The person interested in the vocation of religious life should contact the vocation director and show his interest in visiting the abbey. The vocation director will meet with the candidate and explain the life of the religious and give information about entering the religious community. Also, the vocation director will examine the qualification of the candidate, as well as the candidate’s faith and personality. The vocation director then will direct the candidate in the vocation that is fit for the person.
The candidate will have a chance to stay in the abbey for a few days to experience the life of the abbey where this person may live for the rest of his life. At this time, the candidate should see whether the charisma and the feeling of the community is right for him to live the life for God, and examine whether the community is attractive and comfortable.
Also, the candidate should ask God whether He wants the candidate to live in this community. This discernment can be very difficult task for some, but very simple for another.
If the vocation director asks the candidate to visit again next time, the candidate should visit the abbey and take time to discern about his vocation. At this time, the candidate should express his desire to live in the community.
When the vocation director verifies that the candidate is serious about entering the community, and after verifies that the candidate does not have the qualifications to become a religious, the application process will start.
When the application is ready, the candidate will have an interview with the novice master, prior, and abbot. The decision will be made after the interview.
If the candidate wishes to live the life of priesthood within the religious community, he should express his wishes and the abbot will decide during the candidate’s training.
The candidate who wishes to live the life of priesthood shall be a person who has all qualification of entering the seminary, and the person will study as a seminarian after his training. The candidate who wishes to live as a religious shall be at least a high school graduate.
During the training for the first year, the candidate will learn about the life and the spirituality of Benedictine community and make his vocation more solid. During this time, the candidate for priesthood will stop his studies and be in training. After training, he will take the first vow, and renew his vow every two years for four years.
After four years, he will take the perpetual vow to live to serve God for the rest of his life.
When someone wishes to enter a religious community, they often have difficulties in choosing the right community. Sometimes they wonder whether they should live as a diocesan priest or live as a religious. In this case, be sure to visit the religious community to receive guidance from the vocation director.
If you think that you would want to live for God for a lifetime, or have interest in religious life, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone or email. We will be happy to help you discern about the direction of God’s calling.

For further information, please contact Vocation director:
Fr. Samuel Kim
Tel. 973-383-2470 ext. 103 / Cell. 973-670-9511
e-mail: osb@newtonosb.org

Last update: January 20, 2015