What is your calling?
Vocations Lismore is a ministry in the Diocese of Lismore whose main purpose is to help young people come to know Christ, decide to live as disciples within his Church and discern their calling.
Is there more to life than this?
Every Christian is called to live the same calling or vocation. That vocation is to seek holiness by loving God with all your heart, all your soul and to love your neighbour as another self. Catholics believe that God also calls some people from among the Church for a special work of service in the Church and for the world.
Throughout history women and men have heard a call, a small whisper in the heart, that perhaps there is more to life and more that God is calling them to do to live the Christian life, to build up the Church for mission, and to transform the world through works of mercy and justice. You may be one of them.
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Holy Orders
Catholics believe that Jesus willed that his Church have ministers of grace through the sacrament of Holy Orders. There are three ways in which the sacrament of holy orders is present in the Church, through deacons, presbyters/priests and bishops. Some men have heard this whisper in their heart that God might be calling them to a specific way of service in the Church and discerned a call as a deacon or presbyter.
Deacons may be chosen from among men who have the gift of celibacy and those who are married. Once a man has discerned that he is called to this ministry, and if his call is affirmed by the local Church (diocese) he will commence a five-year formation program to prepare him for his ministry. This program involves the study of theology and the Bible as well as pastoral and liturgical subjects. Parallel with this he will learn about spirituality and ways of praying. For celibate men this formation can take place in a seminary. For married men the formation takes place in a hybrid mode, with study sessions in person, reading and retreats and course work in theology and the Bible. Celibate men who are called to the diaconate can be ordained at age 25 and married men can ordained at 35 and usually no later than 60 years of age.
The ministry of deacons is quite diverse. The scope is as endless as the imagination of the local Church and its pastoral needs, and can include:
- Parish pastoral work,
- Diocesan administration,
- Chaplaincy in hospitals, schools, prisons
- Youth ministry
- Ministry to marriage and family life
Consecrated life
In the Catholic Church some women and men have found a way to respond to this deeper call and the whisper in their heart by entering a religious institute. Religious institutes are communities where women and men who are inspired by the character and spirituality of a group or by the story of the founder, take public vows in the Church and promise to live in this community and to serve God and the world through the works of this community.
Women or men called to consecrated life are formed over several years for life in their communities. They learn about the institute, its spirituality, its way of praying and living and the character, sometimes called the charism of the institute, that gives it a note or flavour that is different from that expressed by another institute.
In most forms of consecrated life for men which have ordained members, ordination and priesthood are not at first the central focus of formation. These communities want to form men for their way of life first and ordination as a deacon or presbyter comes as a secondary focus.
Women and consecrated life
Some of the communities for women are engaged in a variety of works in the Church, perhaps education, health or aged care, parish pastoral work, and many other diverse ministries. Some of these institutes include:
- Sisters of Mercy,
- Presentation Sisters
- Canossian Sisters
- Dominican Sisters
- Franciscan sisters
- Sisters of St Paul de Charte
Other communities of women may be dedicated to prayer and contemplation and have some degree of seclusion from the world. Some of these include:
- Carmelite nuns
- Benedictine nuns
- Cistercian nuns
- Poor Clare nuns
Some women may not feel called to a religious institute but may wish to live their life as a consecrated single person. The Church allows such women, after a period of discernment to take their vows through their local bishop. Such women may dedicate themselves to prayer or to some works of charity and justice.
Men and consecrated life
Some male communities are exclusively for those who do not feel called to Holy Orders. These communities, like the women, take public vows and live and work within the scope of the religious institute they have joined. Some of these would include
- Marist Brothers
- De LaSalle Brothers
- Christian Brothers
Some male communities include priests and brothers or have only priests. These priests may serve in a parish but also in a variety of other ministries such as primary and high school education, tertiary education, health care, youth ministry, retreat ministry and many other things too.
Some of these male religious institutes with ordained members would include
- Marist Fathers
- Dominican Friars/Order of Preachers
- Franciscan Friars
- Missionaries of the Sacred Heart
- Carmelite Friars/Order of Carmelites Discalced
- Blessed Sacrament Fathers and Brothers
- Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
Other communities of men may be dedicated to prayer and contemplation and have some degree of seclusion from the world. Some of these include:
- Cistercians monks (Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance)
- Benedictine monks (there are various forms of Benedictine community and various degree of seclusion from the world)
Consider your call
Is God calling you to consider becoming a deacon? Are you a Catholic male aged between 18 and 55? Do you want to consider your call?
Is God calling you to consider becoming a presbyter? Are you a Catholic male aged 18 or older? Do you want to consider your call?
Is God calling you to life and ministry in a religious institute? Are you a Catholic man or woman aged 18 or older?
Vocations Ministry Lismore
To get in touch, please contact:
Deacon Anthony Gooley, Director of Vocations
vocations@lismore.catholic.org.au
02 6621 4444
PO Box 1, 10 Orion Street, Lismore, Nsw, 2480