u/dab45de

I’ve been on active duty in the US Air Force for 12 years. I’ve had a conversion of heart, and found the Church last year and received the sacraments this Easter. Through my conversion my conscience has changed and I no longer feel that I can partake in the instrument of warfare. Just or unjust. I plan on applying for conscientious objector status this week.

My question is…I feel a call towards religious life and I’ve been discerning a vocation since the turn of the new year. I have a spiritual director, I understand I’m far away from being able to apply to any community, if that is something I end of doing.
But if I am approved for conscientious objector status, would a vocation team or community look down on that fact? Do you think it could be a deterrent?

Thanks in advance for any help. And please pray for me.

As a recent convert to the Church, I recognize that I need time to continue growing and becoming deeply rooted in the life of the Church. Even so, I cannot ignore the persistent sense that God may be calling me to serve His Church in a priestly vocation. While I know discernment requires patience, humility, and openness to God’s will, this desire has remained with me and continues to draw me into deeper prayer and reflection.

The Franciscan way of life is especially attractive to me because of its charism of humility, simplicity, and service. I have always considered myself an empathetic person, and I feel naturally drawn toward caring for others and accompanying them in their struggles. At the same time, I also find myself attracted to the monastic life, particularly the Benedictines. I cannot fully explain why, but their rhythm of prayer, stability, and devotion to seeking God resonates deeply with me. Their witness to a life centered on prayer and community is something I admire.

For the past decade I lived such a sinful life, blaspheming God and calling myself an atheist. I feel that, this may be his way for me to grow closer and repay him in a way. But I’m nervous I may not even be accepted by any group because of my past life and sins. Truthfully I lived a “gay” lifestyle, and while I still suffer from SSA, I have been chase for nearly 2 years now. I haven’t told my spiritual director, because I’m nervous, but plan on that being our discussion next session.

I have been blessed with an exceptional spiritual director who has helped guide me through this discernment. At first, I was hesitant to share these thoughts with anyone, and still have only shared them with my spiritual director because I felt almost embarrassed to say aloud that I believed I might be called to the priesthood. But he shared with me something that really struck me, God can call us at any time, and we just have to open to listening. In many ways, I still feel that hesitation to talk about it. Yet through prayer and spiritual direction, I have come to realize that discernment begins not with certainty, but with a willingness to listen. Whether God ultimately calls me to the priesthood, a religious order, or another vocation entirely, my desire is simply to follow wherever He leads with trust and fidelity.

Please pray for me.

I’ve never been to a Latin mass, but I still believe it’s so beautiful from what I have seen. It’s sad to see the only TLM mass in a diocese be removed.

No information on crew. Pray for their safety. Please no speculation.