What is a Vocation?
A Vocation...
"Each baptised person is called to be a disciple which is accompanied by a responsibility to share in the church's mission."
A vocation is God's unique invitation, addressed to individual persons in which a free response is expected. This response is not a single act, but a life-long process, a journey of faith. We do not "have" a vocation; we discover how we "are" our vocation as we journey through life led by the Spirit.
An individual discovers their vocation at various stages of life and in relationship with others:
- when a person is loved and appreciated by others,
- when the person is attracted by the example of others,
- when the person becomes aware of the needs of others,
- when the person prays and meditates on the word of God.
As baptised Christians each of us is called to assist others to discover their vocation as we have been assisted on our faith journeys. Each of us is called to help make others aware of their personal richness, talents and human value, opening their eyes to the variety of lifestyles and then ministries within the Church.
We are to assist the young and the not so young in their search for who it is God wants them to be; to walk with them in faith, to pray with them, to guide them, to help them become aware of God's loving presence in their personal history in order that they might respond to the will/yearning of God in their own regard.
By whom am I called?
To whom must I ultimately submit my life? Who is this One who invites me into a loving relationship and calls me to be transformed in that love? What does this relationship mean for my life now and in the future? Or, put more simply, who is God and what place does God have in my life?
To what am I called?
What lifestyle and word best facilitate my vocation? What concrete circumstances in life should I choose - in so far as that it is reasonable and possible - to promote this loving relationship? To what extent does my current lifestyle reflect an awareness of vocation?
The Model
There are three levels of Vocation Ministry in the model that is used widely in the church today. Some of us are concerned with all three, others with one or two levels, depending upon our own ministry at the moment, lifestyle and interest.
General Vocation Ministry - fostering a sense of service to others and by our example providing models of adult Christian behaviour. This is based upon the understanding that there is a universal call to holiness by virtue of our Baptism and Confirmation and that our role in the world and the church cannot be replaced.
Particular Vocation Ministry - acknowledgment that we are all called to a particular style of loving as in marriage, religious life, single life or priesthood. Our task here and more especially the Catholic Vocations Centre, is to act as a resource, a clearing house for anyone looking at any of these particular expressions of response to the call of God. The Christian community in its entirety is responsible for the awakening, the discerning and the fostering of various vocations to the priesthood, the religious life and the active Christ-life for all age groups.
Specific Vocation Ministry - some individuals are called to very specific and unique expressions of consecrated and ordained life. It is normal for any congregation/diocese to make itself known and to encourage vocations to the specific group.
"Scripture narrates the history of salvation as a history of vocations, in which the Lord's initiative and people's response have become intertwined. In fact every vocation is born from the meeting of two freedoms: the divine and the human: Every vocation is a personal and unique event, but also a community and ecclesial event. No one is called to walk alone."
Pope John Paul II, World Day of Prayer for Vocations, 1997
Information on this page is courtesy:
www.catholicvocation.org.au