Mental Prayer for February 19, Means to Discover Vocation

Mental Prayer Meditation Helps

Presence of God

Grace I Ask: How to know your will for my life.

The Idea: Choosing my vocation is the most important decision of my life. This choice will determine my success and happiness in this world and in eternity. I must choose that state of life which will best enable me to serve God and save my soul. To make this decision properly, I must have three things: (1) God's grace ; (2) Know­ledge of myself; (3) Knowledge of possible vocations.

My Personal Application: (1) To get God's grace I must pray hard for help in choosing my vocation - meditate on it, offer Mass, talk to our Lord about it in visits and after Holy Communion. (2) To get self-knowledge I must do some serious thinking - meditating. What are my talents? - ­my weaknesses? - my temperament? Above all, I must seek good advice - talk to my confessor or spiritual director who knows me well and who inspires my confidence; find out what he thinks about my talents, weaknesses, ete. (3) To get knowledge of possible vocations I must study, read, observe people in the various states of life, size them up, see which one I am best fitted for, which, one will best enable me to save my soul. Again, I must get an adviser; ask him for information about the various states of life, for help in seeing which one would be best for me.

I Speak to God: Dear Lord, I am ready to do whatever you want me to do with my life. But I can do this only if I have your grace, if I have self­knowledge, if I know something about possible vocations. Give me the common sense to take the necessary steps - to pray, to think, to study and observe myself and the states of life. Help me find an adviser who can help me, and give me the courage and humility to follow his advice.

Thought for Today: "Lord, what would you have me do?"
________________
Adapted from Mental Prayer, Challenge to the Lay Apostle
by The Queen's Work,(© 1958)