Sr. Bethany Madonna: "You follow Me:" Letting Love Lead

I was so happy to receive an advance copy of Pray, Decide, and Don't Worry from Ascension Press. I see a gap in Catholic literature for young adults about how to discern in the midst of Millennial problems- overwhelm, FOMO, overabundant screen time, fear of silence, lack of an answer from God, fear of commitment, and more! #discern #socialmedia #calling #spirituallife #book #planning #Godswill #fear #indecision #religiouslife #discernment

Do you feel stressed out and anxious that you'll "miss" your vocation? Do you get upset with God when you try to do everything right but still don't receive a definitive answer about what he wants you to do? Are you concerned that you will make the wrong life choices? Have no fear. Read on.... Let's start by examining the definition of vocation. What is a vocation? A vocation is a calling from God. It is a path that you choose, with God’s help, as your vehicle to Heaven. It i

The Catechism doesn’t say anything about how to know when you’ve been spending too much time on Insta or when you need to walk away from Pinterest. Like many other areas of life, social media is morally neutral; however, you, being a smart cookie, are mindful that this doesn’t let you off the hook to stare at your screen for hours. Social media can be a wonderful tool or a menace to our spiritual lives. What we feed our eyes, and for how long, changes us. I don’t have all the

There is no custom-designed soulmate for you. There; I said it. As I am already aware from having this debate on social media, some people will want to come after me with pitchforks. I’m okay with that. Just hear me out first, and wait for me to make a will so John and the kids get my stuff. If you’re called to marriage, you choose your “the one.” Practically speaking, Adam and Eve had to be “the one” for each other. I have heard of instances where people received a definite

When discerning a decision rightly, we must shift our focus from "what do I want?" to asking "God, what do you want?" I have dedicated many blog posts to finding and knowing your vocation and other life choices in this world. But there's another layer beneath all of this that I haven't focused on much: the world beyond this life. As Stephen Covey says, "begin with the end in mind." Death, Judgement, Heaven , Hell I'm singing a sassy gospel rendition of "Swing low, sweet chari

Here's an exhaustive list. You should not discern religious life if you are: Married Already a priest, nun or monk, or A consecrated single person That’s it, in my book. Those are the only reasons not to discern religious life. I’m writing this because I remember the plethora of “reasons” I invented to not discern. I remember my intense desire to run away from the question “Is God actually calling me?” I remember how painful it was to convince myself to get up the guts and se

I hope you love talking about desire as much as I do- for chocolate lava cake, that is. (Being married has made me aware of how often women bond by talking about foods they mutually love. Isn't that strange? But I digress.) If you’ve ever felt selfish for following your desires and dreams, or you worry that God will call you to do something you don’t want to do (*raises hand*), or have avoided asking God what he wants because you're afraid you won't like the answer, then this

From the Liturgy of the Hours: "In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death." Can there be more hope than that? Can anything be more beautiful than a tenderly compassionate God? I was reflecting after I received communion yesterday on the moment when they laid the cross on Christ's shoulders. Despite his immense pain he embraced it, loving us from the depths of his beautifu