What is there in consecrated life for me?

Theresa asks:

Dear Theresa,

If the thought has come into your mind it is always a good idea to take time to think about it further.

I think the first step to do this is not so much to engage in a specific investigation into the vocation itself, but rather to go to something much deeper and much more basic. You should think about why you were given the gift of life and where your life is going.

In order to do this you need to use your faith, because our faith tells us things about our lives and this world that we cannot discover without it, very important things. Faith also makes us sure about things we would not otherwise know for certain. That means that when we think about our lives we do not do so in a vacuum, or at the mercy of the confusing variety of opinions we hear around us and see portrayed on TV, or the experiences and opinions we personally have.

Faith lets us know that we are more than just our bodies and our feelings. It gives a purpose and meaning to what we do. It gives us something to strive for, helps us understand the problem of pain and suffering, satisfies our mind, helps us understand what love is and how fundamental it is, and it is a constant among so many changeables in our lives.

Then, don't just think about these things, talk to God about them. Pray. At times we think prayer is either feeling, or saying words by heart. These can come into prayer, but we also need to use our head in prayer and think as we talk to God. There are some basic convictions that a life of faith brings into our lives that guide our actions and choices; when we pray it comes home to us that God is everything, nothing outside of him is worth much. God loves us, he has saved us, he has prepared and won eternal life for us. Our present life only has meaning when compared with eternal life, and eternal life is something we don't gain by default, we do have to do something with the help of his grace to get there. This something consists in our love for others, our service to others in our attempt to be like Christ.

So then the vocation to priesthood, brotherhood or sisterhood becomes much more important than "what is in it for me?" understood in a material sense like "what will I get out of it here and now"; it does answer "what is in it for me" when we take into account what is most important when you have a Christian view of life: how can I love and serve God the best, get to live with him eternally, and help others get there too. It means "what does he want me to do with my life?"

God bless.