DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Vocations Explained: Matrimony, Virginity, the Religious State and the Priesthood" by Dennis J. Downing. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

This book commences: Q. What is a vocation? A. A call from God to some state of life. Q. Which are the principal states of life? A. Matrimony, virginity, the religious state, and the priesthood. Q. Has every person a vocation? A. Yes; God gives a special vocation to each person. Q. How is this doctrine proved? A. St. Paul says: "Every one hath his proper gift from God; one after this manner, and another after that. . . . As the Lord hath distributed to every one, as God hath called every one, so let him walk." [*] [*] The references are given in the larger catechism entitled "Questions on Vocations." Q. Is it not beneath God's notice to give a particular vocation to each person? A. Not at all; for even the birds of the air are objects of the providence of God: "Yea, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." Q. What do Father Faber and St. Alphonsus say on this subject? A. Father Faber says: "Every man has a distinct vocation." St. Alphonsus says: "We must embrace that state to which God calls us." Q. What does St. Augustine teach concerning special vocations? A. St. Augustine says: "He who does little, but in a state to which God calls him, does more than he who labors much, but in a state which he has thoughtlessly chosen: a cripple limping in the right way is better than a racer out of it."

An abridgement of Questions on Vocations approved by Cardinal Gibbons and Cardinal Satolli. CONTENTS I. Definition. - Every Person has some special vocation 5 II. Necessity of following a vocation 6 III. Matrimony - Is it a vocation? 9 IV. Mixed Marriages 12 V. Virginity 14 VI. The Three Evangelical Counsels 16 1. Poverty 17 2. Perpetual Chastity 18 3. Obedience 19 VII. The Religious State 20 VIII. Marks of a vocation to the religious state 23 IX. Doubts about a vocation to the religious state 27 X. Encouraging others to enter the religious state 29 XI. Means of preserving a vocation to the religious state - some obstacles 35 XII. Children and the religious state 37 XIII. Duty of parents regarding the religious vocation of their children 42 XIV. Vocations to the priesthood 45 XV. Do vocations to the priesthood come directly from God? 47 XVI. Fostering vocations to the priesthood 48 XVII. Preventing vocations to the priesthood 50 XVIII. Means of knowing our vocation 52 1. Prayer 52 2. Freedom from sin 53 3. Humility 54 4. Retreat 54 5. Counsel 54 Prayer of St Bernard 55

I. DEFINITION.-EVERY PERSON HAS SOME SPECIAL VOCATION 6 II. NECESSITY OF FOLLOWING A VOCATION 9 III. MATRIMONY-IS IT A VOCATION? 14 IV. MIXED MARRIAGES 19 V. VIRGINITY 25 VI. THE THREE EVANGELICAL COUNSELS 29 1. Poverty 30 2. Perpetual Chastity 31 3. Obedience 33 VII. THE RELIGIOUS STATE 35 VIII. MARKS OF A VOCATION TO THE RELIGIOUS STATE 41 IX. DOUBTS ABOUT A VOCATION TO THE RELIGIOUS STATE 47 X. ENCOURAGING OTHERS TO ENTER THE RELIGIOUS STATE 51 XI. MEANS OF PRESERVING A VOCATION TO THE RELIGIOUS STATE.-SOME OBSTACLES 62 XII. CHILDREN AND THE RELIGIOUS STATE 65 XIII. DUTY OF PARENTS REGARDING THE RELIGIOUS VOCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN 73 XIV. VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD 79 XV. DO VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD COME DIRECTLY FROM GOD 83 XVI. FOSTERING VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD 87 XVII. PREVENTING VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD 91 XVIII. MEANS OF KNOWING OUR VOCATION 94 1. Prayer 94 2. Freedom from Sin 96 3. Humility 97 4. Retreat 98 5. Counsel 98 Prayer of St. Bernard 99

For many American Catholics in the twentieth-century the face of the Church was a woman's face. After the Second World War, as increasing numbers of baby boomers flooded Catholic classrooms, the Church actively recruited tens of thousands of young women as teaching sisters. In Into Silence and Servitude Brian Titley delves into the experiences of young women who entered Catholic religious sisterhoods at this time. The Church favoured nuns as teachers because their wageless labour made education more affordable in what was the world's largest private school system. Focusing on the Church's recruitment methods Titley examines the idea of a religious vocation, the school settings in which nuns were recruited, and the tactics of persuasion directed at both suitable girls and their parents. The author describes how young women entered religious life and how they negotiated the sequence of convent "formation stages," each with unique challenges respecting decorum, autonomy, personal relations, work, and study. Although expulsions and withdrawals punctuated each formation stage, the number of nuns nationwide continued to grow until it reached a pinnacle in 1965, the same year that Catholic schools achieved their highest enrolment. Based on extensive archival research, memoirs, oral history, and rare Church publications, Into Silence and Servitude presents a compelling narrative that opens a window on little-known aspects of America’s convent system.