Called to Serve?
Do you think that Our Blessed Lord may be calling you to become an MC Father? What you need to do is "Come and See"!
Every human being has a personal vocation, a unique call from God, for which he or she was created. This eternal plan of God for each individual's life is specific-it is His deepest desire for you.
“We have been created for greater things, to love and to be loved.”
— Mother Teresa
What Must I Do?
In order for you to discover your personal vocation, His specific Will for you, and then, more importantly, to fulfill His Will for you-to become who He wants you to become-you'll need to:
1) Encounter the Living Jesus
Take the time to meet the Lord at Holy Mass, in Adoration of Him in the Blessed Sacrament, in prayer groups, at retreats, encounters, etc. Allow the Lord to fill you to overflowing with His Love, so that you, in turn, may be able to respond with the gift of your love and your whole life to Him according to His Plan. When you have met the Lord and been filled with His Love for you and for all your brothers and sisters, you'll be ready for what He wants from you.
2) Live in total surrender to God's Will for you
The fruit of your encounter with the Living Jesus is the disposition of heart that Mother Teresa called "total surrender" — "I want what You want for me, Lord. Just let me know what it is and I'll do it." At this point, you will be truly open to know His personal Will for you (rather than your own) and to do it wholeheartedly.
Many think knowing God's Will for them is the most important aspect of vocational discernment, but this is not the case. If you are not truly open or desirous of doing what God wants from you, you most probably won't come to know what He wants of you in the first place. So what is most important, then, is to live total surrender to God's Will for you, whatever it may be.
3) Set aside time for daily prayer and silence
To live total surrender, you need to spend time daily listening to the Lord's call within your heart: "God speaks in the silence of the heart" (Mother Teresa). Prayer before Jesus in the Eucharist in the company of Our Lady (with the Rosary!) is a privileged way of prayer in vocational discernment. Why is that? Because it is the Crucified and Risen Jesus who calls us, and Our Lady who helps us to become that "Yes" to God in total surrender to His Will.
"The person whom Jesus is calling to give himself completely to Him-he knows; maybe he doesn't know how to express it, but he knows."
— Mother Teresa
4) Find a spiritual director
It's important to have someone with whom you can share your experience and discernment-a priest, or a consecrated sister or brother, with whom you feel comfortable.
5) Make a "Come and See" experience
If you are discerning a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, you'll need to make a "Come and See" experience with the community you are interested in. A good indicator in vocational discernment is when you find you feel "at home" in a community, and even more, when it feels like you are "coming home". The fruit of total surrender to God in answering generously your call is joy, inner peace, and deepening union with God.
Application Basics
Applicants to our Institute must be 18 years of age and eligible to enter university-level studies. Eligible applicants will be invited to make a 2-week "Come and See" experience with us before requesting admission. Only lay people may apply to join our Institute and normally we don't accept men over 35 years of age.
During the "Come and See" experience, the applicant lives and prays with the MCF Community and goes out on various apostolates. It's a time of discernment in which one has the chance to experience a bit of the life, prayer, community life and apostolate of our Community. It usually lasts two weeks, though this time frame is flexible. After the "Come and See", the applicant returns home and the discernment process continues. If both the aspiring young man and the MCF Community see in him the possibility of a vocation to MC Fathers, he may then enter the Community as a Candidate. Candidates can enter at any time throughout the year.
An interested individual can make a "Come and See" experience at any time during the year. He needs only to arrange this with the Vocation Director. For further information about making a "Come and See" with us, please contact the Vocation Director by email or directly in the CONTACT country nearest you. It's also possible to come for a one-day or weekend visit with us. Please feel free to contact our Vocation Director if you would like to make such a visit.