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Me a Priest?Seamus McEntee ordination

The word ‘vocation’ comes from the Latin word ‘vocare’ which means to call.  A ‘Vocation’ is a call by Christ to live your life in a particular way.  But practically what does this mean?  Well at some level it involves a felt attraction to the vision and message of Jesus, and a desire to use ones energies for the kind of ministry that he was about.  And a hunch this offers both meaning and a real happiness, deep and lasting happiness.

To simply sum up:  If God has chosen you to be a priest, this is the first thing he will do:  He will make you think about it!  Even if you do not want to.  And these thoughts will not go away easily.

The call to vocation in the church is a call to use your gifts and talents and abilities to build up the Kingdom of God, depending upon his divine help and inspiration.  Vocation then is a generous and radical giving of oneself to the service of our brothers and sisters.  The call to priesthood is the call to give your life to making Christ’s presence real through the sacraments and especially through the Eucharist.