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,How does one go about searching out or discerning what we call a vocation?  Sister Rosann Ocken, O.S.B. calls discernment the BLT process::  Believe, Listen Trust.  Read more about the BLT process here.
 

We begin in prayer, talking to God about our respone the call he gave us in Basptism.  Each of us is called to love one another as he loves us and our discernemnt is about how we can best fulfill that command in accordance with His will.

Discernment is something we do in community.  Our vocations are ministry in the Church and the Church community has role in helping us discern a vocation.  The place to begin is with a visit to your pastor, parish priest, or another trusted spiritual guide who can help you with the steps of dicernment.

Inform yourself about life and service ias one of the diocesan clergy or n a religious order, and about the process of preparation.   Visit the Office of Voations for the Archdiocese or a religious order.  

Be active in your lay ministry.  Take advantage of opportunities to serve and participate in the parish, iwith charitable organizations, with Archdiocesan groups.  

Go and see.  A visit to a seminary or a religious community can give you the opportunity to talk with people who have traveled the same path that you are now on and  who have had to answer for themselves the same questions that you have.

Continue on the path of discernment by applying to become a seminarian or novice.  The seminary and novitiate is a time of more intense discernment as we approach the final step of accepting our vocation.

God is calling each of us to serve one another in charity and love as Pope Francis regularly speaks to this call. For some, there is a particular invitation to serve Christ and the Church in ordained ministry. The permanent diaconate, restored at Vatican II, is a ministry of service that is open to married and single men, aged 31 to 58 years.

The Ministry of Deacon is one of the three clerical ministries of the Church conferred by the Sacrament of Holy Orders:  Deacon, Priest, and Bishop.  Along with Archdiocesan priests, the Deacon shares in the ministry of the Bishop and serves at his direction.  

In the words of St. John Paul II, the ministry of the deacon “is the Church’s service sacramentalized.”Deacons are ordained to the Ministry of Service in three areas: Word, Liturgy, and Charity. As a servant to the Word, deacons proclaim the Gospel, instruct the faithful, and evangelize by word and deed, as did the great deacons St. Stephen and St. Francis. As a servant of Liturgy of the Church, deacons preside at baptisms, assist at the Eucharist, bring the Eucharist to the sick and suffering, witness marriages, bury the dead, and preside at benediction. As a servant of charity, like the great deacon Saint Lawrence, deacons address the needs of the community to the Church and bring its support and assistance to those in need. The deacon is called to be the “Icon of Christ the Servant” living out the life of charity for the people of God and being an “animator” for all to feed the hungry, visit the sick, and minister to the imprisoned.

Because deacons work in the secular world and most are married men with families, they share in the worries and stresses of daily life. Permanent deacons know well the difficulties of balancing faith, family, and financial security. Through the deacon living in the world as an ordained minister, the Church knows personally the challenges, demands, fears, and anxieties of the People of God. By his vocation the deacon bridges work, family, and leisure with the life of the Church. In fact, by living and working in the secular world, the deacon seeks to model, in his person, the integration of what one believes and how one lives.

If you are discerning a call to the Permanent Diaconate, please talk with your pastor.  More information about the requirements and the process of preparation can be found Here.

Contact: Grabiel Gonzales  713-473-9484