Vocations Online

Online Discernment 
for Young Adults

Information

Scripture

Activities

Reflection Questions

Journaling

Send comments and questions to:

Father Burke Masters
402 S. Independence Blvd.
Romeoville , IL 60446
815/834-4004

Topic 1: Getting Started in Discernment

Welcome to the Vocations Online process of discernment for young adults!

In this section you will have the opportunity to learn about the discernment process of making decisions in faith for your life, read some Scripture passages that might help you, try some interesting activities, and ask some questions about your life. At the end of this section, you can journal some responses to questions in the online journal and send them to a companion of your choice. The companions are available to help you … not to tell you what to do, but to help you make good decisions for your life. We hope you find this process both fun and profitable for your future. Each topic in this series should take between two weeks and one month to complete. Let’s get started!

(You might want to print this page so that you can work on these activities and prepare your journal entry off-line. Then when you are ready to send your journal entry, return to this page and continue.)

Who am I? The identity question is a great place to begin when looking at the process of discerning, or making decisions for our lives based on faith. Our vocations, or the way that we will say "Yes" to God with our lives, ultimately come from God, but they also come from our sense of who we are.

There are three important questions to consider when looking at our identity. The first question is "What am I going to do?" This is sometimes considered to be the career question. Adults need to support themselves and their families, and most people need to have a job to provide an income to do this. When considering a career, people often ask questions like: What am I good at? What do I like to do? Is it a good thing to do? How much many can I make doing that? How much education is required to do that?

The second question is "What is important to me?" The core values that we build our lives around help determine how we naturally respond to situations in life. Another way to look at this question is to ask, "How do I want other people to know me for who I really am?" We consider the importance of things like family, friends, our faith, material things, education, money, simplicity. The choices that we make are guided by these core values that we hold important.

The third question goes beyond the individual questions of "me" and "I" and looks at "How am I to love?" Each of us has a responsibility to share who we are with other people. There are different ways to express love and to give of oneself, as acquaintances, friends, best friends, and spouses. The ways of sharing love are as varied as there are people.

When we consider these three questions together, the depth of the simple question "Who am I?" begins to be revealed. These are not simple questions to answer, they take time and patience to answer. It is not as though we wake up one day and say, "I’ve got it all figured out, I know who I am to be for the rest of my life." The responses we make to these questions will change as we change. Our understanding of who we are will deepen and grow as we prayerfully consider these questions.

Some Scripture Passages to Consider:

Three scripture passages are listed below. Spend two days praying with each passage. Each day take at least ten minutes in a quiet place, read the passage, and simply ask, "What is the most important message God is giving me today through this passage?"

1. Psalm 139
2. Luke 1:26-56
3. Philippians 3:10-14

Some Activities to Try:

1. Ask two friends and two members of your family to name three positive qualities and gifts that they see in you.
2. Look at the list of items below. In the first column rank each item from 1 - 5 (1= very important; 2 = somewhat important; 3 =a little important; 4 = not sure; 5 = not important) based on how you live your life right now. In the second column rank each item using the same 1 - 5 scale based on how you wish you lived your life. When finished, compare your responses from the right column and the left.

My Friends	My Friends
Praying Daily	Praying Daily
Living Simply	Living Simply
Exercise / Sports	Exercise / Sports
My Family	My Family
Having a Good Reputation	Having a Good Reputation
My Faith	My Faith
Watching TV	Watching TV
Being Smart	Being Smart
Helping the Needy and Poor	Helping the Needy and Poor
Looking Good	Looking Good
Being Rich	Being Rich
My Computer	My Computer

Some Questions to Reflect On:

1. What do you like most about yourself?
2. List the names of two people who love you. List the names of two people you feel you love. How do people express their love to you? How do you express your love to others?
3. If you had an entire day of free time and could do anything you wanted, what would that day be like?

"Getting Started" Journal Entry

We suggest that you work on the journal questions off-line in a word processing program. Then you can cut-and-paste your responses into the appropriate areas.

Your name:

 

City, State:

Your e-mail address:

Your Age:

Choosing a Discernment Companion: The following vocation directors have volunteered their efforts to help young people discern via the internet. You can select one person from this list to connect with via email to be a discernment companion.

Father Burke Masters

Father Burke is a diocesan priest and serves the Joliet Diocese  as vocation director.

Brother Guy Jelinek, OSB

Brother Guy is a Benedictine Monk of St. Procopius Abbey, in Lisle, Illinois.  As a monk, he has studied theology in Rome and has also taught biology at Benet Academy.  

Sister Deborah Suddarth

Sister Deborah is a Franciscan Sister of the Sacred Heart, from Frankfort, Illinois.  She has served as a school teacher and principal before becoming her community's vocation director.

Sr. Margaret Kelly, OSF

Sister Margaret is a Joliet Franciscan Sister, from Joliet, Illinois.  She taught music at Ilinois State University prior to becoming the vocation director for the Joliet Franciscans

 

OR Scroll Here to find the Vocation Director you would like to work with: : Fr. Burke Masters Sr. Deborah Suddarth, OSF Bro. Guy Jelinek, OSB Sr. Margaret Kelly, OSF

To help your companion get to know you a little better, please describe your family. How many are in your family? Who do you currently live with? What are some of the important things you learned from your family?

Your companion will also want to know a little about your relationship with God and your faith. How do you like to pray? Were you raised in the Catholic faith? How do you try to share your faith with other people?

 

Human relationships are also important to us. Please tell your companion a little about what you look for in friendship. Are you good at making new friends? What good things or talents do you think your friends see in you? Do you consider yourself better at working with a group or dealing with people one-on-one?

 

What thoughts or feelings from the Scripture passages, activities or reflection questions would you life to share with your companion? Do you have any questions you would like to ask?

Clicking on the "Send Journal Entry" button will send your journal entry to the discernment companion you selected on this form. You should hear back from your companion within a day or two.

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