Vocations

 
The good news is that God has plans for us! Our interests and talents can lead us to the life that God has planned for us.  Sometimes we ask children the wrong question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  A better question is, “What did God create you to be?”  In short, the answer is A SAINT!  We were created to show forth the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26-27).  We are not just good in God’s eyes, but very good!  We have the capacity to know, love and serve God and—by His saving grace—to be happy with Him forever in Heaven.  Part of God’s plan for us is our work (hobbies & job occupations), and we need to prayerfully discern that call by listening to our hearts as well as the advice of trusted friends and family members. 

Another way in which we live out our baptismal call to holiness is by our state in life. We may actively seek to build up God’s Kingdom in the world as a layperson, either single or married. Or we may be called to dedicate our lives to Christ as clergy (deacons, priests or bishops of either diocesan ministry or religious orders) or consecrated men or women (monks, contemplatives, hermits, consecrated virgins, members of secular institutes, etc.). A helpful visual image of the array of possible vocations can be found at the Vocation Tree website.

Discerning our state in life requires prayer, attentive listening to our holy desires and willingness to listen to the wisdom of those who know us well. Plus, a little research doesn’t hurt either. It is hard to come to love something which you don’t know or understand. So here are a few web resources to consider:

The vocation of the laity can be lived out when one is single (as St. Paul spoke about dedication to the Lord in I Cor. 7:32-35) or through marriage and family life. The USCCB is the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, and the USCCB website has a number of vocational resources available: USCCB discernment resources
For Your Marriage – resources and support for Catholic marriages.

Diocese of Lansing Vocation’s Page - There are some excellent resources here: lists of the men’s and women’s religious communities within our diocese (with web links), information on the permanent diaconate, priesthood discernment questions, vocations stories, and information on the seminaries used by the Lansing Diocese, etc.

Catholic Religious Vocation Network – The “Vocation Match” tool is fun to try!
A Guide to Religious Ministries for Catholic Men and Women
US Association of Consecrated Virgins
US Conference of Secular Institutes

Our vocation isn’t about our profession or career path. Rather it refers to the very specific way God is calling us to love others. Although your specific calling will be unique to you, there are four ‘categories’ of vocation that the Church uses to help us discern God’s plan: marriage, single life, priesthood and religious life. In each of these four ways of life, God calls us to freely and generously respond to his call. By living out our vocation, we experience deep fulfilment and joy.
                                       

Does it all sound too confusing?

Vocation Definitions:Vocation means a call. It is God’s invitation, His call to each person to love and serve Him and His Church in a particular state or way of life. Each person's vocation flows from the grace of Baptism.
Discernment: When talking about discovering your vocation, discernment means the process of that discovery through prayer, reflection and discussion as to how God calls each person to love Him, whether as a priest, a consecrated religious man or woman, a married person or a consecrated single person.

Brother: Brothers live in religious communities. They take vows and promise to use their talents to serve God wherever the community decides they are needed. Brothers are not ordained.

Charism: Each religious community has a charism or unique way of returning God's love to Him and His people which manifests a particular attribute of God's being.

Apostolate: The type of work or mission of the order through which their particular charism is lived out.

Consecrated Life: A permanent state of life recognized by the Church, entered freely in response to the call of Christ to the perfection of love and characterized by the making of public vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Laity: People within the Church including religious brothers and sisters as well as all other single and married persons who are not ordained as bishops, priests or deacons are known as the laity or the lay faithful.

Secular Institute: Single lay men and women, and also some priests, belong to secular institutes. They make a commitment to live the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. Members do not necessarily live together as a community. Their goal is to be a transforming presence in society.

Holy Orders: The Sacrament by which the mission entrusted by Christ to His Apostles continues to be excercised in the Church through the laying on of hands. By receiving Holy Orders men become members of the ordained clergy - deacons, priests and bishops. All three confer a permanent, sacramental character on the man who is ordained.

Permanent Deacon: A degree of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, after bishop and priest. The permanent deacon is ordained for ministry, but not to the priesthood. He assists and preaches at Mass, baptizes and presides at weddings and funerals. They have jobs outside the Church to make a living. Men at least 35 years of age, married or single, may be ordained permanent deacons.

Transitional Deacon: Men who are called to the priesthood who are in the final stage of formation before being ordained as priests. They receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders and usually serve as deacons for one year before ordination to the priesthood. During their year as a deacon they continue their studies and serve in parish assignments.

Priest: A man is ordained to priesthood through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Together each man and the Church discern (discover) whether or not he is called to become a priest. Diocesan priests are called to serve the people of a particular diocese. Men called to be priests in religious orders belong to communities and in addition to receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders they also take vows of poverty, chastity and odedience (the three evangelical counsels).

Religious Life: Priests, brothers or sisters living in communities that embrace the spirituality, charism and teachings of the community’s founder call their way of life religious life. Members of these communities follow Jesus through taking vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. They grow in holiness through their gift of themselves to God and His people.

Religious Community: The founder of a religious community brings together a group of men or women who share the same charism and are dedicated to the same mission in the Church. These are religious communities of priests and brothers and communities of sisters. The apostolates of the communities vary according to their mission. Those dedicated primarily to prayer are contemplative communities; those who combine prayer with apostolic ministries are called active communities.

Postulant: The first formal stage of becoming a consecrated religious is called a postulant. The postulancy stage usually takes six months to a year.

Novice: A man or woman in the second formal stage of becoming a consecrated religious is called a novice. This stage of the novitiate usually takes one to two years.

Sister: Sisters belong to religious communities and are brides of Christ who are chosen by Him to love Him and serve His Church like His Mother Mary as virgins and spiritual mothers. They serve the Church in whatever ways their superiors decide is best given their talents and inclinations.

Nun: Nuns are sisters and brides of Christ who are called by Him to pray and serve the needs of the Church in a more hidden way. They live in cloistered communities and do not leave their convents for any outside apostolates.

Vows: Formal commitments made to God to follow Jesus in His poverty, chastity and obedience as members of religious communities. By the vow of poverty the members hold all things in common. The community takes care of each others' needs through the providence of God and their charity. The vow of chastity means that the member gives up the goods of marriage and marital relations for the sake of God’s kingdom. The vow of obedience allows the member of the community to imitate and share in Jesus’ obedience to His Father in order to accomplish His will. (Diocesan priests live the spirit of the counsels by promising to live in celibate chastity, obedience to their bishop and a simple life.)
 Rev. Mike Cassar
Chair of Vocations| Director of Seminarians
517-342-2507
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Dawn Hausmann
Director Consecrated Vocations, Young Adult Ministry | Del. Consecrated Life
517-342-2506
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Dcn. Ken Preiss
Director of Permanent Diaconate/ Prison and Jail Ministry
517-342-2451
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Dcn. Randy Desrochers
Director of Diaconal Formation
517-342-2571
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Dcn. Gene Leger
Associate Director of Diaconal Formation
517-342-2496
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Denise Dell'Acqua
Admin | Dept. of Vocations, Young Adult Ministry
517-342-2504
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