Vocations Talk by Adam Burns
WHEN I talk to different people about what it is I do I often receive confused reactions.
This is due to the fact that the term vocation has many different interpretations.
So what do we actually refer to when we talk about this word “vocation”?
Well, I don’t actually refer to one thing when I talk about vocation.
Vocation needs to be understood in a dynamic framework.
The term “vocation” comes from the Latin term “vocare”, meaning to call.
In this sense, vocation is a verb: a movement towards or response to a call.
We can illustrate this in three “levels” of vocation.
The first level is our primary vocation.
This is the calling that we all receive to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
We often refer to this as our baptismal calling; as people baptised into the body of Christ, we reach out to other members of the Body and those outside of it, to share with them the Gospel message.
This calling finds expression in the “state of life” which one is called to live – ordained (deacon, priest), married, single, religious brothers and sisters or consecrated lay people.
It’s a cop-out to think that sharing the Good News is only for priests and religious – that’s simply not the case.
The state of life which we live allows us to express the Christian faith in different ways.
A priest or religious expresses this calling in giving their whole lives to service and ministry of God and the people of God, while married people mirror God’s love in their love for each other and in the raising of families.
One’s vocation finds further expression in their occupation or by participating in ministries.
Reflecting on my own life, I’m able to understand my role in the Vocations Centre as a vocation, a calling to use my gifts to build up the Kingdom of God.
Vocation isn’t static or still – it’s a movement from that baptismal calling to live one’s life in a certain state, and giving that calling further expression within that state of life in one’s occupation or ministry.
A friend once told me discerning one’s vocation is an exciting time. It can also be a confusing time.
It can help to remember that wherever we end up in life, we are always called to follow Christ.
Focusing primarily on that call will lead one to discover to which state of life we are called and further expressions of that call.
Adam Burns is a vocations officer for the Archdiocese of Brisbane.
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