(Excerpt is reprinted with permission from All Things Guy: A Guide to Becoming a Man that Matters)
Have you ever been in a religion class or in Church and
Father asks you to think about a vocation? Do you get the feeling you want to
crawl in a hole and disappear, fearing he will ask you to become a priest?
A vocation is a call from God. It’s not merely a career
choice. Everyone, everyone, everyone has a calling from God!
The word vocation refers to three different things:
1. Vocation comes with baptism. It’s a call to know, love
and serve God in your life.
2. Vocation also means, “state in life,” such as
priesthood, religious life, marriage or single life.
3. Vocation also means a personal relationship you have
with Jesus. It’s you, yourself, trying to know, love, and serve God.
A Word
about Discernment
A
vocation is much more than choosing a career or planning your life. You have to
discern what God’s plans are for you. To discern means that you pray and ask
God to show you what he wants for you. Pope John Paul II explained in a paper
he wrote called “On the Vocation of the Lay Faithful,” that it is a “gradual
process, one that happens day by day.” So don’t look for the answer to fall
from the sky. It happens day by day through discernment.
When
people choose a career such as becoming a doctor, engineer, fireman, or police
officer, they ask themselves questions like:
·
What
will make me happy?
·
How
will I make money for myself?
When a
person discerns a vocation, he asks himself bigger questions like:
V
What does God want me to do?
V
What will please God most?
V
What gifts did God give me to use in life?
See
the difference? The focus in discerning is God, not “me.” But the cool thing
is, what God wants for you is what will make you happy!
As we
mentioned before, there are several vocations, that is, “states in life” for
men:
V
Priesthood and Permanent Deaconate
V
Religious Life
V
Marriage
V
Single Life
Whichever God calls you to will
have its joys, sorrows, and challenges, but you will have peace and joy by
using your gifts the way God intended. God loves you very much and will give you
all the graces you need to answer his call.
Start
asking Jesus, today,
to
begin helping you
see
your vocation.
