What is my child learning this month?
This month, your child learned about God’s call on their hearts for their life, called vocation. Each person, from the moment they are created, is invited to answer this call that continues to unfold for the rest of their lives. This call is never foreign to who they are, but rather is a calling forth from God to be who we truly are in freedom; it is an answer to the deepest desire in our hearts. In short, to quote Christian author Fredrick Buechner: “The place God calls you is the place where your deepest gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
We spoke about the “primary” vocation for all Christians: to follow and imitate Jesus. The Second Vatican Council’s Lumen Gentium calls this primary vocation, “The Universal Call to Holiness.” (see Lumen Gentium §39-42). All people, regardless of age, race, or job, are called to follow God within their own unique circumstances. In the same way, they are called to continue the mission of the Church, which is to continue the saving work of Jesus for the redemption of humanity (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, §257, 858).
We went over the 5 basic “ingredients” of knowing what God’s will for your life is, called discernment. These steps are:
- Knowledge of Self: We must know ourselves well if we are to know who God is calling us to be.
- Knowledge of God: We must know God well if we are to recognize His voice and His movement in our lives.
- Knowledge of Vocations: We must know the various vocations well, both how they are similar and how they are different, if we are to begin to identify which one fits us more.
- Knowledge of Discernment: We must know how to discern, if we are to ask the right questions and listen in the right way for God’s response.
- Faith: We must have faith and trust in God, if we are to say “yes” to the Lord’s invitation as it will always involve a leap of faith into the unknown.
Terms we went over:
Vocation: from the Latin word, vocare, meaning “to invite, to call.” The common vocation to all Christians is one of holiness and evangelizing the world (Catechism of the Catholic Church, §1533). The Second Vatican Council refers to this as “the Universal Call to Holiness,” which “all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity” (Lumen Gentium §40). Within this common vocation are particular, or “secondary” vocations in which gives a person context on how to live out this universal call to holiness.
Mission: from the Latin word, missio, meaning “to send, to go forth.” The Church was instituted by Jesus Christ precisely to go on mission, to “go forth and make disciples of all nations” as Christ commissioned the disciples in Matthew 28:19. Humanity has been called to participate in Christ’s redemptive work through their testimony: by “engaging in temporal affairs and ordering them according to the plan of God” (Lumen Gentium, §31). In the ordinary circumstances of life, humanity is called to become like Christ so that the world may be transformed in His image and likeness.
Discernment: the reflection of the heart and mind before making a decision. Discernment is an important act that concerns everyone in all stages of life — we make decisions, big and small, every day. For this lesson, we used the term discernment as a way to listen to God’s calling for one’s life. It requires that we know ourselves—the strengths and weaknesses of our personalities, our gifts and talents, our desires, and so on. In addition, we must know the character and voice of God in order that we may distinguish it from other voices; that is, God is All-Loving, All-Knowing, Ever-Present, and desires a relationship with us. The process of discernment–of any decision-making–is a lifelong journey, and we are always tuning ourselves into the voice of God (see Pope Francis’ General Audience, 31 August 2022).
BRINGING THIS SESSION HOME
This month, parents are asked to go over the four particular, or “secondary” vocations with their child. When we hear the word “vocations,” our minds often go to prayers asking for more men and women to enter the priesthood or religious life. I am here to tell you that is NOT the case and is a very narrow view of what vocation actually means.
The Catholic Church teaches that there are four basic answers to the questions of who we are going to be with God: Matrimony, Holy Orders, consecrated life, and committed single life. When the Church speaks about vocations, she typically is speaking about one of these four “states of life” that our lives can take. These states of life define who we are in relation to God and to each other. All four of these particular vocations are a call to holiness. All of them are a call to know, love, and serve God as well as to make God known, loved, and served. These vocations may differ in the details of how precisely one comes to know, love, and serve God, but the end goal is the same: to be holy.
The principal question then is not what we are going to do with God, but who we are going to be with God. In revealing to us who we are to be, God intends our vocations to be one of the anchors for us through all the other changes, planned or unplanned, in our lives. Next to faith, which is the other major anchor in this world, our vocations are the greatest gift God gives us in this life to guide us home to heaven.
Learn more about these four particular vocations and how these holy men and women lived them out in their own unique ways:
Matrimony (with Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin)
Holy Orders (with Fr. Patrick Peyton, C.S.C)
Consecrated Life (with St. Andre Bessette & St. Teresa of Calcutta)
Committed Single Life (Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati)
(Taken from the Vocations Curriculum from the Congregation of Holy Cross)
PRAY TOGETHER
With your family this month, we encourage you to pray the Examen in the evenings as you're settling down, either during dinner time, getting your family ready for bed, or as part of a family activity together. The Examen is a way to pray by going through the daily events of our day to recognize God’s presence and discern what His direction for us is.
Sometimes it is hard for us to hear God’s voice in the midst of the business of our lives. By taking time to do the Examen as a family at the end of each day, we allow God’s voice to break through the noise in our lives, and we become more aware of his presence precisely in this business. When we are more aware of how God is moving in our lives, we can become more aware of what He is calling us to do in the big and small ways. The examen can take between 5-20 minutes, depending on the person and how quickly you move through each step. I recommend taking 10 minutes each day to praying the Examen with your family!
The Examen follows 5 simple steps:
1. Become aware of God’s presence: Look back on the events of the day in the company of the Holy Spirit. The day may seem confusing to you—a blur, a jumble, a muddle. Ask God to bring clarity and understanding.
2. Review the day with gratitude: Gratitude is the foundation of our relationship with God. Walk through your day in the presence of God and note its joys and delights. Focus on the day’s gifts. Look at the work you did, the people you interacted with. What did you receive from these people? What did you give them? Pay attention to small things—the food you ate, the sights you saw, and other seemingly small pleasures. God is in the details.
3. Pay attention to your emotions: One of St. Ignatius’s great insights was that we detect the presence of the Spirit of God in the movements of our emotions. Reflect on the feelings you experienced during the day. Boredom? Elation? Resentment? Compassion? Anger? Confidence? What is God saying through these feelings?
God will most likely show you some ways that you fell short. Make note of these sins and faults. But look deeply for other implications. Does a feeling of frustration perhaps mean that God wants you to consider a new direction in some area of your work? Are you concerned about a friend? Perhaps you should reach out to her in some way.
4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it: Ask the Holy Spirit to direct you to something during the day that God thinks is particularly important. It may involve a feeling—positive or negative. It may be a significant encounter with another person or a vivid moment of pleasure or peace. Or it may be something that seems rather insignificant. Look at it. Pray about it. Allow the prayer to arise spontaneously from your heart—whether intercession, praise, repentance, or gratitude.
5. Look toward tomorrow: Ask God to give you light for tomorrow’s challenges. Pay attention to the feelings that surface as you survey what’s coming up. Are you doubtful? Cheerful? Apprehensive? Full of delighted anticipation? Allow these feelings to turn into prayer. Seek God’s guidance. Ask him for help and understanding. Pray for hope.
St. Ignatius encouraged people to talk to Jesus like a friend. End the Daily Examen with a conversation with Jesus. Ask forgiveness for your sins. Ask for his protection and help. Ask for his wisdom about the questions you have and the problems you face. Do all this in the spirit of gratitude. Your life is a gift, and it is adorned with gifts from God. End the Daily Examen with the Our Father.
