Seldom do individuals discover their calling in this way; as a matter of fact, they prolong the search because they sometimes make judgments and decisions based on such erroneous thinking.
Sureproof signs are hard to come by. Of course, this does not mean that God can't use a sign or miracle to show a person his calling. He can do whatever He wants. But He usually doesn't operate in this way. Perhaps an extraordinary revelation from God would create more problems than solutions for the person discerning. And most importantly, the individual would lose the benefits of acting on faith.
God speaks to us through hard facts. God uses the realities around us to talk to us. So don't be so distracted by waiting for wonders and signs that you miss what could have been gleaned simply by looking around and observing. Look at your own aptitudes, gifts, circumstances, etc. These are like needles on a compass that point in the right direction. Didn't Jesus Himself advise us to observe the signs of the times in order to be able to make proper judgments? He scolded those who kept demanding signs for their lack of faith. He said that the only sign needed was Himself. Focus your attention away from yourself and onto Jesus and you'll come to know your vocation.
God gave you a mind to help you get by in this world. He created you with the ability to read the signs around you and come to love and serve Him accordingly. So use your mind! Just as He told the Pharisees, Jesus tells you: You know how to read the face of the sky, but you cannot read the signs of the times” (Mt 16:3). What are the signs in your life that point to your vocation? Look at the facts. Facts indicate the direction to go.
You see, God is calling you to something but He wants you to go through the work of thinking and praying and seeking to understand His will. In return God makes Himself known and reveals the best way to follow Him. But the voice is not heard in the same way by everyone. For example, to those who are hard of hearing God may find it necessary to speak harshly. In such a case His invitation is given as a call to love although it may require considerable suffering for the individual being called. God may reach a person through humiliations, as in the case of St. Alphonsus Liguouri, or through injury, as happened to St. Ignatius Loyola. St. Ignatius discovered his vocation as he lay on a hospital bed asking for something to read. Nothing was available except The Lives of the Saints. Its reading prompted an entire conversion of life in St. Ignatius. God used the turmoil of illness to call.
So look at your life and for the invitations and opportunities God sends you through people and circumstances and consider how Jesus is saying something in these realities. His invitation is not an abstract floating message on a cloud somewhere; it is to be found firmly rooted in the circumstances of your life.
Accurate discernment does not just happen without an investment of prayer and reasoning on your part. So it's of utmost importance that you lead a prayerful life and improve your listening skills. Perhaps God is speaking to you and you are not paying attention. Sometimes your own preoccupations make you deaf to the voice of God.
God speaks in ways you don't understand, so you can frequently miss what He is saying when you're caught up in your own plans. He needs an open and attentive heart to be heard. The example of the Blessed Mother is a clear indication of this. Even though she had offered her life to God through a vow of virginity, she was not attached to her own way of serving God. Because she was absolutely open and availabe to God, she was able to surrender to a different way of serving Him when He sent His Angel to her at the Annunciation. The Blessed Virgin's openness to God made her a better listener to hear God's voice and understand His Will — that she was to be the mother of the Messiah.
“Be careful about closing the door of your heart to the beckoning of a holy man for such a person may have been sent by God for your own sake.” God uses people to reach and call other people. Such individuals are used by God lika a musician uses an instrument.
You receive God's help through others daily. When a priest administers the sacraments to you, aren't you receiving gifts from God through human instrumentality. You may also find your vocation through the instrumentality of others; the good example of a priest, or of a friend who is truly following the Church's teachings.
In his youth St. Francis Xavier was studying in Paris. During this time St. Ignatius made his acquaintance. St. Ignatius was very impressed with Xavier's talents and qualities. St. Ignatius prodded and pushed Xavier to leave his studies and follow Jesus in a vocation of total abandonment and availability. This was something Xavier was not willing to do because he had his heart set on university life. For seven years Xavier resisted while St. Ignatius persisted, saying often to him the words of our Lord, “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world but lose his life?” (Mt 16:26). In the end Xavier's plans wore thin and a change of heart convinced him of his vocation.
St. Teresa of Avila says that, “It is a kind of humility for a man not to trust himself but to believe that God will help him in speaking with those with whom he converses” (Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, Ch. 7).
So keep your heart open to the wise counsels and challenges of others when they make an appeal to you. God may surely have a purpose in having other people tell you that you should commit your life to serving Him in a special vocation. But one should always make sure that those speaking to you are definitely following the teachings of the Church.
Fr. Sullivan, M.J., is a priest with the Miles Jesu order. Miles Jesu is an Institute of Consecrated Life dedicated to promoting reverence to the Blessed Sacrament, devotion to Our Lady and faithfulness to the official teachings of the Church. For information on Miles Jesu and its Seminary Program, please call 1-800-654-7945 or visit their website at www.MilesJesu.com.
