Lord Jesus, who called the fishermen from their nets and the tax collector from his table, and who still call each soul by name, teach me to hear Your voice and to follow where You lead.
You have a plan for my life more perfect than any I could choose for myself. Quiet the noise of my own wishes and the expectations of the world, and give me the courage to ask not "What do I want?" but "Lord, what would You have me do?"
Whether You call me to the priesthood, to religious life, to holy marriage, or to a consecrated single life in the world, give me a generous heart to say yes, and the grace to seek Your will above my own comfort or fear. Make me willing before I know the answer.
Mary, who said "Be it done unto me according to thy word," obtain for me that same ready "yes." Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. Amen.
Every baptized Christian has a vocation — a particular calling from God, a way of life through which he or she is meant to become holy and to serve. This prayer is for the soul standing at that crossroads, asking not merely "what shall I do with my life?" but the deeper question, "Lord, what do You want of me?" It is a prayer to want God’s will before one even knows what it is.
Scripture is full of such callings. Our Lord called Peter and Andrew from their nets and Matthew from his tax-table with a single word, "Follow me" (Matthew 4:19; 9:9). The boy Samuel, taught by Eli, answered the voice in the night, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth" (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 3:9) — the very posture this prayer asks for. And Saul on the Damascus road, struck to the ground, asked the question every discerning soul must ask: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" (Acts 9:6).
The Church names four broad paths: the priesthood, the consecrated religious life, holy marriage, and the dedicated single life. Discernment is not anxious fortune-telling but a listening love: quieting one’s own noise, seeking counsel, receiving the sacraments, and above all being willing. Its perfect model is Our Lady, whose "Be it done unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38) was a yes spoken before she could see where it would lead. The generous heart that says yes in advance is the heart that discerns rightly.
Lord Jesus, who called the fishermen from their nets and the tax collector from his table, and who still call each soul by name, teach me to hear Your voice and to follow where You lead.
You have a plan for my life more perfect than any I could choose for myself. Quiet the noise of my own wishes and the expectations of the world, and give me the courage to ask not "What do I want?" but "Lord, what would You have me do?"
Whether You call me to the priesthood, to religious life, to holy marriage, or to a consecrated single life in the world, give me a generous heart to say yes, and the grace to seek Your will above my own comfort or fear. Make me willing before I know the answer.
Mary, who said "Be it done unto me according to thy word," obtain for me that same ready "yes." Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. Amen.
Lord Jesus, who called the fishermen from their nets and the tax collector from his table, and who still call each soul by name, teach me to hear Your voice and to follow where You lead.
You have a plan for my life more perfect than any I could choose for myself. Quiet the noise of my own wishes and the expectations of the world, and give me the courage to ask not "What do I want?" but "Lord, what would You have me do?"
Whether You call me to the priesthood, to religious life, to holy marriage, or to a consecrated single life in the world, give me a generous heart to say yes, and the grace to seek Your will above my own comfort or fear. Make me willing before I know the answer.
Mary, who said "Be it done unto me according to thy word," obtain for me that same ready "yes." Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. Amen.