St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

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Vocations Awareness Ministry

- Vocation Awareness Ministry

PRAY FOR VOCATIONS!

Participate in our Traveling Chalice Program
Each week a family brings home a special chalice and commits to praying for an increase in Vocations. To sign up for a week, please sign up on the signup sheets in the back of the church. Click here for more information on our Traveling Chalice Program.
Attend our Monthly Holy Hour for Vocations
Every third Saturday from 8:00-9:00 AM (after the 7:30AM Mass) we come together before the Blessed Sacrament to pray for an increase in vocations.
Austin Vocations
The first vocation, or calling, that we all have is to holiness: “This is the will of God, your holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
- Holiness is life to the full and the complete joy that will bring our hearts to rest (see John 10:10, John 15:11, and Matthew 11:30).
Part of answering this first calling to holiness is discerning our vocation- the particular way that God wants us to be holy.
- Priesthood, consecrated life, and marriage are three ways of following the Lord in holiness. From all eternity, God has planned one of these vocations for you: “I know well the plans I have for you… plans for your welfare, not for your woe, plans to give you a future full of hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Another part of answering the first calling to holiness is praying for and promoting vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.
- Jesus felt compassion in His Sacred Heart when he saw that the crowds were like sheep without a shepherd, and then he told his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).
- In a letter to the Church in America, St. John Paul II wrote, “The entire People of God is responsible for promoting vocations, and does so chiefly by persistent and humble prayer for vocations.”
The resources below from the Diocesan Office of Vocations will help you to discern your vocation, pray for vocations, and follow wherever God leads.
Learn to Discern

Vocational discernment is the diligent pursuit of knowing whether God is calling you to the priesthood, to consecrated life, or to marriage. The process of vocational discernment can be summarized in three steps: learn the basics, take a step, and follow God’s direction.
LEARN MORE
D180

Discernment 180 is a six-month guide to help you discern priesthood or the consecrated life. Somewhat like Exodus 90, Magnify 90, and similar programs, it outlines a rule of life and provides meditations for daily prayer to facilitate vocational discernment through the pursuit of holiness.
START D180
Pray for Vocations

The first thing that the Lord tells us to do when seeking more shepherds is to ask the master of the harvest (Mt. 9:38). Only God can move the hearts of men and women to consider the priesthood and religious life- no homily, invitation, or other initiatives will bear fruit without His grace. Join hundreds of others in praying that young men and women hear and respond generously to the Lord’s call to the priesthood and religious life.
PLEDGE TO PRAY