Prayer

"If the lungs of prayer and the Word of God do not nourish the breath of spiritual life, we risk suffocating in the midst of a thousand daily cares. Prayer is the breath of the soul and of life." -Pope Benedict XVI

As you seek God’s will for your life, it is easy to fall into the habit of seeing your vocation as a problem to be solved. "What does God want from me? How do I know which person is right to marry? Can I live the call to the priesthood and all of its demands? Which religious order should I join? " These are just some of the questions which can arise as you discern. It is not that these questions are unimportant, but rather that they do not go to the heart of what your Vocation is.

Your Vocation is above all a response to the love of God. It is your way of giving yourself totally back in love to the God who loves you boundlessly. Yes, there are important questions to ask, but the most important part of your discernment should be to first seek to know how loved you are by God.

PRAYER is the way you do this. Prayer is a dialogue of love with the One who loves you more than anything and wants to reveal this to you. Prayer is you as a son or daughter listening to the words of your loving Father and telling Him the deepest parts of your heart.

There are many forms of prayer and many ways to discern the specifics of where you feel God is leading you in prayer, but the most important thing to remember is that prayer is about a relationship of love with God, not a rote duty (although it can sometimes feel like this), and not an act of trying to solve a puzzle about your life.

God is waiting to communicate Himself to you – to share with you His heart and His love. He will lead you to what He has created you for – He will give you what you most desire. Be not afraid to open all of your heart to Him in prayer and trust that He has the best plan for your life!
                                                            Excerpt from the Archdiocese of Baltimore Vocations Website, www.bmorevocations.org, with emphasis added and modifications taken.

"Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst and ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for Him" -St. Augustine