Discernment

When you were baptized, water was either poured over your head or you were immersed in water, and the celebrant said, "(insert your name); I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." At that moment, you became a member of the Church - the community that has a mission of spreading the Good News of God's love to the world. For all of the baptized, that became our common calling. We are all called by God to be holy and bring the Gospel message to others. Through baptism, all of the Christian faithful receive a vocation to holiness.

As we grow older, each of us discovers that God calls us to live out our vocation to holiness in a unique way. Each of us has been given certain gifts and talents that enable us to live out our holiness. The important thing that all of us can do is listen to God and see how he wants us to live out our holiness so that we can best serve Him as his disciples. "In all your ways be mindful of God, and God will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3:6).

God calls us to live out our vocation to holiness in four ways: the married life, the ordained life, the religious life or the single life. In each of these ways of life, God enables his people to live out the call to holiness.

Pray and ask, "How is God calling me to live out my vocation to holiness?" In which way of life can you best live out your baptismal vocation to be holy? That process is called discernment. This website has been put together to offer you some assistance in your discernment. Should you be called to Married life or Single life, links to other pages on the Diocese of Corpus Christi website have been provided for you to receive more information. Should you be called to the Religious, or Consecrated, life, a brief video and link to the Consecrated life page on the Diocesan website have been provided. Also, there are pictures of various Religious communities represented in the Diocese in the gallery pages. Should you be called to the Ordained life, this website has many opportunities to help you. The important thing is that you are discerning - searching - to discover how God is calling you to live out your holiness.

On the right submenu, you'll find information to assist you in this process. May God bless you in this time of discernment!