Youth is a time when people naturally start seeking answers about the reason for their existence. It is a time for dreaming dreams and looking to the future with hope and enthusiasm. Questions arise: "What do I want to do? What will I be? How can I find the fulfillment I am looking for?"
To those men and women asking such questions, the late St. John Paul II once said, "You are at the great crossroads of your lives and you must decide how your future can be lived happily, accepting the responsibilities which you hope will be placed squarely on your shoulders, playing an active role in the world around you."
He went on to challenge the young people, "There is a wonderful way of experiencing love in life: it is the vocation to follow Christ in the celibate state freely chosen or in the state of virginity for the love of the kingdom of heaven. I ask each one of you to question yourselves seriously about whether God may not be calling you to one of these paths."
He was repeating the invitation of Jesus to His first disciples, "Come and see."
Yet, to many people the phrase "vocation discernment" is either foreign or overwhelming. Some incorrectly make a daunting project out of what should be a dialogue between God and the soul. It is not a puzzle to piece together or a mystery to solve.
Discovering one's vocation is not an obstacle course to race through, but it is a journey that takes time and interior growth. Because it involves a dialoguing relationship with God, it requires a balance between active pursuit and passive waiting and receptivity.
Along with patience and docility, discernment takes courage. It can be quite challenging to seriously set aside the domination of one's own desires to earnestly ask, "What do You want of me, Lord?" Proceeding to trust in God's timing for His response demands enduring fortitude.
Interestingly, St. Alphonsus claims that while having that burning desire to seek the Lord's will, we must also be detached from the answer. He says, "To have this light (from God), you must pray to Him with indifference. He who prays to God to enlighten him in regard to a state of life, but without indifference, and who instead of conforming to the divine will, would sooner have God conform to his will, is like a pilot that pretends to wish his ship to advance, but in reality does not want it to: he throws his anchor into the sea, and then unfurls his sails."
The best attitude to have when seeking God's will is one that desires and resolves to give 100 percent of oneself to the Lord in whatever capacity He reveals. It is true that sacrifice will be made, but in those moments of sacrifice, the soul encounters Christ Who initiated the invitation to "Come and see.'"
Discerning one's vocation is really like unwrapping a beautiful and precious gift. God loves us so much individually that He prepared a path for each of us to pursue, and in following our unique vocations, we will discover deep peace, joy and, ultimately, union with God.
Let anyone who is considering a religious vocation take encouragement in the words of retired Pope Benedict XVI: "Friends, I again ask you, what about today? What are you seeking? What is God whispering to you? The hope which never disappoints is Jesus Christ. The saints show us the selfless love of His way. As disciples of Christ, their extraordinary journeys unfolded within the community of hope, which is the Church. It is from within the Church that you too will find courage and support to walk the way of the Lord. Nourished by personal prayer, prompted in silence, shaped by the Church's liturgy, you will discover the particular vocation God has for you. Embrace it with joy. You are Christ's disciples today." (New York City, April 19, 2008)
And finally, parents, grandparents, and dear diocesan family – let us all keep in mind that it is our responsibility to pray to the Lord to send laborers into the harvest. It is our duty to encourage and support our youth on their discernment path. Pope Francis reiterated on the 2013 World Day Prayer for Vocations: "Behind and before every vocation to the priesthood or to the consecrated life there is always the strong and intense prayer of someone: a grandmother, a grandfather, a mother, a father, a community.... This is why Jesus said: "Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest," that is, God the Father, "to send out laborers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38).
Vocations are born in prayer and from prayer, and only through prayer can they persevere and bear fruit.
Sister Mary Raphael is a member of the Daughters of the Virgin Mother, a community dedicated to serving the spiritual and practical needs of the sacred priesthood and of seminarians in the Diocese of Charlotte.