Hi, my name's Father Mike Schmitz and this is Ascension Presents.
So I work on a college campus and that means I work with a lot of young adults,
people who are in a time of transition, they're in a time of discernment of like,
What does God want me to do with my life? What does he want to do with my life?
They're asking about like, what's my vocation?
If you've been Catholic for any amount of time,
you know we have this word called vocation and typically when people think of vocation,
they think of "Should I be a priest or a nun?" or like, "No, I'm called to the vocation of marriage."
Wonderful, awesome.
But that's a small idea of what vocation is.
In fact, I say there are at least three senses of vocation.
First is this. The first vocation is the primary vocation.
It never, ever changes.
It's the universal call to holiness. Vocation means "call," right?
So the Second Vatican Council said that every person on the planet- Catholic or not,
Christian or not, no matter what, atheist or theist,
every person is called to holiness. It's a universal call to holiness which means this:
Every person on this planet has a call, has the call
to be a saint.
Basically, you realize when you're born, you have a destiny.
Now, that doesn't mean fate, like you're fated into it.
It means you have a destination and God's destiny or his destination for you
is a life with him forever in heaven, so to be a saint.
So, the first vocation, the first call is the universal call to holiness.
You're all called to be a saint. Here's that first one right here. Boom!
The second sense of call is what we typically think of.
It's marriage and family, consecrated single life, religious life, or the priesthood,
so those four kind of senses of vocations, that's what we typically think of like,
Should I be a priest? Should I be married?
Should I be a nun? Should I be a consecrated single?
Yep, that's that second sense of vocation.
The third sense of vocation is what are the immediate tasks?
Or what is the immediate mission that God is calling me to do right now?
And that will always change. That always changes
regardless of whatever vocation you're in.
For example, if you're married and you don't have any kids, well, then your mission looks like this,
but then you start having children, it kind of changes over here.
So this one, this third sense of vocation, God's call in your daily life,
always is changing, it's fluctuating all the time.
This middle one, though, is really interesting
because that's the one we get kind of preoccupied with,
which makes sense, but a lot of times what people do is this.
They say, "I'm trying to discern God's call for my life, my vocation, that secondary sense of vocation-
priesthood, religious life, consecrated single life, or marriage and the family."
And we say, "Well, do I like this or that?"
"Do I like these tasks or those tasks?" and we think that's a good way to discern.
It's not a bad way to start. You have to understand this.
These tasks over here, those are the kind of the actions of the day.
This second sense of vocation, the thing that marks it, is this:
the primary relationship by which you'll become that saint you're meant to be.
Here's what I mean.
If you're called to marriage, here's Jack.
Jack's primary relationship in which he'll become the man God's called him to be
is by dying to himself out of the love for Jill and whatever kids they have.
Here's Jill. If she's called to marriage,
that's the primary relationship by which she'll become the woman she's called to be
by loving Jack and whatever kids God blesses them with.
As a religious sister, the primary relationship by which she'll become
the woman God has called her to be is as a bride to Christ and also in relation to her sisters.
As a consecrated single, the primary relationship by which that person will become the person,
man or woman, they're called to be, that saint, is through serving the people in their lives.
That's just by pouring themselves out in their parish, in the people around them.
As a priest and it's amazing and it just humbles me,
the primary relationship which I'll become the man God has called me to become
is by being as Christ the bridegroom to his bride the Church.
That's the primary relationship by which I'll become the man God wants me to be.
Now, you see this, that the first call never changes.
We're always called to be a saint no matter where you go.
The second call is more stable, but it's not completely stable
That third call is always fluctuating.
Yeah, it's one of the crazy things, an amazing thing.
That's why it's really important to discern the relationship.
Here's an example. I knew a couple who were really athletic.
They loved doing sports together, loved racing,
they were marathoners and triathlon athletes.
And so they got married and thinking like, "This is amazing."
They loved each other a lot and they thought, "We love doing all these things together."
Well, two weeks after they got married, they were in a car accident.
She was paralyzed from the neck down.
All these things changed.
All the activities they wanted to do, all the things that kind of brought them together,
those hobbies and stuff, that all changed.
They couldn't do those anymore together
but this piece, they had discerned that, "No, it's you, it's the person.
It's the other person, that's what I'm discerning."
This is the primary relationship by which I'll become the man or woman I'm called to be.
So for the last thirty years or so,
he has been laying down his life, serving his bride.
The tasks look really different
and for the last 30 years or so, she has received his love and given him love back in return as best as she can.
You know, because sometimes it's harder to be served than it is to be the one serving.
But she's done such an incredible job.
And when they do that, this primary relationship, as they died to themselves
out of love for the other, they're becoming more and more the man and woman
they're called to be.
The reality is God has made you for a purpose.
He's called you to be a saint.
What's the primary relationship by which God will make you into that saint?
And then what's the task at hand?
Right now, what is the task that you need to be doing?
Even if you don't know what your vocation is, this middle vocation,
What's the task you need to be doing today?
Maybe it means getting off the computer. (laughs) I don't know
but maybe it means just loving the people around you.
From all of us here at Ascension Presents, my name is Father Mike Schmitz.
God bless.
That was a long one!
That was a long one
but it was super good though, I know.
Whatever.
Was it good? Was it okay?
I need some affirmation you guys. Seriously.