Four Types of Vocation
God's first call for every person is to
simply follow Him. You were created
to be in relationship with God, and
that is His greatest desire for you. As
your relationship with God grows, He
will continue to draw you deeper into
this relationship, and call you to
become more like Christ, to love Him
more, and to love others through
service. In all these things, you will
experience God calling you to a
particular vocation.
Priesthood: A Catholic priest is a male
ordained minister of the Church. Because
they give their lives in total service to the
Church, priests embrace the gift of celibacy
and commit to a life of prayer. They
proclaim the Good News, teach the Catholic
faith, minister the Sacraments, work to
build up their local faith community and
lead their faith community in worship. Most
priests will minister in a parish setting,
while others may serve as chaplains to
universities, hospitals, prisons, the armed
forces and other industries.
Religious Life: A religious priest, brother or
sister (nun) commits his or her life to sharing
in the life and mission of their religious
community. Religious priests, brothers and
sisters embrace the call to poverty, chastity
and obedience, and nurture their call through a
life of celibacy, faith, prayer and service.
Religious priests, brothers and sisters serve in
areas such as education, health care, parish,
youth ministry, aged care, spirituality, pastoral
ministry, social work, amongst the poor and as
a contemplative, and many will serve as
missionaries in other cultures. Depending on
the religious order, they may dress in 'normal'
clothes or in a habit.
Marriage: A married person lives a vow
of faithful love to a spouse through the
sacrament of marriage. Husbands and
wives share a self-giving, love-giving and
life-giving relationship with their spouse,
and are committed to helping their
spouse grow to human and Christian
maturity. They seek to form a family
home, and are together the first teachers
of their children in Christian faith and
values. Married people may serve in their
parish community or in the Church in a
number of different ways.
Single Life: A person called to
single life comes to believe that
remaining single is the true and
right way to faithfully live his or her
baptismal call. Single men and
women embrace the gift of celibacy
while living alone, with a family or
with others who are single. They are
able to devote time and energy in
service of others, and may serve in
their parish community or in the
In each vocation, the person lives
a life of faith and prayer to
continually grow in relationship
with God. The Church recognizes
that each vocation is equal in the
sense that no vocation is better or
less then any other. However,
because God calls you to a
particular vocation - whether
marriage, priesthood, religious life
or single life - that vocation is the
Jesus: Prophet, Priest, and
King
At your baptism you were marked
with oil as a sign that you are
consecrated to God and anointed
by the Holy Spirit. Your anointing
also was a sign that you are
joined to Christ and share in his
threefold mission as prophet,
priest, and king.
A prophet is a messenger sent by
God, a person who speaks for
God. He or she witnesses to God,
calls people to conversion, and
may also foretell the future.
Prophets often are killed for their
message.
• Jesus fits this description.
He is none other than the
Word of God in the flesh. He
called the world to turn
from sin and return to the
Father and was put to death
for it. In Scripture Jesus is
presented as a prophet.
A priest is a mediator, or bridge,
between God and human beings.
He offers sacrifice to God on
behalf of all. Once a year on the
Day of Atonement the Jewish
high priest went into the Holy of
Holies in the Temple. There he
offered sacrifice to God to make
up for his sins and the sins of the
people.
Jesus is the greatest high
priest. Because he is both
divine and human, Jesus is
the perfect mediator. He is
not only the perfect priest,
holy and sinless, but the
perfect sacrifice. The
sacrifice of Jesus need
never be made again.
• Jesus continues his role as
priest. “He is always able
to save those who
approach God through
him, since he lives forever
to make intercession for
them” (Hebrews 7:25).
A king is a person who has
supreme authority over a
territory. When the Jewish people
were ruled by kings, they
became a nation. They longed
for a Messiah who would again
make them great.
Jesus is spoken of as a king in the Gospels.
Gabriel announced to Mary that the Lord
God would give her son the throne of David
his father, and he would rule over the house
of Jacob forever. Magi looked for a newborn
king of the Jews. When Pilate asked if he
were king of the Jews, Jesus replied, “You
say so,” and he clarified, “My kingdom does
not belong to this world” (John 18:36). The
charge written against Jesus was “Jesus the
Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” His mission
was to have God reign in the hearts of all
and to have peace and justice in the world.
Jesus exercised his royal office by serving.
