Vocational discernment is the process in which men or women in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

discern, or recognize, their

vocation A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious ...

in the church. The vocations are the life as layman in the world, either married or single, the

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

life and the consecrated life.

Process

Each

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecra ...

, or

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

usually has its own guidelines and advice for men or women discerning religious vocations. Many dioceses and religious institutes encourage men and women with potential vocations to spend time, usually anywhere from six months to a year, praying and asking

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

to enlighten them. Those who feel they might be called to a religious vocation are encouraged to seek a

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the di ...

to help them along the way. After the set time, many institutes have a formal discernment process which the candidate will engage in, before entering the institute as a novice, or the seminary.

Men

For men there are a number of vocations in the Catholic Church. The best known is the vocation to the priesthood, as either a diocesan or a

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

priest. A diocesan priest serves in a particular diocese and is under the local

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

. A religious priest (in this sense) is a member of a specific religious institute such as the Trinitarians, Holy Cross Fathers and Brothers, Augustinians or

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

. Diocesan and religious priests may also serve for a time in specific apostolates such as

military chaplains A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

or the maritime apostolate. In addition, men may be called to religious life as a non-ordained

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the o ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

, or a

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-famil ...

. Friars are members of mendicant orders, such the

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

or Augustinians. Monks are usually members of cloistered communities. Friars, monks, and religious Brothers all take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

monks take a vow of stability, which is a commitment to their particular community. Members of societies of apostolic life, without taking religious vows, emphasize apostolic service and are fully active in society. Other vocations for men in the Catholic Church include those to being permanent deacons, hermits, and consecrated members of a secular institute. It is possible for someone to experience a combination of vocations.

Thomas Merton Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. On May 26, 1949, he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood and g ...

became a

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

monk, was ordained a priest, and lived for a time in a hermitage on the monastery grounds. Since the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

, it has become more popular to consider committed single life, marriage, parenthood, and many other services as "lay" vocations, since each also requires a commitment to Christian faith and practice.

Women

For women, vocational discernment would consist of feeling called to

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

, the life of a

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pr ...

or nun, a consecrated member of a Secular Institute, a hermit, or a Consecrated Virgin. The Catholic Church does not consider possible

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordin ...

to the priesthood. Religious sisters are similar to active religious brothers. Nuns, in the strict sense of the word, correspond to

s. As with men, it has become more popular since the Second Vatican Council to consider committed single life, marriage, parenthood, and many other services as "lay" vocations, since each also requires a commitment to Christian faith and practice.

Vocation to marriage

Traditionally the term

was used in the Catholic Church only to refer to priestly or religious vocations, the vocation to live a life directly consecrated to God.

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

, e.g., only explicitly uses the term vocation to refer to vocation to grace or conversion, or to enter religious life, though it has been argued that his teaching may be logically extended to include marriage as a vocation. In the 20th century there has been a growing movement to extend the use of the term widely. The Second Vatican Council taught that Christians, whatever their state, are called "to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity". The conclusion drawn from this principle is that any way of life that can be a full expression of Christian charity, and a means for growing towards the perfection of it, can be a vocation. Pope John Paul II taught that "there are two specific ways of realizing the vocation of the human person, in its entirety, to love: marriage and virginity or celibacy".Familiaris Consortio
n. 11

References

External links

VocationNetwork.org
information about prayer, discernment, and Catholic religious vocations and institutes of consecrated life.
DigitalVocationGuide.org
digital edition of VISION, the annual Catholic religious vocation discernment guide.
ReligiousLife.com
resources and vocation search from the Institute on Religious Life
CloisteredLife.com
with information, photos, and community profiles of cloistered women's (and men's) communities
PriestVocation.com
for men discerning a vocation to become a priest, brother, or Dominican friar. {{RC consecrated life Major orders in the Catholic Church Catholic spirituality Organisation of Catholic religious orders

Process

Men

Women

Vocation to marriage

See also

References

External links