Vocations: How is God Calling You?

Today during our Credo discussion after Mass this Sunday, we will be talking about vocations. “Vocation” means “calling,” and in a Catholic context, it can be a pretty heavy term. How is God calling you to serve Him? To serve others? What is the direction and purpose of your life meant to be? People who take this question seriously (as we should) can sometimes be filled with anxiety about making the “wrong choice” when it comes to their vocation. What if I choose a path that’s not the one God has in mind?

It’s important to approach the way we discern our particular vocation in terms of what the Second Vatican Council calls our “universal call to holiness” (Lumen Gentium 5). The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the common vocation of all Christ’s disciples” is “a vocation to holiness and to the mission of evangelizing the world” (CCC 1533).

To be holy is to be like God, who is holy. And God is love (1 Jn 4:8). So if we have a universal vocation to holiness, we have a universal vocation to love. Our particular vocation in life gives a context to how we are to live out that universal vocation.

In terms of vocational discernment, the best thing one can do is to focus on growing in holiness and learning to love as God loves. In so doing, your particular vocation will be made manifest.

A few months ago I wrote a short series of articles for the Catholic News Herald (the official newspaper of the Diocese of Charlotte) on vocations. In light of our discussion this evening on vocations, I thought they would serve as a good reference point.

If any student would like to speak more about discerning a vocation, I welcome them to schedule a time to speak with me. You can also contact Fr. Brian Becker, diocesan vocations promoter, at bjbecker@rcdoc.org or 704-370-3351.