Vocation
To be a Christian is to be called. My baptism inserts me into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This means that that I am called to share in his mission. St Paul reminds us of this in his second letter to the Corinthians 5: 18-20“And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; ….It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ.”There are many different ways, as there are different gifts, of living this basic Christian vocation of being an ambassador for Christ. I am called to discover my personal vocation within my Christian vocation for there is a role that is uniquely mine in spreading the Gospel.
How do I discover my vocation?
One way to make a start is to reflect on the story of your own life. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where there have there been significant changes in the way you think, the way you live and in your priorities? What brought about the changes – some one you met, something you heard or read or an event?These changes, when you have seen things differently, done something or stopped doing something are moments of grace. Moments when God has touched your heart, though you may not have recognised it at the time. If you look carefully you may be able to notice a pattern in the way God is leading you. Nothing happens by chance. Your gifts, your attractions, your circumstances are all pointers.
When you think you have some idea of where God is calling you, research the options. Talk about them with a wise person, weigh up the pros and cons and then make a tentative decision in your mind. Live with that decision for a while; notice if it brings you peace. Peace is the gift of the Holy Spirit which indicates that you are on the right track. This does not mean that you may not feel a certain apprehension about what the decision might cost you.
If you do not experience peace, go back to prayerfully reflecting on your story. Continue to ask the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If you think that God is calling you to total consecration to him in Ursuline religious life, go to the Ursuline page in this blog and follow the links given there.
Vocation wordle
A wordle is a word cloud, see below for one based on the text of this vocations page. You may like to create your own, as an aid to reflection. Type in the words that are important to you, and see what your own wordle looks like. For a link to wordle click here
