St. Monica Catholic Church

The first vocation, or calling, that we all have is to holiness: “This is the will of God, your holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). 

• Holiness is life to the full and the complete joy that will bring our hearts to rest (see John 10:10, John 15:11, and Matthew 11:30).

Part of answering this first calling to holiness is discerning our vocation- the particular way that God wants us to be holy. 

• Priesthood, consecrated life, and marriage are three ways of following the Lord in holiness. From all eternity, God has planned one of these vocations for you: “I know well the plans I have for you… plans for your welfare, not for your woe, plans to give you a future full of hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Another part of answering the first calling to holiness is praying for and promoting vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.

• Jesus felt compassion in His Sacred Heart when he saw that the crowds were like sheep without a shepherd, and then he told his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).
• In a letter to the Church in America, St. John Paul II wrote, “The entire People of God is responsible for promoting vocations, and does so chiefly by persistent and humble prayer for vocations.”

The resources below from the Diocesan Office of Vocations will help you to discern your vocation, pray for vocations, and follow wherever God leads.