In my opinion... Vocation IS an urgent matter

As many of you might be aware, last Sunday was Good Shepard Sunday, which is also known as Vocation Sunday. This day was instituted in 1964 by Pope Paul VI as a day to pray in particular for an increase in vocations, especially to the Priesthood and Religious Life. 

Fittingly, many Catholic institutions shared posts on their social media pages to promote vocations to their congregation. I came across more than a few posts from the religious orders, encouraging young people to consider if God might be calling them to live the Gospel by their way of life. There were also posts about how one should go about discerning his or her call to a particular vocation, but one particular post stood out to me. This post was about what a vocation is and is not, and I must admit that I was rather bemused by the very first point made in the post; Vocation is NOT an Urgent Matter. 

What I'm about to write in today's post might not sit well with some of you, and I'm not saying that I'm obviously right in what I'm about to say. However, I find it rather puzzling that a religious organisation could post something like that, and I felt called to weigh in my thoughts on this. What I write today is solely based on what I know, and what I perceive to be right, and I am open to dialogue on this if any of my readers feel that today's post is erroneous. 

Discerning one's vocation is a serious matter. This is a fact which is consistent for discerning any form of vocation, be it to the priesthood, to the religious life, to married life, or even to being a consecrated single. It is always a serious matter, and not something to be taken lightly. All of us have been created to be unique individuals, but with a purpose in God's plan for the salvation of the world. If we are truly intentional in being disciples of Christ, we should be taking discernment for the vocation which God created us for very seriously. 

Unfortunately though, from my understanding and experience, when it comes to discerning one's call to the priesthood and religious life in this day and age, it seems as though our shepherds of today think that there should not be any urgency involved. I've heard stories from many aspirants, where their Spiritual Directors constantly ask them to take their time in discerning their vocation, and making the necessary steps for application into the seminary or the postulancy for religious orders. In fact, I've also been advised on numerous occasions from more than a number of clergy to take things slowly. 

As much as it's true that one should not rush into the seminary, I can't help but wonder if intentions may or may not have been misplaced here. Surely, it cannot be that there shouldn't be any form of urgency, and that aspirants should be encouraged to move at a snail's pace? 

In my own discernment journey, I am constantly reminded of how Jesus called his disciples in Matthew's Gospel: 

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you into fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

- Matthew 4:18-22

When Jesus called his first disciples, we are told that they dropped their nets to follow him at once, immediately. They were not completely sure of who Jesus was, or if he was truly the son of God. Sure, they might have heard about him, but from the gospels, we don't see the disciples having any certainly of who Jesus truly was when they left everything to follow him. This was something which they were to discover as they made their journey with him. 

Taking reference from the call of the disciples (and in fact, the call of a number of the Saints as well), I believe that is how we should be taking the discernment journey. Sure, we can pray about our vocations (and we should!). In fact all of us should be more intentional in our prayer life about discerning the will of God in our lives. However, to insinuate that our Vocations aren't an urgent matter is a platitude at best. That was not how Jesus called the disciples, nor was it how the disciples responded. 

Furthermore, if we are sincere about being disciples and in building God's kingdom, I fail to see how our vocations should not have any form of urgency. Shouldn't we find it to be an urgent matter to do our part in building the kingdom of God? Or should the building of our own careers and kingdoms be our priority instead? 

I sincerely hope that nobody reading this musing misunderstands what I'm trying to say here. I'm not saying that we should encourage young people to rush into the priesthood or religious life, or even into married life without taking it to prayer, and spending a suitable amount of time in prayerful discernment. Nor am I saying that the seminary and the religious congregations should not observe due diligence in accepting young people into formation, or that there's anything wrong with a 'late' vocation. These things are important, and it would be detrimental to the life of the Church to compromise on any of them. 

However, to insinuate that our vocations are not an urgent matter could very well be contributing to the fact that our Catholics are becoming more and more secular, and choosing to focus on themselves, rather than on others. Our Catholics today (myself included if I'm being brutally honest) do not see our roles in the kingdom of God as our number one priority. And this could also be contributing to the fact that there is a shortage in vocations to the priesthood and religious life. 

It's one thing to assure young people that they should not rush into things, and should take their discernment into prayer. It's quite another to insinuate that our vocations do not entail urgency.