You ask a very important question that goes to the heart of what a vocation is, what our freedom is, and how God treats us. If you have a chance to read George Weigel's book on Pope John Paul II called Witness to Hope you will find on pages 68-70 a brief description of how the Pope as a young man came to understand he had a vocation, what his thoughts were, and how he answered and overcame the initial objections that some people who loved him dearly had. I think you will find these pages helpful.

The word vocation comes from the Latin to call. It is God who calls. When we discover a vocation, it means we discover that God seems to be inviting us to a closer relationship and service, as St. Paul explains in the letter you mention. Since original sin has weakened our will and clouded our understanding, we find it very hard to understand God, for his call always seems to ask us to do something more difficult, almost impossible. You get baptized, and you cannot live like everybody else - just read the Sermon on the Mount (Chapter 5-7 of Matthew), although at times it might feel like too much.

Now, some things God wants us to do are right in themselves, and not to do them would always be wrong - like forgiving: it is right to forgive, wrong not to, and that applies to everyone. Other things God would like us to do, but to not do them would not in itself be something wrong - for example, being a priest. It is not wrong not to be a priest - if it were, very few men could be saved, and no women at all! It is only wrong for someone who is called to be a priest not to become one. But it is a different kind of wrong than the wrongness of not forgiving. I hope you can follow what I am saying. The outcome is this: a man who does not forgive has to reverse course if he wants God to forgive him, but if a man who is called to be a priest says no, and gets married, he has disappointed God because he has said no to him. However, if he is sorry, asks God for forgiveness, God will surely do so, not withhold his blessings, and offer him all the means to live a holy and fruitful life as a married man.

When we perceive a vocation we may feel forced but it is not the overpowering force of a God who says, If you don't do what I say, I'll condemn you for it. It is, rather, the force of love. If God has chosen us out of many to bring us closer to him in a special way, to make us servants of his people, to take away their sins and make Jesus present in a real way in their lives through the Eucharist:, it is a great privilege and dignity, but also a great responsibility, for God has placed much hope and many lives in our hands. When you look at it with eyes of faith, there is really only one answer to give, no matter what the cost. When you look at it with eyes of hope, there is only one answer, despite our weakness. When you look on it with eyes of love, there is only one answer, despite everything else that attracts us.

The greatest gift God gave us is the ability to love. Freedom is a gift that God gave us so we could love. Understanding and faith are gifts he gave us so we could spend our love on something worthy of it, something that will take us beyond this life and make us happy for all eternity. Reason and faith free us from appearances and our limitations so that we can give ourselves fully to God, the greatest good there is, and in that way use the gift of these years of life he has given us here on earth in the most fruitful and beautiful way possible - doing what he would like us to do.

God bless,