ARTICLE BY REV. SR. MARGRET KABASIZA CSC FORT PORTAL DIOCESE.
The word Vocation comes from the Latin word Vocare which means to “call” in order to do something.
A vocation is a call from God who created us for a PURPOSE and MISSION to be fulfilled in a specific way, place and time. Everyone has a vocation and everyone is created for a purpose.
Every vocation is a free gift from God. God invites us; he purposes to us and then patiently waits for our answer. Our vocation has been planned by God from all eternity; therefore our duty is not so much in taking our own decision, but in searching for it, trying to discover it through prayer, but not through the influence of others.
Love and Service are two important and fundamental characteristics of every Vocation; a call to love and serve others and never to please ourselves. Every Vocation therefore, requires a great deal of self-reliance and self-giving whether we are speaking of marriage, consecrated life or celibate life. The Bible gives us many examples of people called by God. From these we realize that God does not call us all the same way.
We do not have expect that we too are going to be thrown from the horse or hear a voice from the sky calling us to live out a particular vocation, but God does act and speaks to us from within, in the course of our lives, through events and people. He speaks gently, kindly and silently. He does not make noise and He will never force anybody to accept his call. We are free to accept it or reject it, but we are obligated to. What is important is to open our hearts and minds and listen to the voice of the Lord in Prayers, meditation and discernment.
In discernment journey it’s normal to experience confusion but not good to stay in confusion seek for guidance from those who have lived the life you are aspiring to live. A live experience to me was I had loved to be a religious sister since childhood but during the course of searching which congregation is fit for me and after getting it finally the confusion came in and many voices were coming from different corners of the world and I was confused which voice to follow . Then I gave up of becoming a religious sister and I went for further studies still the idea of becoming a sister was whispering to me whenever I am alone but I could attend seminars and approach priests and religious sisters at school and share with them about what I was going through and they could tell me pray over it you will find a solution. Indeed the God was still on my side the only solution was to wait patiently in prayers, read spiritual books, ask for advice and guidance from competent people through all these I found a meaningful vocation for me.
My dear readers of this article, a true call to any vocation follows the natural process of human growth , in discovering one’s vocation , we ought to inculcate the virtue of patience because it is a whole process that may take a longer time than we expect. The following points that can be useful in discerning one’s vocation:
Become aware of your natural inclinations and desires.
Know about the different vocations in life by reading and sharing with those who happily live that vocation as well as attending seminars on this subject matter.
Know yourself as much as you can in order to discover your own personal gifts, talents, abilities and see if you are capable of living that kind of vocation. As Aristotle says “ where your talents and the needs of the world cross , there lies your vocation
Ask advice and seek guidance from someone who have lived the life you are desiring to live, be open to yourself and the person journeying with you.
5 Comments
So educative 🙏🙏
ReplyDeleteInspiring
ReplyDeleteThank you for this motivational message
ReplyDeleteThank you Sr. For such an inspiring message
ReplyDeleteWonderful
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