St. Catherine of Siena said, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”
There is no specific timeline or schedule for discerning a vocation. Listening and being open to discovering God’s dream for you is a personal journey. We hope these prayers will guide you to live out your Baptismal call to holiness, be that as a consecrated women religious, married, or as a a single person.
May God the Father bless us.
May God the Son heal us.
May God the Holy Spirit enlighten us,
and give us
eyes to see with,
ears to hear with,
hands to do the work of God with,
feet to walk with,
a mouth to preach the word of salvation with,
and the angel of peace to watch over us and lead us at last, by our Lord’s gift, to the Kingdom.
Amen.
(13th Century)
Creator God,
I abandon myself into Your hands;
Do with me what You will.
Whatever You do may I thank You:
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only Your will be done in me,
And in all Your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into Your hands I commend my soul:
I offer it to You with all the love of my heart,
For I love You, Lord, and I need to give myself to You,
To surrender myself into Your hands,
Without reserve and without boundless confidence,
For You are my God and my All.
Amen.
(Ven. Charles de Foucauld)
Lord, my God and my loving Father
You have made me know You,
to love You, to serve You,
And thereby to find and fulfill myself.
I know that You are in all things,
And that every path can lead me to You
But of them all, there is one especially
By which You want me to come to You.
Since I will do what You want of me,
I pray You, send Your Holy Spirit to me: into my mind,
To show me what You want of me; into my heart,
To give me the determination to do it,
And to do it with all my love, with all my mind,
And with all my strength right to the end.
Amen.
(Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Justice)
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me
Nor do I really know myself,
And the fact that I think I am following Your will
Does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please You
Does in fact please You.
And I hope that I will never do anything
Apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this,
You will lead me by the right road
Though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust You always though,
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for You are ever with me,
And You will never leave me
to face my struggles alone.
Amen.
Lord, I thank You for the gifts You have given me,
Especially for life, love, family and friends.
Help me to know myself better
And to know my talents,
As I pray, study and decide on my life’s work.
Help me to see and understand
The path You open for me.
Help me choose a life’s work
Which will develop all my potential
And enable me to respond fully to Your love for me.
In whatever way You are inviting me to follow You
Give me a generous heart
To respond to Your challenging call
And the strength to follow wherever You lead me.
Amen.
(St. Columban’s Mission Society)