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June 1, 2014
"The unexamined life is not worth living,” Socrates famously said. He really meant it, too, as he also said that a person must “interrogate his own nature” and “work precisely” or else he will “miss what is good and become involved in what is bad.”
Every Christian man and woman consistently should be asking themselves, “What kind of person am I? What are my strengths and weaknesses?”
That sounds like a pretty serious exercise, and it is, but it can also be very satisfying. The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote about the thrill of discovering “the dearest freshness deep down things.”
Discerning our vocation, at base level, is discovering the deepest truth about ourselves. It is the journey of self-knowledge par excellence. It is glimpsing the built-in purpose given to us by the Creator of the universe, eons before we existed.
If we authentically think about this, it could be both daunting and thrilling at the same time.
Self-knowledge is a life-long work, and it involves many different aspects of our emotional, spiritual and psychological make-up. We could spend a lot of time in prayer, for instance, just evaluating our own virtue of patience, or lack thereof.
But the purpose here is to examine our vocation—our mission in life—and whether or not one could be called to the priesthood or consecrated life. Of course, to determine that, one would need to gather good information, talk to a priest or sister that one trusts, and be committed to a life of prayer.
The self-evaluation exercise included to the left may help. For each item, consider how it applies to you. The perfect person would say “YES!” resoundingly to each of these items. However, none of us is perfect. This is not a list which should make one feel badly about oneself; rather, it should help us to know our strengths and weaknesses so that we can have a better idea what we may need to work on more if we think God may be calling us to serve him as a priest or sister.
Reflecting on each of these points will take us a long way down the road of self-discovery. Finding the areas that need strengthening—then actually taking steps to improve—will make you a much better Catholic, even if you are not called to become a priest or sister. Keep in mind, however, that this list is by no means a sure way to discern one’s vocation–it is simply a tool, which can be very helpful to give perspective to discernment.
If you would like, call me at (361) 882-6191 or email me, at [email protected], after this exercise. I will be happy to give you feedback. May God bless you as you discern and discover your vocation. Remember, the best way to discern is to pray and be open to God’s will in your life.