VOCATION...God's Plan for my life.

woman in gray sweater holding her face The word “vocation” comes from the Latin vocare (which means “to call”). Christians believe that God creates each of us with specific gifts and talents and “calls” us to put our gifts and talents to use in helping to build the Kingdom of God. As disciples of Jesus, we seek to follow the example of Jesus in living his own vocation: “….I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” (John 5:30) and in his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: “…Abba, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by; but not what I want ~ what you want.” (Matthew 26:39).

Healthy families encourage children to talk about their hopes and dreams for living as “saints,” that is, “adult disciples of Jesus”. Family conversations help children learn that real life saints spend their lives:

In loving service of one’s spouse and children.
In serving others as a member of a religious order.
In serving the Church as a priest or deacon.
In serving others as a single person: maybe never married or as a divorced or widowed person.

What is God calling me to do with my life and talents? [>A great short video to view!<] This discernment includes job/career planning and schooling and formation. My first jobs may include “on the job training”, but a career as an athlete, teacher, politician, scientist, farmer or construction worker will require me to put significant time and money into becoming successful at my job/career. Just wanting to Man wearing blue and black tops be a great lawyer or husband is not going to work! It is fair to assume that God’s calls most people to the vocation of marriage because most folks get married. But, if you think further, you know that our terribly high divorce rate indicates that too many of us enter into marriage without taking the time develop the kind of relationship skills needed for establishing and sustaining a holy and satisfactory lifelong marriage. Effective marriage preparation is a process that helps couples identify and share with one another the strengths and weakness they have each inherited from the families in which they grew up and use dialogue skills to become a couple who is able to respond to God’s calling to love God and one another and God’s people. It is serious work. But imagine what our world would be like if every married couple put as much effort into marriage preparation and marriage enrichment as they invest in taking care of their health and learning new career skills to assure their financial security.

If you have read this far, I hope that you will think about your personal processes of discerning your vocation. Here is a question for you: How can I best answer God’s Call to live a life of love and service to God and God’s people? I hope that your experience of friendships and dating will be a part of your personal effort to discover whether you are best suited to live as a disciple of Jesus by choosing the path of CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE (which could include ordination as a permanent deacon) or the path of PRIESTHOOD or the path of RELIGIOUS LIFE or the path of living as a SINGLE PERSON (who may be widowed or divorced).