Shortly after my brother had left the seminary, we ended up having a discussion on vocations and what we wanted in life. We had always been close and had always thought alike, often seemed to read each others minds n stuff :)
My brother knew that he wanted to marry, but he never gave his spiritual director a real reason for wanting the married state, so his director refused permission to leave the seminary (for anyone reading to whom that sounds "bad" my bro could leave anytime he wanted and that was very clear, but his adviser wanted him to give a solid reason for wanting to leave so he'd never regret his decision to leave). So finally, after months of discussing with his spiritual director, his decision was final and he knew why. Why he wanted to leave, why he would like the married state for his life.
My brother told me how Father had made him realize why he wished for the married life and no longer the religious life. Then he told me, you don't need to tell me what it is. It can be anything, but what is your reason for wanting to be married? You need a reason that you can always fall back on and remember when you're married of why you got married. Your reason will ensure that if ever you question yourself, you can look back and remember, yes, I want this because....
My reason? It starts like this: I want to share the rest of my life with my best friend....
My brother knew that he wanted to marry, but he never gave his spiritual director a real reason for wanting the married state, so his director refused permission to leave the seminary (for anyone reading to whom that sounds "bad" my bro could leave anytime he wanted and that was very clear, but his adviser wanted him to give a solid reason for wanting to leave so he'd never regret his decision to leave). So finally, after months of discussing with his spiritual director, his decision was final and he knew why. Why he wanted to leave, why he would like the married state for his life.
My brother told me how Father had made him realize why he wished for the married life and no longer the religious life. Then he told me, you don't need to tell me what it is. It can be anything, but what is your reason for wanting to be married? You need a reason that you can always fall back on and remember when you're married of why you got married. Your reason will ensure that if ever you question yourself, you can look back and remember, yes, I want this because....
My reason? It starts like this: I want to share the rest of my life with my best friend....
