The Catholic Church in the United States will celebrate National Vocation Awareness Week Nov. 1-7, 2020. This annual weeklong celebration is an opportunity for dioceses and parishes in the United States to uphold and promote vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life and encourage the faithful to renew their prayerful support for those currently discerning one of these calls.
When it comes the Lord’s call in one’s life, Pope Francis reminds us that -- unlike a secular career -- a vocation is a gift born from God’s own initiative. “The Lord’s call is not an intrusion of God into our freedom. On the contrary, it is the loving initiative whereby God encounters us and invites us to be a part of a great undertaking.”
The vocation office of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland serves those of you who are discerning a vocation, helping you to receive the clarity of the Holy Spirit and the courage to act. When making a decision about a vocation, discernment is a process by which a person intentionally listens for and discovers the calling God has in his or her life. This process especially helps young persons to distinguish between the various vocations they may be called to, including single life, married life, religious life and ordained life. Discernment is best accomplished when several factors are involved: prayer to God, honest questioning about one’s life, and sincere conversation with respected friends in our life about your own gifts and talents.
For more information about discerning a vocation, contact the diocesan Vocations Office.
For those currently discerning a vocation, I recommend that you pray to God and ask the intercession of our Blessed Mother, Mary, who is the mother of all vocations. Mary, who gave a courageous “Yes” to God’s call in her life, can inspire all of us to give our lives generously to the Lord, too.