How to Discern Your Vocation with Fr. Mike Schmitz
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Are you in a time of discernment? While you work to determine what God has in store for your life, Fr. Mike reminds us in this video of the 3 senses of vocation we all have. Knowing these senses will help you form a practical path to holiness.
Fr. Mike begins his advice by saying that the concept of God simply calling you to be a priest, nun, or spouse is “a small idea of what vocation is.” He argues that to determine God’s full plan for our lives, we should acknowledge all 3 senses of the word “vocation.”
1. Universal Call to Holiness
The first sense of vocation is the “universal call to holiness.” Fr. Mike says this is the “primary vocation,” which “never changes.” He explains that every person on the planet, no matter his or her religious views, “has the call to be a saint.” This means that “you have a destination.” You are meant for eternal life with God in heaven. That is the first sense of vocation, and it is one we all share.
2. Primary Relationship by Which You Become a Saint
We typically think of the second sense when we hear the word “vocation.” Fr. Mike says this second call refers to marriage and family, consecrated single life, religious life, or the priesthood. While the first sense is about your call to become a saint, this second sense is the “primary relationship by which you’ll become a saint.” In marriage, Fr. Mike explains, the primary relationship by which you become a saint is through your wife and children and dying to yourself out of love for them. For a religious sister, Fr. Mike continues, her primary relationship “is as a bride to Christ and also in relation to her sisters.” While this relationship is important, Fr. Mike says people often get “preoccupied” by this middle call and forget the other two.
3. God’s Call in Your Daily Life
The final sense of the word vocation refers to “God’s call in your daily life.” What immediate tasks is God calling you to do right now? This sense constantly fluctuates and changes “regardless of what your vocation is.” Fr. Mike explains that your mission will look a certain way if you’re married and don’t have kids. When you have children, the tasks change. Your challenges and duties vary daily, but they are a call from God.
“The reality is, God has made you for a purpose,” Fr. Mike concludes. “He has called you to be a saint. What’s the primary relationship by which God will make you into that saint? And then what’s the task at hand?”
Watch the full video below!
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