Lord, I want you to break

me and make me what You

want me to be.
I want to be a person that
walks before You with a
broken spirit and contrite
heart.

May you give me the grace

and strength to receive
Your discipline and help me
make the changes you want
me to make.
CHAPTER 1 – VOCATION IN GENERAL

THEO 500
CHRISTIAN VOCATION & FULFILLMENT

Prof. Antonio C. Cayetano, J.D., CISOL

Theology/Philosophy Division
Arts and Sciences Department
San Pedro College
Davao City
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01 03

To describe the nature, To present their reflections on the

characteristics and elements of biblical narratives of vocation
vocation. through a video presentation.

To identify the universal vocation

To point out and assess the cultural
of every Lay Faithful and the
threats to Christian vocation.
Specific Christian vocation.

02 04
 ETYMOLOGY OF VOCATION

VOCACION
… a Call / Consecration /
Profession

VOCATIONEM / VOCATIO /
VOCATUS
…Calling / Being Called

VOCARE
…To Call
Vocation is to sound off the
call on a person being called
VOCIS / VOX
…Voice, To speak to a particular calling or
profession.
 VOCATION
SECULAR CONTEXT
1. A vocation is an occupation to
which a person is especially drawn
or for which they are suited,
trained, or qualified.
2. People can be given information
about a new occupation through
student orientation.
3. Though now often used in non-
religious contexts, the meanings of
the term originated in Christianity.
RELIGIOUS CONTEXT
1. The idea of vocation is central to the
Christian belief that God has created
each person with gifts and talents
oriented toward specific purposes
and a way of life.
2. In the broadest sense, as stated in
the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, "Love is the fundamental
and innate vocation of every human
being" (CCC 2392).
THE 5 THEOPHANIES OF GOD

1 KINGS 19:11-13
01 02
STILL SMALL HUMAN
VOICE FROM CONCERNS AND
PARKER PALMER WITHIN INTERESTS
Lay Theologian

FREDERICK BUECHNER 05
Lay Theologian LIFE’S 03
CIRCUMSTANCES
PASSION FOR
HUMAN
GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS EXCELLENCE
(Jesuit Poet)
04
HUMAN
JOHN 21:18 / MARK 5:41 ENCOUNTERS
THE THREE MOVEMENTS OF CHRISTIAN VOCATION

1 A CALL FROM

2 A CALL FOR

3 A CALL TO
STAGES OF GROWTH IN CHRISTIAN VOCATION

STAGE 1 STAGE 2 STAGE 3

WONDER AT JESUS DISCIPLESHIP APOSTOLIC MISSION

• Curiosity • A student /learner • Engage in the Ministry

• Wonder • Docility to learn • Agent of Change
• Amazement • Personal Encounter
 The first
one who
• Only in knows us,
relation to God the first one
do we become show us
our full selves. recognition
and reach
• Only in coming out to
to know God do establish a
we grow the full personal
stature of our relationship
with us is
true selves.
God.
9
WHO IS MAN?
• Gen. 2: 7 – then the Lord God took some soil
from the ground and formed a man out of it;
he breathed life-giving breath into his nostril
and the man began to live.
In creation , man holds a special places God said:
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” God created
them male and female…

God even gives us a share in

His own creativity: (Gen. 1:26-30)
10
 … he blessed them and said have many children,
so that all your descendants will live all over the
earth…

… I am putting you in charge of all

creatures

… I have provided you all kinds of grain

and all kinds of fruits for you to eat…
11

BUT GOD GAVE US FREEDOM , FREEWILL

AND INTELLECT …
• This involves a choice or a series of choices. Because
of the spiritual nature of man, he is free and this
freedom gives him the capacity for prizing, choosing,
acting and directing his own life.
12
• Man is a responsible being who is expected to direct
his own life. He, therefore, can make his life
meaningful or remain indifferent to life and
everything which surrounds him.
• The need for meaning in our lives, the need for self
direction and the need for love

Every Christian is called to a “common union”

- a universal call to holiness in whatever state of life
he perpetually chooses, it is God’s plan for him/her
* Married life, Religious
13 life, Single life
Thus, in whatever state of life we are in we carried
out the mission of promoting the Kingdom of God,
shared in Christ ministry of the Word.
 CHRISTIAN VOCATION:

Vocation is the recognition by an individual that a

particular mode of life corresponds to God’s
permissive will for him/her and in the life’s
work in which he/she can gain his eternal
salvation.
Mt. 14:22-32
Then Jesus said to his disciples get in to the boat and go on
ahead to the other side of the lake while he sent the people
away.
After sending the people away, he
went up a hill by himself and
pray. When evening came, Jesus
was there alone; and by this time
the boat was far out in the lake
tossed about by the waves,
because the wind was blowing
against it.
Between three and six o’clock in
the morning Jesus came to the
disciples walking on the water.
Mt. 14:22-32

When they saw him walking

on the water, they were
terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they
said, and screamed with fear.
Jesus spoke to them at once.
“Courage!” he said. “It is I.
Don’t be afraid!”
Then Peter spoke up. “Lord if
it is really you, order me to
come out on the water to
you.”

“Come!” answered Jesus. So

Peter go out to the boat and
started walking on the water
to Jesus. But when he noticed
the strong wind, he was afraid
and started to sink down in
the water. “Save me Lord!” he
cried.
At once Jesus reached out and grabbed hold of
him and said, “what little faith you have! Why
did you doubt?”
They both go into the boat, and the wind died
down.
Then the disciples in the boat worshipped
Jesus. “Truly you are the Son of God!” they
exclaimed.
Mt.14:22-32
Challenge:
☺ Each person is called by God to
fullness of life

☺ that sharing our lives and our faith

we are mutually enriched.

☺That a vocation gives life its real

meaning, it’s highest value because it
is an encounter between Jesus and
each one of us.
Mt.14:22-32
Lesson
The night and the storm – are our doubts, maybe all our intimate
wishes, fears, doubts or maybe our own solitude

➢ In the midst of adversity our human securities are

worthless…
➢ In our struggle for truth Jesus comes to us.
➢ Christ wants us to assure that He is not a ghost but our God
and only Savior
➢ In this encounter Jesus is journeying with us in the silence but
in our side.
➢ Vocation comes from Latin
verb “vocare” meaning “to
call” – Vocation is a call to
live
➢ The one who call is God
➢ Man should answer in
freedom
➢ God calls everyone to
participate in His plan of
Salvation
➢ Man is invited to love
➢ God calls through persons
➢ He calls through His Words
and Sacraments
➢ He calls through the events
of our society
☺ Vocation is always a call to be happy, even though the
cross is present, for it is a sign of authentic love
☺ Vocation is an invitation to offer our life as Jesus did
☺ Vocation is to discover the will of God here and now
 ELEMENTS OF VOCATION:
God is the one who calls.
Vocation is a gift and is always a grace

The man or woman who has been called remains radically

free to accept or refuse
We called to intimacy with God, to friendship and that is
the only possible in freedom. However, the answer has to be
personal, responsible, conscious and generous

The goal of vocation is to serve people

It is a sincere search for truth, never an escape from
reality or evasion
24 from our duties

VOCATION IS FRIENDSHIP…
25
 We are all uniquely different from each other. God
has given us different gifts and talents. Many of us
may have the same talents, but because of other
talents and the combination of these, we are
different.
Gift of Baptism
being a child of God and called to be a disciple of Jesus.
Different Kind of Vocation

I. General Vocation: Life and Faith.

A. Our first vocation is to be and live fully.
☺ Life is a gift a project. God created persons
to share his being.
☺ Life springs continuously in me and around me
☺ Life is project, to be completed, an origin which we
are responsible
☺ Our vocation is to uphold life through all our deeds
esp. with our relation with others.
☺ Our vocation is a commitment against fear, ignorance,
vice, abortion, pollution, injustice, war, corruption,
fanaticism, socio-political system of oppression.

“God’s glory is man fully alive.”

Different Kind of Vocation

I. General Vocation: Life and Faith.

B. The Culmination of life is Faith
☺ Faith is life in Jesus Christ

II. SPECIFIC VOCATIONS:

LAY and CONSECRATED
1. The layperson is a Christian to the living Baptismal promises
the “yeast and salt of the society.
☺ To bring the values of the Gospel to the temporal
realities
☺ Their mission is the sanctification of history
 A Biblical Perspective on
Calling
who we are to be and how we are to live as
Christians requires an awareness and ever-
deepening understanding of the God who
calls us. The narrative of scripture depicts a
God constantly calling people into
relationship and to obedience to God’s good
will for the world
Without a Caller, we
cannot be called. The
starting point of
vocational discernment
is therefore cultivating
spiritual practices that
help us to know, hear,
and follow the voice of
God.

Threats to Christian Vocation

- dualism, materialism, individualism
 DOMINICAN BLESSINGS
May God the Father bless us, may God the Son heal us,
may God the Holy Spirit enlightened us and give us eyes to
see with, ears to hear with, hands to do the work of God
with, feet to walk with and mouth to preach the word of
salvation with. And may the angel of peace watch over us
and lead us at last to the Lord's gift of thy kingdom. Amen