Few acts in this life compare in greatness with that of entering consecrated life. This act surpasses what the world tends to consider a great achievement. The world strives for titles and crowns and the sealing of monumental business deals.
Three Steps that Change Speculation to Practice
The entry into consecrated life, however, is far greater than these passing honors because it is the beginning of a very special and exclusive relationship with God, offered only to a chosen few.
If one human soul is worth more than the whole universe, and the following of a religious vocation will lead to the salvation of many souls, the value of such a vocation is immense. St. Therese of the Child Jesus cherished the day she entered consecrated life, calling it “the day I felt the greatest joy in my life.” The greatness of the vocation to consecrated life was also expressed by Pope Pius XII: “A person can receive few graces that could be compared to the religious life….”
A vocation to a life in imitation of Jesus’s perpetual poverty, chastity and obedience, therefore, is a pure gift. And to receive this gift, a young person needs a number of virtues, such as charity, generosity, courage, and perseverance. However, one key virtue that is often overlooked is prudence. In fact, the discernment of vocation is essentially an act of the virtue of prudence, which is one of the four cardinal virtues examined in depth by St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologicae.
As an act of prudence, therefore, vocation discernment involves three steps: deliberation, judgment, and commanding oneself to take an actual step to live the vocation. The chief aim of prudence, then, is to follow through with a concrete act in the here and now. Prudence is a virtue that helps us get something done. Prudence is for doing! Thus, vocation discernment has a practical and not a speculative goal. True vocation discernment consists in intelligently judging which way of life God intends, but, even more so, it means commanding oneself to follow that way of life.
So discerning a vocation ought to properly unfold in three steps. First, there is the act of inquiry into God’s will. A person searches for the various signs and indications of God’s plan for his life. Second, after gathering and considering the facts and circumstances of one’s life, the individual judges, as best he can, to which state of life God is calling him. Third, there is the act of applying oneself to act on the basis of this judgment, i.e., to actually follow one’s vocation.
Aided in these steps of prudence by the Holy Spirit’s gift of counsel, many young people successfully find and follow their vocations. Such single-minded souls show, even in the face of sometimes great difficulties, that the exercise of prudence in discerning the vocation is within the grasp of the average devout individual. These persons ought to be imitated in their exercise of prudence, courage, generosity, and the related virtues.
What Hinders Vocations
Unfortunately, there are others that do not discern their vocations with success. For these, the normal steps of an inquiry, a prudential judgment, and a command have either never been initiated or have never been followed through to the end. It is important to remember that vocation discernment usually cannot be initiated and completed successfully without the habits of prayer and sacrifice. The reason for this is that the discernment of one’s vocation requires communication with God, deep reflection, and detachment from pleasures. Otherwise, the ability to know one’s vocation is hindered and the strength to follow God’s will is lacking.
Two of the vices that are opposed to prudence are: to act without thinking, and to think without acting. Both have their impact on vocation discernment. In the first case, the individual hastily rushes into a life commitment (marriage for instance) without sufficient thought. The end is often disastrous. With the second vice, someone either endlessly perpetuates his inquiry or, if he makes a judgment, he never acts upon it. The result of this is an indefinite state of pondering one’s vocation, erroneously believing that one is practicing prudence. In both cases, the individuals do not merely lack prudence, but they practice vices contrary to prudence, and in this way they tragically destroy their vocations.
In the case of hastiness, or acting without thinking, prudence often fails because a person has been habituated to living on the sensual level of an animal. Such people are accustomed to leading a life of seeking unrestrained pleasure, impulsively following their feelings without the discipline of reason. In this case, proper vocation discernment is hindered until the individual breaks free from the bondage of the passions.
Secondly, in the case of thinking without acting, prudence often fails as a result of indefinitely refusing to act upon one’s judgment. The problem here is that the steps of prudence have not been completed. There is a defect in commanding oneself to do what one has judged is the best path to follow. The cause of this is often the same as just mentioned, i.e., an inordinate attachment to pleasure or feelings. Hence, a command to pursue a judged good is never made. An example of this would be the rich young man in the Gospel, called to follow our Lord. His inquiry and judgment about what to do with his life were sound. His problem was a defect in commanding himself to follow Jesus. The reason for this was his inordinate attachment to the pleasures that accompany wealth. On the other hand, great saints such as St. Peter Claver and St. Claude de Colombiere said “Yes” to their vocations with heroic generosity, even though in their feelings they often felt repelled at what God was asking of them. But feelings are not facts. And a vocation cannot be based on feelings alone. We must respond to God’s call not just emotionally, but with the help of our intellect and will strengthened by grace.
The Environment for Prayer and Sacrifice
Generally speaking, a key remedy to help individuals successfully discern their vocation is prayer and sacrifice. Genuine prayer puts a person into contact with God. It enlightens the mind and fills the heart with love. And the greater the love, the stronger will be the tendency to act for the beloved. Sacrifice complements this gradual spiritual strengthening. Daily acts of renouncing legitimate pleasures loosen the hold that pleasure has over oneself. Together, prayer and sacrifice enable authentic vocation discernment to be initiated and to come to fruition.
For those who are able, an additional and very powerful aid is also available, beyond the general help of greater prayer and sacrifice. An individual can decide to leave behind an environment of activities, superficialities and pleasures and actually enter community life for a period of time. Here, the positive example and counsel of a virtuous group of committed Catholics are invaluable in helping a young person acquire the habits of prayer and sacrifice. In this way, there can be real growth in prudence, and the other virtues too, and therefore real progress in the discernment of the vocation.
The question is sometimes asked: Can someone have 100 % certainty before taking a step and following a religious vocation? St. Thomas Aquinas would say, “Ordinarily, no.” When it comes to making a prudential judgment, absolute certainty is usually impossible. But what is possible is prudential certainty, which is based on a thorough inquiry and the most reasonable judgment about what state of life God is calling a person to enter. A sincere Christian must take a step in faith once prudence has done its work. To wait for 100% certitude is a grave mistake in vocation discernment, an error often fostered by the devil, since so much is at stake.
A person only has 100% certainty that he has found his vocation when, for example, his lawful ecclesiastical superiors accept his perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Until that time, the person should move forward based on the best possible prudential judgment about which life God is calling him to lead. And at the same time, he should grow in his life of sacrifice and prayer, making his own the prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas: “Strengthen me, O God, in my vocation. Grant that I may always know what You want me to do and that I may do it in the way that is best for my soul.”
Miles Jesu is offering a free vocation DVD to help young people find their vocations, and also provides practical help at www.vocationinfo.com. If you are looking for a vocation, or know a young person whom God might be calling, please visit this website or call 866-276-9159.
© Copyright 2005 Catholic Exchange
Fr. Christopher Foeckler, M.J. is a Miles Jesu priest ordained by Pope John Paul II in 1986. He is a graduate of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome (the Angelicum). Among his many apostolates, Fr. Foeckler is dedicated to hearing four hours of confessions daily at the Miles Jesu community center in Phoenix, AZ.
