August 27, 2025 “Finding out where you’re not called is sometimes part of finding out where you are called.” I’ve said some form of that eleventy billion times in the last few months. It was part of my effort to not put too much pressure on my son, Jake, as he was preparing to leave for barber school in Central New York. He started that school on Aug. 18. “You have to give it a reasonable try – at least a few weeks,” I told him. “But if you hate it, you’re not stuck there.” In Church circles, the idea of discernment seems to pop up most when we talk about vocations – the priesthood, consecrated life, married life, single life. That discernment is obviously very important, but it’s not the entirety of discernment. God doesn’t stop moving in our lives when we figure out if we’re going to get married or become a priest or consecrated religious. He’s constantly calling us to decisions and actions that serve and glorify Him and to paths that lead others to Him, as well. I’m guessing a lot of us – possibly all of us – can think of a time when we thought we were supposed to go to a particular school, study a particular field, take up a particular career or enter a specific relationship only to later learn it wasn’t a good fit for us, and it wasn’t where God wanted us. Usually, we know our choices aren’t the correct ones because they make us deeply unhappy. Recently, I had an opportunity to listen to a priest, two women in consecrated life and a married man talk about vocations. One of the common themes was the joy that is found in going where God calls us. I pray every single day that Jake follows God’s call and finds that joy. Jake entering this new phase of his life has also reminded me to pray for the same – pray for the joy that comes when following God’s will for us – in my own life and for those I love. We’re not done discerning, either. While it’s been only one week, Jake loves barber school so far, and he’s enjoying living in a more urban area. I pray he, and all of us, continue to follow the joy that only God and following God’s call can give us. |
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