Discerning monasticism

[SeraphimSarov]

I have a phone appointment with the abbot of St. Bede Abbey in Illinois in the morning to discuss whether I am called to the monastic life. The main issue I'm concerned with is debt. I have a lot of student loan debt, and my understanding is that no monastery will touch you if you have unpaid debt. I don't knoiw what I'm supposed to do. I'm on social security (US... sigh) so I'm only making minimum payments now. I'm currently 34 and the max age to join is 45. I don't know how I'll do it by then.

Any prayers you could spare would be appreciated.

 

[dzheremi]

Heavy matters, both the discernment and the debt. May the Lord have mercy upon you and guide you.

I don't want to get into your personal information in a prayer thread, but just so it's out there: since it is not usual for 34 year olds to be on Social Security, perhaps if you have an injury or illness-related reasoning for being on it you could look into loan forgiveness due to disability, if you have not already. Major loan servicers like NelNet have special departments set up to deal with clients who are in such situations, although it will take a bit of talking to get to them, and then a lot of filling out forms once you are in that part of the system (both to get enrolled, and then to do the periodic re-certifications and such that allow you to stay in the program for the duration of your contract). It is worth looking into if that fits your personal situation, as that could be a solution to your debt problem.

Anyway, again, Lord have mercy.

 

[chevyontheriver]

I have a phone appointment with the abbot of St. Bede Abbey in Illinois in the morning to discuss whether I am called to the monastic life. The main issue I'm concerned with is debt. I have a lot of student loan debt, and my understanding is that no monastery will touch you if you have unpaid debt. I don't knoiw what I'm supposed to do. I'm on social security (US... sigh) so I'm only making minimum payments now. I'm currently 34 and the max age to join is 45. I don't know how I'll do it by then.

Any prayers you could spare would be appreciated.

There are organizations who assist people with both debts and vocations. Particularly student debt. I can't remember any specific organizations at the moment.