prayer & discernment MY BEST word to describe discerning or finding one’s vocation in life is fit.
Vocation: A common calling with unique twists Finding your vocation in life means discerning what works together for your wholeness and holiness.
BY
FATHER DICK SPARKS, C.S.P.
D
O I HAVE a religious vocation?” Of course you do! But it may or may not be to priesthood, the convent, monastery, or religious life. Everyone has a vocation, a calling from God. In one sense it is a universal calling—to wholeness, holiness, health, and fulfillment. In another sense, your particular vocation in life is unique to you. At one time I was very suspicious of folks who’d talk about having a dream or a vision in church or just an overwhelming feeling of peace coming over them as some vocational decision was made. Now I’ve become more respectful that vocational calls come in a variety of ways. Most of the time a person does not have a vi-
Father Dick Sparks, C.S.P. is a Paulist priest ordained in 1978 and loving every minute of it. 28
07pp01-93.indd 28
sion of angels hovering over one’s bed or hear voices from the bell tower. Joan of Arc did. But most of us aren’t Joan of Arc or Saint Francis of Assisi.
A good fit My best word to describe discerning or finding one’s vocation in life is fit. Does this particular way of life, lifestyle, or kind of work fit me and my personality? That’s true of the decision to be married or single. It’s true of the decision to go on for higher education or technical schooling or right into the job market. How does each of the options “feel”? What do I “think” will make me happiest? I don’t mean happiness in a simplistic, smiley-face sort of way. But what job or career or lifestyle will give me peace, a deep-down sense that I am where I belong, that I make a difference? This is also true about a church vocation—the calling to be a priest, a VISION 2007
VocationGuide.org
6/8/2006 9:15:56 AM
