Serra Club vocations essay

Priests, deacons and religious help others discern vocations

(Editor’s note: Following is the first in a series featuring the winners of the 2009 Indianapolis Serra Club Vocations Essay Contest.)

By Rebecca Anglen (Special to The Criterion)

A vocation to me means a call in our life to a holy living.

Whether one is called to be a nun or called to be a priest, brother or deacon, if you hear that calling, you must live it to the fullest.

But people cannot always hear this divine call by themselves. They need the help of religious leaders around them.

Priests play a huge role in spiritual growth for the youths around the Church.

Every homily or Gospel reading has the ability to reach out and touch a child or teenager, and open their eyes eternally to God’s call to religious living.

Priests and deacons nurture the seed of the Word in every young adult’s heart. Encouragement and nourishment may urge any youngster to become a priest, brother, deacon or nun.

Even if your vocation is to live in a faithful marriage and to raise your kids to know Jesus, a priest, deacon or nun may help. Religious leaders will always be there for help, advice and support.

Helping you recognize your vocation is what they do best. Advice-giving on how to fulfill a vocation is their specialty. They’ve been through this too, so support is the very best they can offer.

A life of prayer can help immensely in recognizing your call. Religious brothers and sisters can really help in this area of the faith. Picking out specific prayers and reciting them by your side is the least they can do to help.

The next step would be to go to them and write a prayer, pertaining to you, to help you hear God’s call. The rest is up to you, your prayer life and God relaying his message.

Even if a person does not ask for help, a priest or another religious leader will be there willing to help. In Catholic grade schools, religious elders surround the young children with loving guidance and care.

In every parish or Church environment, a priest will be ready to help. Religious leaders show immense amounts of love, guidance and help in hearing God’s call in your life.

(Rebecca Anglen and her parents, Jeffrey and Diane Anglen, are members of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis. She completed the seventh grade at St. Luke School in Indianapolis last spring and is the seventh-grade division winner in the 2009 Indianapolis Serra Club Vocations Essay Contest.) †