people by what they do, God sees and loves you for who you are – his daughter. Through baptism, you are a beloved daughter of God and received your baptismal vocation to be a saint. You are made for holiness and for eternity. A state in life vocation, such as consecrated life, marriage or dedicated single, is a path for you to grow and live holiness.
In addition to a daughter, as a woman, you are also a bride and mother. This is your identity. Pope Saint John Paul II reminded us that today the world is ‘hungrier and thirstier’ than ever for motherhood which, physically or spiritually, is woman’s great vocation. (Pope St. John Paul II, General Audience, 1/10/1979)
Edith Stein is known to have been a seeker of truth. She was a brilliant German Jewish philosopher and convert to Catholicism who would become a Discalced Carmelite nun and take the religious name, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. In a writing on the female nature, she wrote: “The world doesn’t need what women have, it needs what women are.” Women’s natural vocation is to be a wife and mother, and she wrote that whether physically or spiritually, this is every woman’s destiny.
Discernment advice and suggestions
In Catholic Church there is a beautiful flowering of various forms of consecrated life. The beauty of consecrated life is found in the varied forms who all share in following our poor, chaste and obedient Lord. Consecrated life includes vowed religious and contemplative nuns, members of secular institutes or societies of apostolic life, diocesan hermits, and consecrated virgin living in the world.
As one begins to experience God’s invitation to fully give herself to God in a consecrated vocation, it can be exciting, overwhelming, and confusing and all at the same time! There can be many curiosities and questions, including: How to I explore this invitation? What do I do with my questions?
Remember that God loves you and that your vocation is not a mystery that you need to solve, but a plan that God will reveal. God created you. God loves you. God desires your happiness and since he created you, his path for you is perfect.
Pray
In addition to Mass and regularly receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, carve out time for personal prayer. Bring to our Lord all that is stirring in your heart. This includes anything that is challenging you or what you thought your life might look like. Talk with him about it. Take time for personal prayer and to listen. Consider praying this prayer:
Lord, how do you want me to live my life?
A resource by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that can help you grow in your personal prayer is the virtual five-part series on praying with Scripture. This series offers practical tools for growing in holiness, drawing upon the rich tradition of the Catholic Church. Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens teach the fundamentals of praying with Scripture and explain how to use a Prayer Companion resource to enrich your prayer experience.
Talk with someone
Find someone to talk to who will support you in this discernment. It is helpful and wise not to tell everyone as there may be lots of commentary that you receive, and it may not be particularly helpful and can distort you from hearing the Lord’s voice.
Consider talking to your parish priest, your youth minister, a faithful prayer Catholic you know or other consecrated women.
Preserve the gift of your purity
Our sexuality is a gift. From this day forward, make a commitment to yourself and to God that you will preserve the gift of your purity. Give this gift of chastity to our Lord and only to another on the day of your wedding, if God is calling you to the Sacrament of Matrimony.
Resources
Explore the different forms of consecrated life and communities currently present in Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. This page “who are our consecrated” lets you learn more about the communities and provides ways to contact the community directly to learn more about their way of life.
In 2025, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis celebrated its 175th Anniversary. Did you know that for 174 of those 175 years, the archdiocese has been blessed by the witness and presence of religious sisters? More than what religious sisters do, their gift is who they are as consecrated women. We recently celebrated our religious sisters with a seven-part video series: Everything You Wanted to Know About Catholic Sisters – But Were Afraid to Ask! We invite you to watch these videos and hear from religious sisters in their own words.
It can be helpful to speak with someone who is living the vocation that you are discerning. Complete this short online form and Nicole Bettini, the Delegate for Consecrated Life, may help to connect you.
Archdiocesan Consecrated Life Poster
You are not alone! Not only is our Lord with you, but there are also other women and men from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who are on the journey, too. Let their “yes” to follow the Lord in the next step for a source of encouragement for you!
