Are these tips good?
Are You Looking for Signs?

Yes, this article basically summarizes a great deal of the wisdom of the Church in discerning a vocation. I would add, though, a couple of points.

First. a priestly vocation is mutually discerned by both the individual and by the Church. The Church, in a particular diocese, religious order, and seminary, discerns whether a man is called to orders. This is in addition to the man's discernment. For a man to be ordained, both discernments must result in a positive decision.

Second, the process of discernment continues until the point of ordination. On my ordination morning, I met with the bishop and he asked very pointedly: "Do you have any doubts or reservations that this is God's will for you?" If I had said yes I doubted, then we'd have had a nice party since the food was paid for, but there would not have been an ordination.

Third, one doesn't have to be totally certain of one's call before you make the first phone call, or first visit, or begin seminary. The whole process is set up to sift and weigh whether this is a true call from God or a passing fancy.

Good luck and grace to all who are discerning.

How can one be that sure of one's vocation?

I think I've heard from a few that they were not sure of their vocation... or are...

How can one be sure of one's vocation? A person reaches a state of moral certitude. He may be mistaken, but he has done all he could to discern well, and his superiors have done all they could to discern well, and the man has come to a firm conviction that this is what God wants him to do, and he agrees to do it, and his religious superiors agree.

Now, could all this result in the wrong answer? Yes. But it is unlikely.

Compare this to the situation of a man or woman getting married. How can they know that they are called to married life? How can they know that they have chosen the right person to marry? They can't with absolute certitude. But they can reasonably conclude that they have.

If we try to live our life waiting until we have certitude with scientific accuracy, with no possibility of error, then we will find at the end of our days that we have not lived life at all. We will never have married or become a parent, we will never have been ordained, we will never have taken religious vows, we will never have done anything decisively or boldly.

In the final analysis, all of the really important decisions of our life should be made only after careful investigation, and then a giant leap of faith!

In fact, getting out of bed in the morning is not a provably good idea. Who knows what could happen to you out there!!?? But staying in bed has its own hazards, too. So living a life based on absolute certitude leads to complete paralysis.