National Vocations Awareness Week: Resources for discernment

Catholic Volunteer Network aims to support current and former volunteers in their vocational discernment process. You may find the following organizations helpful in your personal discernment journey.

  • AVE – After Volunteer Experience Program 
    This program, sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, is an outreach to young adult women who have participated in a post-college year of volunteer service, domestic or international. AVE will provide a reflective space to integrate the volunteer experience and discern future directions in life and ministry. From August 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 we initiated the AVE program with two women returning from volunteer service. The length of the program will be one to three months, the start and finish dates to be determined according to the needs of the participants and availability of space at Casa de Caridad in southern New Mexico. The program includes basic elements of intentional community life, weekly volunteer service experience, spiritual direction, and counseling (vocational, mental health, career). For further information and an application, contact Sister Janet at janetsc@juno.com.
     
  • VISION Vocation Network
    This site offers one of the most comprehensive resources available in print and online for those seeking information on Catholic religious vocations and men’s and women’s religious communities. Since 1987 VISION has been providing hundreds of thousands of readers each year with information on the broad spectrum of Catholic religious life through first-person accounts, profiles, photo stories, and articles about discernment, community life, vows, ministry, and Catholic teachings. Online features include a Community Search, Vocations Calendar, and Vocation Match.
     
  • Catholics on Call 
    Catholics on Call supports Catholic young adults (ages 18-30) as they strive to discover God’s call in their lives, and explore the possibility of a life of service in the Church. A national vocation discovery program of the Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union, Catholics on Call is dedicated to helping young adults from diverse backgrounds explore a call to ministry in the Church and to learn about leadership roles as lay ecclesial ministers, men or women religious, or ministry as ordained deacons or priests.
     
  • A Nun’s Life
    A Nun’s Life Ministry was founded by Catholic Sisters Julie Vieira and Maxine Kollasch in 2006. This online faith community and nonprofit ministry reaches out with a pastoral presence to thousands of people worldwide each day. The website at aNunsLife.org is a place where you can talk with Catholic sisters and nuns and lots of other people on topics such as spirituality, prayer, community, ministry, and more.
     
  • The Catholic Apostolate Center
    Visit this site for plenty of helpful resources on vocational discernment, including Pope Francis’ reflections on vocation and resources specifically for men, women, and those discerning marriage.
     
  • ¡OYE! 
    This website and annual publication provides many resources for Hispanic young people who are seeking to learn more about how to live out their faith. ¡OYE! seeks to initiate a dialogue to start building a vocational awareness and culture, a safe space where questions can be asked and where the conversation about radical and crucial issues such as commitment and relationship with God can take place. ¡OYE! is a resource provided by Claretian Publications.
     
  • Vocation.com
    Vocation.com offers a wealth of resources to young people considering vocations and all Catholics interested in promoting and fostering vocations.The site features video testimonies of priests and consecrated men and women and their unique vocation stories. Texts on the basics of prayer, a collection of meditations, and a discernment checklist provide further guidance through the discernment process. One of the key features of this site is its interactive nature. Inquirers can receive help in locating a vocation director in their area as well as type in their questions and have them answered by a priest.
We’ve also compiled a list of discernment resources recommended by former volunteers and friends of Catholic Volunteer Network. 

We hope these resources help you follow the life that God is calling you to! 
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