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4(56 7'(68 (+ 1(.#'*(/
What uiew you to Called to Life? Why uo you want to exploie questions of vocation. Naybe you
have always been interested in the meaning of your life or Gods purpose for each of us. 0i peihaps
you want to unueistanu how oui faith connects to oui ielationships, woik, anu iuentity.
No mattei what biought you heie, we hope this chance to ieflect on youi ielationship with uou will
be a meaningful step on youi jouiney of faith. 0vei the next few weeks, you anu youi gioup will
consiuei U+-9%&5)9 5A 75'#%&5):
What is my vocation.
How can I learn to listen to Gods call?
Bow uo I live out my multiple callings.
What impact uo my stiuggles have on my vocation.
Bow is my vocation changing ovei my lifetime.
Thiough the '5)7-$9#%&5)D (-$95)#2 $-A2-'%&5)D #), ($#/-$ of Called to Life, you can gain
gieatei awaieness of how, wheie, anu why uou is calling you. Youi openness to this piocess anu
your willingness to reflect on the questions in this Guide will deepen your experience of Called to
Life.
Each week you will use this uuiue foi a 9&;(2- ($#/-$ ($#'%&'-D # 9<5$% $-#,&)6D #), 9-7-$#2
$-A2-'%&5) U+-9%&5)9 befoie youi gioups meeting. You can biing the uuiue with you to meetings to
jog youi memoiy about youi ieflections oi to wiite uown anything you want to iemembei fiom the
groups discussion. Aftei each meeting, you will ietuin to the uuiue foi anothei piayei piactice anu
follow-up questions foi ieflection. An 5)2&)- 7-$9&5) of the guiue is also available. Please visit
www.collegevilleinstitute.oigcalleutolife if you woulu like to piay, ieau, anu ieflect thiough each
session online oi uownloau the guiue as a PBF.
V5+$)#2&)6 /5+$ %<5+6<%9 thioughout this jouiney will let you look back anu see how youi
unueistanuing has ueepeneu, how youi assumptions may have changeu, anu wheie you aie still
seeking wisuom. The uuiue will also intiouuce you to helpful iesouices foi exploiing fuithei
questions of vocation in youi life. Once the Called to Life program has ended, you can keep using
this uuiue to auu to youi stoiy ovei time as it continues to unfolu.
We hope that this uuiue will help you to shaie anu exploie /5+$ 5R) 9%5$/ 5A 75'#%&5). As youi
eyes aie opened to Gods presence around you, may the ear of your heart turn to hear God
speaking in youi lifethe call of vocation.

Listen with the ear of your heart.
-5$% (+ 7'9 :%/%&*.'; "$5256+- @

%

)%.'*( 2*3*/#, </ =/'6(&5.'*(/
For each session of Called to Life, we invite you to spenu time with the piayei piactice of "#$%&'
(&)&*+ befoie anu aftei each gioup meeting. Retuin to the outline on this page when you piay with
the Sciiptuie passage foi each session.
H H H
,#$%&' (&)&*+, or holy reading, is an ancient practice from the Christian tradition, dating back to the
eaily meuieval eia of piayeiful stuuy of Sciiptuie in monasteiies. Saint Beneuict uesciibeu the
piocess of "#$%&' (&)&*+ in his Rule of Saint Beneuict written around the year 500. ,#$%&' (&)&*+ is a
slow, quiet, anu thoughtful encountei with Sciiptuie that has been useu by Chiistians foi centuiies.
Reauing anu ieflecting on the biblical passage thiee times provides time and space for Gods Word
to move fiom oui lips, into oui minus, anu finally into oui heaits. 0vei time, oui piactice of "#$%&'
(&)&*+ can become a piactice of piayei that opens oui eyes anu eais to how uou is speaking to us in
oui eveiyuay lives.
H H H
-&*( + ./&#% 0"+$# 1'2 3'/2 2#1"#$%&'*4 5#6&* &* 02+3#27
Loiu, open my heait to ieflect on youi call in my life anu foi my life. Amen.

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Loiu, open my heait to ieflect on youi call in my life anu foi my life. Amen.
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When you hear the word vocation, what uo you think about. Can you uefine vocation in youi
own woius.



What uiu you leain about vocation or Gods call as you were growing up? Has this concept
changeu foi you now as an auult.




uoing Beepei: What is the meaning of vocation.
The word vocation can mean uiffeient things to uiffeient people. The piophet }eiemiah useu
words like plans anu call to describe how he understood God at work in his life. Today we hear
words like purpose or meaning to describe the seaich foi ueepei unueistanuing about oui lives.
Foi some, vocation means a job oi an occupation. Foi otheis, vocation means a calling to oiuaineu
ministiy in the chuich. But in the Chiistian tiauition, vocation is actually much biggei anu bioauei
than we might believe. vocation is the +)&7-$9#2 call to uiscipleship that all baptizeu Chiistians
Foi suiely I know the plans I have foi you, says the Loiu,
plans foi youi welfaie anu not foi haim, to give you a futuie full with hope.
Then when you call upon me anu come anu piay to me, I will heai you.
When you seaich foi me, you will finu me;
if you seek me with all youi heait, I will let you finu me, says the Loiu.

}eiemiah 29: 11-14
'

shaie. vocation is also the (#$%&'+2#$ call that uou speaks to each of us in oui own unique lives. So
vocation is not ieseiveu foi just a fewit is something we all shaie.
But how can oui vocation be J5%< 6-)-$#2 #), 9(-'&A&'. Bow can oui calling fiom uou be
something +)&7-$9#2 that we all shaie, as well as something (#$%&'+2#$ to oui own life. The
eveiyuay ways in which we live out the coie tiuths of oui faith ieveal how this woiks:
As Chiistians, we shaie a common call to love the Loiu youi uou with all youi heait, anu
with all youi soul, anu with all youi stiength, anu with all youi minu; anu youi neighboi as
yourself (Luke 1u:27). But we answei this call not just by loving people in a geneial sense,
but by caiing foi paiticulai inuiviuuals aiounu us: the spouse we have chosen, the chilu we
aie iaising, the co-woikeis we woik with, the neighbois next uooi.
We also share a common call from God to be fiuitful (Genesis 1:22). We answer this
univeisal call by using oui unique gifts, talents, anu skills to uo a paiticulai kinu of woik oi
seivice in the woilu: gaiuening, banking, nuising, oi painting.
Christians are all called to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). Rathei
than becoming missionaiies in fai-off countiies, most of us iesponu to this call by setting
examples of faith in eveiyuay ways iight wheie we live: we woik ethically at oui jobs, we
ieach out to a fiienu in ciisis, we volunteei oui time at a local foou shelf.
In each example, we aie all calleu by uou in a geneial way to be men anu women of faith. But as we
heai this univeisal call in the paiticulai contexts anu ciicumstances of oui inuiviuual lives, we
natuially iesponu in specific ways. We shape oui vocation in response to Gods call. Looking at all
that oui life embiaces, we can see how the unique quality of oui vocations is cieateu by weaving
togethei:
R<5 8 #; '#22-, %5 J-the coie of my iuentity, as cieateu by uou anu baptizeu in Chiist by
the powei of the Boly Spiiit;
<5R 8 #; '#22-, %5 2&7-my commitments of lifestyle anu ielationships, whethei
maiiiage, paienting, the single life oi voweu celibate life;
R<#% 8 #; '#22-, %5 ,5the woik, seivice oi activities that fill my uaily life.
0ui vocation is cieateu by this unique constellation of oui iuentity, oui ielationships, anu oui woik.
So oui vocationsas both univeisal anu specific callingsaie liveu out in paiticulai ways in oui
homes, neighboihoous, woikplaces, anu chuiches: all the places wheie we aie calleu anu
challengeu as people of faith.
(

Questions foi Reflection:
Jeremiah speaks of Gods plans for us: plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you
a futuie full with hope. Bo you feel that uou has hopes anu uieams foi youi life in a geneial
sense, as a Chiistian. In any specific ways, as the unique inuiviuual you aie in youi
paiticulai context.




Look back on the thiee-folu uefinition of vocation on page 6. Which of the thiee aieas (who
you aie, how you live, oi what you uo) seems cleaiest to you in teims of youi vocation.
Which of the thiee aieas uo you wonuei the most about. In which of the thiee aieas uo you
have a sense of Gods piesence in youi life.




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What uiu you leain about vocation or Gods call as you were growing up? Has this concept
changeu foi you now as an auult. Bow woulu you uefine vocation in youi own woius.



What image uo you have of the geneial call that we shaie as Chiistians. Wheie uiu you leain
about this geneial call: fiom youi chuich, family, Sciiptuie, a pastoi oi teachei. Shaie one
example of how you live out the geneial call of vocation in a specific way in youi lifethiough a
ielationship you have, a kinu of woik oi seivice you uo, oi an attituue you live out.


)


Look back togethei on the thiee-folu uefinition of vocation (page 6). Which of the thiee aieas
(who you aie, how you live, oi what you uo) seems cleaiest to you in teims of youi paiticulai
vocation. Which of the thiee aieas uo you have the most questions about in teims of vocation
or Gods call? In which of the three areas do you have a sense of Gods presence in your life?




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What uiu you leain fiom the ways that otheis in youi gioup uefineu oi thought about
vocation. What was similai in theii unueistanuing to youi own. What was uiffeient. What
suipiiseu you about youi groups conveisation togethei.




Jeremiahs words assure us that not only does God have plans of love and hope for us, but
uou also heais us when we call. Now that you aie using "#$%&' (&)&*+ as a piayei piactice,
what questions uo you want to biing to uou in piayei about youi vocation. What questions
uo you have about youi geneial call to live as a Chiistian. About youi paiticulai callings of
who you aie, how you live, anu what you uo.




*

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Elijah expecteu to finu uou in a poweiful foice of natuie. Insteau, uou was ievealeu to him
in a tiny whispeiing sounu. Have you ever experienced Gods presence in an unexpected
way. What uiu this expeiience feel like. What uiu it teach you about uou.


Bow uo you think uou communicates with us. Thiough othei people, natuie, music, events,
piayei oi woiship, Sciiptuie oi othei ieauing, the neeus of the woilu, oi oui own thoughts
oi iueas. Name one oi two ways you have expeiienceu uou communicating with you in
youi life. What message uiu uou communicate to you.





Then the Loiu saiu,
uo outsiue anu stanu on the mountain befoie the Loid; the Lord will be passing by.
A stiong anu heavy winu was ienuing the mountains anu ciushing iocks befoie the Loiu
but the Loiu was not in the winu.
Aftei the winu theie was an eaithquakebut the Loiu was not in the eaithquake.
Aftei the eaithquake theie was fiiebut the Loiu was not in the fiie.
Aftei the fiie theie was a tiny whispeiing sounu.
When he heaiu this, Elijah hiu his face in his cloak
anu went anu stoou at the entiance of the cave.
A voice saiu to him, Elijah, why aie you heie.

1 Kings 19:11-1S

!+

uoing Beepei: Bow can we heai anu respond to Gods call for our lives?
Fiom the time we aie chiluien anu teenageis, people ask us questions like, What do you want to be
when you grow up? and What aie you going to do with your life? Sometimes such questions seem
exciting anu full of possibility. 0thei times they feel oppiessive anu oveiwhelming. Yet at eveiy
stage of lifes journeyat miu-caieei oi at ietiiement, foi examplewe aie full of questions about
what to uo, wheie to go, who to be.
Bow can we leain to see wheie uou is leauing us thiough oui jouiney. Bow can we become awaie
of how uou speaks to us, often in tiny whispering sounds. Bow uo we unueistanu what uou
wants foi anu fiom oui lives. These aie questions of vocation that call foi caieful uisceinment.
The piocess of ,&9'-$);-)% is a centuiies-olu Chiistian piactice of peisonal piayei anu ieflection
with otheis that examines oui lives in light of what we know about Gods hopes, uieams, anu love
foi us. Bisceinment involves paying attention to oui expeiiences in oiuei to recognize Gods
piesence. Wheie uo we notice uou at woik in oui ielationships, in oui woik, oi in oui eveiyuay
activities. What other voices around us are competing with Gods voice or leading us towards
selfish, even evil, inclinations insteau of the goou uou wants foi us. What patteins uo we notice
about how we make uecisions: aie we caieful planneis oi uo we simply fall into situations without
much thought. Bow uo we choose. Thiough uisceinment we consiuei oui innei thoughts as well as
oui outwaiu actions; we listen to ouiselves, to otheis, to oui community anu oui context.
The Chiistian tiauition offeis many A5$;#2 ($#'%&'-9 5A ,&9'-$);-)%. Ignatian spiiituality uses a
ieview of wheie Gods presence is felt thioughout the uay (calleu the #K+=#*). Quakeis gathei
clearness committees wheie a group helps an individual to discern Gods voice within them and
finu claiity about a question oi uilemma. The piactice of "#$%&' (&)&*+ that you aie leaining fiom the
Rule of Saint Beneuict is anothei uisceinment piocess with a long histoiy of helping Chiistians soit
out Gods voice from the many other voices that call to us.
But many people alieauy have &)A5$;#2 <#J&%9 5A ,&9'-$);-)%. Peihaps you have a tiusteu fiienu
that you talk to about big uecisions. Naybe you jouinal oi piay oi take long walks when you aie
wiestling with impoitant questions. Youi uisceinment piactices aie the ways you ieflect on youi
life anu make uecisions baseu on what uou ieveals to you thiough youi life:
!!

Vocationcomes from listening. I must listen to my life and try to unueistanu what it is
tiuly aboutquite apait fiom what I woulu like it to be aboutoi my life will nevei
iepiesent anything ieal in the woilu, no mattei how eainest my intentions.
Befoie I can tell my life what I want to uo with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I
am. I must listen foi the tiuths anu values at the heait of my own iuentity, not the stanuaius
by which I =/;% livebut the stanuaius by which I cannot help but live if I am living my
own life.
Fiom Paikei }. Palmei, ,#% O'/2 ,&1# :0#+?7 ,&;%#*&*6 1'2 %9# P'&$# '1 P'$+%&'*
We often think of Gods call as a voice that is heard. The word vocation comes from the Latin woiu
)'$+2# which means to call, and calling has traditionally been another teim for vocation. Anu
people often talk about uisceinment as listening for Gods call or hearing Gods voice, as in the
stoiies in Sciiptuie when uou speaks fiom a buining bush (Exouus S:1-4:17) oi wakes someone
with a voice in the night (1 Samuel S:1-18). Yet it seems that most of us do not experience Gods call
thiough a booming voice fiom heaven that tells us wheie to go oi what to uo. Insteau, we aie calleu
by uou thiough the people anu places, the events anu the encounteis, the challenges anu the
changes of oui eveiyuay lives. uou communicates with us thiough conveisations anu questions,
thiough fiienus anu family, thiough oui own hopes anu thoughts. Maybe we feel pulled or
drawn towards one decision instead of another. Perhaps we see signs or feel led down a certain
path. These can all be ways that uou ieveals oui vocation to us.
And vocation is not just Gods call to us; it is also our response to God. We call on God in tuin as we
stiuggle to figuie out wheie anu how to live out oui vocations. Bisceinment piactices aie valuable
foi questions of vocation because they help us uevelop habits foi exploiing oui ielationship with
uou. While it takes effoit anu patience to leain how to look anu listen foi uou, such habits of
uisceinment can help us uuiing times of uoubt, feai oi anxiety about oui vocations. Naking time
and space for discernment can open our ears and our hearts to find God in the tiny whispering
sounds of our lives.


!#

Questions foi Reflection:
What uo you expect a call fiom uou to look like. Feel like. Sounu like. Wheie uo you think
this iuea oi image came fiom. Boes it match youi expeiience of how uou woiks in youi life.



Bave you evei felt uou guiuing you towaius ceitain uecisions oi away fiom otheis. What
woius woulu you use to uesciibe how uou woikeu in such situations. (Foi example:
pushing, pulling, leauing, hinting, uiawing, nuuging, puisuing, oi conveiting.)


Think back on the last impoitant uecision you maue. What oi who helpeu you come to the
choice that you maue. What voices uiu you listen to as you woikeu thiough the uecision:
youiself, otheis, uou. Bow uiu you soit thiough these uiffeient voices. What might you like
to change about the way you make uecisions in the futuie.



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+D'/% %9#;# ./#;%&'*; D#1'2# %9# =##%&*64
What uo you expect a call fiom uou to look like. Feel like. Sounu like. Wheie uo you think
this iuea oi image came fiom. Boes it match youi expeiience of how uou woiks in youi life.


!$


Shaie a stoiy of a time in youi life when you felt uiawn to a uecision, a ielationship, oi a job.
What uiu this expeiience feel like. What uiu you leain about youiself. About uou.



Boes youi faith influence how you make majoi uecisions ielateu to youi vocationin teims
of ielationships oi woik anu othei activities, foi example. If so, in what ways. If not, why
not. Shaie an example of a time that youi faith impacteu youi uecision-making.



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Conveisation with otheis can be an impoitant pait of uisceinment. What uiu you leain fiom
other peoples descriptions of how God communicates with us? What was similar to your
own expeiience anu what was uiffeient. What suipiiseu you about the way people spoke
about their understanding of Gods call or how they make decisions related to vocation?



Can you now name some piactices of uisceinmentwhether formal prayer practices like
those uesciibeu on page 1u oi infoimal habitsthat have helpeu you make uecisions in the
past. What uisceinment piactices aie you inteiesteu in leaining moie about. (See the
!%

Suggesteu Resouices list on page Su foi moie infoimation about Ignatian, Quakei, oi
Beneuictine uisceinment piactices.)



Based on your personal reflection and your groups discussion, what questions do you now
have about uou as the one who calls each of us to oui vocations.



!&

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Nake a list of youi vaiious ioles anu ielationships (foi example: spouse, paient, fiienu,
neighboi, employee, volunteei, chuich membei, etc.). To what extent uo you feel calleu to
these uiffeient ielationships anu ioles. Who aie you calleu to be within these ioles anu
ielationships.


Bo you feel a sense of unity in youi vocation. If so, what unites youi vocation. If not, why
not. Aie theie influences in youi life oi foices aiounu you that woik against feeling a sense
of unity within youi vocation.



Bo you expeiience youi life as one calling oi as multiple callings.



I thereforebeg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been calleu,
with all humility anu gentleness, with patience, beaiing with one anothei in love,
making eveiy effoit to maintain the unity of the Spiiit in the bonu of peace.
Theie is one bouy anu one Spiiit, just as you weie calleu to the one hope of youi calling,
one Loiu, one faith, one baptism, one uou anu Fathei of all,
who is above all anu thiough all anu in all.

Ephesians 4:1-6
!'

uoing Beepei: Bow uo we live out oui vocation in multiple ways.
Nany people touay feel pulleu in numeious uiiections, stietcheu beyonu theii limits. The
iesponsibilities anu obligations of woik anu family piess on us fiom all siues, each aiea of oui life
uemanuing moie time anu attention than we have to give. 0ui woilu is incieasingly fast-paceu,
evei-changing, anu we stiuggle to keep up. Bow can we finu a sense of centeieuness anu peace
amiust all these piessuies.
The challenges we face in living out multiple callings can spiing fiom the %<$--XA52, )#%+$- 5A 5+$
75'#%&5)F CA( 8 #; '#22-, %5 J-D A(C 8 #; '#22-, %5 2&7-D #), CA#' 8 #; '#22-, %5 ,5. (All the
uiffeient ioles anu ielationships that you listeu on page 1S likely fall unuei one of these categoiies,
if not two oi thiee.) Tension between oui iuentity, ielationships, anu woik often leaves us feeling
scatteieu. Foi example, we may stiuggle to stay faithful to oui coie values anu beliefs when we aie
in the woikplace oi in ielationships with ceitain people. 0ui commitments to family may uetiact
fiom oi uiiectly conflict with oui iesponsibilities at woik.
Some people iesponu to these competing uemanus by '5;(#$%;-)%#2&Y&)6 theii lives. But it can
be fiustiating to feel like a uiffeient peison at woik than we aie at home. Nany people want a
ueepei sense of authenticity insteau; they uo not want to leau uiviueu lives. All oui callingsoui
vaiious ioles anu ielationshipsieveal something about wheie we invest oui time, oui eneigy, anu
oui love. We want them to feel '5))-'%-, #), &)%-6$#%-,.
Nagazines, websites anu Tv shows offei auvice on how to achieve a gieatei sense of balance in oui
lives. But foi Chiistians, the concept of a '-)%-$-, 2&A- may provide a helpful alternative to trying
to seek a peifect balance between oui multiple callings: As }ack Foitin, the authoi of E9# R#*%#2#(
,&1#, wiites:
Some social commentators have suggested that the answer to the divided life is a balanced
life. Although they have some valuable things to say, I finu that the balanceu life is finally a
myth; it cant be done. In a balanced life, I try to stay in control of my life and try to find
ways to balance the vaiious facets of my life: woik, family, peisonal caie, fiienuships,
community life, anu political involvement. The pioblem with this is that it keeps us self-
absoibeu, anu the elements of oui lives iaiely stay in balance. Think of what happens, foi
example, when you have a sick chilu. Youi goal then is not to maintain a balance, but to take
immeuiate caie of that chilu.
The alteinative to a balanceu life is a faithful life. It is a life faithful, moment by moment, to
the uou in whom we live anu move anu have oui being. It is a centeieu life. The peifect
example of the faithful life is }esus Chiist. }esus often woikeu long houis uespite the
!(

objections of his uisciples, anu at othei times he withuiew fiom people anu tenueu to his
own neeus foi iest, ieflection, anu piayei.
A life centered in the triune God gives identity and a place to stand in a chaotic and
compaitmentalizeu woilu. The Cieatoi uou is piesent in all I uo. Chiist is the example anu
provides the means for how I am to live and love in Gods world. The Holy Spirit is the voice
within me that guiues the way I live. With uou as the centei of my life, I know <9';# I am
anu can begin to uiscovei <9' I am.
Fiom }ack Foitin, E9# R#*%#2#( ,&1#

While the thiee-folu natuie of oui vocation can sometimes feel like it is pulling us in multiple
uiiections, theie can also be life-giving eneigy founu within the numeious ways we aie calleu.
When we use oui uou-given gifts to seive the neeus of those aiounu us oi when we live out the
faith at the heait of oui iuentity as we woik in the woilu, we can expeiience a ueep sense of joy oi
giatituue foi the many people anu places to which we have been calleu. This is how it feels to be
'-)%-$-, &) 5+$ 75'#%&5): to iecognize that we aie calleu by uou to many uiffeient ielationships,
commitments, anu woik, but that we aie also calleu to live as the same beloveu chilu of uou within
these multiple callings.
Seaiching foi a sense of unity oi centeieuness in oui vocation is nevei simple. The ielationship
between oui multiple callings changes thioughout the seasons of oui lives, fiom times of tension to
moments of haimony. But ultimately oui vocation is about our one faith in the one God and
Fathei of all, who is above all anu thiough all anu in all, as Paul wiites in his lettei to the Ephesians.
Keeping oui tiust anu hope in uou at the centei of oui many callings is a constant challenge but is
an effoit shaieu by all who seek to live a life of faith.

Questions foi Reflection:
Look back ovei the list that you maue of youi multiple callings. What aie the ielationships
between these uiffeient callings. Aie some in haimony oi aie they in competition with each
othei. Bow uo the ielationships between youi callings impact the iest of youi life.



!)

When you feel tension between uiffeient callings within youi life, how uo you ieact. What
iesponses have you founu to be most helpful. Least helpful. Bave you evei biought these
conceins to uou in piayei.




When oi wheie uo you feel most centeieu. When you stait to feel off centei, what helps
you to finu youi focus again.



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Bow uo you expeiience youi vocation: as one calling oi as multiple callings. Aie theie
influences in youi life oi foices aiounu you that woik against feeling a sense of unity within
youi vocation.



Looking at the list of multiple callings that you compileu, what aie the challenges that come
with multiple vocations. What aie the joys. Shaie a stoiy of a situation that illustiates one
of these challenges oi joys.





!*

How would your life look differently if you tried to live a centered life instead of a
balanced life? What might neeu to change as you woik towaius keeping uou at the centei
of youi multiple callings. What help uo you neeu in this effoit.





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What did you learn from others stories about living out their multiple callings. Biu any of
the callings people shaieu suipiise you. What common conceins oi stiuggles uo you shaie
with otheis in the gioup about uealing with the uemanus of multiple callings.




Paul encouiages the Ephesians to have patience, humility anu gentleness as they stiive to
lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called. What attituues uo you want
to biing to the challenges you face in living out youi multiple callings. Wheie can you tuin
foi suppoit in this effoit.




What uo you imagine that uou hopes anu uieams foi you, in calling you to many uiffeient
kinus of ielationships, ioles, woik anu seivice that make up youi vocation.

#+

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Think of someone you knowa fiienu, a family membei, a co-woikeiwho has faceu
significant stiuggles oi suffeiing in theii life. What have you leaineu fiom theii example.


Buiing times in youi life when you have faceu challenges oi felt oveiwhelmeu, uiu you
experience Gods presence or absence? How did this feel? How did Gods presence or
absence affect youi faith oi youi piayei.


What does it mean to you to take up your cross?


Then }esus began to teach his uisciples that the Son of Nan must unueigo gieat suffeiing, anu
be iejecteu by the elueis, the chief piiests, anu the sciibes, anu be killeu, anu aftei thiee uays
iise again. Be saiu all this quite openly. Anu Petei took him asiue anu began to iebuke him.
But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, Get behind me, Satan!
For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.

Be calleu the ciowu with his uisciples, anu saiu to them, If any want to become my followers,
let them ueny themselves anu take up theii cioss anu follow me.
Foi those who want to save theii life will lose it,
and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

Naik 8:S1-SS
#!

uoing Beepei: Bow uo we make sense of the suffeiing anu stiuggles in oui vocations.
All of oui lives aie toucheu by painful expeiiences, times of challenge, oi significant loss. Because
uifficulty anu stiuggle aie pait of the human conuition, oui vocations aie shapeu by suffeiing. Anu
because Christs own passion and death transformed human suffeiing, we aie calleu as Chiistians to
consiuei oui haiuships in a new light.
The challenges we face may be (</9&'#2D ;-)%#2D -;5%&5)#2D 5$ 9(&$&%+#2. We may stiuggle with
oui health: uisabilities, uisease, mental illness oi auuictions. We may stiuggle with oui families:
estiangeu ielationships, abuse, oi uivoice. We may stiuggle with woik: job buinout, ethical
uilemmas, oi financial uifficulties. We may stiuggle with loss: of a loveu one, an oppoitunity, an
ability oi a uieam. We may stiuggle with oui faith: wheie is uou in this mess anu chaos. Is this pait
of what uou is calling me to.
Retuining to the thiee-folu uefinition of vocation fiom the fiist session (page 6), we can see how
oui vocations aie affecteu in piofounu ways by painful expeiiences. Who we aie, how we live, anu
what we uo aie all impacteu by situations of stiess oi stiuggle. Anu pain oi loss in one of these
aieas of vocation5+$ &,-)%&%/D 5+$ $-2#%&5)9<&(9D 5$ 5+$ R5$Zimpacts the otheis in tuin. Foi
example, haiuships ielateu to oui job can impact oui self-esteem anu sense of iuentity as well as
oui ielationships with family anu fiienus outsiue the woikplace.
0ne peispective that may help us unueistanu stiuggles ielateu to vocation is to consiuei 9'< uou
may be calling us. We may be '#22-, R&%<&) a uifficult situation: to act in a ceitain way oi to have a
paiticulai attituue. Even if we cannot change the ciicumstances, we can iesponu in ways that allow
oui vocation to flouiish. Foi example, people suffeiing fiom seiious illness can suipiise theii
families anu caiegiveis with the positive peispective they aie able to uevelopviitues of
compassion, patience, oi giatituue. At othei times we aie '#22-, #R#/ A$5; a situationwhethei
an abusive ielationship, a toxic woikplace, oi a negative enviionment. Though it can be painful to
leave, uou sometimes calls us to uo the uifficult woik of closing a uooi anu moving on.
We may also be '#22-, A5$ something, as we come to see a puipose gieatei than oui own comfoit oi
happiness. Peihaps we can become a companion oi mentoi foi otheis giappling with the same
uifficultiesuepiession, chemical auuictions oi eating uisoiueis. Similaily, we can finu ouiselves
'#22-, %5 a new pait of oui vocation as a iesult of loss oi uifficulty, as oui eyes aie openeu to a new
possibility, oppoitunity oi way of thinking. Foi example, a couple who has liveu thiough yeais of
infeitility may finu themselves calleu to auopt oi fostei a chilu. Expeiiences of pain oi loss can biing
##

a ueepei sense of empathy with otheis oi giatituue foi othei gifts we have ieceiveu. victims of
natuial uisasteis like floous, toinauos oi huiiicanes often iealize that the basic fact of their familys
suivival is all that tiuly matteis. 0i the loss of a job can ieminu us how giateful we aie foi
suppoitive fiienus oi neighbois.
Sometimes we aie calleu J/ the suffeiing we expeiience. We feel moveu to iesponu by uoing what
we can to change the painful situation oi to biing new life fiom an expeiience of loss. Foi example,
someone may change caieeis oi take on a new volunteei oppoitunity once they have expeiienceu
the loss of a loveu one oi witnesseu fiist-hanu the suffeiing that comes fiom extieme poveity. uou
can woik thiough oui angei, fiustiation oi sauness to cieate something positive.
Pain and trouble often play a mysterious role in the unfolding of our callings. Experiences
of peisonal suffeiing, oi encounteis with the pain of otheis, offei spiiitual oppoitunities
that have the potential to put us in touch with the sacieu uimension of expeiience fiom
which callings emerge: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in
spirit.
Fiom }ohn Neafsey, M :+$2#( P'&$# &; R+""&*67 T#2;'*+" P'$+%&'* +*( :'$&+" R'*;$&#*$#
But at othei times oui suffeiing seems too painful oi unjust to be meaningful. 0ui stiuggle to
unueistanu why this is happening to us may leau us to wiestle with uou oi even lose faith. These
uaik moments of questioning oui vocation may change oui unueistanuing oi image of uou. Foi
example, aftei a uivoice, someone may wonuei why oi if uou calleu them to maiiiage in the fiist
place. When a chilu is stiicken with a life-thieatening illness, the paients may question how a loving
uou coulu possibly allow this to happen. These aie ueep challenges to oui view of vocation anu of
uou. But the obstacles we meet thiough such times of ciisis may eventually be founu to holu as
much of Gods piesence as oui joys anu tiiumphs. Leaining fiom oui stiuggles as we ieflect on what
it means to take up oui ciosses anu follow Chiist is a cential pait of oui vocational jouiney.

Questions foi Reflection:
Look back on youi list of multiple callings (page 1S). Think of an expeiience of pain oi loss
that impacteu one of these callings. Bow uiu this expeiience change the ielationship, the
woik oi the way of being that this calling involves. What uiu you leain fiom the expeiience
of pain oi loss.
#$



Biaw a picture of a river that represents your lifes journey thus far. Where are the twists
anu tuins in youi iivei. Wheie aie the boulueis oi the iapius. What uo these obstacles
iepiesent.


Can you think of a time that you felt calleu R&%<&) a stiuggle. NR#/ A$5; a uifficult
situation. I5R#$,9 something new. 35$ a ueepei puipose than you fiist thought.






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+D'/% %9#;# ./#;%&'*; D#1'2# %9# =##%&*64
Describe how it felt to draw the picture of the river that represents your lifes journey so far.
(If you wish, you may show youi uiawing to the gioup.) Was this exeicise easy oi uifficult.
What suipiiseu you about the pictuie that emeigeu. Biu it ieveal anything new to you
about the stiuggles anu challenges you have encounteieu.




Shaie a stoiy of an expeiience of uifficulty, loss, oi challenge that impacteu one of the
callings you uiscusseu at the last gioup meeting. What was youi ielationship with uou like
uuiing this time. Bow uiu this stiuggle shape oi change youi unueistanuing of youi
vocation. Bow uiu this expeiience affect youi ielationship with uou.

#%


Shaie an example of a time that you felt calleu R&%<&) a stiuggle, #R#/ A$5; a uifficult
situation, %5R#$,9 something new, oi A5$ a ueepei puipose than you fiist thought. What
unexpecteu oppoitunities, ueepei awaieness, oi new gifts uiu this expeiience holu foi you.
Boes it suipiise you now to view this painful expeiience as meaningful in a new oi uiffeient
way.



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We dont often share the shadow sides of our stories with others. How did it feel to shaie a
stoiy about an expeiience of pain oi loss with youi small gioup. What uiu you leain fiom
the stoiies that otheis shaieu.




Bow uoes ieflecting on times of loss, suffeiing, oi stiuggle change youi unueistanuing of
vocation oi of youi ielationship with uou. Boes this change youi unueistanuing of what it
means to take up your cross and follow Chiist.


#&

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When you weie a chilu oi a teenagei, how uiu you pictuie youi life woulu look at the age
you aie touay. What looks the same anu what looks uiffeient than you imagineu.



Name a commitment that is pait of youi vocation. (Foi example, youi commitment to a
piofession, to a spouse oi paitnei, to youi chiluien, etc.) Bow has this commitment changeu
since you fiist enteieu into it. What uo you imagine it might look like 1u oi 2u yeais fiom
touay.



Thinking back on the pictuie of the iivei that you uiew in the pievious session, uiaw a new
pictuie of the iivei going foiwaiu fiom touay. Wheie uo you imagine it will flow oi tuin.
Will it speeu up oi slow uown. What new uiiections might it take.

Ny chilu, fiom youi youth choose uiscipline,
anu when you have giay haii you will still finu wisuom.
Come to her like one who plows and sows, and wait for her good harvest
If you aie willing, my chilu, you can be uisciplineu,
anu if you apply youiself you will become clevei.
If you love to listen you will gain knowleuge,
anu if you pay attention you will become wise.

Siiach 6:18-19, S2-SS
#'

uoing Beepei: Bow uo we live out oui vocations ovei a lifetime.
0ui vocation is not simply a plan foi oui futuie, a uivine bluepiint to tell us wheie to go anu what to
uo. Insteau, oui vocation is a ieality we live out in the uay to uay, heie anu now. While we all go
thiough times of intense vocational questioningfoi example, the yeais of young auulthoou when
we make majoi life uecisions about woik, school, anu ielationshipswe nevei stop uisceining oui
vocations as we giow. As a young person, we may have thought that one day we would have it all
figured out, but in fact questions of vocation nevei cease.
vocation is # ,/)#;&' $-#2&%/ %<#% -7527-9 %<$5+6<5+% %<- 2-)6%< 5A 5+$ 2&A-, fiom youth thiough
miuule age, fiom ietiiement thiough the eluei yeais. Each stage of life biings new challenges anu
callings: when we stait school, finish college, take a fiist job, become paients, switch caieeis, entei
ietiiement, lose a spouse, oi entei assisteu living. All aspects of oui vocation can change ovei time:
oui woik, oui ielationships, anu oui iuentity. But we aie not left alone to navigate these tiansitions.
As oui guiue anu paitnei in vocation, uou accompanies us thiough each changing stage of life anu
continues to call us to new woik, new ielationships, anu new aspects of oui iuentity.
vocation, then, is not a iigiu appointment, ueteimineu once anu foi all. Rathei, it entails
choices at every life stage, new opportunities to enter more deeply into ones created being
anu to iesponu moie fully to uou in the conciete ciicumstances that piesent themselves.
This is not to say that vocation uoes not involve peimanent commitments. It can anu often
uoes. Yet at each life stage one chooses again to live those commitmentsanu how to live
them well.
Fiom Claiie Wolfteich, J+)&6+%&*6 J#< E#22+&*7 >ork and Womens Spiritual Lives
The lifelong jouiney of living oui uou-given vocation is not a puzzle to be figuieu out once-anu-foi-
all. Insteau, vocation involves a willingness to entei into an ongoing uialogue with uou that is
always evolving. Anu since uou often calls us thiough othei people oi communities, we aie
constantly being inviteu to iesponu to oui changing contexts anu ciicumstances, the changing
neeus of the woilu, anu new oppoitunities that come oui way. Acioss oui lifetime, the people anu
the communities who call us will changefiom paients anu teacheis to fiienus, family, co-woikeis,
neighbois anu even stiangeis. 0ui willingness to heai these changing calls anu to iesponu with
openness, cieativity, anu love is a sign of oui giowth in vocation.
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As we giow into oui callings, we leain that vocations aie iaiely a stiaight line fiom point A to point
B. Instead, most peoples lives take many twists and turns, stops anu staits, in teims of vocation. We
may have seasons when oui sense of calling feels stiong anu othei peiious when we feel lost oi
confuseu. Sometimes one calling may enu anu a new one begins; sometimes we may have to say
no to an opportunity that aiises. Theie aie numeious tiansitions within oui vocations
themselves: oui fiienuships matuie, oui maiiiages go thiough stages, oui caieeis shift. But all
these changesanu the questions, uoubts, feais anu joys they biingaie pait of vocation. As we
continue the eveiyuay woik of living, we may come to see that theie aie many ways in which we
can seive uou anu otheis thiough oui many callings, oui whole life long.

Questions foi Reflection:
Besciibe a time when you felt challengeu by a tiansition you went thiough in teims of
vocation. What questions uiu you have about youiself uuiing this time. About uou.


Besciibe a time when you felt affiimeu oi ieneweu in some aspect of youi vocation. Bow
uiu this expeiience feel. What uiu you leain about youiself, youi gifts, anu youi abilities.




Wheie uo you feel '#22-, &) youi life at this point. Thiough what people oi communities is
uou calling to you at this time in youi life. Bo you have a sense that uou is calling you #R#/
A$5; something oi %5R#$,9 something new.




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When you were a teenager or young adult, asking What am I supposed to do with my life?
what influences shapeu youi uecisions about woik, school, ielationships oi othei aspects of
vocation. If you weie to ask the same question of uou touayWhat am I supposed to do
with my life?how uo you think uou might ieply.

What significant tiansitions have you gone thiough that shapeu youi vocation. What
changes oi tuining points lie aheau of you now.




In what aieas of youi life uo you feel iestlessness oi unceitainty iight now. In what aieas of
youi life uo you feel excitement oi joy. Aie theie places you feel uou might be leauing you
towaius oi away fiom. What communities oi people aie calling to you at this time in youi
life.



Bow has youi unueistanuing of your vocation or the idea of Gods call changeu aftei oui
time togethei in this gioup. What new insight about vocation will you take away with you
fiom this expeiience.



#*

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When you look at the pictuie you uiew of youi iivei flowing foiwaiu, what wisuom woulu
you like to gain in youi latei yeais. What woulu you like to look back anu see when you
ieflect on youi vocation in 1u, 2u oi Su yeais.



Aftei spenuing these past weeks ieflecting on vocation, what new questions uo you have
about Gods call. What unueistanuing aie you still seeking about youi own vocation.




What new iesouices oi piactices of piayei have you leaineu about that coulu help you
continue to exploie youi vocation anu ielationship with uou.



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7500%>'%& -%#&*/0>
:/66#;%&'*; 1'2 1/2%9#2 2#+(&*6 '* 3(.#'*(/7
}ack Foitin. E9# R#*%#2#( ,&1#7 M<+?#*#(B R+""#(B :#% -2##B J/2%/2#(. Ninneapolis, NN:
Augsbuig Foitiess, 2uu6.
}ennifei uiant Bawoith. Discerning Gods Call in W* W/2 >+37 R92&;%&+* T2+$%&$#; 1'2 ,&)&*6
+ >9'"# ,&1#. Euiteu by Boiothy C. Bass anu Susan R. Biiehl. Nashville, TN: 0ppei Room
Books, 2u1u.
}ohn Neafsey. M :+$2#( P'&$# &; R+""&*67 T#2;'*+" P'$+%&'* +*( :'$&+" R'*;$&#*$#. Naiyknoll,
NY: 0ibis Books, 2uu6.
Paikei Palmei. ,#% O'/2 ,&1# :0#+?7 ,&;%#*&*6 1'2 %9# P'&$# '1 P'$+%&'*4 San Fiancisco, CA:
}ossey-Bass, 2uuu.

:/66#;%&'*; 1'2 1/2%9#2 2#+(&*6 '* &*>.%6/E%/'7
Esthei ue Waal. :##?&*6 C'(7 E9# >+3 '1 :%4 5#*#(&$%. Collegeville, NN: Lituigical Piess,
1984.
Naiy Naigaiet Funk. ,#$%&' X+%%#2;7 5#1'2# %9# 5/2*&*6 5/;9. Lonuon: Continuum, 2u1u.
Elizabeth Liebeit. E9# >+3 '1 G&;$#2*=#*%7 :0&2&%/+" T2+$%&$#; 1'2 G#$&;&'* X+?&*6.
Louisville, KY: Westminstei }ohn Knox Piess, 2uu8.

The C&7-$ 5A 0&A- activity in sessions 4 and 5 is auapteu from Joyce Mercers The River of Life: A
Life-Review Activity in the appendix of C&2" E+"?B C'( E+"?7 >93 -+&%9 X+%%#2; %' E##*+6# C&2";
M*( E9#&2 T+2#*%;. San Fiancisco, CA: }ossey-Bass, 2uu8.