Chapter I
Reading edition
DEFINITION.—EVERY PERSON HAS SOME SPECIAL VOCATION.
Q. What is a vocation? A. A call from God to some state of life.
Q. Which are the principal states of life? A. Matrimony, virginity, the religious state, and the priesthood.
Q. Has every person a vocation? A. Yes; God gives a special vocation to each person.
Q. How is this doctrine proved? A. St. Paul says: "Every one hath his proper gift from God; one after this manner, and another after that. . . . As the Lord hath distributed to every one, as God hath called every one, so let him walk." [*]
[*] The references are given in the larger catechism entitled "Questions on Vocations."
Q. Is it not beneath God's notice to give a particular vocation to each person? A. Not at all; for even the birds of the air are objects of the providence of God: "Yea, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."
Q. What do Father Faber and St. Alphonsus say on this subject? A. Father Faber says: "Every man has a distinct vocation." St. Alphonsus says: "We must embrace that state to which God calls us."
Q. What does St. Augustine teach concerning special vocations? A. St. Augustine says: "He who does little, but in a state to which God calls him, does more than he who labors much, but in a state which he has thoughtlessly chosen: a cripple limping in the right way is better than a racer out of it."