"What do you want to be when you grow up?". Most of us were asked this question as small children. We imagine what jobs might be fun and interesting. As teenagers, we develop likes and dislikes and begin to make decisions about our future based on these. Few people stop and think, "Maybe I'm considering the wrong question. Maybe I should be asking God, 'Lord, what do You want me to become?'"

As Director of Vocations, I try to get people to ask God what they should do with their lives and help them learn how to listen for the answer. Most people will find their path to holiness as spouses and parents, and in some kind of secular work. God asks others to make a different commitment. Just as he said "Come, follow me" to the fishermen of Galilee, Jesus continues to call young men to lay down their lives to shepherd His people as priests. Just as he invited the rich young man to sell his possessions and become a disciple, Jesus continues to call men and women to embrace poverty, chastity, and obedience as a way of growing in spiritual perfection and as a powerful sign to the world that God is real.

It is difficult to hear this invitation in the midst of a noisy and self-indulgent culture. It is difficult, but not impossible. "With God, all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).