By Josh Low
Vocation
Noun (from Latin vocātiō, meaning ‘a call, summons’)
- A divine call to God’s service or to the Christian life.
- A function or station in life to which one is called by God: religious vocation; the vocation of marriage.
What do we mean when we speak of vocation? The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines it as ‘The calling or destiny we have in this life and hereafter. God has created the human person to love and serve him; the fulfilment of this vocation is eternal happiness (CCC 1, 358, 1700)’ with Christ calling all the faithful to the perfection of holiness (CCC825)
Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Perth, Fr Jean-Noël Marie and Team Leader of the Catechist Service Team at Catholic Education WA, Dr Pina Ford, discussed the topic of vocations and what it means for us in the world today with The Record journalist Josh Low.
Fr Jean-Noël says that each and every person through Baptism is invited to participate in our unique way of fulfilling God’s plan for humanity.
He added that when embracing our respective vocations in total freedom with trust and humility, it becomes for each one of us our unique path to heaven and enables us become truly and fully what God is calling us to; holiness.
When speaking of misconceptions on the idea of vocations, Fr Jean-Noël says one of the greatest misconceptions is limiting vocations to either the Priesthood or religious life.
“Marriage and the Single life are not often regarded as ‘vocations’ or even as holy as the Priesthood and the religious life,” he said.
“But Vatican II reminds us that the Single life, Marriage, the Religious life and the Priesthood are all respective paths to holiness.”
All the faithful, whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord, each in his own way, to that perfect holiness whereby the Father Himself is perfect. (Lumen Gentium, ch. 2, n. 11)
Another misconceived idea, Fr Jean-Noël says, is that Vocation to the Priesthood and the religious life are ‘holier calls; and hence God would only call those who are holy and perfect.
“One needs only to explore Sacred Scripture to discover that the twelve apostles that Jesus himself called were far from perfect.
“At all times it is the Lord himself who is at work through us, weak and fragile instruments of His Grace,” he said.
To discern God’s Will and our vocation, Fr Jean-Noël outlines that we need to ‘get to know ourselves better and need to be honest with ourselves.’
“We must examine our strengths, our gifts and talents, our temperament and inclinations, while also being conscious of our limitations. To achieve that we need to adopt a posture of humility like Mary did. ‘Let it be done to me according to thy word.’ (Luke 1:38)
“One must discern first and foremost through prayer and sharpening and developing a deeper sense of hearing, entering into an honest, deeper and more intimate relationship with Christ,” Fr Jean-Noël said.
He expressed that it is in that posture of humility and total surrender that one can hear with the ears of the heart, the gentle voice of Christ, rather than our own voice.
“We have to shift the focus away from ourselves to a point where it is no longer a question of what I want to do or become, but what the Lord is inviting me in total freedom to become.”
Both Fr Jean-Noël and Dr Ford emphasised the importance of listening to the people who know us the best – parents, teachers, friends, Parish Priests and Spiritual Directors, asking them for their opinion and advice and then praying about it and keeping an open mind humbly at all times.
Dr Ford added that it takes ‘a great deal of Ignatian type trust’ that God’s desire for us and our deepest desire for ourselves align.
“This sort of trust helps us take some of the inevitable risks and do some of the hard work that may be needed to follow our vocation,” she said.
“The main obstacle I think is not knowing ourselves well enough. It may be that we then make choices to fill some need, or to compensate for some pain that we haven’t really come to terms with.
Dr Ford said the society we live in makes it difficult for young people to properly discern their path in life and the faith.
“Society offers only a limited understanding and at its most shallow, doesn’t operate from the basis of what is sacred and enduring but rather from a basis of economics, power and status.
“These things don’t have much to do with the purpose and meaning of life. Despite all the ‘individuality’ espoused in our time there is still a strong requirement – especially for young people, to comply in how they think, look and what they do,” she said.
“There is a great need for courage and personal commitment to vocational discernment.”
Fr Jean-Noël emphasised the importance of journeying with other like-minded Catholics along the road of discernment.
‘’Discernment should never be a personal endeavour but a communal journey. We belong to a faith community and it is from within that community that our vocation finds its meaning and its purpose.”
However, he believes that recognising one’s vocation in the context of today’s society requires conversion; a radical change of both our mindset and the way we view ourselves and the world.
“While the focus of choosing a thriving and successful career implies pursuing what would bring me the greatest success and amount of happiness, discerning our vocation is about focusing on the good of others,” he said.
“How can my life be of service and a contribution to healing, justice and peace in the community where God has planted me?”
He reiterated Dr Ford’s point, that there are many dissonant voices in society, in competition and contradiction to God’s will for us.
“Those voices are very alluring and very seductive. They all appeal to the self. They place us in the centre of the whole project.
“They promise us more comfort and recognition, more prestige and status. In the Western world our increasingly secular culture is becoming a formidable challenge to our traditional process of vocational discernment.
Fr Jean-Noël said we as Catholics must develop a more mature understanding of what each vocation entails, address and reduce the barriers and obstacles to embracing one’s vocations and make it clear to all that finding and embracing our respective vocations to serving and caring for the other is the only path to real happiness and peace.
“Gradually but gently the Lord takes us into the deeper waters of the many aspects of life experiences and our ultimate mission, whatever vocation it may be, remains that we are all called to be the light in the darkness and confusion of this world and to be the salt of the earth,” he concluded.