Vocations

Do I have a vocation?

Of course you do!  Every person has a vocation; we each have a call from God to enter into life in all its fullness.  But if you are reading here, we guess that you really are asking: "Do I have a vocation to be a Franciscan Friar?" or, even more precisely, "How do I know if I have a vocation to be a Franciscan Friar?"

You have probably already realised that the answers to these sorts of questions do not come through a loud and majestic voice telling you the answer clearly during your prayers.  Even though you have heard or read about people who talk about "a call", that perhaps has not been helpful  - as you are uncertain what that means or even what it feels like.

Firstly, do not let the confusion worry you too much.  Very few priests or religious started with absolute certainty and conviction.  St Francis himself was many years trying to work out what exactly God was asking of him and he even made some errors along the way.  When Christ urged Francis to "Go, rebuild my church" perhaps not even he foresaw that Francis would do it literally and become a church repairman!

There are some pointers that can help you though:

s         A true vocation feels right.  It gives me the sense that I was made for this way of life, that I am a "good fit" for it.  It does not ask me to be false to my values or to who I am.

s         True vocations persist.  It is an idea that refuses to go away and keeps coming back to the forefront of my mind and niggles at me.  I need to address it to have peace within myself.

s         True vocations help you touch God.  A genuine vocation is always more than just a romantic notion in my imagination; I feel closer to God when I consider the idea of a religious vocation.

s         A true vocation fills a gap.  Many religious will say that they pursued their vocation because they were "looking for something more."  An authentic vocation seems to fill that hunger for "something more."

s         A true vocation is confronting.  I admit that I am weak in some parts of my life and that I need to grow there.  A genuine vocation wants to take me into those weaknesses; it never wishes to run away from them.

s         A true vocation is affirmed.  Vocations are not private and personal, secretive things.  There will be someone in the wider community who will see the marks of a vocation in me and encourage me in that.