This is the Vocation I Believe the Lord is Calling Me to Follow,

by Angelica Gomez, Sacred Heart Academy

Vocation: According to the dictionary, this means: a calling to undertake a specific type of work; called by God for religious work or a religious life. We each have a calling. It is our responsibility to commit to and respect what God is telling us to do. God reaches out and guides us to what vocation is ideal for us. It could be something as complex as going into religious life, or as simple as helping someone in need. To know what God is calling us to be exactly, we need answer a few questions: How often do I try to listen to God? What kind of influences are around me, and Considering my relationship with God, and my influences, what is He calling me to do?

How often do I try to listen to God? Listening to God isn't just staying away from sin, but trying to persevere and do your best. Being 14, you would think that it would be hard to stay away from gossip and cliques just for social status, but when you focus your life on God, you can overcome anything. With embarrassment out of my mind, I can focus on my academics. Prayer is vital in my school. We pray everyday before lunch and before every Spanish class (in the language).

Every Wednesday we have mass with the whole school. I feel that mass is very important, because this is the place where God is there telling you exactly what to do, your heart just needs to be open to listening. I, personally, feel God's presence most during the Consecration. When I watch as the priest turns the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, I feel that I can do anything in the world. Sometimes we get caught with school, work, or even material goods so it's hard to see the will of God. If this happens, take a deep breath and try to sort out your priorities.

What influences are around me? We have all sorts of influences: our parents, friends, colleagues, and our faith. All of these influences affect us in one way or another. Some say that we need to drop all bad influences, and focus on the good. That may be true to a point, but if you think about it, you need bad influences in your life. Without the evil, there would be no good. Everything has to be balanced. Your faith needs to be tested once in a while to see if you truly are faithful.

Without the bad, there would be nothing to overcome, thus, there would be nothing to live for. I have a lot of good influences in my life (teachers, parents, mass, etc.), but I also have the bad (media, gluttony, gossip, etc.), all around me. We are all humans, so we're not perfect, but we can thrive to be. So my advice to you is that when something bad happens to you, be grateful that it does because that means that God thinks you're worthy enough to have your faith in Him tested.

What is calling me to be? I know for a fact that God is calling me to serve others in need. I am not completely sure about religious life, but I know that with the skills I have right now, I can make a difference with the people around me. My future goal is to become a psychologist. I know I can help anyone with their problems. I feel God when I know I can help a person in need.

When I'm older, I might decide to become a nun, but for now I'm just focused on my studies.

In conclusion, I believe that we all need to take the time to listen to God, and help those in need.

We need to set our priorities, and make sure we respond to struggles with happiness. We are all called to a certain vocation, and we need to make the best of it.

*************************************************//Rich