Vocations

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” (St. Augustine)

“You did not choose me, but I chose you.” (John 15:16)

 

You are not the product of random chance or fate. You have been created for a purpose. God has a mission for you that only you can accomplish.  Do you know what it is?

“VOCATION” means that God is calling you to a particular way of serving him. Are you listening to what he is saying?

“DISCERNMENT” is that process of listening and trying to find out what God is saying, what God is asking of you.

“PERSONAL IDEAL” is a concept within the spirituality of the Schoenstatt Movement. It refers to what God envisions you to be when you become totally configured with Jesus Christ.

Who is going to tell you who you are? It should probably be the person who knows you better than anyone else. The person who knows you better than you know yourself. That person is GOD.

 

STATES OF CHRISTIAN LIFE

Each of us has a special, very personal mission. But normally, that mission forms part of one of the wider “states of Christian life”:

– consecrated life: a life of undivided self-giving to God by professing and living perpetual virginity, poverty and obedience. There are many forms of consecrated life: vowed religious life, secular institutes, societies of apostolic life, consecrated virgins, and hermits.

– priesthood: ordained ministry of the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation, and of the word of God, acting in the person of Christ the Good Shepherd, Head of the Church. As a ministry of spiritual fatherhood, only males can be priests. Men belonging to the consecrated life can be ordained priests. Priests who do not form part of the consecrated life are called diocesan priests. In the Latin rite, both consecrated and diocesan priests are celibate; that is, they do not marry.

– diaconate: ordained ministry of service to the Church. Married men can become permanent deacons.

– marriage: being a visible sign of the love between Christ and His Church through a faithful and unbreakable union with one person of the opposite sex and through the procreation and education of children

– lay vocation: bringing the Gospel to the world in any field of work

 

HOW DO I FIND OUT?

The best way to find your vocation is to cultivate a deep relationship with God the Father, with Jesus Christ, and with the Holy Spirit. Someone who is discerning their vocation should:

– Go to Mass frequently. If possible, every day.

– Go to confession. Once a month is a good norm.

 – Participate in Eucharistic adoration. Personal, silent pray time is essential to hearing God’s voice. If it is done in the real presence of Jesus, better still!

– Consecrate yourself to the Blessed Mother. She fulfilled her vocation better than anyone. She can help you to fulfill yours.

– Do spiritual reading. Mediate on Holy Scripture. Examine the biblical commentaries of Church Fathers. Rumiate on the writings of the great Catholic spiritual masters like St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Francis de Sales, St. Ignatius of Loyola…

Someone looking to hear God’s voice should also be sure to keep the Commandments and grow in virtue, especially faith, humility, and charity. Sin makes us spiritually blind and deaf!

Get good advice! Ask someone with experience in the spiritual life to help you. Engage in spiritual direction.

Learn more! Visit religious communities and seminaries. Talk to Vocations Directors.

 

Schoenstatt spirituality intuits that God comunicates his will to us in three ways, which we call “voices”:

– The voice of the soul; When God speaks, normally a deep interior peace enters our heart.

– The voice of the times: God also reveals his will through the events of life.

– The voice of being: Our identity, personality, temperament… All of this also tell us something about what God wants from us.

 

 

ARE YOU CALLED TO BE A SERVANT OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST AND OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY?

The Servants of the Holy Eucharist and of the Blessed Virgin Mary are a Community of vowed religious men. Many of those who enter our Community are eventually ordained priests.

Please browse our website to find out more about our charism and mission in the Church.

If you feel that God is calling you to our way of life, please let us know using this website’s contact form.