UNIVERSITY OF SAN JOSE-RECOLETOS

Center for Religious Education

Magallanes St., Cebu City, Philippines

Prayer: "Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know you, and desire nothing save only you. Let me hate myself and love you. Let
me do everything for the sake of you. Let me humble myself and exalt you. Let me think of nothing except you. Let me die to
myself and live in you. Let me accept whatever happens as from you. Let me banish self and follow you and ever desire to follow
you. Let me fly from myself and take refuge in you that I may deserve to be defended by you. Let me fear for myself, let me fear
you and let me be among those who are chosen by you. Let me distrust myself and put my trust in you. Let me be willing to obey
for the sake of you. Let me cling to nothing save only to you and let me be poor because of you. Look upon me that I may love
you. Call me that I may see you and forever enjoy you. Amen."

Engage: Introduction
Hello child of God. How are you today? Vocation and conscience are considered as guides towards moral
discernment. In Catholic moral theology, God is understood to meet and communicate to human beings in their
conscience; it is where the objective sacred claims axis intersects with the subjective axis of human experience. It is
through discernment using one’s conscience and the sources mentioned that one can also have a sense of vocation.

Welcome to this second chapter of our lessons. Here are the learning competencies:

1. Define the concepts of vocation and conscience in Catholic theology,

2. Explain the importance of the concepts of vocation and conscience in moral discernment,
3. And, reflect one’s experience of vocation as well as one’s understanding of conscience.

EXPLORE
In trying to make a decision, we always feel anxious and troubled especially in determining what
option is the best or is in line with God’s will more than our own will. In the end, people will just
say, “I can’t decide yet. I leave everything to God.” When we are troubled, we tend to approach
others but will end up being advised to pray and discern. People like taking about discernment but nobody really
likes to discern. Or do we really know how to discern? In Christianity, discernment is the process of determining
God’s desire in a situation or for one’s life, or identifying the true nature of a thing such as discerning whether a
thing is good or evil. Discernment describes the interior search for an answer to the question of one’s vocation or
what God is calling us on how to act upon or respond to a particular situation.
Watch the video to know some tips on how to discern. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne8n-
1ATd1s

Processing Questions:

1. What are the four questions one should ask before making a decision and act upon it?
2. What would the Lord do if you have made a wrong decision?

Word of God: John 15:9-17

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my
9

love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I

have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told
you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be
complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved
you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for
one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no
longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s
business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I
learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed
you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the
Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.”

EXPLAIN

I. VOCATION
The word vocation comes from the Latin word vocare, which means “to call” or “to summon.”
This connection to calling has often led to the common understanding of vocation as related to the
priesthood, religious life, or marriage.

A. LUMEN GENTIUM (11-13) on VOCATION

“Fortified by so many and such powerful means of salvation, all the faithful, whatever their condition or
state, are called by the Lord, each in his own way, to that perfect holiness whereby the Father Himself is perfect… In
virtue of this catholicity, each individual part contributes through its special gifts to the good of the other parts and
of the whole Church…Not only then is the people of God made up of different peoples but in its inner structure also,
it is composed of various ranks. This diversity among its members arises either by reason of their duties … or by
reason of their condition and state of life.”

B. Catholic Moral Theology: ASPECTS OF VOCATION

1. Vocation is what is received at baptism.

This is the universal aspect of vocation that calls each human being to love and serve God and
others, regardless of our backgrounds, culture, or race. We share the threefold tasks of Christ, that is,
priestly, prophetic, and kingly. Thus, all Christians are called to cooperate in the promotion of peace,
justice, and care for all creation.
2. Vocation is more specific and concerns the state of life of a person.
This is often what comes to mind when the word vocation comes up: whether or not one
chooses to be married, to be single, or to join in the religious or ordained life. All of these are equally
good paths, with different graces and challenges for each state of life.

3. Vocation is personal mission.

This aspect takes into account a person’s particular circumstances, concerns, talents, needs and
opportunities. A Catholic, just like all other Christians baptized, is called to love others and serve God.
These universal precepts are seen in the concrete instances where the person shows the virtues and the
fruits of the Holy Spirit in all aspects of his or her life. All people, though different in their career and
status, are all called to love others and God through their lives.

Finding one’s vocation is not easy. It does not mean that everything will always turn out well.
However, it finds a deeper sense of meaning in the world and a deeper sense of peace in participating
with God’s creative work in the world. It is finding the aforementioned aspects of vocation that becomes
the path to holiness for Catholics. Holiness is not simply about extraordinary feats of fasting and
poverty, or miracles. It is about finding one’s vocation, where one can serve God and others, using the
particular gifts or charisms given by God to the person. Holiness is about answering the call to grow
mature to the best people we can be.

Discernment now enters the scene, as it is the process of making decisions, particularly big ones
such as for one’s career, marriage, or family, is something that everyone does, and is not merely a
practice of the elitist, religious or ordained. Discernment helps us in finding our vocation. What is really
our call, or the call that we receive from God.

C. Frederick Buechner on Vocation

“We can speak of a man choosing his vocation, but perhaps it is at least as accurate to speak of a vocation
choosing the man, of a call’s being given and a man’s hearing it, or not hearing it. And maybe that is the place to
start: the business of listening and hearing. A man’s life is full of all sorts of voices calling him in all sorts of
directions. Some of them are voices from inside, and some of them are voices from outside...Which do we listen to?
What kind of voice do we listen for? … No one can say, except each for himself, but I believe that it is possible to say
at least in general to all of us: we should go in with our lives where we most need to go and where we are most
needed. ”
The Catholic understanding of God believes that God speaks to each person various ways,
meeting that person in his or her particular life situation and communicating God’ self to the others in
the best way that that person can understand. God wants what is best for us and that this will also give
us the most joy and deep peace. God does not want human beings to be miserable people who are
simply God’s puppets; rather, it is an intersection and mutual dialogue of God’s freedom and human
freedom.

D. Japanese Term for Understanding Vocation.

Ikigai (生き甲斐) is roughly translated as the “reason for being” or the
“reason why you wake up each morning”. It is found in the middle of the
intersection of a person’s passion or happiness, the person’s skills and practical
needs, and what the world needs. In the same way, one’s vocation can be found
here as well: in serving God and the world, as well as developing one’s skills and
character in love and justice.
II. CONSCIENCE

It is not enough that we answer the call of vocation. It is also important to know how one
answers the call of vocation. Thus, it is through the conscience that one is able to respond to the call of
vocation.
A. James Keenan on Conscience
“The call to grow, the call to move forward as disciples, the call to put on virtue is always a call
heard in the Christian conscience.” Therefore, a person’s conscience is better understood to be a process
where a person grapples with what God communicates to him or her and acts according to the
judgment made by this process. It consists of “mentored practices of justice, temperance, fortitude,
fidelity, and self-care through the ministration of conscience’s own prudence” that “allows us to learn
more and more about how we are to respond to God, neighbour and ourselves in love.”

B. Gaudium et Spes on Conscience

“In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which he does not impose upon himself, but which holds him to
obedience. Always summoning him to love good and avoid evil, the voice of conscience when necessary speaks to
his heart: do this, shun that. For man has in his heart a law written by God; to obey it is the very dignity of man;
according to it he will be judged. Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with
God, Whose voice echoes in his depths. In a wonderful manner conscience reveals that law which is fulfilled by love
of God and neighbor. In fidelity to conscience, Christians are joined with the rest of men in the search for truth, and
for the genuine solution to the numerous problems which arise in the life of individuals from social relationships.
Hence the more right conscience holds sway, the more persons and groups turn aside from blind choice and strive
to be guided by the objective norms of morality.”

C. Conscience Based Discernment

The conscience is where the objective axis (Scripture and

Tradition) is related to the subjective axis (reason and
human experience) in dialogue to come up with a
judgement of what is morally right. The objective axis is
concerned with understanding what God seeks from us,
while the subjective axis is how we understand what God
wants and how it fits into our own particular life situation.
It is thus where a person can perceive what is understood
to be divine law or natural law as well as how to apply this
to the specific situation of the person.

Three things to be considered:

1. Act itself (is it good or bad)

2. Intentions
3. Circumstances
Weighing all these three can be difficult because the various circumstances of the people can
drastically change what the good is in a particular situation. It is important to remember that there are
no one-size-fits-all answers. However, all of us are called to use our conscience to come up with the
morally right thing to do despite being not perfect and making mistakes. The emphasis should be on
how the person grows and develops the conscience to become a more loving disciple of Christ rather
than simply focusing only on getting the acts correct.
 D. FORMATION OF CONSCIENCE
This is an important task in developing better and morally right discernment. Developing
conscience is important for it to stay working in its best form. Forming the conscience is a lifelong
process which means, it does not happen overnight nor it is an easy task. However, forming the
conscience entails two concerns: what happens when the person is in ignorance, which leads to an
erroneous conscience; and, what happens when one’s conscience differs from the Catholic Church’s
teachings.

D.1 Ignorance: Invincible and Vincible

Invincible ignorance is defined as a form of ignorance that a person cannot remove through his
or her reasonable effort. The person cannot be held as sinful in the same way that someone who had
full knowledge is sinful. However, the person still committed and evil and must make amends for this
and seek to correct his or her conscience. On the other hand, vincible ignorance is defined as a form of
ignorance that a person can remove through some effort. This cannot be used as a reason for a wrong
moral judgment.
In Gaudium et Spes, the Second Vatican Council writes that “conscience frequently errs from
invincible ignorance without losing its dignity;” however, “the same cannot be said for a man who cares
but little for truth and goodness, or for a conscience which by degrees grows practically sightless as a
result of habitual sin.”
Though a person will never know everything and will always be coming from a particular
perspective that will have blind spots or weaknesses, there is still a way to have some degree of moral
certitude in deciding which side is more correct. According to John F. Morris, “to follow the strongest
evidence available is the only proper way for a human agent to act in any uncertain situation. That is,
basing our moral decisions upon the evidence that we do have is the only way to act properly as rational,
responsible moral agents…when you know that you do not know, find out!”

D.2 Conscience and Church Teaching

Catholic moral theology has upheld what is called the primacy of conscience. This means that a
human being must always obey his or her conscience; as Gaudium et Spes put it, the conscience “holds
one to obedience.” Still, saying that the conscience has primacy does not make the person infallible.

Part of conscience formation is seriously learning and understanding what the Church is
teaching and to see whether or not a person still has legitimate grounds for disagreeing with the
teaching. “Legitimate grounds” require a defense of the dissenting side using the sources and
methodology of the Catholic Church. This includes a proper reading of Scripture and Tradition, and
proper analysis of human experience. Thus, disagreeing with Church teaching cannot simply be feelings,
nor can it be based on fundamentalist, literalist, or incorrect readings of Scripture, or faulty sources that
are not verified. If the person does have a serious disagreement with legitimate grounds, this is called
dissent. Dissenting from Church teaching is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly nor done
disrespectfully.

E. Ways of Forming Our Minds

1. Learning from the experiences and reflections of friends
2. Taking time to read and study Sacred Scripture
3. Listening to parent’s advice or engaging in dialogues with them over important issues
4. Learning in school: listening to teachers, asking questions, participating in classroom discussions,
doing research
5. Studying the teachings and the stand of the Catholic Church on moral issues
6. Consulting parents, teachers, and counselors on issues and life situations

F. Ways of Forming Our Hearts

1. Spending moments alone in quiet personal prayer and reflection
2. Attending and participating in the Eucharistic liturgy
3. Joining reflection sessions, prayer groups, or youth recollections with friends
4. Celebrating the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation

ELABORATE
Hi there, child of God! How are you after learning the general concept of
vocation and conscience? In order to elaborate what you have learned, I encourage you
to answer the following guide questions. I hope this will make you feel challenged in
making connections of what you have learned to how will you apply such learning in
your daily moral decision making.

Guide questions:

1. Define vocation. How do you understand your own vocation? Why do you say that
that is your vocation?
2. Define conscience. What role does conscience play in moral decision making?
3. Suppose someone tells you that they don’t know what they want to do in their life,
how would you respond to them based on the Catholic understanding of vocation?

EVALUATE

This sections provides you child of God, an opportunity to gauge your mastery
of this lesson. Please refer to the Quiz which will be uploaded in our Adelante LMS. This
quiz will be available on October 1, 2021. Good luck and may the grace of God be upon
you.

CONCLUSION
Vocation and conscience are two important concepts in Catholic Theology that help people understand the
meaning of and their place in the wider community and the world. Rooting one’s purpose and sense of meaning
helps anchor a person to his or her commitments, particularly when the going gets tough and it can be difficult to
continue doing the good that we ought to do. One’s vocation gives a person a sense of purpose and the way to
holiness for that particular person, while one’s conscience helps a person bring together his or her experiences,
Scripture and Tradition in order to make morally good decisions to respond to one’s vocation. We are all called to
always better ourselves and our conscience.

For the next chapter, we will deal with the fundamental understanding of morality in Scripture for how we
understand what morality means is rooted in certain events in Scripture. So, stay tuned! See you in the next chapter
of our lessons. Adelante!
Prayer: "Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know you, and desire nothing save only you. Let me hate myself and love you. Let me
do everything for the sake of you. Let me humble myself and exalt you. Let me think of nothing except you. Let me die to myself
and live in you. Let me accept whatever happens as from you. Let me banish self and follow you and ever desire to follow you. Let
me fly from myself and take refuge in you that I may deserve to be defended by you. Let me fear for myself, let me fear you and
let me be among those who are chosen by you. Let me distrust myself and put my trust in you. Let me be willing to obey for the
sake of you. Let me cling to nothing save only to you and let me be poor because of you. Look upon me that I may love you. Call
me that I may see you and forever enjoy you. Amen."

Prepared by:
Mr. Milver H. Legitimas - ReEd 3 Instructor