God Calling: Vocation Vibes

OVER A MILLION VIBRANT YOUNG ADULT CATHOLICS IN ONE PLACE! From Italy, France, and Spain our three guests join us to tell of their recent pilgrimage to the “Jubilee of Young Adults” celebration in Rome, where God’s grace touched so many young people along their path to holiness and to the specific vocation to which He might be calling them. Little Sisters of the Poor Marie Sandra and Noeline Bridg...

GOT A BURNING QUESTION that you wish you could ask a religious Sister? So did these young women! In this episode Mother Michele, the formation director for the postulants and novices of the Little Sisters of the Poor, answers questions that have sprung from the hearts of vocation discerners. Be sure to check out this episode…You just might find yourself among them!  Questions or suggestions regard...

DO YOU SOMETIMES FEEL LIKE YOU’RE "RUNNING BEHIND" IN DISCOVERING YOUR VOCATION? Or like God is late in showing up to reveal it to you? Mary and Marian, young adult women who are good friends and also companions in vocational discernment, share their experience. Along with Sr. Veronica Susan, who recounts her own journey with sensitivity and candor, they offer somepractical tips for embr...

How can such widely known—and truly classic!—principles of discernment be like a “best-kept secret”? Especially when vocation discerners could benefit so greatly of the light and clarity they offer? Fr. Brendan Gottschall, a young Jesuit priest, joins us to present the Ignatian principles of discernment in a down-to-earth and user-friendly way. If you sometimes feel anguish or confusion in your vo...

What can a saint from the post-French Revolution era teachtoday’s seekers about the secrets to fruitful vocation discernment? Meet St. Jeanne Jugan and learn from her some timeless tips that perdure through the ages. Make her your friend and she can be a powerful intercessor for you onyour journey with Jesus! Questions or suggestions regarding the podcast? Desire vocation accompaniment? Contact us...

As the Church celebrates within the week-long Jubilee of Young Adults the “Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers”, Fr. Matt Gworek articulates the amazing opportunity that each of us has for growth in our faith through the digital gifts God has given us. He explains how these giftscan be a valuable tool in our personal quest for holiness and also in the discernment of our specif...

Did you ever wonder about the religious habit that you’ve seen worn by consecrated religious? Sr. Bernadette Rose and Sr. Carolyn from the Little Sisters from the Poor unlock the mystery behind the “threads of devotion” in which they are clothed—and they even reveal three “secrets” (well, not really! 😊) concerning their religious dress that few people are aware of…  Questions or suggestions regar...

SO WHAT MIGHT POPE LEO XIV SAY TO YOU AS A YOUNG PERSON IN DISCERNMENT? Fr. Tom McCarthy, vocation director for the Midwest Province of the Augustinians (where Pope Leo--the former Robert Prevost--hails from), speaks from personal knowledge of Pope Leo as a member of his own religious community and as a former Provincial and PriorGeneral. In discussion with Sr. Carolyn of the Little Sisters of the...

Transformation of our minds and hearts so that we may live the sentiments of Jesus Christ and be His witnesses in the world: Is this not the ultimate makeover?   All the way from the Little Sisters of the Poor motherhouse in France, Sr. Maria Lourdes--blest with a rich experience in accompanying young women who are in formation for religious life--joins us to discuss the joys and challenges of for...

WHY IN THE WORLD would a happy, successful physician who even owned her own practice and building dare to “risk it all” to become a consecrated religious Sister? And how is it that so many of today’s young adults who have already launched their careers sense in their hearts that there’s still more and make that leap of faith, “risking it all” to respond to their deepest call?   Find the answers as...

“I chickened out and left,” says newly professed Sr. Amanda, describing the moment she was about to meet for the first time the religious community recommended to her by her priest.   Now a young professed Little Sister of the Poor with four months of vows, Sr. Amanda and her spiritual mother, Mother Loraine, tell of the joys and trepidations of Sister’s discernment journey, and how it came about...

BEING "ENTHRALLED BY CHRIST": THAT'S WHERE IT STARTS!  Not sure of your vocation in life? Your mission? Four young adults from the Young Catholic Professionals Conferencein Dallas join the Little Sisters of the Poor in sharing their reflections on the legacy of Pope Francis, his vision of vocation, and how the Lord might be inviting you to discover and embrace your own vocation and l...

What does it mean to live the Savior’s humility in theconsecrated religious life? Denying one’s positive qualities? Being a doormat? Is it all about self-deprecation? Find the answers in this episode, where Sr. Kathleen from the Little Sisters of the Poor responds to these questions and manymore, illustrating how assertiveness, after the example of Jesus Himself, can be essential in the living out...

Taking place onsite at the University of Connecticut, this discussion features students candidly sharing about their vocational discernment journeys. Whether feeling drawn to the priesthood or religious life, to the single life, or to living in a marriage where the couple is an icon, a “window to heaven”—in the discernment of all these vocations, arelationship with Jesus Christ is experienced by t...

UNSOLVED PUZZLES? WE REALLY DON’T LIKE THEM. Especially in vocational discernment. As we struggle to figure out our calling, discouragement can set in. That can eventually turn to despair, and despair is painful. The pain can be so heavy that discerners may actually temper their desire for the good that their hearts so greatly long for. In this Jubilee Year when we are called to be pilgrims of hop...

A YOUNG BUSINESSWOMAN FROM THE PHILIPPINES WORKING HER WAY UP THE CORPORATE LADDER IN HONG KONG DISCOVERS HER VOCATION TO LIVE IN GREAT SIMPLICITY AND TRUE FREEDOM AS A LITTLE SISTER OF THE POOR . Sr. Marie Cecilia finds joy in being “the begging Sister” in service of the elderly who are in need andrelates some of the many spiritual and material blessings that flow from this particular aspect of t...

JESUS IS NOT A MATADOR: “My will is over here…no, it’s over here.” He does not trick us! In the peace and quiet of time spent with him, he reveals to us how much he loves us, and through the deepening relationship that we share with him he reveals his awesome plan for our lives.  Emily Savage of Fiat Ministries speaks of the graces that shesees at work during the quiet stillness of the retreats th...

One is in the first year of her college faith journey and the other is approaching the culmination of hers as she prepares to graduate later this semester. Blood sisters Anna and Emily share with religious Sisters Maria Catherine and Carolyn—and with all of our viewers and listeners--some of the powerful graces experienced in their own lives and in those of 20,000 other college students attending...

“AND WHY WAS I NOT CHOSEN TALK ABOUT A MORE MYSTICAL OR PENTITENTIAL TOPIC?" quips Mother Margaret Charles, who never fails to put a smile on our faces. Listen as she and Sr. Maria Lourdes, her companion in the Lord’s joy, answer the question, “What do Sisters do for fun?” and reveal the simple secrets about why religious women (and men!) are so incredibly joyful. Please consider liking/shari...

Sister Constance--having heard Pope John Paul II quote the Gospel passage “I came that they might have life and have it to the full” during World Youth Day celebrations in Denver many years ago--relates how “the crowds of hundreds of thousands of people disappeared, and he was speaking to me .” She tells the story of her vocation and encourages discerners to pause and consider whether these words...

It’s a common concern of today’s discerners—and certainly a valid one: If I enter religious formation, what happens to my relationships with my family? Sr. Patrice answers that question from the lived experience of having left formation for the sake of treasured family relationships, only to find that those same God-given relationships would find their fullest flourishing when she actually followe...

VOCATION DISCERNERS: GOD WANTS YOU TO FLOURISH AND TO FIND YOUR GREATEST HAPPINESS …and there’s no better time than the Jubilee Year to discern your path to that reality. The year 2025 will be replete with special graces and opportunities for spiritual deepening and active discernment. In this episode Sr. Debbie, SS.C.M. and Sr. Carolyn, l.s.p. discuss practical tips and considerations for taking...

RELIGIOUS SISTERHOOD, BY ITS VERY NATURE, is spiritual motherhood. So, too—in various ways in each of the many charisms and apostolates of today’s religious Sisters--does it encompass the sacred privilege of mothering God’s people to eternal life.   Sr. Loretto, an Irish Little Sister of the Poor who has served for many years in the United States, speaks of the holy task of assisting the elderly p...

Sr. Thu T. Do, LHC, Ph. D., a research associate at CARA (Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate), highlights the many hopeful and encouraging findings that emerge from the study “Women and Men Entering Religious Life: The Entrance Class of 2023,” of which she is a coauthor. She also shares implications for vocation directors, campus ministers, and all who serve young women and men, as well...

CAN YOU IMAGINE 182 PRIESTLY AND RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS COMING FROM A SINGLE COLLEGE CAMPUS??? To what might we attribute this amazing work of the Holy pirit? Check it out as Dani, Jenny, and David from the Catholic campus ministry and FOCUS team at Texas A&M University weigh in with their thoughts on this miracle of grace. Be sure not to miss these truly encouraging insights for young men and wo...