To discern a vocation is to discover the person God wants you to be. The first step is to take seriously that God has called you to be a baptised person. He called you to baptism so that you could grow in love and in holiness of life, not only for your own sake but for the sake of others to whom you are sent. You may be called to be their marriage partner or their priest or their religious sister, their teacher or their workmate or their boss. You are called to serve and to call others.
The key ways to discover that God is calling you to holiness are: the celebration of the sacraments, all of which flow from baptism; personal prayer, especially silent prayer when we invite God to speak to us; discovering the lives of the saints, the saints in scripture and the saints of modern times, who inspire us to live generously; trusting in God’s infinite goodness and in His will for us. Finally, good advice from a spiritual advisor can be a turning point for many people. All these can come together by going on pilgrimage or on retreat, moments when people can find themselves seized by the love of God in life changing ways. This can and indeed should take time!
Each state of life is demanding and people need help to discern to which of these Christ is calling them. We need to seek the Lord’s will throughout our lives.
“To be saints is not a privilege for a few but a vocation
for everyone.”
Pope Francis
“God calls all the souls he has created to love him with their whole being... But he does not ask all souls to show their love by the same works, to climb to heaven by the same ladder, to achieve goodness in the same way.
What sort of work, then, must I do? Which is my road to heaven? In what kind of life am I to sanctify myself?” Blessed Charles de Foucauld
If you have a vocation there are two signs that you have found where you are supposed to be. One is that you feel "at home" there. Secondly, you could feel overwhelmed! You are not going to be on your own. God is with you. God's grace is with you. It is going to take all you have and stretch and develop you beyond ever what you thought possible. God wants you to be a Saint; this is the challenge of a lifetime.
A vocation is not the same as a profession. You don't need to believe in God to choose a profession. A person can pick, choose and switch professions freely since the principal point of reference is his preferences, his own benefit and the opportunities he has. Rather, our vocation is God's will for us. The question when it comes to vocation is: What does God want? Not, what do I prefer?
Discernment (noun)
Latin dis, apart;
and cenere, to separate.
To discern means 'to set apart'.
