EXPLORE
LEARN
What do I need to know to get started?
To make a well-informed choice (especially when it comes to what we’re going to do with the rest of our lives), it’s best to know what we’re talking about before making a decision. So, let's break it down.
What is a Vocation?
At its most basic level, "vocation" comes from the Latin vocare meaning “to call.” If there is a call, there is someone calling and someone being called. In this case, God is the one calling and we are the ones being called. So a vocation is a call from God.
What is Primary Vocation?
Everyone is called to what the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the Primary Vocation.
This is holiness. This is living to the fullest. This is becoming a saint. This is getting to Heaven. At the core, this means living in relationship and union with God, who is love (1 John 4:8).
Every Christian is called to love God with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love their neighbor as themselves (Mark 12:29-30).
The fullness of life and love is perfectly symbolized in the Cross that hangs in every Church in the world.
What is Secondary Vocation?
Living and loving to the fullest is giving oneself over completely to God who then calls us to give ourselves completely to someone(s) in this world.
This is what the Catechism calls Secondary Vocation: the gift and opportunity from God to have someone(s) in your life for whom you get to live and die.
This Secondary Vocation comes in 3 forms:
1) in Holy Matrimony as a husband or wife to their spouse
2) in Holy Orders as a bishop, priest, or deacon to a parish or diocese
3) in Consecrated Life as a monk, nun, sister, brother, missionary, consecrated virgin, or hermit, given unmediated to Christ Himself
What's next?
Now that we know what the choices are, the logical next question is how do we know what God calls us to? This is where learning how to DISCERN comes in handy.
Now that we know what the choices are, the following question is how do we know what God calls you to? This is where learning how to DISCERN comes in handy.
Learn More:
-
About Consecrated Life:
-
About Sacraments of Holy Orders:
-
About Sacrament of Holy Matrimony:
