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First Segment: What is a Vocation? We All Have a Vocation!

This past weekend we celebrated the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. What is that anyway? It is a special day to pray for those discerning a religious vocation – as well as to pray for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
So that’s all fine and dandy, but in case you’re not familiar with it, what is a vocation anyway? Kent, when you hear “vocations”, what comes to your mind?  Well in laymen’s terms, a vocation is God’s will for you and your life.
If that’s what a vocation is – then that means that we all have a vocation, right? Because God has planned out a future for us and it’s designed especially for us. God knows us better than we know ourselves, so He never makes mistakes.
When we hear vocations we typically think priest and religious. But that’s not necessarily true. There are actually three different vocational paths believe it or not!
Religious Vocations: Some people are called to a religious vocation as a priest, nun, or religious sister or brother. In essence, nuns and religious sisters are married to Jesus Christ, and priests are married to the Church – which is made up of all of us. Without priests, there would be no Sacraments because we need them priests to administer them; you can’t say Mass for yourself or hear your own confession. Religious sisters help to teach in schools, act as nurses in hospitals, and take care of the elderly – so they help to serve the world while being married to Christ.
Married Life: What? Being married is a vocation?! You bet! Being married is something that has to be discerned, because not everyone is called to it. So Kent, you’re a married man. If you could say something to the youth of today about being married, what would you say?
Being Single: Yes! Being single is a vocation – because like we talked about earlier, a vocation is simply God’s plan for your life. A “religious” vocation is when you become a priest or religious. Kent, do you that singlehood can accurately be described as a vocation, or is it a curse? Many young people think that being single is a tragedy – you know, I must not be attractive enough or funny enough. But that’s not true. There are some careers that require you to be able to devote an extraordinary amount of your time to. Examples might be doctors, nurses, firefighters, police officers or EMT’s who are constantly on call. Another example might be military personnel, or a youth minister or youth speaker who isn’t always home. Priests and religious have to be single so that they can devote their time entirely to their job. And as Kent can testify, parenting is a full time job, right?
So each of these vocations, singlehood, marriage, priesthood, and religious life all have to be discerned. Kent, can you help us up with a vocabulary lesson; what do you think that “discern” means? Well, discern is a fancy way of saying to think about and ask God’s will, and it’s usually done through prayer. There a few great things that happen when you discern a vocation – first of all, you get to live out the special plan that God that has designed just for you. Secondly, you get to really learn about yourself and who you are. And finally, you get to really come to know and get an idea of who God is, and connect with Him on a personal level.
We’re currently in the Year of the Consecrated Life, so what do you do if you think that you might be called to the religious life or the priesthood? Well, Kent and I have four things just for you.
Pray! Pray in the silence and pray for God’s will to be revealed to you. Get to know God through conversation.
Frequent the Sacraments! Going to Confession often keeps your soul in a state of grace, and going to Mass allows you to receive Jesus and draw closer to Him.
Talk to your priest! That’s one of the things that he is there for. Don’t be afraid to talk to him, and ask his advice. Pray for God to place the priest you need to talk to in your path. It’s also valuable to talk to other religious to hear their advice and input. With the internet, it’s really easy to get in touch with people all over the world.
Make friends with the saints! If you’re discerning a religious vocation, there are two major saints you should be friends with. St. Alphonsus Liguori, patron saint of vocations, and St. John Vianney, patron saint of priests.

Second Segment: Why Should You Go On A Retreat?

So spring and summer are retreat season. Many churches and parishes all have retreats going on soon, if not already. I talk about my experiences of going on retreat quite often, and I’ve mentioned the fact that at the end of May I’m going on a diocesan wide youth retreat. Why are retreats so important? Why should you, sitting and watching this right now, go on a retreat? I mean, is it fun, or do we all just sit in a circle holding hands and sing kumbaya? Well, there are four main reasons that if you get the chance, you should definitely go. Are you ready?
You get to draw closer to Christ because there isn’t the stress of daily life, and a lot less distractions.
Most times, because of the decreased distractions, you can experience prayer in new ways, like through Eucharistic Adoration, or group prayer.
Speaking of groups, when you go on a retreat, you are surrounded by people of a like mind. You don’t have to hide your faith because you are all the same. (I remember the first retreat I went on. I somehow forgot that we were all Catholic, and when it was time for the first prayer, I was expecting to be the only one who made the sign of the Cross, but then I saw the other 150 kids do it too. It’s a amazing, safe, welcoming feeling.)
Because of the group setting, the other people you are on retreat with can encourage you. You know, like when it’s time for confession, and your scared stiff? If several other people you met are going and encourage you, you might be more apt to go. Or, since no one’s judging you, when you kinda get overcome in Mass or Adoration, someone can give you a shoulder to lean on.
Kent, have you ever been on retreat? If so, what were some of your favourite things about the experience?

Third Segment: Questions to #askcatholicsis

Q & A’s from the Chat Room, FaceBook, and Twitter –

“What’s in a Catholic gal’s backpack?” – Well, since we were talking about going on retreat, it made me think of packing. And that made me think of packing “Catholic Sis” style. I thought I’d show you a few things that a Catholic gal should always have with her. I’m more of backpacker when I can, so obviously all of this can’t fit into a purse, I’m just saying. (Bible, rosary, journal, pen, notebook, ear buds, phone, phone case, music cd, book I’m reading, wallet card about being Catholic, medals or something to give away to people new to the Faith, spare rosary and how to pray it. Something I should also have is spare change to give to those in need.
“How should we respond when non Christians don’t understand the language of Bible – like when they are unable to know the meaning of the verse?”- As teenagers and young people, we can sometimes have this experience where we try to explain the Bible to our non-Christian friends, and it doesn’t always go that well. So, if you feel like your Scripture and Apologetics skills are on point, then go for it and try to interpret and explain it to them in a way that you think that they might be able to understand. If that’s not you, you can invite them to your parish Bible study, or you can introduce them to your pastor or the RCIA teacher who would be able to explain things to them.