(1 Corinthians 12:4-30 Acts 13:2-3) 

Perhaps it is because we live in a democracy that we very easily miss the community "mystery" of the Church.  

We speak a lot about community, but more often than not, in a way that primarily reflects the cooperation, order and feelings of compatibility that we have in civil society.  

The mystery of community in the Church goes far beyond these, and it is even much more than the type of bond that national spirit creates, though nationalism has a quasi-mystical dimension to it, being able to rouse citizens to untold sacrifice, even of their lives, for the defense and advancement of their nation.  

The Church is the Body of Christ, and we are all members of this one body. For just as the body has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body...Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13a, 27) 

Our community in the Church is the community of the parts of a body with each other. We are vital for each other, each one has to play his part well or death will swoop down on the whole body. No part of the body can take off and go it alone for then it will die ...as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. (John 15:4) 

There is food for much thought here. 

vocation in the Church 

As a direct consequence of the above we must say that according to the New Testament our personal vocation is not an individual one in the sense that it affects only the individual involved. It affects the whole Body, because everything you do as an individual member does. 

But there is something more. Your individual vocation is given to you by God in the context of the Church and at the service of the Church. Your answer to your personal vocation is going to affect, for good or ill, the whole Church and not just you personally.  

So there is more to your discovery of your vocation, and your perception of what that vocation is, than your own individual feelings, interests, relationship with Christ... 

While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13:2-3) Here Saul and Barnabas receive their call and mission in the context of the prayer of the community. It seems their call is fruit of this prayer.  

God's plan for the growth of his Body through the missionary action of St Paul was manifested in the context of the community. It was not Saul's personal agenda. Even if it were, that command of the Holy Spirit to set them aside, the laying on of hands and being sent was what mattered, not Saul's personal feelings. He said later that it was God who gave him this grace, to preach to the gentiles.  

We can never find or follow our vocation well unless we are identified with the needs and mission of the Church, unless we live its life, unless we strive to be its faithful sons and daughters, unless we are prepared to serve it no matter what the personal cost or consequences. 

Offhand it might seem an exercise in sophistry to say that we find our true identity as individual Christians in our condition as parts of the Church. But it is true. That is what we are, that is what God has made us by our baptism.  

vocation by the Church 

Set them apart. This tells us that the final word on vocation, the confirmation of a vocation, goes beyond the internal attraction that a person feels. It is an action of the Church. 

This is brought out in the commitment ceremonies for every vocation because these always include the "call": the individual's name is called out by a representative of the Church (the Bishop or Superior, for example), and in response the one called declares his willingness and makes his promises, accepting the responsibilities that go with them.  

vocation for the Church 

Though our vocation is something God does for us, it is more than anything something he does for the Church. It expresses not only his love for you, but also his love for his Church. He calls for the good of the Church. 

This means we are called to serve and improve the Church. Go, prophesy to my people Israel. (Amos 7:14) We do this by pursuing our personal holiness and by dedicating ourselves to the apostolate of building up the Church itself. We should look for what is good for the Church itself.  

With no personal ambition. And she said to him, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." He said to them, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father"... "the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:21b-23,28) Even the apostles felt the pull of personal ambition. John and James got their mother to press their cause for them. Peter and the rest got mad at them, because the two "sons of thunder" had tried to outmaneuver them. But the call, as Christ points out, is not for our selfish benefit. It is a call to serve, and ultimately a call to the cross. We cannot serve Christ and be at the center of our thoughts and worries. 

And we are called to expand the Church. "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel...I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." (Acts 9:15) This is intimately connected with the above. Only the seed that falls into the ground and dies will bear fruit. If it tries to preserve its own life it will never be more than itself. This dying to ourselves, so that it will not be us but Christ who lives in us, is the essential force and ingredient in the Church's missionary outreach. It has to be the essential element in the New Evangelization. 

In the context of our vocation being for the Church we can call Jesus the Great Pragmatist. It is just that the fate of people is not indifferent to him. He wants them to get the Good News, and he will see to it that they do. He says to the pharisees, who have not been the faithful servants they were called to be, or given the expected fruits: "Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it." (Matthew 21:43)