Published by Vocation is a calling from God. It is the way in which God tells us what he wants us to do with our lives. He calls us to happiness with him. The significance of vocation is how we find out what God wants from us.
The process of discernment can be measured in three levels:
True Discernment: I have prayed about it and though about what I am good at, and I believe it is what God truly wants from us. I have listened to advice and therefore decided to…
Choice based on Knowledge of True Self: I’ve though about what could really suit me, and so I’ve chosen to…
Choice based on basic idea of talents: I’ve always been good with people so I might try…
Choice based on simple attraction: It’s good money and people respect you so I’ve chosen to…
I believe that true discernment means finding your inner self; It is the process by which you discover who you truly are. It is also for helping you decide what God wants you to do with your life, and how you can serve him.
There are three ways to live out a vocation; Lay vocation: Being baptised and Christian and following your vocation through your way of life. E.g. Becoming a nurse or a charity worker. Ordained: People who become ordained like priests and bishops. Religious: People who spend their whole lives serving God whenever or wherever that may be. E.g. Nuns, Sisters, Monks etc.
Lay vocations are important because people cannot always give up their whole lives to serving God, but after we have been baptised, and if we are Christians who are happy serving God, we can begin a lay vocation, without having to become a monk or a nun.
There is more than one type of order. Apostolic orders are orders where the sisters go out and can lead lives in the community. They may go out and teach people, help the poor and the sick and help with the elderly. The other type of order is called Contemplative Order; The people who belong to these orders live hidden lives of Prayer and Work. They do not normally see many people other than those who live with them inside the monastery or Convent.
All monks and nuns, no matter what order they belong to, live by three rules; Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. Poverty means that they must live with no extra money, apart from what they need to provide themselves with essentials. They live in the minimum conditions, without being ill or malnourished etc. The Religious orders must obey a rule of Chastity. This means they must live without any form of relation, sexual or not. Many believe that they are married to God, and some nuns wear rings to declare this. Monks and Nuns must always remain obedient to God, because he is their maker, and they should have respect, and obey ones superiors is a good way to develop ones modesty and self control.
