On Sunday 6 August 2023, the Church will celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. This Sunday also marks the start of National Vocations Awareness Week, which will run until Sunday 13 August 2023.
National Vocations Awareness Week is an annual celebration dedicated to promoting vocations to the priesthood, permanent diaconate and consecrated life through prayer and education, and to renewing our prayers and support for those who are considering one of these vocations. During this week, you are invited to pray about how God is calling you to live your own vocation more deeply.
During this week, you are invited to pray about how God is calling you to live your own vocation more deeply. We also pray for more and generous vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life for the Church in Australia. We all have a vocation. The word vocation comes from the Latin vocare, which in English means to call. God calls each one of us to holiness. Being called to holiness means being called to love God and others.
In his message for the 2023 World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Francis reminds us that:
“Vocation is “the interplay between divine choice and human freedom”, [1] a dynamic and exciting relationship between God and the human heart. The gift of vocation is like a divine seed that springs up in the soil of our existence, opens our hearts to God and to others, so that we can share with them the treasure we ourselves have found. This is the fundamental structure of what we mean by vocation: God calls us in love and we, in gratitude, respond to him in love.”
Someone’s specific vocation is the particular path or the unique specific way that he or she is called to follow Christ, to be more like him, but with their own personality, and characteristics, their gifts, talents, weaknesses and circumstances. Following God’s call is not about becoming someone that we are not, but about becoming more fully the ones He created us to be. How am I called to love others, making God’s love present in the world?
‘What will make me happy and fulfilled?’ ‘What does God want me to do with my life?’ ‘What’s the purpose of my life?’ ‘I’m drawn to a certain vocation, is it the right one for me?’ If you are asking questions like this, discernment can help you. Follow this link for more information: Explore Your Vocation – Discerning and Deciding
If you would like to discuss further your path of discernment or require further resources to assist you in your journey, please contact our Vocations office on 02 9307 8424 or email us at [email protected]
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