Sarah Mitchell
Choosing a career as a Catholic involves more than just picking a job or career path. It involves discovering your calling in life and aligning your career with your faith and values. Catholics are taught that their lives are worth more than a job title or paycheck, and that their priorities should be Faith, Family, and then Work. This means that when choosing a career, Catholics should seek to put God first and use their gifts and talents to serve Him and others. This may involve volunteering, working directly for the Church, or pursuing a career in the nonprofit sector. It is also important to take the time to pray and reflect on God's plan and how a career fits into that plan. Additionally, practicing discernment, such as Ignatian discernment, can help Catholics make career decisions that are in line with their values and God's will.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Reflect on your volunteer experience | Serving God and others |
| Identify your strengths and weaknesses | Putting God first |
| Identify your talents and interests | Humility |
| Identify your calling in life | Serving others |
| Practice Ignatian discernment | Prayer |
| Identify your career path | Gratitude |
| Identify your priorities | Family |
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What You'll Learn
Identify your calling
Choosing a career as a Catholic involves more than just picking a job title or a career path. It involves discovering your calling in life and aligning your career with your faith and values. Here are some instructive guidelines to help you identify your calling:
Reflect on Your Talents and Interests
The first step in choosing a career is to identify your talents and interests. Consider your strengths, skills, and passions. What are you good at, and what do you enjoy doing? These are the areas where you are most likely to result in a long-lasting and fulfilling career. For instance, if you have strong communication skills and a passion for helping others, you might consider a career in counselling or social work. If you are creative and artistic, you might explore careers in design or the arts. By understanding your talents and interests, you can start to narrow down the career paths that align with them.
Seek God's Direction
As a Catholic, your faith plays a crucial role in your life choices, including your career. Seek God's direction and pray for guidance to discover your calling. Take time each morning and evening to reflect and pray on God's plan for you and how your career fits into that plan. Read the "Lives of the Saints" to learn about how figures like Mother Teresa heard and responded to God's call. You can also practice Ignatian discernment, which involves incorporating prayer and meditation into your decision-making process. Through daily prayer and reflection, you can gain clarity and discernment about God's will for your life and career.
Evaluate Your Priorities
Examine your priorities and values to ensure that your career choices align with them. As a Catholic, your faith and family may be central aspects of your life. Consider how your career choices will impact your ability to live out your faith and spend time with your loved ones. Evaluate whether your career path will help you lead a virtuous life and bring you closer to God. Additionally, reflect on how your career can be a form of service to others and contribute to their spiritual growth. By prioritizing faith, family, and service, you can ensure that your career choices are in harmony with your Catholic values.
Consider the Impact
When identifying your calling, reflect on the impact you want to have on the world. Consider how your career can be a vehicle for positive change and contributing to something bigger than yourself. For example, if you are passionate about social justice, you might pursue a career in law or politics to advocate for those in need. If you have a heart for the environment, you might explore careers in sustainability or conservation. By aligning your career with your desire to make a difference, you can find greater fulfilment and a sense of purpose.
Explore Opportunities
Broaden your horizons by exploring various career opportunities, especially within the Catholic community. Consider volunteering or working for nonprofit organizations, which can offer a wide range of fulfilling career paths. You can also look into ministries within the Catholic Church, such as Catholic schools, charities, youth ministry, or parish ministry. By networking with your parish priest or local Catholic school principals, you can gain insights into job openings and connect with individuals who share your values. Remember that your calling may not always be clear from the start, and it may evolve over time, just as Jesus experienced a mid-life career change to fulfil his true calling.
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Reflect on your talents and interests
As a Catholic, you are taught that your life is worth more than a job title or description, and more than a paycheck. Your life should focus on loving God and your neighbour. Your career is something you choose, but your calling is something God chooses for you.
To choose a career, you must first reflect on your talents and interests. What do you like so much that you could do it for a lifetime and get people to pay you for it? What are your professional skills? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What gives you the most energy and inspiration?
Volunteering is a great way to gain a clearer understanding of the career path you want to pursue. You can learn a lot about your strengths and weaknesses by serving in unexpected roles and using your skills in new ways. You can also learn new skills while volunteering, and there may even be career opportunities within the nonprofit sector.
Once you know your talents and interests, you can start to discover your calling in life. A calling is when you live for something bigger than yourself and your own advancement. It is chosen for more than just human reasons, beyond the values and rewards of this present world.
You can use Ignatian discernment to help you make big career decisions. This involves putting your liberty, memory, understanding, and entire will in God's hands and asking Him to give you only His love and grace. You can also practice discernment by taking time to pray and talk over decisions with trusted people in your life.
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Consider God's will and plan
Choosing a career is a difficult decision for anyone, including Catholics. However, as Catholics, we are taught that our lives are worth more than a job title or a job description, and more than a paycheck. Our priorities in life should be Faith, Family, and then Work (or career).
When considering God's will and plan for your career, it is important to reflect on your talents and interests and how you can use them to serve Him and others. Ask yourself: Are my talents and interests leading me towards Heaven? Can I use them to lead my family and those around me towards Heaven? Or are they leading me away from my faith? Taking time each day to reflect and pray on God's plan and how your career fits into it will help you determine if you are on the right path or if God is calling you to something different.
To discover your calling, you must listen for the voice of God and then respond. This may involve making a mid-life career change, as Jesus did when he left carpentry to pursue his true vocation of announcing and establishing the Kingdom of God. Mother Teresa also heard God's call to become a nun in a teaching order when she was older, and later, a call within that call to serve the poor and suffering in Calcutta.
When making career decisions, it is important to seek God's direction earnestly and not be swayed by worldly pressures such as income, prestige, or security. Instead, consider how your career choice will allow you to serve God and others and provide for your family's needs. Remember, "The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honour, and life" (Proverbs 22:4).
Practicing Ignatian discernment can also help you make career decisions. This involves using practices such as the Examen, a daily, five-step meditation that includes gratitude, prayer, reflection, and planning for the next day, as well as the "colloquy," a type of prayer that is an intimate conversation with God. By strengthening your prayer life and taking time to discern, you can make career choices that align with God's will and plan for your life.
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Evaluate worldly desires
When evaluating worldly desires, it is important to reflect on what truly matters in life and to seek God's will. Worldly desires can be understood as a reference to material possessions, such as wealth, food, drink, and other indulgences. While it is not inherently wrong to desire these things, the excessive pursuit of wealth and material possessions can become a form of idolatry, distracting individuals from their spiritual growth and their relationship with God.
Additionally, the "world" can also refer to the desire for attention, praise, and power. This includes the desire for domination and control, which can manifest in various aspects of life, including family, friends, work, and social circles. The common misconception is that obtaining more of these worldly desires will bring satisfaction and fulfillment. However, these desires are temporary and passing, and their pursuit can lead to the destruction of one's soul.
It is crucial to recognize that wealth, prestige, and power are not inherently evil. They can be used for good and offer potential for positive impact. However, when pursued for selfish reasons or with the delusion of finding fulfillment, they can become a burden and a source of temptation. Individuals should strive for spiritual detachment from material possessions and handle these desires with humility.
To align one's desires with God's will, it is essential to immerse oneself in God's word by reading the Bible and praying according to His will. By doing so, individuals can find freedom from temptation and learn to delight in the Lord, as stated in Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." Through prayer and reflection, individuals can purify their desires, ensuring that their ambitions are used for the glory of God rather than personal gain.
In conclusion, evaluating worldly desires involves reflecting on one's interior desires and seeking to align them with God's will. By recognizing the temporary nature of worldly possessions and the potential pitfalls of power and prestige, individuals can strive for detachment and humility. Through prayer, reading the Bible, and seeking God's presence, it is possible to find true fulfillment and glorify God in all aspects of life.
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Seek guidance through prayer
When it comes to choosing a career, Catholics are taught that their lives are worth more than a job title, job description, or paycheck. It is important to seek guidance through prayer, taking time each morning and evening to reflect and pray on God's plan and how a career fits into that plan.
One way to seek guidance through prayer is to use Ignatian discernment, a practice attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola. This involves taking time to pray, reflect, and plan for the future. A key aspect of Ignatian discernment is the Examen, a daily, five-step meditation that includes gratitude, prayer, reflection, and planning for the next day. Another practice is the "colloquy," an intimate conversation with God or a saint. By practicing Ignatian discernment in small, everyday decisions, individuals can build the skill of discernment when it comes to bigger choices.
Another important aspect of seeking guidance through prayer is to focus on God's priorities and will. Christians must weigh their priorities carefully, ensuring that their vocational decisions are aligned with serving God and others, rather than worldly standards such as security, ego, or income. Putting God first in decision-making eliminates most anxiety-producing choices. Seeking God's direction requires earnestness and a willingness to act when His direction is sensed.
Additionally, it is crucial to discover one's calling in life, which may involve a mid-life career change, as in the case of Jesus and Mother Teresa. A calling is when an individual lives for something bigger than themselves and their personal advancement. It is chosen for reasons beyond the values and rewards of this present world. Any kind of employment or activity can be a calling if it is what God is calling one to do.
Volunteering with organizations like the Catholic Volunteer Network can be a great way to explore different career paths and discover one's calling. These organizations offer various service opportunities and resources to help individuals reflect on their experiences, strengths, and weaknesses, and determine their next steps.
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Frequently asked questions
Take time to pray and reflect on God’s plan for you, and how your career fits into that plan. Consider whether your career is helping you towards Heaven, and whether it is leading you and your family towards your faith or away from it. You can also practice Ignatian discernment by taking time to meditate and pray, and having intimate conversations with God.
Your career should be chosen for more than just human reasons, beyond the values and rewards of this present world. It should be made to please and serve God and thus serve other people. Ask yourself: is the decision being made by worldly standards—security, ego, and income—or is it being made to serve God?
A calling is something God chooses for us. To discover your calling, you must listen for the voice of God and then respond. You can choose your career by looking at your talents and interests and then figuring out which of these you could use to earn a living.
Volunteering is a great way to learn new skills and gain a clearer understanding of the career path you want to pursue. It can help you learn about your strengths and weaknesses and determine your areas of interest. Volunteering can also lead to career opportunities, especially within the Church and its various ministries and structures.
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