Discerning one's vocation in life can be an intimidating undertaking...or it can be the adventure of a lifetime!  It's all in how we approach it.  Standing at any crossroads - particularly one which involves commitment - can be scary.  What is needed is trust, prayer, a willingness to listen, and the will to follow the Lord's bidding. 

You may be tempted to ask yourself..."I am praying.  I am open to whatever God wants.  Why am I still afraid?  What can't I stop all the questions that rise up in my heart?" Such fear and such questions are normal.  THESE QUESTIONS ARE NORMAL.  And dare we say, NECESSARY.  Such questions allow you to delve deeper into the meaning of your life, of your mission, of Christ's Life, and of Christ's Mission.  Such questions play an important part in this soul-searching and life-changing adventure.  But these questions cannot remain forever unanswered.  They must be resolved, so that God's Will can be embraced in both maturity and freedom. 

Such questions were the inspiration for this website.  Such questions can, will, and must be answered.  It is our firm prayer that these answers will help to guide and direct you toward fulfilling the mission that God has entrusted to you. 

"And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and He gives you everything. When we give ourselves to Him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen."
 

- Pope Benedict XVI

 

"God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission... I have a part in a great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling." 

- Venerable John Henry Newman

What is a vocation?  The Catechism 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 fulfillment of this vocation is eternal happiness.  Christ calls the faithful to the perfection of holiness.  The vocation of the laity consists in seeking the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God's Will.  Priestly and religious vocations are dedicated to the service of the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation."
 

All of us have a vocation to follow Christ by living out the maxims contained in the Gospel (a.k.a. evangelical living).  Yet, some souls are called to follow Christ by living according the greater demands of the Gospel...they are called to total consecration to Christ and His Church

 

What is a call? Sr. Evenlyn Ann Schumacher, in her book An Undivided Heart, aptly says that "a call from God can capture anyone, anywhere, at any time in life.  It is a moment of singular and significant importance.  Such a call is a personal summons from God Himself;  its purpose is to accomplish the Divine Will.  The explanation of the divine choice is love.  No merit, no excellence can earn a call from God: ...'the Lord set His love upon you and chose you.  Accordingly, the person called becomes involved in an assignment directed by God Himself."

The remainder of this site is set up to answer some of your questions and to give you an avenue for asking whatever questions might remain!  So poke around with a spirit of prayer and openness to whatever God is asking of you.  Poke around with this in mind: We all want to hear the call of a clear and sure trumpet when seeking God's Will...but more often, He speaks to us in the 'still, small voice'!

The first step toward understanding the meaning of a 'call' is to recognize Who it is that is calling:  Jesus Christ...our God Who is Love, Who is Truth, Who is all Beautiful...Who 'needs' our hands and Who 'needs' our hearts to do His work of saving souls.

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"To all people of today I once again repeat the impassioned cry with which I began my pastoral ministry: Do not be afraid!  Open, indeed, open wide the doors to Christ!  Christ knows 'what is inside a person.'  Only He knows.  Today too often people do not know what they carry inside, in the deepest recesses of their soul, in their heart.  Too often people are uncertain about their sense of life on earth.  Invaded by doubts they are led into despair.  Therefore - with humility and trust I beg and implore you - allow Christ to speak to the person in you.  Only He has the words of life, yes, eternal life.  Opening wide the doors to Christ, accepting Him into humanity itself poses absolutely no threat to persons, indeed it is the only road to take to arrive at the total truth and the exalted value of the human individual." - from John Paul II's On the Vocation and Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and the World

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