Exploring a Vocation to Religious Life

Friar Michael Lorentsen and Friar Vincent Gluc

are on the far left and far right respectively

What do you do if you feel that God is calling you to religious life? First you likely head to the computer and google such terms as religious vocations or religious calling. If something about St. Francis of Assisi draws you to him, there is a good chance that you might come across www.franciscans.org and make contact with our vocation directors. Our website is full of information about Francis and the Conventual Franciscan Order. It is important to be educated about one’s vocation so that we might find what exactly God is calling us to do.

Forestville is near Washington, D.C.

Yet after we have a sense of what our vocation might be, the next step is to taste that new potential life of a religious. Here the Conventual Franciscans’ “Come and See” Live-in Weekend fulfills its purpose. The most recent one for Immaculate Conception and Saint Anthony of Padua Province took place at the end of February in Forestville, Maryland. The Conventual Franciscans’ Saint Bonaventure Friary is located in Forestville – a suburb of Washington, D.C. It was here that vocation directors Friar Michael Lorentsen and Friar Vincent Gluc welcomed Josh, Michael, and Brandon last month. These three men are exploring life with the friars. After prayer and other forms of discernment they will eventually understand what God is calling them to do. If you think that God might be calling you to a vocation with the Conventual Franciscans, then your next opportunity to attend a “Come and See” Live-in Weekend in Forestville will be March 18.

(Sources for all related images on homepage and webpage: Conventual Franciscan Friars Immaculate Conception Province Provincialgram, www.solarnavigator.net, and http://www.ofmconv.org.)