Vocation is a Dialogue

Every Vocation is part of a divine plan. From all eternity, since we began to exist in the plan of the Creator, He also willed us to be “called.” “In the hidden recesses of the human heart, the grace of a Vocation takes the form of a dialogue. It is a dialogue between Jesus Christ and an individual in which a personal invitation is given. Jesus calls the person by name and says: ‘Come.’ This call, this mysterious inner voice of Christ, is heard most clearly in silence and prayer. With a burning heart, in conversation with the Lord, perhaps some of you have noticed that Jesus is asking more of you” (Pope Saint John Paul II). As the soul makes space for the voice of her Lord, she begins to echo the Song of Songs, “show me your face; let me hear your voice,” and the inner unseen dialogue between the soul and God becomes incarnated in an exterior manifestation (Song of Songs 2:14). This is when the discerner finds the person or community to whom she is called.

As with the call to marriage, the process of discernment with a Religious community is one of mutual discernment between the discerner and the community. When a young woman comes to know this call to give her life completely in love to God, she is drawn to follow a particular charism of a religious institute. If the discerner is called to a particular community, the community’s particular charism will manifest for the discerner that voice and face of the Lord, which she has already come to sense and love in her soul. Similarly, the discerner will show a freedom in the charism, in such a way as to be enlarged by it, and to even magnify it, in her responsiveness. Every vocation is a gift from the Lord, and it is the most beautiful, liberating and life-giving grace. Do not be afraid to respond generously to the Lord’s most generous love for you.

Is the Lord Calling you to Religious Life?

Tips for Discerning your Vocation

A Letter to Parents.