Monks and Students Meet the Monks - St. John's Abbey

When I was growing up in
northern Wisconsin in the
1950s and 60s, if anyone,
Catholic or Protestant, mentioned the
term vocation, they were referring to a
young man’s call to the priesthood. One
did not have a vocation to heal the sick,
to teach or even to raise a family. Such
chosen professions were called just
that—professions or jobs. Happily my
idea of a vocation has expanded.
Recently a dozen vocation directors
attended a diocesan leadership committee
meeting. We discussed how we can
help to create a vocation’s culture. A
lively exchange ensued about vocation
fairs, web sites and advertising campaigns.
Then someone asked, “What
exactly are we talking about when we
mention vocation?”
Most agreed that parishioners hear the
term vocation as a call to priesthood or
vowed religious life. If the listener does
not feel called specifi cally to either, then
the message is not meant for them. If
we are to create a vocation’s culture, we
have to talk about God’s call to all of us.
Vocation is fi rst defi ned as “a particular
occupation, business or profession, a
calling”; secondly as “a strong impulse
or inclination to follow a particular activity
or career”; and fi nally as “a divine
call to God’s service or to the Christian
life.” All of us are called to follow a
“Our path in life is rightly called a vocation.”
photo by Fran Hoefgen, OSB
What Does the Word
Vocation Mean?
by Paul-Vincent Niebauer, OSB
Does vocation apply only to the call
to the priesthood or religious life?
particular path in
life and that path
is rightly called a
vocation. For the
Christian, however,
whatever
path we are drawn
toward must be
considered as a
vocation that will
also serve the
Lord.
As vocation
director at Saint
John’s Abbey, I
begin my conversation with an interested
person by asking how he is
experiencing the presence of God in his
life. I am a resource in discerning a vocation
to monastic life. But even more
importantly, I assist in the individual’s
discernment of a vocation to serve the
Lord in whatever way of life or profession
to which this person feels called.
Maybe you have never thought about
your profession as fi rst and foremost a
vocation to serve the Lord. You might
consider your present job as a means
to support a family or a relationship or
just yourself—certainly all very valid
reasons for going to work each day. But
try thinking that what you are doing in
life is also a call to serve the Lord.
VOCATION NEWS
Saint Benedict begins his
Rule,”Listen carefully, my son/
daughter, to the master’s instructions,
and attend to them with the
ear of your heart.” As a Christian
I need to ask myself, “What place
does God occupy in my present vocation?
What really energizes me?
Am I happy in my chosen pathway?
If so, could the Holy Spirit have
anything to do with the exuberance
I am experiencing? Can I see the
part that the Spirit has played in
leading me along the path I have
chosen?” We need to remember
that as Christians we all have a
religious vocation!
Paul-Vincent Niebauer is the abbey’s
vocation director and director of theatre
at Saint John’s Preparatory School.
The Abbey Banner Fall 2003 page 17