"We're not expecting to see results in a month of a year. This is something that is going to take time and patience and trust," Loughran explained.
Loughran and Walczak both clarified that their goal with the Mothers of Lu group is not to discourage or downplay the vocation of marriage.
"We fully recognize that God has already determined their vocations, we are just clearing the path with our prayers to make their discernment easier," Walczak said. "It helps us as parents to have open hearts to whatever God's will is for their lives, and helps us to focus on making our homes Christ-centered."
"Everybody has a call. Everybody has a vocation. We're just supporting what that is and helping our kids them recognize that they do have a vocation, and it's important for them to listen to God," Loughran added.
She stressed that vocational discernment should be a part of every young adult's life, as they look to see where God is calling them.
"If they know that we will support them and we're going to encourage them through this – whether it's to be a priest, to be a religious sister, to be married – any of that really takes some time on their part to listen to God," she said. "And that's not something that kids do easily in today's society. I think they need the encouragement of their parents and friends."
"Having friends whose parents who are also praying for the same intentions helps them too, to create more of a community of support," she continued. "Somebody else is also discerning religious life or priesthood - you're not the only one. It just creates more support for the kids."
Loughran said she tries to create a family environment in which her six children – ranging from college-aged to a one-year-old – are intentional in thinking about vocations.
"Talking about it is natural. We have a lot of friends who are priests, we have uncles who are priests, it's a natural part of our family life," she said, adding that the family spends time with religious sisters as well.
In addition, Loughran said her family spends time together in adoration, "just teaching our kids how important it is to just set time apart in your life for the quietness to hear God, what he's asking of you."
Particularly with all of the noise and distractions in the modern world, she said, learning how to pray is a critical part of vocational discernment.
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"There's nothing else like time in front of the Blessed Sacrament to hear what God is asking."
Similarly, Walczak and her husband try to foster a home environment that is supportive of vocational discernment. They talk with their children about the lives of the saints, and how different religious orders serve the Church and the world in different ways. They perform simple works of mercy together, such as visiting the sick, praying for the dead, and donating food to a local food pantry. They discuss the importance of having hearts open to God's will, and they regularly invite priests over to dinner, so that their children can see more closely the vocation of men who have given their whole lives to Christ.
Although it has only been a few months, Walczak said she already seen fruits from the Mothers of Lu group in her own family.
"Not only has it brought me and my husband closer to our Lord and challenged us to focus on our children's vocations, but our children are expressing their own desire to spend more time with our Lord," she said. "Our children see that my husband, Jonathan, and I have a love for the Eucharist, and that we desire to go to adoration often, just to spend time with Jesus."
Walczak said her daughters, ages 8 and 4, have been joining her a weekly "girls' night" at adoration when their schedules all allow.
"It has brought great graces to me to watch them be themselves with our Lord in the Eucharist, and to see them desire to pray and participate in adoration," she said.