| Vocations |
Description:Vocation is about discerning and responding to God’s particular calling for that person’s life. One may speak in terms of a profession and/or lifestyle choice; to address the reality of ‘vocation’ is to acknowledge the deeper meaning in what we do for a living or how we are in relationship with one another. Relevance:
From Empowered by the Spirit, “the clear teaching of Scripture is that gifts and talents are not given simply for personal advantage; they are to be used generously for the benefit of others and for the good of society and the Church” (par 96) Website:The following sites provide resources about vocations and issues related to particular topics within this wide category. http://www.usccb.org/depts.shtml The website for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has a wealth of information accessible from its “Departments” page, especially the departments of:
• Family, Laity, Women and Youth: http://www.usccb.org/laity/ The remainder of these links are divided by topic. Vocation as Career Choicehttp://www.cmdnet.org/product.cfm?id=7&CFID=577230&CFTOKEN=98008653 Center for Ministry Development.This is the page for the Young Adult Works product series, of which binder 5 contains sections on “Faith and Work”. From this page you can also download a free Adobe file of a “program sampler”, page 9 begins a section on “Choosing a Profession”, “Work and Life” begins on page 20. “A Resource to help you find your place in this life”, part of the website for the Joliet Vocation Office, it has a major focus on religious and ordained vocations, and strong sections on talent and personality type identification, career inventory and planning. The official web site for Marsha Sinetar, the author of many books about finding meaning in one’s work. The section called “The Center” is interesting for its short essays and Q&A. National Association of Lay MinistersTheir “Networking” section has an extensive listing of links (several unfortunately outdated) Vocation as LifestyleSt Mary’s Presshas a new Vocations series of books, searchable by title (Married Life, Priests, Sisters, Brothers, Single Life) Vocation of Married Life:The National Marriage Project,
out of Rutgers University in New Jersey, provides interesting studies and reports. “The mission of the National Marriage Project is to strengthen the institution of marriage by providing research and analysis that informs public policy, educates the American public, and focuses attention on a problem of enormous scope and consequence.” Coalition for Marriage, Families and Couples Education
Not affiliated with any religious group, this site offers many resources about communication and a variety of issues related to marriage (domestic violence, cohabitation before marriage, money). Workshops and books are also promoted. Retrouville,a program for troubled marriages. Site includes many links to other marriage websites, and lists of books on the subject. Vocation of Single Life:
http://www.usccb.org/laity/singles.shtml Divorce Care -For those who find themselves single-again. Vocation of Consecrated or Ordained Life:
www.crosier.org Vision magazine,
published annually by the National Religious Vocation Conference through Claretian Publications, is the most comprehensive resource available for those seeking information on religious life. It contains discernment-type articles from the annually published “VISION” guide as well as links to many religious communities. |