Module 1.

Vocation
Topic 2 Universal/Primary Vocation:
Holiness/Wholeness/Fullness
 VOCATION
etymology: Latin: Vocare = to call
[To become a priest, one needs to feel that one has been
"called" to the ministry directly by God. Their job is their
calling, or vocation]
https://bit.ly/vocdef1

definition:
1 a: a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or
course of action
especially: a divine call to the religious life
b: an entry into the priesthood or a religious order
 VOCATION, cont’d…
2 a: the work in which a person is employed: OCCUPATION
b: the persons engaged in a particular occupation

3: the special function of an individual or group

https://bit.ly/vocdef2
 Mission
etymology: Latin mission - (stem of missiō) a sending off,
equivalent to miss(us) (past participle of mittere to send)
https://bit.ly/misdef1
definition
mission:
1a: a specific task with which a person or a group is charged
(sent to do)
https://bit.ly/misdef2
 Mission in the Bible

Biblically:
vocation & mission are always connected
when God calls a person, He also has a mission for that
person
when Jesus called his Apostles, he later on gave them a
mission
 Profession
etymology: Latin professio, from profiteri: “declare publicly”
Old French  Middle English (denoting the vow
made on entering a religious order)
(sense 1) derives from the notion of an occupation
that one ‘professes’ to be skilled in
https://bit.ly/profdef1
definition:
profession: a paid occupation, especially one that involves
prolonged training and a formal qualification
https://bit.ly/profdef1
vocation & profession: similarities &
differences
 based on the original (first use) of the word vocation:
vocation & profession are different: vocation properly
refers only to the calling to priesthood or the religious life
hence, if you are neither a priest or a religious, you do not
have a vocation
this being so, means that in the matter of earning a living or
money, vocation & profession are also different
earning a living or money is not the primary reason a
person would have in becoming a priest or a religious
vocation & profession: similarities &
differences, cont’d…
 based on training & qualification:
vocation & profession are similar: both need to meet up
certain qualifications & both need arduous or at least a long
period of preparation
 based on recent teachings, even of the Catholic Church:
vocation cannot be equated with profession, it is something
greater
yet, one’s profession may or could be considered a vocation
…greater development in the Church teaching:
 everyone now has a vocation—not just the priests & religious
persons
after all, God the Father & Jesus Christ both call upon us!
this we may call as our primary vocation
https://bit.ly/voc101
 Primary vocation
• universal call to holiness/wholeness/fullness
call to be a “saint”—what everyone is destined to become
https://bit.ly/watmyvoc
universal call: it is for all, for everyone
to holiness: towards the development of virtues or good
habits
to wholeness: towards the holistic development of a
person—development & growth in all aspects
of life
to fullness: towards the full development of all our
potentials
 primary vocation
to be
better universal call to holiness/wholeness/fullness
in liberation theology: call towards the
full humanization of life—how we attain our
fullness as a human being/person
in common parlance: becoming the
called

“better [if not the best] version of oneself”

.

(Matthew Kelly)
.

all
human
beings