Vocational Discernment in the Catholic Church

Vocational discernment is the process in which men or women in the Catholic Church discern, or recognize, their vocation in the Church. The four vocations are the married life, single life, religious life, and ordained life. Vocational discernment is often spoken about only in relation to priestly or religious vocations. It has been argued that this common restriction of the term is a mistake, and even decreases religious vocations, because it discourages people who don't immediately feel called to the clerical state or consecrated life from engaging in vocational discernment.

Each diocese or religious institute usually has its own guidelines and advice for men or women discerning religious vocations. Many dioceses and religious institutes encourage men and women with potential vocations to spend time, usually anywhere from six months to a year, praying and asking God to enlighten them. Those who feel they might be called to a religious vocation are encouraged to seek a spiritual director to help them along the way. After the set time, many institutes have a formal discernment process which the candidate will engage in, before entering the institute as a novice, or the seminary. Candidates should be advised that some traditions hold that a person can feel the judgements of others, and so a perceived vocation may merely be the judgement of one's parish that one ought to be a priest.

For men there are a number of vocations in the Catholic Church. The best known is the vocation to the Priesthood, as either a diocesan or a religious priest. A diocesan priest serves in a particular diocese and is under the local bishop. A religious priest (in this sense) is a member of a specific religious institute such as the Trinitarians, Holy Cross Fathers and Brothers or Jesuits. Diocesan and religious priests may also serve for a time in specific apostolates such as military chaplains or the maritime apostolate.

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