Now is your chance to ask Therese Ivers, the leading canonical expert on vocations on the internet, your deepest or most puzzling question about vocational discernment. How?

On December 8, 2012, Therese Ivers will be hosting a webinar Q&A session on people’s most burning vocational questions. Depending on the type of questions submitted, other experts may be invited to the roundtable panel such as religious, married couples, and priests.

If you have a burning question, be one of the first twenty people to register, and we’ll guarantee your question will be answered* during the Q&A session. This is your chance to speak with a canonist without paying the steep hourly fees canon lawyers typically charge. Do you want to know if you can become a diocesan hermit before starting your dream order? Are you wondering whether you can become a deacon if you are divorced? Have you wanted to ask whether you should date while thinking about becoming a nun? Ask away! If you are one of the first 20 people to register, you’ll be given at least one question that is guaranteed an answer* and if there’s time, we’ll answer your other questions as well. If you are not one of the first 20 people, don’t worry. You can listen to the roundtable. Plus, once we answer the first 20 questions, we’ll open the floor and answer both pre-submitted and spontaneous questions. Sound good?

What you’ll get by being one of the first 20 people to register for the webinar besides getting an early bird discount:

Your burning question answered* if you submit your question at least 48 hours prior to the webinar.

The opportunity to listen to the answer to other people’s burning questions.  Their questions will probably help you in your own discernment process so this should be quite valuable for you!

And more!  Think “virtual door prizes” and other goodies for those who register.

What you’ll get if you register for the webinar, but aren’t one of the first 20 people:

The opportunity to listen in on other people’s burning questions.  The chances are that the questions that are asked will be similar to yours.

The possibility that your own question(s) may be answered during the open floor session.  You can submit questions in advance and type questions or “raise your hand” and perhaps say your question over the microphone during the open questions session.

And much, much more!  Yes, there are virtual “door prizes” and other goodies to be distributed to our webinar registrants and participants.

Here’s the nitty gritty you’ll need to know for the webinar:

You’ll need fast internet access to access the webinar. If you have dial up, you will not be able to participate.  Sorry, we do not know if you can use your internet capable phone or tablet to participate.

You’ll need speakers or a headset to hear Therese and fellow guests speak.  If you can play YouTube videos and hear them, you should be fine.

You’ll need a microphone if you intend to speak, and/or a webcam if you want to video “chat” from your end, and a keyboard if you intend to type.

The exact time of the webinar is to be determined. You will be emailed at least 48 hours in advance as to when it will take place.

The webinar will be probably be recorded on CD and/or DVD. No guarantees here, though, so please don’t ask.  Sometimes technology goes on the blink and I don’t want to promise this…

When you register, be sure to give your real email address because you will be given the password for the webinar room by email.

Excited?  Register now!

*So now, you’re probably wondering whether there are any restrictions on the burning question you can submit. Yes, there are. But, we think you’ll agree that they are fairly reasonable. First, although we will try our best to research answers for you, the response we give you will not be an academic one with footnotes and citations and all that. Second, we will not critique specific institutions. Don’t ask us if the Sisters of the Burning Flame are a “good order” or not.  Or if the Diocese of Timbuktu is “solid”.  Third, your question must be specific not broad and general. A good question might be why Franciscans wear a knotted cord. A too broad and general question might be “how do I know what my vocation is””, or, “what are the names of all the contemplative communities in the United States?”. The type of question covered under the guaranteed answer ideally should be one which has a “yes” or “no” answer, or one which might take an expert 1-10 minutes to answer and explain. Lastly, the question should be genuinely helpful for your own personal vocational discernment and not merely a hypothetical situation which might never take place. Thus, while there’s nothing wrong in asking if there’s any significance to the blue bands on Mother Teresa’s sari’s, it is much better to ask us to name a quality which communities look for in candidates.