News in Discernment

Catholic bishop criticises 'sinful' gender ideology

 A US Catholic bishop has criticised Catholic organisations that allow “gender ideology” and the use of preferred pronouns, arguing that it is “sinful” and against the best interests of young people. Bishop Thomas Daly, chair of the US bishops’ conference’s education committee, told the National Catholic Register he considered it “tragic” and “sinful” that some Catholic institutions permitted “preferred pronouns” when someone asks to be identified by a gendered pronoun different from their biological sex. Daly said this was part of the “gender ideology.”

Just war theory and why Ukraine has a right to defend itself

 Two Catholic moral theologians consider the ethics of taking up arms in self-defence against an overwhelmingly superior military force. The courageous and inspirational Ukrainians are responding to Russia’s invasion of their country with both nonviolent and armed resistance.

Spirituality and Psychology

17 questions about church vocations

ViSION provides answers to your questions about priests, sisters, brothers, vows, sexuality, community life, and more. THERE'S SO MUCH to learn about the rich experience of religious life. Get up to speed on the areas that most concern you as you consider your calling. You may find the answers eye-opening. 

Discernment: Three things I pray

Understanding your call begins when you believe you are worthy, you listen to God speak through your life and in your prayer, and you trust enough to surrender. How does one go about searching out or discerning what we call a vocation?

Letter from religious leaders of Britain following the Brexit ·

Unity and solidarity. “One clear lesson of history is that, in times of uncertainty, people instictively crave the familiar. When fear sets in, it is no more than human nature to seek comfort in the familiar. But such fear must not be allowed to breed mistrust of ‘the other’”: These are the words of the open letter recently published in The Times in London, 

How should Christians vote?

 I’ve not decided who to vote for yet and, according to the polls, a lot of you haven’t either. One thing that we Christians have to consider is how the various choices match up to the ideals and aspirations of the Bible. And so I thought it might be helpful to examine where the parties stand on the pertinent issues.

Vocations are calls to embark on exodus to Promised Land, pope says

"Responding to God's call, then, means allowing him to help us leave ourselves and our false security behind, and to strike out on the path which leads to Jesus Christ, the origin and destiny of our life and our happiness," the pope said in his message for the 2015 World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The day will be celebrated April 26 at the Vatican and in many dioceses around the world.

Most schools 'have reduced careers advice'

Careers advice has been reduced in more than eight out of 10 schools in England in the past year, research suggests. A survey of professional careers advisers working in 1,500 secondary schools reveals "dramatic reductions" in the amount of professional careers guidance on offer.

Spanish Olympic athlete to enter seminary after London games

Carlos Ballve – known as “Litus” to his friends – plays defense on the Spanish field hockey team that is competing in the London 2012 Olympic Games. But as soon as the competition ends, he will head to a Belgium seminary to begin the process of becoming priest.

Former atheist poet reveals details of her Catholic conversion

  “Until two years ago, I was a really committed atheis", she says.   A 41-year-old Englishwoman, Sally Read is regarded as a rising star within the world of poetry. Her publisher describes the former psychiatric nurse as “one of a new generation of younger poets shaping the future of British poetry.”

Sally Read: Outfoxed by God

For almost all of her 40 years, a Suffolk-born psychiatric nurse-turned published poet and passionate atheist felt little but contempt for Catholicism. But then, in less than a year, after a springtime epiphany she was received into the Church. This is her journey.

Discernment groups are an excellent idea: they remind us lay people that we have a vocation too.

A serious approach to discernment provides profound recognition of each individual’s worth and dignity. As well as forming new priests and nuns, this initiative will also help to remind lay men and women that each one of them has a specific calling.

Call for Catholic schools to foster vocations

 As we promote vocation in schools we will be promoting both the universal call to holiness for all the baptised and also the call to the priesthood or religious life for some; and, as we will see, this means that fostering a culture of vocation lies at the heart of the Catholic school.

“Open Your Hearts in Prayer” – Papal Nuncio Challenge to Young People at Invocation 2011

 “Never forget too, that when God calls us by name and asks us to follow him, he offers us true freedom. God asks us, in the face of all that seems wrong in our world, to be positive, to build up his Kingdom and to change the world for the better. There is no place for pessimism here, for his call to each one of us is, in fact, liberation.” the Nuncio said.

‘Today, young Christians face a new reality for which they are unprepared’

Today, young Christians, together with young believers of all faiths, face a new reality for which they are unprepared. Most of their contemporaries will live together first, have children out of wedlock and only later might they think of marrying, if at all. To create a culture of vocation in this context is to show that marriage, celibate priesthood, and religious life are all vocations that demand our whole being and run counter to the prevailing culture.

Help with making decisions.

The young people with whom we work live with their peculiar succession of decisions which mould them in a particular way. And it is not always easy to make the right decisions.

What do we mean by Vocation?

The word vocation means calling and the reality is that all of us have received a call. We have been called by God to be all that God wishes us to be. For some people that may mean becoming a priest or a religious. For others it means being married or being involved in serving the wider community. The reality is that the notion of vocation raises a whole host of issues tied up with our sense of identity.