April 26, 2026 - World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Good morning/evening brothers and sisters! Today, the 4^th Sunday of Easter, is known as ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’, and since 1964 has also been celebrated as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Today, the Church invites us to pray and to think in a special way about Vocations, especially vocations to the priesthood, religious life, and consecrated life.

Of course, I’m just a deacon – I’m not a priest – and I’m not a vocations director. But I have spent a good amount of time thinking, reading, and listening about vocations, so perhaps I can share some things that I’ve learned.

This sermon isn’t just for young people who might be discerning God’s call for them. We ALL have a vocation – we all have a calling by God, a special place in his plan. First and foremost, the prime vocation for each of us is the universal call to sanctity – God wants all of us to be saints.  The prime way to become saints is to follow God’s commandments – particularly love of God and love of neighbor.

But precisely how we will love God and neighbor will differ: some of us become married, some of us become priests or religious or consecrated.  For all of these paths, there are usually several years of discernment, which culminate in solemn, public vows taken at the altar.

But vocational discernment does not stop with marriage or religious vows – rather, all of us – regardless of age or state of life - should continue to discern prayerfully where God may be calling us in each step of our lives.  We should discern also the smaller steps: so perhaps God is calling you to serve the parish in a special way as a lector, or in the Vincent de Paul Society, or in the Women’s Bible Study or the Knights of Columbus… or even to become a deacon.  Men can be anywhere from 35 to 60 years old when they are ordained deacons; most of my classmates were around 60.  Many people find special vocations later in life: I think of Jim and Terry Orcutt, a couple who founded the wonderful NGO My Brothers’ Keeper when they were in their 40s.

So we all should be think about vocational discernment: whether that’s for making a big move, or a smaller one.

But how exactly can we discern God’s will?

I’d like to share 5 tips about discernment.

First, silence and prayer are critical. In Pope Leo’s recent message for World Day of Prayer for Vocations, he exhorted [quote]: “Listen to the voice of the Lord who invites you to a full and fruitful life, calling you to put your talents to use (cf. Mt 25:14-30) … Make time, then, for Eucharistic adoration; meditate faithfully on the word of God, so that you may put it into practice each day; and participate actively and fully in the sacramental and ecclesial life of the Church.”

It's hard to hear God’s voice if we’re not creating the space and time to listen to Him. We should prioritize participating in the Sacraments, including Confession, and trying to free ourselves of any addictions that could be holding us back – whether that be alcohol, pornography, or TikTok. Instead, we should make a habit of Mass and Eucharistic adoration.

In a recent national survey of the 400 men about to be ordained as priests this year, about 80% of these men said that they practiced Eucharistic adoration and prayed the rosary – prior to entering the seminary. And a sizeable percentage had been on a retreat in high school or college.

This is good advice for all of us – we should all be cultivating our relationship with Christ, and like any relationship we value, this will require us to put in the time.

In our Gospel today, Jesus says:

“as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.… he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.”

Jesus knows each of us by name, he calls us to follow him – but are we listening to him, so that we can recognize his voice?

But, to be clear, it’s very rare that God speaks directly, that you’ll ever hear a voice per se.  I never heard a booming voice that said, ‘Tommy, I want you to marry this woman.’ Or ‘Tommy, I want you to become a deacon.’

If you are hearing multiple voices, I can recommend a couple of good psychiatrists.

This brings us to the second tip: which is that God can speak through intermediaries – through other people in our lives that can help us discern. Thus, if we are contemplating a major vocational decision, it is helpful to find a good spiritual director. Perhaps a priest or religious who has been trained to provide guidance.

Third, Church theology can teach various methods of discernment. St Ignatius of Loyola famously wrote about the discernment of spirits, whereby a person can discern interior movements of consolation (like peace and love) or desolation (like fear and anxiety). If you’re interested in reading more, Fr Timothy Gallagher has an excellent book called ‘Discerning the Will of God’. St Ignatius gives other practical tips when you’re trying to make an important life decision. For example, you can make a list of pros and cons; or you can imagine what sort of advice you might give to a person in a similar situation. Or you can imagine looking back on this decision at the end of your life, from your death bed – how might you make the decision if you were able to go back in time?

Personally, I found some of these techniques – like a list of pros and cons – more helpful than others – I always had a hard time trying to sort out particular feelings to figure out if it’s consolation versus desolation. 

Instead, one of the most helpful pieces of advice that I received from a priest about 15 years ago was this: “Joy is God’s fingerprint.” Joy is God’s fingerprint. So if the thought of getting married to X person brings you deep joy, or the thought of becoming a priest brings you joy – then this may be a helpful clue. Again, the assumption is that we’re in a state of grace, trying to live a life of virtue.

Jesus tells us in our Gospel today: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."  Or St Irenaeus of Lyons wrote: “The glory of God is man fully alive.” Our vocation is where we will flourish, where we will be fully alive. It will give us joy and peace, even through the midst of the challenges and suffering that come with every vocation.

Fourth, you can think and pray about a particular decision forever, but ultimately you need to act. And often God responds through our action, through trying to take one honest step in front of the other – that God will reveal his will to us.

If you think you might want to marry someone, you need to take them on a date.

If you think you might have a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, you should do something about it, like go on a ‘Come and See’ weekend, to spend some time with priests or religious. The seminary or convent isn’t just for people certain they want to take solemn vows– it’s a great place to discern if you think you might have a vocation.

It’s spiritual physics: it’s easier for God to nudge you in the right direction if you’re at least moving forward open to his will.

 To my fifth and final tip: we are all responsible for priestly and religious vocations. We all have a role to play. Our Church cannot exist without the Sacraments, and thus the future of Christ’s Church depends on having enough priests. So all of us should be praying for more vocations – echoing Jesus’ words: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” (Mt 9:37). This is what we pray for today in particular, for more vocations.

Vocations do not appear in a vacuum, but in supportive Catholic families and parishes. In the recent survey of 400 soon-to-be-ordained priests, the average age that a man first discerned a priestly vocation was 16 – meaning many were discerning even younger than 16. Are we cultivating possible vocations in our own families – by bringing them to Mass and Church events and by praying with them? My wife and I tell our kids: “We pray you will follow whatever God wills, but it would be a special blessing if He called you to the priesthood or religious life.” The USCCB mentions the acronym ‘ICNU’ – ‘I see in you the qualities that would make a good priest or nun – have you thought or prayed about this?’

I know of a couple of deacons, whose wife first brought to them the idea of becoming a deacon – including one wife who wasn’t even Catholic – ‘Have you thought about this? It seems like it would be a good fit.’

We should normalize speaking about vocations with our loved ones like this – to make vocations cool again.

I think if you were to ask our priests, they would confirm that it is a difficult road, but one full of immense joy, emulating Jesus the Good Shepherd, whom we celebrate today. What could be more rewarding than being a true pastor of souls, bringing God’s lost sheep back to him?

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Mary, Queen of Clerics, Pray for Us!