Vocations Office, Diocese of St. Cloud

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud



	The Process of Discernment God is calling each of us to some special life work! This page will help you personally evaluate your own vocational calling . . . 1. Pray As a Catholic, in any discernment process, one must ask two questions about the ways that I pray: 1. Am I doing private prayer? Prayer which calls me individually into a deeper relationship with my Lord and Savior. Prayer that calls me to set time aside regularly so as to grow deeper in love with God. 2. Am I doing community prayer? Healthy, balanced prayer discernment as a Catholic cannot happen outside of my relationship with my community. Prayer calls me to set aside time each week to grow deeper with God in relation to my sisters and brothers in Christ. The normative experience would be at the Sunday Eucharist with my community. If you want to know what God wants, you have to talk to Him. You have to pray. God's will, His plan for us, does not happen without our freely chosen cooperation. To build a friendship with God works the same way that it does between two people who want to become friends. Talking, listening, spending time together, learning about each other, sticking it out in good times and bad: all of these are normal parts of a human friendship, why should it be any less with God? Prayer is, most simply put, talking with God. It is the form of communication that hooks us into the spiritual realm. Everyone knows about it at some level, whether they choose to admit to it or not, and usually, like every other skill in life, it takes practice to figure out how it works. So practice makes perfect fits well with this subject. If God designed it so that every person He creates has a unique personal vocation for this life, then certainly He must have the information on how we are to figure it out. A manufacturer always has a manual for his created machine. Prayer, then, is the way we communicate with God in order to learn what that special purpose is in our life. His plan will always be the perfect and most satisfying one for us. Many people are quick to believe that they can figure it out for themselves without the manual, but in the end they will never have mastered its use as much as if they had just patiently worked it out with God. If someone said they were going to buy a car but had never talked to the owner before buying it, we would say that person had made a poor decision. The same goes for learning about one's vocation. If we want the best and most fufilled life, we need to talk to the perfect creator and designer. 2. Study the Faith Each person should be able to say that they studied their faith, in at least, two different areas this week. Have I taken the time to nourish my faith or put myself in the places that will help me say yes to this question? Before buying a car, one should know something about cars. One does not need to know everything about the technical aspects of a car before making the purchase, but there are important pieces of information that are especially helpful for the future life that will be lived after that decision. Time should be spent studying so that one can feel comfortable that they are not getting into something way over their head or making a decision too quickly. The same applies to faith and vocation. Before making a decision to get married, become a sister or a priest, one should know more about their faith. Learning is a lifelong process and so is faith-building. We need not know everything there is to know, but there are lots of things that are helpful for living a Christian life. The more that one can study, the better off he or she will be when it comes time to make a choice. Not sure where to start? 1. St. Jerome, who translated the scriptures into Latin, once said, "if you are ignorant of the scriptures, you are ignorant of Christ." Correct! Pick up the Bible and start exploring it for prayer and knowledge. 2. Read the Cathecism of the Catholic Church. For less than $25 you too can own and read about the tradtions and the teachings of the Church. 3. Read about the lives of the Saints. 4. Go to mass, listen to the homily by the Priest and incorporate this into your life. 5. Go on Retreat. There are so many to choose from: TEC, Stuebenville, Lifeteen, Cursio, NET, NCYC, WYD, Castaways, Diocesan, confirmation or parish retreats. 6. Join Youth groups in the Parish. 7. Join a Catholic Bible study within your Parish. 8. Study the Sacraments especially the teachings on the Mass. 3. Know your options In order for you to focus on an option, one needs to know what they are. As a woman in the Church, you have 3 Vocational options: 1. Married life 2. Single life 3. Sisterhood (Nun) As a man in the Church, you have 5 Vocational options: 1. Married life 2. Single life 3. Priesthood 4. Brotherhood (monk) 5. Deacon If you want to be fulfilled in life, my advice is to choose one earlier than later. It would be foolish to look at only one advertisement in the paper if we were going to pick out a car. Instead, the smart thing to do would be to look at several ads, to visit and see several of them for yourself, and to then make an educated decision. 4. Affirm or eliminate options educationally After knowing about one's options, the next step is to begin to affirm or eliminate the options which support or are unsupportive of the result we want at the end. We are not able to choose and follow every single option, so at some point the options need to be slimmed down to a smaller and more selective group. This should be done after learning well each of the options, and then educationally eliminating those options which are not the best for what you think God is asking of you. God does want you to choose. Our Creator wants us to be happy. It would be easier if the Vocation Director chose it for you, but that is not how God intended it. God wants everyone to use his or her conscience and intellect to find out the best reasons to say yes or no. One of the signs is if we check an option out and we have a yearning for more. We feel inner peacefulness. We are interested in finding out for. Then this is an affirmation. On the otherhand, if we are frightened or feel uncomfortable or cannot see ourselves in that lifestyle, then it is a possible elimination. We need to find what matches the needs of our heart and mind. 5. What brings me peace? What hobbies or talents do I enjoy the most? What gifts has God blessed me with that give me peace. God does not give you gifts or talents or hobbies for your own glorification. He gives them to you so as to use them for the furthering of His Kingdom. God called the first disciples, who were fisherman, to learn to love, serve and know him and then they were sent to preach the Good news to fisherpeople amoungst others. God doesn't give you talents for you to hide or not use. So you must know that what you have is for a reason, use them. Secondly, I must ask. Can I do those hobbies or talents to the extend of my giftedness in the particular option that I am exploring? 6. What are others saying? Another important question steps outside of my own wants and desires and asks, “What are other people saying?” Do other people think I would make a good priest, a good nun, or good spouse? We live in community for a reason. Ask my classmates, my friends, my peers, my parents what they think? This may be the Lord's guiding hand in the discernment process. Often those closest to us have a good picture of who we are from an angle we are not used to seeing. A decision should not be made merely because a whole group of people think the same way, but it should not be left out of the process as a good indication of God's will. If anything it may be an encouragement by the Holy Spirit. An authentic call is not only from within but also a call from the community that I live with. Look into the Old Testament or the lives of many famous Saints who have been called to become the leaders out of a community. 7. Frequent reception of the sacraments The Church works as one giant spiritual machine built of the many people who live in her and those who are already in heaven. The Holy Spirit is the energy that drives her, and the sacraments are the oil that makes the parts work more smoothly, more effectively. The more often one receives the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation, the more smoothly the machine runs. That is why many saints have written over and over again of the importance of going to Mass and Confession frequently. Eucharist is the source and summit of who we are as Catholics. Pope John Paul II often suggested the need for reconcilliation and the eucharist to go hand in hand with each other as a means of acquiring the grace we need to continue on the path to holiness. The sacraments help to sanctify our lives, to make us holier and to build up good habits of holiness. The more we frequent the sacraments the more we learn about Christ and ourselves. The more we know about Christ, the more we are able to understand what a vocation is. The more we know about ourselves, the more we are able to understand how we fit into that vocation. 8. Ask the right questions to the right people Lots of people will give their “two cents” about car buying, but there are only a few people whose opinion has lasting value in my book. Likewise, when it comes to discernment, not everyone should be considered as the same valued resource. Talk to someone who lives as a faithful Catholic. Talk to someone who is married if you are considering marriage. Talk to a priest if you are considering priesthood. Talk to a Nun or sister if you are considering that vocation. You see the pros are living all around us. Listen and meditate on what is said. Don't be afraid to ask questions, but also try to have thoughts organized beforehand so that the person is not engaging in just idle chatter. 9. Listen to your conscience God gave us a conscience for a reason. It is meant to guide in decision making of big and little issues. It is what helps to discern good from bad and right from wrong. It is a gift from God that both aids us and binds us to His law of doing the right thing. One must always follow his or her informed conscience in the end. That being said, vocation discernment is not a simple yes or no answer for most people. Usually, it is clouded with a lot of other circumstances that seem to get in the way from finding a clear and obvious choice. Still, decisions must be made that are in line with one's conscience. In the end, God will judge by our faithfulness to His gift. An informed conscience knows the Catholic faith, is not based on just feelings, has done the research, and invoked the Holy Spirit for guidance. 10. Be Generous Generosity is a great virtue to build for someone who is looking to give his or her life over to God. In a world and culture that promotes self-satisfaction, the Christian stands out as one who is self-giving. Be open to giving talents and gifts to the needs of the Church. No matter what God's calling is for each of us, that unique call is first and foremost a gift of God to His Church, then it is a gift to us for our greatest fulfillment.. Every man or woman called to be a priest, monk or nun is called to be a gift to the whole Church. Every man or woman called to be a spouse is called to be a gift to his family and community. God asks everyone to accept His call, and then to generously return it back to Him in service. You do not own your talents, gifts, material goods, body, mind. They are merely on loan to you and God asks you to be a good steward of them. 11. Live healthy relationships A seed planted on dry ground will not take root, but a seed that falls on good soil will bear much fruit. A vocation cannot expect to take root in a lifestyle that is not Christ-like. Christians are called to live a different way of life than what is promoted by the world. Choices must be made to not participate in bad actions. It takes a great deal of strength to live a good Christian lifestyle without being tempted to falter in the small things. That is why it is also important to have friends and family members who will support the Christian way. Without them the journey is much more difficult. Good Vocations empower other vocations. Be sure to be living good healthy Christ like relationships with both men and women. 12. Get off the fence Some people like to try and keep every option open and available at all cost. That way they will not be pressured to quickly into making a decision they may one day regret. At some point, however, it is important to stop balancing on the fence and to make a decision. Otherwise an option may be put on hold for much longer than is necessary. A vocation entails certain doors closing and other windows opening. Those who choose to get married are also choosing to not marry everyone else. The door of single-hood closing does not mean that it was an evil way to live. Rather, it means that new opportunities for intimacy, a family, and happiness will be found that could not be found in the single life. For example, you can't get married if you don't get off the fence and date. You can't be a priest unless you first become a seminarian. You can't be a sister unless you check out a convent. You certainly can talk alot about a vocation. You certainly can pray alot about a vocation. But you really need to do some action step which means that you get off the fence and explore. 13. Leap of Faith/use the Holy Spirit When it is time to make a decision there will likely be the necessity of a Leap of Faith. God often wants to check to see how much we are willing to trust Him, especially in choosing a vocation. The Holy Spirit was left behind by Jesus to guide the Apostles for a reason. The same applies to us. The Holy Spirit is at our disposal in making decisions to follow God's will. This Gift is FREE! His will is not always clear, but by making a leap of faith it often becomes evident afterward. None of us know 100% of how life is going to turn out. 14. Know the Holiness of all Vocations Each of the five vocations is unique, special, and necessary for the Church: Married, Single, Monks, Nuns, and Priests. They each come with specific graces to help the vocation to excel in holiness for the greater honor and glory of God. It cannot be said that one vocation is greater than any other if compared by their potentials for holiness. We are all aiming for the same state of Holiness but we definitely are called to different degrees of service. We are equal but not the same. A mother of five children who helps each one of them to become little saints is just as capable of holiness as a nun who spends all day in a convent praying. Likewise, a nun is just as capable of sin as is a mother. It is important to remember that each person's vocation is pre-planned by God for the best happy ending. He knows what vocation each person will chose before it is chosen, and He is always looking out for the needs of His Church. Explore each possibility thoroughly to see if that particular lifestyle matches well to the person you want to become. Do not choose a vocation by what it will “get you”. Choose it by the plan God has for you.

The Process of Discernment

God is calling each of us to some special life work! This page will help you personally evaluate your own vocational calling . . .

1. Pray

As a Catholic, in any discernment process, one must ask two questions about the ways that I pray:

1. Am I doing private prayer? Prayer which calls me individually into a deeper relationship with my Lord and Savior. Prayer that calls me to set time aside regularly so as to grow deeper in love with God.

2. Am I doing community prayer? Healthy, balanced prayer discernment as a Catholic cannot happen outside of my relationship with my community. Prayer calls me to set aside time each week to grow deeper with God in relation to my sisters and brothers in Christ. The normative experience would be at the Sunday Eucharist with my community.

If you want to know what God wants, you have to talk to Him. You have to pray. God's will, His plan for us, does not happen without our freely chosen cooperation. To build a friendship with God works the same way that it does between two people who want to become friends. Talking, listening, spending time together, learning about each other, sticking it out in good times and bad: all of these are normal parts of a human friendship, why should it be any less with God?

Prayer is, most simply put, talking with God. It is the form of communication that hooks us into the spiritual realm. Everyone knows about it at some level, whether they choose to admit to it or not, and usually, like every other skill in life, it takes practice to figure out how it works. So practice makes perfect fits well with this subject.

If God designed it so that every person He creates has a unique personal vocation for this life, then certainly He must have the information on how we are to figure it out. A manufacturer always has a manual for his created machine. Prayer, then, is the way we communicate with God in order to learn what that special purpose is in our life. His plan will always be the perfect and most satisfying one for us. Many people are quick to believe that they can figure it out for themselves without the manual, but in the end they will never have mastered its use as much as if they had just patiently worked it out with God.

If someone said they were going to buy a car but had never talked to the owner before buying it, we would say that person had made a poor decision. The same goes for learning about one's vocation. If we want the best and most fufilled life, we need to talk to the perfect creator and designer.

2. Study the Faith

Each person should be able to say that they studied their faith, in at least, two different areas this week. Have I taken the time to nourish my faith or put myself in the places that will help me say yes to this question?

Before buying a car, one should know something about cars. One does not need to know everything about the technical aspects of a car before making the purchase, but there are important pieces of information that are especially helpful for the future life that will be lived after that decision. Time should be spent studying so that one can feel comfortable that they are not getting into something way over their head or making a decision too quickly.

The same applies to faith and vocation. Before making a decision to get married, become a sister or a priest, one should know more about their faith. Learning is a lifelong process and so is faith-building. We need not know everything there is to know, but there are lots of things that are helpful for living a Christian life. The more that one can study, the better off he or she will be when it comes time to make a choice.

Not sure where to start?

1. St. Jerome, who translated the scriptures into Latin, once said, "if you are ignorant of the scriptures, you are ignorant of Christ." Correct! Pick up the Bible and start exploring it for prayer and knowledge.

2. Read the Cathecism of the Catholic Church. For less than $25 you too can own and read about the tradtions and the teachings of the Church.

3. Read about the lives of the Saints.

4. Go to mass, listen to the homily by the Priest and incorporate this into your life.

5. Go on Retreat. There are so many to choose from: TEC, Stuebenville, Lifeteen, Cursio, NET, NCYC, WYD, Castaways, Diocesan, confirmation or parish retreats.

6. Join Youth groups in the Parish.

7. Join a Catholic Bible study within your Parish.

8. Study the Sacraments especially the teachings on the Mass.

3. Know your options

In order for you to focus on an option, one needs to know what they are.

As a woman in the Church, you have 3 Vocational options:

1. Married life

2. Single life

3. Sisterhood (Nun)

As a man in the Church, you have 5 Vocational options:

1. Married life

2. Single life

3. Priesthood

4. Brotherhood (monk)

5. Deacon

If you want to be fulfilled in life, my advice is to choose one earlier than later.

It would be foolish to look at only one advertisement in the paper if we were going to pick out a car. Instead, the smart thing to do would be to look at several ads, to visit and see several of them for yourself, and to then make an educated decision.

4. Affirm or eliminate options educationally

After knowing about one's options, the next step is to begin to affirm or eliminate the options which support or are unsupportive of the result we want at the end. We are not able to choose and follow every single option, so at some point the options need to be slimmed down to a smaller and more selective group. This should be done after learning well each of the options, and then educationally eliminating those options which are not the best for what you think God is asking of you.

God does want you to choose. Our Creator wants us to be happy. It would be easier if the Vocation Director chose it for you, but that is not how God intended it. God wants everyone to use his or her conscience and intellect to find out the best reasons to say yes or no. One of the signs is if we check an option out and we have a yearning for more. We feel inner peacefulness. We are interested in finding out for. Then this is an affirmation. On the otherhand, if we are frightened or feel uncomfortable or cannot see ourselves in that lifestyle, then it is a possible elimination. We need to find what matches the needs of our heart and mind.

5. What brings me peace?

What hobbies or talents do I enjoy the most? What gifts has God blessed me with that give me peace. God does not give you gifts or talents or hobbies for your own glorification. He gives them to you so as to use them for the furthering of His Kingdom.

God called the first disciples, who were fisherman, to learn to love, serve and know him and then they were sent to preach the Good news to fisherpeople amoungst others. God doesn't give you talents for you to hide or not use. So you must know that what you have is for a reason, use them.

Secondly, I must ask. Can I do those hobbies or talents to the extend of my giftedness in the particular option that I am exploring?

6. What are others saying?

Another important question steps outside of my own wants and desires and asks, “What are other people saying?” Do other people think I would make a good priest, a good nun, or good spouse? We live in community for a reason. Ask my classmates, my friends, my peers, my parents what they think? This may be the Lord's guiding hand in the discernment process. Often those closest to us have a good picture of who we are from an angle we are not used to seeing. A decision should not be made merely because a whole group of people think the same way, but it should not be left out of the process as a good indication of God's will. If anything it may be an encouragement by the Holy Spirit. An authentic call is not only from within but also a call from the community that I live with. Look into the Old Testament or the lives of many famous Saints who have been called to become the leaders out of a community.

7. Frequent reception of the sacraments

The Church works as one giant spiritual machine built of the many people who live in her and those who are already in heaven. The Holy Spirit is the energy that drives her, and the sacraments are the oil that makes the parts work more smoothly, more effectively. The more often one receives the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation, the more smoothly the machine runs. That is why many saints have written over and over again of the importance of going to Mass and Confession frequently. Eucharist is the source and summit of who we are as Catholics. Pope John Paul II often suggested the need for reconcilliation and the eucharist to go hand in hand with each other as a means of acquiring the grace we need to continue on the path to holiness.

The sacraments help to sanctify our lives, to make us holier and to build up good habits of holiness. The more we frequent the sacraments the more we learn about Christ and ourselves. The more we know about Christ, the more we are able to understand what a vocation is. The more we know about ourselves, the more we are able to understand how we fit into that vocation.

8. Ask the right questions to the right people

Lots of people will give their “two cents” about car buying, but there are only a few people whose opinion has lasting value in my book. Likewise, when it comes to discernment, not everyone should be considered as the same valued resource. Talk to someone who lives as a faithful Catholic. Talk to someone who is married if you are considering marriage. Talk to a priest if you are considering priesthood. Talk to a Nun or sister if you are considering that vocation. You see the pros are living all around us. Listen and meditate on what is said. Don't be afraid to ask questions, but also try to have thoughts organized beforehand so that the person is not engaging in just idle chatter.

9. Listen to your conscience

God gave us a conscience for a reason. It is meant to guide in decision making of big and little issues. It is what helps to discern good from bad and right from wrong. It is a gift from God that both aids us and binds us to His law of doing the right thing. One must always follow his or her informed conscience in the end.

That being said, vocation discernment is not a simple yes or no answer for most people. Usually, it is clouded with a lot of other circumstances that seem to get in the way from finding a clear and obvious choice. Still, decisions must be made that are in line with one's conscience. In the end, God will judge by our faithfulness to His gift. An informed conscience knows the Catholic faith, is not based on just feelings, has done the research, and invoked the Holy Spirit for guidance.

10. Be Generous

Generosity is a great virtue to build for someone who is looking to give his or her life over to God. In a world and culture that promotes self-satisfaction, the Christian stands out as one who is self-giving. Be open to giving talents and gifts to the needs of the Church.

No matter what God's calling is for each of us, that unique call is first and foremost a gift of God to His Church, then it is a gift to us for our greatest fulfillment.. Every man or woman called to be a priest, monk or nun is called to be a gift to the whole Church. Every man or woman called to be a spouse is called to be a gift to his family and community. God asks everyone to accept His call, and then to generously return it back to Him in service. You do not own your talents, gifts, material goods, body, mind. They are merely on loan to you and God asks you to be a good steward of them.

11. Live healthy relationships

A seed planted on dry ground will not take root, but a seed that falls on good soil will bear much fruit. A vocation cannot expect to take root in a lifestyle that is not Christ-like. Christians are called to live a different way of life than what is promoted by the world. Choices must be made to not participate in bad actions. It takes a great deal of strength to live a good Christian lifestyle without being tempted to falter in the small things. That is why it is also important to have friends and family members who will support the Christian way. Without them the journey is much more difficult. Good Vocations empower other vocations. Be sure to be living good healthy Christ like relationships with both men and women.

12. Get off the fence

Some people like to try and keep every option open and available at all cost. That way they will not be pressured to quickly into making a decision they may one day regret. At some point, however, it is important to stop balancing on the fence and to make a decision. Otherwise an option may be put on hold for much longer than is necessary. A vocation entails certain doors closing and other windows opening. Those who choose to get married are also choosing to not marry everyone else. The door of single-hood closing does not mean that it was an evil way to live. Rather, it means that new opportunities for intimacy, a family, and happiness will be found that could not be found in the single life. For example, you can't get married if you don't get off the fence and date. You can't be a priest unless you first become a seminarian. You can't be a sister unless you check out a convent. You certainly can talk alot about a vocation. You certainly can pray alot about a vocation. But you really need to do some action step which means that you get off the fence and explore.

13. Leap of Faith/use the Holy Spirit

When it is time to make a decision there will likely be the necessity of a Leap of Faith. God often wants to check to see how much we are willing to trust Him, especially in choosing a vocation. The Holy Spirit was left behind by Jesus to guide the Apostles for a reason. The same applies to us. The Holy Spirit is at our disposal in making decisions to follow God's will. This Gift is FREE! His will is not always clear, but by making a leap of faith it often becomes evident afterward.
None of us know 100% of how life is going to turn out.

14. Know the Holiness of all Vocations

Each of the five vocations is unique, special, and necessary for the Church: Married, Single, Monks, Nuns, and Priests. They each come with specific graces to help the vocation to excel in holiness for the greater honor and glory of God. It cannot be said that one vocation is greater than any other if compared by their potentials for holiness. We are all aiming for the same state of Holiness but we definitely are called to different degrees of service. We are equal but not the same.

A mother of five children who helps each one of them to become little saints is just as capable of holiness as a nun who spends all day in a convent praying. Likewise, a nun is just as capable of sin as is a mother.

It is important to remember that each person's vocation is pre-planned by God for the best happy ending. He knows what vocation each person will chose before it is chosen, and He is always looking out for the needs of His Church.
Explore each possibility thoroughly to see if that particular lifestyle matches well to the person you want to become. Do not choose a vocation by what it will “get you”. Choose it by the plan God has for you.