Your Vocation
the thing(s) we're made to do
This week on the Raised Catholic podcast, we’re talking all about vocation, the confluence of what author Frederick Buechner calls “the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
If you were born and raised Catholic, you may have been taught that there are two ‘lanes’ to vocation - the clergy and married life. Now, that is such a narrow definition of vocation on its face, let alone the fact that these ‘lanes’ disregard millions of single adults, but this week I’d like us to give our definition of vocation a bit of a refresh. The work of our vocation is the thing or things that we are uniquely made by a loving God to do, no ‘one’ vocation better or higher than any others. Our vocation is the place where our talents, experience, strengths, and interests connect with a need in our human family. Trusting that God is always calling us to a life of abundant joy, the work of our vocation is a door God opens that will necessarily open us up, connect us with community, and make us grateful to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves.
When I see a person doing a thing (whether paid or unpaid) that they were so obviously made to do, it makes my spirit sing, because whether or not we use the language of ‘vocation’, that’s precisely what it is - a individual’s path to an abundant life within the context of the family of God, and is there anything more beautiful than that?
Listen to episode 160: Your Vocation at the Raised Catholic podcast on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts (or read the transcript), and then let’s meet back here in the comments to tell the story of your vocation or a vocation you’ve witnessed recently that made your spirit sing! See you there.
art by Scott Erickson
I’ve really been doing a lot of reflecting on my vocations within the past few months. I so agree that our vocations can change over time (which I think I’m somewhat experiencing right now). It’s been a beautiful journey so far! I also really liked that you talked about how priestly vocations are not more important than everyone else’s. Priests are just normal people like us (I have a cousin who is a priest & I’ve known my pastor for over 20 years). The Saints are so diverse that it just makes sense that our vocations are all different. We are all so important in God’s plan.
Thank you again for such a great podcast. I always listen to it on Tuesdays or Wednesdays on my way to work.