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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1A

Who is the person you admire the most in the world? What is it about them that attracts or inspires you?

What gifts has God given you? What are your special talents or interests?

What other ideas or questions strike you from this part of the film?

 

1B

Which vocation attracts you the most? Can you explain why?

How do you think God speaks to people today? Can you share any examples of when God has given you some special help or guidance in life?

What other ideas or questions strike you from this part of the film?

 

KEY IDEAS FROM THE FILM

I’m here in the library at Allen Hall seminary in London. It’s a place where men are training for the Catholic priesthood, so it’s a good place to talk about vocation – not just priesthood, but every call God gives to his people.

“Vocation” comes from the Latin for “calling”. God calls us to a way of life, or to take a step for him. The most fundamental vocation of every human being is to love. We are made to love God and love our neighbour. For a Christian, this means following Jesus Christ: receiving his forgiveness, his Holy Spirit, his call to holiness. Our deepest vocation is to become a saint and to share in the life of heaven. When I first realised this as a teenager, it changed everything. Life suddenly had meaning, even if the future was still confusing. Like St Thérèse said: “My vocation is to love.”

But then comes the practical question: What should I actually do with my life? Many people are called to marriage, and perhaps to be parents. Some are called to the priesthood, to the permanent diaconate, or to consecrated life. Others live a committed single life in the world. How do you know which of these is yours?

The Church talks about “discernment”: listening to God, and listening to your own heart, so that gradually his call becomes clearer. It’s not usually a thunderbolt. It’s a journey of patience, honesty, perseverance, generosity, courage… and it needs a sense of humour. God does speak clearly at times, but more often he guides us through ordinary things: desires in our hearts, and events in our lives.

Here are some of the signs he can use:

1. What are you drawn to? What kind of life attracts you, even if you can’t quite explain why?
2. Who do you look up to? Which people – and which saints – make you think: “Something in their life speaks to me”?
3. What work or activity gives you deep satisfaction? What brings out the best in you?
4. What are you good at? Not just skills and qualifications, but the gifts of character and temperament God has given you.
5. Which paths seem truly worthwhile and meaningful? Where do you believe you could make a real difference?
6. Sometimes a door opens, or closes. An opportunity arises; or something becomes impossible. God really can guide us through circumstances that are outside our control.
7. Sometimes others encourage you. They see something in you that you haven’t had the courage to admit.
8. There can be a deep inner sense – not just attraction, but an almost “this is who I am” clarity.
9. Certain ideas, scriptures, or promptings keep coming back in prayer, like a quiet nudge from the Holy Spirit.

This doesn’t mean you should anxiously analyse every moment for “clues”. It means you step back and look at the bigger picture: Do you notice a pattern? Are you being drawn in a particular direction?

Whatever your vocation, it will be a call to follow Christ. It will be a way of loving others more deeply. If you live it generously, there will be great joy. If you live it faithfully, there will also be sacrifice. We shouldn’t romanticise one vocation or assume another is easy. Celibacy, in priesthood or consecrated life, is radical. But living a faithful, lifelong Christian marriage today, and raising a family in the faith, demands just as much courage. The point is not to rank them, but to discover which one God is offering you, and to walk towards it.

[This is an AI generated summary of the film script]