Discern Your Vocation
A journey of listening, responding, and trusting God’s call.
“A vocation flows from the heart of God and blossoms in the good soil of faithful people.”
– Pope Francis
Called by God, Formed in Love
What Is Vocation?
Every Catholic has a vocation. In fact, as a member of the Church, every Catholic participates in the reality of “vocation” in three distinct but related senses.
Three dimensions of your vocation
First, there is the common Christian vocation that comes in Baptism. Our fundamental vocation, or call, is to be holy – to become saints! This can be expressed in various ways, but in general terms,it means loving and serving God and neighbor and helping to carry on the mission of the Church.
When people speak of “vocation,” they usually mean vocation in the second sense – state in life. Most Christians are called by God to the married state, and some are called to the state of single laypersons living in the world. But Jesus also chooses certain men to act in his Person through the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and the other sacraments; they are called to be priests. Others are called to a ministry of service as permanent deacons. And still others, both women and men, are called to what is known as consecrated life – a way of life marked by the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience – whose most familiar expression is religious life.
Vocation also refers to a “state in life” or a way of being Christian – priesthood, consecrated life, marriage, and dedicated single life. States in life are the special, lifelong settings in which people live the baptismal vocation and their call to holiness.
Finally, there is personal vocation. The personal vocation of each one of us takes shape in the unique combination of talents, personal characteristics, relationships and life circumstances – including both our common Christian vocation and our state in life – that point to the special role God wants us to play in his redemptive plan.
Father Mike Schmitz speaks about Vocation Discernment
Jul 1, 2015 Father Mike Schmitz
“What should I do with my life?” It’s a question on many hearts, maybe even our own. In this video, Father Mike Schmitz gives some direction that can lead to an answer for ourselves or someone we know. He shares how a vocation is more than just figuring out whether we’re called to married life or religious life, and it’s about more than just finding out what we like to do. As he breaks down three different types of vocation we all have, he draws a practical path we can follow to pursue holiness.
Listening for God's Voice
How Do I Discern?
Discernment is not deciding – it’s discovering.
Be open – Surrender your assumptions.
Pray consistently – Ask God what He desires for you.
Seek direction – Talk with trusted spiritual mentors.
Live your faith actively – Sacraments, Scripture, service.
Watch for signs – Interior peace, affirmation, clarity.
Take the next step – Seminary visit, retreat, or conversation.
Please contact Fr. Rob Renaud, Vocation Director for the Diocese of London.
"No vocation is born of itself..."
Words from Pope Francis
Excerpt from the 2014 World Day of Prayer for Vocations
“A vocation is a fruit that ripens in a well cultivated field of mutual love that becomes mutual service, in the context of an authentic ecclesial life. No vocation is born of itself or lives for itself. A vocation flows from the heart of God and blossoms in the good soil of faithful people, in the experience of fraternal love. Did not Jesus say: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35)?
Let us dispose our hearts therefore to being “good soil,” by listening, receiving and living out the word, and thus bearing fruit. The more we unite ourselves to Jesus through prayer, sacred Scripture, the Eucharist, the sacraments celebrated and lived in the Church and in fraternity, the more there will grow in us the joy of cooperating with God in the service of the Kingdom of mercy and truth, of justice and peace. And the harvest will be plentiful, proportionate to the grace we have meekly welcomed into our lives.”
Pope Francis.
World Day of Prayer for Vocations. May 11, 2014
Pray With Us
Prayers for Discernment
Let prayer guide your heart toward clarity and peace.
A Prayer for Vocations
Our Father in Heaven has called us each…to the place in which He can best satisfy His infinite desire to do us good.
My vocation is the one I love, not because I think it is the best vocation in the Church, but because it is the one God has willed for me.
If I had any evidence that He willed something else for me, I would turn to that On the instant.
Amen.
Thomas Merton ~~ No Man is an Island
Prayer for a Priest
No longer will I call you servants, but friends: For you know all things that I have done among you.
I will give you pastors according to my own heart.
And they shall feed you with knowledge and doctrine.
Let us pray. Father, for your glory and our salvation, you have appointed your Son Jesus Christ eternal High Priest.
Guide those he has chosen to be ministers of word and sacrament, and help them to be faithful in fulfilling the ministry they have received.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
A Prayer for Stewardship
God, make me a steward of your bounty.
Where there is need, let me see it;
Where there is abundance, let me share it;
Where there is time, let me spend it;
And where there is treasure, let me use it to your glory!
Amen.
St. Francis
Canticle of Mary (The Magnificent)
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.
Amen.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.
Amen.
(Taken from the Gospel according to Luke 1:46-55)
What's Next?
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Talk with Someone.
Speak to a Vocations Director
Attend a Discernment Retreat
Step away to listen deeply
Explore the Path to Priesthood
Learn what seminary life is like
If you live within the Diocese of London, please contact:
If you live outside the London area, please contact your local Vocations Director.
The Diocese of London Vocations Office
Father Rob Renaud, Director of Vocations
St. Peter’s Seminary
1040 Waterloo Street, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 3Y1
Local Phone: 519-432-1824 x204 or ask for Vocations Office
Toll Free: 1-888-548-9649 x204
Fax: 519-432-0964
Email: r.renaud@dol.ca