Vocation


What is a vocation?

A vocation is how God calls us to serve Him in the world.
There are different types of vocation
Our universal vocation is to become disciples of Jesus and ultimately Saints.
Our secondary vocation helps us reach our primary/universal vocation through marriage, priesthood, the consecrated or religious life, or single life.
Finally, our third vocation is what God is calling us to do in the present. Which can be caring for our family, being good students, or helping those in need around us.

Secondary Vocation: Marriage, Priesthood, Religious Consecrated, and Single Life

Priesthood

When priests are ordained, they receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. Priests celebrate Mass frequently, hear confessions, baptize (although we too can baptize in some cases), marry couples, perform Last Rites, etc.
In short, they are mediators between God and humans.

Religious Consecrated Life

Consecrate: To set something aside or devote it to a holy purpose
Consecrated Life: To devote your life to God, taking vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

Marriage

"Marriage is based on the consent of the contracting parties, that is, on their will to give themselves, each to the other, mutually and definitively, in order to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love." (CCC 1662)
Basically, the union of a man and woman where both people strive to be virtuous and help each other (and their children) get to heaven.

Single Life

Everyone goes through the single life phase, but not everyone is called to marriage or the religious life. Some of us are called to stay single and that shouldn't scare you! Rather, you should strive to live out a meaningful single life. Develop your relationship with the Lord, discover your gifts, use them, and make virtuous friendships.

Daily Vocation: What are you being called to do now?

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5:48)

Don't worry, Jesus tells us how to be perfect:

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me" (Lk 6:36)

In essence, we are called to be disciples of Jesus.
God gave us free will, and it is your responsibility to use your freewill accordingly.
He also blessed us with gifts which we can use to fulfill our vocation.

(Transition)
"The gifts you have are God's gift to you, who you become is your gift back to God"

Identifying Your Gifts

  • What talents, gifts, skills come naturally to you? (eg. music, serving others, leadership, socializing)
  • Is there a certain passion that is a consistent theme in your life? (eg. Volunteering, club leadership)

Which Gifts Align with Your Passions

  • Which gift fills you with confidence?
  • What activity doesn't feel like work at all?
  • Does time fly by when you're doing this activity?

How Those Gifts Fit in Your Life

  • How are you helping people with your gift now?
  • What kind of job/activity/mission work/schooling would help you pursue your passion?

Difficulty Discovering Your Gifts?

Most gifts are obvious, such as singing, but the less obvious ones, like being a great listener, can be discovered through self-analysis. There are tools, such as the Myers–Briggs personality test that can help you learn more about yourself. Although, I think you should take the results with a grain of salt.

Other ways in which you can discover more about yourself and your gifts is by learning about the saints. What saint or saints do you relate the most to?
Additionally, your passions can help you discover your gifts too, and by knowing both, your gifts and passions, you can discover more about your vocation.

4 Questions To Help You Discern

Fr. Mike Schmitz talks about 4 questions that can help us discern. I'm going to be going through these briefly because I think they are very helpful.

Is this a good door?

God has given us the 10 commandments, does this choice break one of the 10 commandments or is it immoral in some way?

Is this door open for me?

As a computer science student, I don't think being a doctor is a door that is open for me. In the same way, is the door you're considering open for you?

Is this a wise door?

Think of your goal, is it wise to take this door or would it stray you away from that goal?
For example, using the previous example, it would be unwise for me to pursue a career in medicine.

Is this a door I want to take?

As I've mentioned before, God gave us freewill, it is up to you to determine if you want to take this certain path. Take responsibility in your choice, but know that even if you made the wrong choice God will always provide a way back to get on track.

Other Ways To Fulfill Our Daily Vocation

Pick Up Your Cross

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me..." (Mat 16:24)

...deny himself...

Denying yourself does not mean making your life harder, or doing some huge sacrifice. There are times when your wants and God's wants align.
Having said that, there are also times when your wants do not align, and it is in those moments that you must deny yourself so you can say yes to Him.

...take up his cross...

There are two ways of carrying your cross, actively and passively.

Active Sanctification

Active sanctification is saying yes to the things you've chosen.

  • You've chosen to study in college -> say yes by being a good student
Passive Sanctification

"My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will." (Mat 26:39)

Passive sanctification is saying yes to the things you did not choose, such as an illness or a job you dislike.
However, this doesn't mean that you should take a fatalist approach to life and say "I guess this is what God wants so I don't do anything about it". Instead offer up that suffering to God, but continue to find a way to overcome that suffering or situation.

"...but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Mat: 26:25)

Jesus didn't say "whoever loses his life to look tough will find it"
Taking up your cross and saying yes to that sacrifice is not about being tough. It is about doing it with Jesus and for Jesus.

Final Words

Be Thankful

As students, sometimes it is easy to get lost with everything that is going on around us, but I believe it is important and incredibly helpful to remember to live in the present.
Be thankful and grateful for the things that come from and through God.

  • "Thank you Lord that I got to school on time despite the traffic on Texas Ave"
  • "I'm so thankful to God that I was able to finish this presentation on time"
  • A king’s secret should be kept secret, but one must declare the works of God and give thanks with due honor. Do good, and evil will not overtake you. (Tob 12:7)

Glorify God By Your Life

"Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father". - Mat 10:32-33

Don't be afraid to pray in public before eating or giving thanks to God. Live a good Catholic life, remember that at the end of Mass we hear "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life. Remember to use your gifts for good, but remember to beware of pride and virtue signaling.

Be Consistent

Although this may be obvious, we tend to forget that there are highs and lows in everyday life and in our vocation.
For example, in our vocation as students, there are times when school gets incredibly difficult, but that doesn't mean that it's a sign that we're in the wrong path. Or maybe you've recently been struggling at work, this doesn't mean that you're in the wrong path. However, it should be noted that this shouldn't be used to justify a toxic workplace, or a harmful path, use common sense to determine if you're actually in the wrong path.

Consistency helps us stay on the right path even when it's hard, and it also helps us grow in faith.
It is easy to follow God when we are feeling good, but we must be consistent and follow God when we're feeling down too.

Remember, never change your course in desolation, when you knew this was your course in times of consolation.

End

Jesús se acercó a ellos y, tocándolos, les dijo: "Levántense, no tengan miedo" - Mt 17:7
No tengan miedo de seguir su vocación diaria, Dios no nos da una vocación que nos haga miserables. El quiere que seamos felices, confía en Dios y no te preocupes.

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Pub: 12 Sep 2022 15:57 UTC

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