COME -that magnetic mysterious word which is the basis of every religious vocation! Come, not GO - "COME, follow me" -the one Who loves you infinitely, Who knows you best, Who is all powerful to help you.

This is the mysterious invitation that has been sound­ing in the souls of youth ever since the days on the shore of the sea of Galilee when Christ called Peter, James, John and the other nine to be His special followers, His intimate friends, His apostolic workers.
Today this divine call continues to resound in the hearts of young people -YOU must have heard it, YOU have decided to follow it.

The Priesthood, the Brotherhood, the religious life with all its sacrifices and glories attracts you.
...So you want to be a SON OF THE HOLY FAMILY. You are lucky, because not everyone is called to such an ideal. The family, foundation of society needs you. The Holy Family, model of all families offers you this challenge - it is up to you.

You may not be positive yet of your vocation. The Priesthood or Brotherhood evidently attracts you. You have felt this "calling" from God through some good book, a good companion, through the friendship of a priest, as a consequence of a good retreat.

If you have an aver­age intelligence, not a genius, but sufficient ca­pacity to pass your stud­ies in the years of training; if you have good health, no physical defects that would impair your train­ing or ministry; if you have the right intention, meaning you want to live a religious life, save your soul and help others do the same -then you have the requirements for the religious life.

As Cardinal Cushing states in his book, "That they may know Thee": "You can become a priest if you wish. If you become a priest of God it will be a free gift. He will not draft you into His service. You have the choice. Of course, you are free to refuse, for a vocation is an invitation and not a command; but would you want the sad eyes of the Lord haunting your whole life? You may make your mark in the world; you may one day be featured in magazines dedicated to the great god Success; but in the end, what? Christ called you to dispense His mysteries, to work the wonder of daily bringing down to earth His body and His blood by whispering over a morsel of bread and a chalice of wine; to lift the burden of sin from weary and desperate souls with the "absolvo te" to exercise the mystical father­hood of souls by prayer and preaching and the examples of a blameless life. And you shut your ears to the sweet, low voice of Jesus. So, in spite of all your prosperity, you have always felt in your inmost heart an unrest that would never be quieted, longings that deepened as the years sped on and, in the end, there comes over you a feeling of frustra­tion. For you missed your destiny. If the priesthood is the crown God has prepared for you, what a loss, and one day what remorse, if you refused it!"
This is the first step.

Video Vocacional from Pastoralistas Nazarenos on Vimeo.