God, What Now?

The Nature of Vocation
The word ‘vocation’ comes from the Latin – vocare, meaning ‘to call.’ A vocation is not just something that God calls us to do but also the person God calls us to be. When Jesus called his first disciples by the Lake of Galilee (Mt. 4:18-22), it wasn’t just so that they could help him in his work, it was so that their lives could be transformed through their friendship with Jesus. We have been called to follow Christ, the Son of God, who came so that we might have eternal life. He has sent us the Holy Spirit so that we can share in his divine life here and now and we live out that life by trying to love God and our neighbour. The Christian vocation, then, is a call to share in the life of the triune God.

To share in the life of the triune God means to be holy, to be a saint. The saints are not just heroic people who live in the history books. They are ordinary people who have tried to live their faith without holding anything back: to love God with their whole being, to love those around them without counting the cost, to work at what is worthwhile with dedication and purpose, to be people of joy and kindness and prayerfulness. All of us are called to be saints!

This vocation to holiness, to be saints, is already a part of our life, given to us at our baptism. Whatever circumstances we are currently facing, satisfactory or unsatisfactory, we already have a vocation. We might be working, studying, travelling, unemployed or caring for someone at home; we might be very content or utterly miserable; full of hope or close to despair; whatever our situation, we can certainly trust that God is with us and that he calls us to be holy through our circumstances.

Christ has always called some people to follow him in a specific way, by giving them a more specific vocation. In the past, the word ‘vocation’ was often used to describe the lives of religious and priests. However, in contemporary society, the word ‘vocation’ is also rightly used to describe the life of marriage, permanent diaconate or single life. These concrete vocations are also known as ‘states of life’ because we make a lifelong commitment to live out our Christian faith in a particular way: as husbands or wives, as single people, as religious sisters or brothers, as priests or permanent deacons.

How do we discern our vocation?
We get to know people by spending time with them. It is the same with God. Each day, we need to set aside some time for silent prayer with God. In those silent moments, we ask the Lord to show us his will and the courage to follow him. In those silent moments, our inner ears and hearts will gradually recognize the voice of God speaking to us through experiences which touch us deeply. These experiences are the beginning of our conversation with God.

There are also other means to help us recognizing what God wants us to be, for example: reading the Scriptures prayerfully and noticing what attracts or speaks to us; celebrating the sacraments regularly, in particular the Mass and Reconciliation; talking honestly with someone we trust; or making a commitment to serve others in our ordinary life circumstances. Through these ways, we become more conscious of God’s Spirit moving in our lives. A sense of lasting peace and fulfillment is a sign of reassurance.

You have been called!
You have been created by God as a unique individual. He calls you by a name that no-one else has been given. You reflect Christ’s love and show something of his face in a way that no-one else can. This is your personal vocation – the call to be the person you are meant to be. The more you discover who you are, and the more you discover what lies deepest in your heart, the more you will be able to discern what God’s will is for you and what direction he wants you to take in life. Your lifelong commitments and the particular path of holiness that you are called to follow will inevitably grow out of the person God created you to be.

May this year’s National Vocations Awareness Week give you another opportunity to deepen your awareness of God’s call in your life, whether that be to marriage, single life, religious life or the priesthood.