VOCATIONS EXPLAINED.
[C]HAPTER I.
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."