Catholic Vocation

CATHOLIC VOCATION

In the Catholic Church, vocation is a call to a state of life: Single Life, Marriage, Priesthood, and Religious Life.

• Knowing Your Gifts/Talents: Knowing your gifts/talents is paramount to discerning your vocation. Gifts of the Holy Spirit (of which we should have at least one) are Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord. Temperaments can help us discern our gifts/talents. What we enjoy doing at ease can tell us something about our gifts/talents. Our gifts/talents are the things we will exhibit as Priests, Rev. Sisters, Married persons, and Singles. Note that until you are able to discern your gifts/talents and be willing to groom or develop them, you are not yet mature to proceed on a given vocation.

 

• Single Life: Every baptized Christian is expected to remain single and chaste for life. For those who later choose to marry or become priests and religious, chastity is also demanded. Thus. every Christian is to be chaste as a single person, as a married person, as a priest, and as a religious. It is wrong to force any one to marry or to be a priest or religious. The single life is valid in its own right, and not inferior to the married, priestly or religious state. In fact, those who are single are called to be as dedicated to the service of God and humanity in their circular state as much as priests and religious are dedicated in their ecclesia life.

 

 

 

• Marriage:

(a) Knowing Yourself: The journey to marriage should begin with knowing your genealogy/lineage, temperamental strength and limitations, the values and vices you possess, your gifts/talents, and the way you have been nurtured by culture, religion, and society,

(b) Friendship: To be on the safe side, it is wise to choose who to date from among your friends.

(c) Dating: This gives you the opportunity to practically know who you are as you relate with the person you are dating, and the background and personality of the person you are dating. Proposing marriage or accepting a marriage proposal presupposes that you have (i) accepted the person you are dating as he or she is, (ii) you have identified her as your “helper” or (iii) you have identified him as a person your gifts/talents can help in fulfilling his dreams and aspirations.

• Courtship: This is intensified dating that should not last for more than 12 months. During this period, (i) marriage is planned and contracted, (ii) the size of the family is discussed, (iii) relationship with extended family members is discussed, (iv) finance and domestic duties are also discussed.
• Marriage: Christian marriage is one man and one woman (i) who took vows of “for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.” (ii) who have surrendered their rights over their bodies to their spouse as explained by St. Paul in 1Cor. 7: 3 – 7, (iii) who cannot divorce. Note that divorce is different from annulment and separation (1Cor. 7: 10 – 11), (iv) who are committed to providing for the family as providers or helpers, and (v) who have vowed to bring up the children God will bless them with in the love of God and neighbor.

 

 

• Priestly and Religious Life:

 

(a) Called: All those who entered the seminary (seminarians) or the religious life (postulants) are persons who believed that they have been called by God to live as priests or religious. They have at least a gift/talent or charism that they want to exercise as priests or religious.

(b) Called And Chosen: Seminarians who are eventually ordained as priests, and postulants who eventually take their first vows and profession (especially those who persevere to take their final vows) are believed to have been called by God, hence they were chosen for ordination or profession.

(c) Called But Not Chosen (The Ex-Seminarian/Sister): These are seminarians, postulants or novices who withdrew by themselves, or were asked by their formators or superiors, not to continue their journey to the priesthood or religious life. They are to discharge their gifts/talents or charisms in the circular word to the glory of God who called them in the first place.

 

 

Conclusion: A successful vocation (single, married, Priest or religious) is grounded on a deep and sincere love of God, an understanding of your gifts/talents and personality, and your ability to diversify your gifts/talents if you could not get married, or become a priest or a religious. Let the Holy Spirit help us to discern our vocation and sustain it. Amen.