(This letter is included in a vocations packet that the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary make available. — Editor)
To a young man discerning a vocation:
Laudetur Iesus Christus!
You have this packet in your hands because you have, in one way or another, shown interest in a vocation to the Brothers of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. A good and noble thought!
The contents of this packet deserve a note of explanation:
The small vocations brochure (Brothers) covers basic questions and answers about our life as religious brothers. It's the first thing you should read after this cover letter.
The booklet, Invitation to a Crusade, presents a broader view of the work of Saint Benedict Center, something you must appreciate to have a vocation here. Pages 9-11 explain more on our religious life.
St. Alphonsus' "Answer to a Young Man" is a letter he wrote to one who, like you, was considering a religious vocation. It is priceless and should be prayerfully read by all considering a vocation to the religious state.
Come and Follow Me is a wonderful book introducing the religious life. Though small, it is filled with insightful explanations from Holy Scripture and the lives of the saints. It was written by a Novus Ordo priest, but – with the exception to a fleeting reference or two to Vatican II texts and quotes from Mother Theresa (all of which were good) – it could have been written in a bygone era, when there was more Catholic sense about these things.
Finally, there is our tract, "The Only Way to Heaven," which gives a summary of the Church's teaching on the dogma we are most known for defending.
In considering a vocation to our Community, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
Our work is to convert America and to work for the restoration of Catholic Orthodoxy, especially the teaching that "there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church." The denial of this teaching, we believe, is at the root of all of our present problems in the Church: scandalous false ecumenism, the liturgical revolution which gave us Protestantized rites (the New Mass, etc.), loss of Catholic morals and the spirit of penance, destruction of the Church's social teaching, etc.
We do not, at present, have priests in our Congregation. The priests who minister to us are either secular priests or religious from other communities. That is because our work stands as a contradiction to the modernist bishops who have the sacramental powers to administer Holy Orders. As we told one of them, we would prefer to be a "thorn in your side" than to betray our Catholic principles. We do not seek Holy Orders outside of the jurisdiction of the Church. Therefore, any thoughts of the priesthood you may have in mind would have to be subordinated to being a religious brother here. One day, God willing, we will have priests in our community.
We take in-house studies, but have no seminary or college, though we would like to start one.
All that said, we are convinced that ours is a very important work for the life of the Church. By prayer, study, living the Evangelical Counsels, publishing, apostolic work, and education, we do what we can to work for the Glory of God, the exultation of the Blessed Virgin, the conversion of America, and the restoration of Catholic doctrine. Ours is a difficult vocation, but a necessary and rewarding one. Should you join us and prove yourself worthy, you would be a part of a great work for the Our Lord, Our Lady, and the Church.
God bless you and may Our Lady of Vocations help you in your discernment process.
In the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Brother André Marie, M.I.C.M.
Prior
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