What Is a Vocation?

The root word for vocation is vocare, which is Latin for "to call." God has created each one of us for a particular calling or destiny in this life and the hereafter. Through the Sacrament of Baptism God calls each one of us to live out that calling in love, holiness and service to God and one another. The path we choose to follow is important, because by actively discerning God's call and responding, we will live our lives in true joy and fulfillment.

It is important to remember that a true vocation is an invitation from God to assume some responsibility to share in the mission of the Church. God never forces Himself upon us. The Lord constantly encourages, nurtures and pulls us in the direction we should be heading. If we truly listen with our hearts and not to our fears and doubts, the authentic invitation from God will be easier to know.

Some will live out their vocational calling in marriage and parenthood; some will remain single; others will be called to serve as priests or consecrated. Each call is unique and we are totally free to respond.

Learning what our specific vocation is requires a process we call discernment. It will be utilized at various stages in our lives and God will use others to assist us in that process.

What is most important is to actively seek from God what it is we are called to do.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives, and the one who seeks, finds; and the one who knocks the door will be opened."
Matthew 7:7-8