2008 Woodie Awards
Is God Calling You
The Gift of Vocation
Curt Seidel
Issue date: 12/1/07 Section: Faith
Is God calling you? This is a pretty typical line for any vocation director to ask, and the proper response is yes. It's yes, not just if you think you are called by God to be a priest or a nun, but it is also yes if you think your supposed to be a husband, wife, or even a single person. So often today Catholics consider the concept of having a vocation to be limited only to those called to the priesthood, or maybe to being a consecrated brother or sister, but in truth a vocation is so much more than just these few things.
Vocare, for those of you who haven't had the opportunity to take Fr. Krall's Latin class, means to call, and that is exactly what God does for each and every one of us. This call begins at our baptism and continues through our entire life; the most basic aspect of this call is the same for all people: holiness. That is, to be like God, and thereby be united with God for all of eternity.
Within this single vocation, all people are called to similar virtues such as Faith, Hope, and Christian Charity. However, these are not all expressed in the same way each person has been given specific gifts and areas of expertise in which they are best suited to exercise this universal call to holiness. This is where the idea of a specific vocation comes in. Everybody is called to exercise this universal vocation to holiness in different ways, each according to their gifts. There are three main stations in life within the Church: married life, religious life, and single life.
Most of us right now are exercising the vocation of single life. What this means is that we don't have the responsibilities of providing for and raising a family. Nor do we have the responsibilities of religious life. This, in turn allows for us to engage in great works of mercy, whether corporal or spiritual, in our lives. While most of us are only temporarily called to live this life, there are some of us for which this semblance of a lack of attachments will enable them to more fully exercise God's plan in their life.
Vocare, for those of you who haven't had the opportunity to take Fr. Krall's Latin class, means to call, and that is exactly what God does for each and every one of us. This call begins at our baptism and continues through our entire life; the most basic aspect of this call is the same for all people: holiness. That is, to be like God, and thereby be united with God for all of eternity.
Within this single vocation, all people are called to similar virtues such as Faith, Hope, and Christian Charity. However, these are not all expressed in the same way each person has been given specific gifts and areas of expertise in which they are best suited to exercise this universal call to holiness. This is where the idea of a specific vocation comes in. Everybody is called to exercise this universal vocation to holiness in different ways, each according to their gifts. There are three main stations in life within the Church: married life, religious life, and single life.
Most of us right now are exercising the vocation of single life. What this means is that we don't have the responsibilities of providing for and raising a family. Nor do we have the responsibilities of religious life. This, in turn allows for us to engage in great works of mercy, whether corporal or spiritual, in our lives. While most of us are only temporarily called to live this life, there are some of us for which this semblance of a lack of attachments will enable them to more fully exercise God's plan in their life.
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