What do you think of when you hear the word “vocation”? Is it a church word that is distant from your everyday life? Or perhaps you think it only has to do with clergy. You might not associate “holiness” with “vocation,” so permit me to reflect with you on the connection between them.
Every Christian vocation starts with the awareness of and personal encounter with our loving God. Through Baptism, we are united to Christ and begin our life in him. If you’ve followed my other articles, you’ll recall that in April, I wrote in depth about how the core of our faith is a heart-to-heart friendship with Christ. If vocation comes from vocare, a Latin verb meaning “to call” or “to be called,” Jesus is the source of our calling.
In the book of Samuel, we see that when God calls Samuel, he has that personal encounter with God. But what happens next? Samuel needs guidance from someone who knows how to recognize God’s voice. Eli helps him and Samuel responds with obedient listening before entering into service to God’s people. God has a call to Samuel’s life, just as he has one to yours and mine.
What, then, is a vocation? It’s not simply an occupation or job to take up, but a response to the one who calls us. The Catechism of the Catholic Church outlines our common vocation as disciples: a call to “holiness and to the mission of evangelizing the world.” Rooted in Baptism and strengthened through Confirmation and the Eucharist, this common vocation to holiness is lived through our particular vocation and expressed in the way we respond to God in our daily lives. In essence, vocation means making room to hear God’s voice and responding to what he asks of us. Simple enough — but challenging in practice.
If we look to the Blessed Virgin Mary, we find some of the best advice we will ever need in her words in Sacred Scripture: “His mother said to the servers, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” (Jn 2:5) What should our response be, then, but to do whatever Jesus tells us?
Pope Francis spoke beautifully about vocation in his message for the 60th World Day of Prayer for Vocations in 2023. He noted that our common vocation is expressed concretely when we give ourselves in love. What does that look like in day-to-day life? It is the married couple dedicated to raising the domestic church, the consecrated men and women proclaiming the Kingdom of God and the ordained ministers who serve the People of God through the sacraments. It is also found in the single life, whether chosen or shaped by circumstances beyond one’s control. Single people have the freedom to respond to the needs of the world around them, and as the Catechism reminds us, hold a special place in Jesus’ heart. (CCC 1658) Pope Francis adds, “Only in relation with all the others, does any particular vocation in the Church fully disclose its true nature and richness. Viewed in this light, the Church is a vocational ‘symphony,’ with every vocation united yet distinct, in harmony and joined together in ‘going forth’ to radiate throughout the world the new life of the kingdom of God.”
This vocational symphony reminds us that every calling contributes to the life and mission of the Church. The Church grows stronger when each of us responds faithfully to God’s call.
Pope Leo XIV reflected further on this connection during his remarks for the 63rd World Day of Prayer for Vocations, saying, “Indeed, more than goodness, the distinctive trait of the saint is the luminous spiritual beauty that radiates from his or her life in Christ. In this way, the Christian vocation reveals itself in all its depth as a participation in the life of Jesus, by sharing in his mission and reflecting his beauty.”
That beauty becomes visible when we are attentive to the present moment and to the ways God is at work in our lives. How often have you thought, “I would be happier if …” and then filled in the blank with something you believe is missing from your life? Life has peaks and valleys, but wherever we find ourselves, we can ask how to meet the moment with faith and love, remaining attentive to God’s presence.
In September, I had the distinct privilege of attending the Mass of Beatification for Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. His beatification was a pivotal moment in the Church in America as he became the first U.S.-born bishop to be declared blessed (abbreviated as “Bl” in subsequent references). He was well known as an orator, and his show “Life Is Worth Living” — watched by millions each week — brought him widespread recognition. He won an Emmy, competing against the likes of Lucille Ball, Arthur Godfrey and Edward Murrow.
Perhaps the most meaningful affirmation of his life’s work came from St. John Paul II. During a papal visit in 1979, Pope St. John Paul II told him: “You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are a loyal son of the Church.” Bl. Sheen died only two months later. He had used his gifts to lead others to Christ, and his words continue to encourage us on our own journeys toward holiness: “It does not require much time to make you a saint; it requires only much love.”
Bl. Fulton J. Sheen responded to God’s call and lived out what Pope Leo said about vocations: that it is “not a fixed point, but a dynamic process of maturation sustained by intimacy with our Lord. To grow in one’s vocation means being with Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit to act in our hearts and in the circumstances of life, and reinterpreting everything in light of this gift.”
Let Jesus be the source of your life. Follow his call and let him lead you in your vocation -— a path that gives your life direction and opens it to service. As you abide in Christ and pursue holiness, may you then “bear much fruit.” (Jn 15:5)
How is God calling you today — and every day?
