What if I change my mind about being a priest during training or things just don’t work out? How do I pick my life back up again?

You would need time to make such a transition, and you would be offered support to do it. The Jesuit Constitutions, for example, state that a man ought to be helped to ‘leave (the Order) in peace’ if it has been carefully discerned that this is God’s will for him. So, the first step in ‘picking your life back up again’ is to tell yourself that you are doing the right thing and to be at peace with your decision.

Secondly, then, you need to be patient as you re-adjust to lay life. It is natural that you might feel disoriented for a while and perhaps hanker after the life you have left behind. Remain calm and steady. You will soon find greater ease in your own skin.

Thirdly, it would be good to seek guidance – if necessary – with regard to the path ahead: what you wish to do now, what your ‘vocation’ as a lay person might entail, and so on. Don’t rush into this, of course, and remember that God still has a plan for your life. Gradually you will discover it, as events, circumstances and your own inner desires, make it clear. 

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