Above: Rev. James Martin, S.J., with Xavier students
in Philadelphia last year.

Spotlight on Vocations: Rev. James Martin, S.J.

This spring, the Xavier E-News is highlighting vocations in a monthly series written by friends and members of our community. Our series continues with a personal reflection from Rev. James Martin, S.J., editor at large of America, frequent national commentator, and a favorite of Xavier students.

What's Your Vocation?

Sometimes the way people describe a “vocation” almost makes it sound like a magical event. As if you hear a voice that says, “Join the Jesuits!” Or have a vision of Jesus telling you, “Be a priest!”

But vocations—as far as I know—aren’t like that at all. “Vocation,” as you probably know, comes from the Latin word vocare, meaning “to call.” So a vocation is really a “call.” And everyone has a vocation. Our deepest vocation is to become the person whom God wants us to be. It’s a funny tension: you’re already that person—someone who is already beloved by God for who you are—but you’re also called to be a fuller person by God—the person whom God has in mind. You’re called to be your best self. And in the end, believe it or not, you’re called to be a saint. In your own way.

Then there are more specific calls—like the call to married life, or the priesthood, or life in a religious order. There are also calls to careers—like being a physician, or an attorney or a teacher.

All of those vocations begin with desire, the most common way that God calls us. You may feel a desire to become a better person—kinder, freer, more generous perhaps. That’s God calling you to be who you’re meant to be. Or you may feel an attraction to a person with whom you want to spend your whole life. That’s a call to married life. Or you may feel a desire to become a priest or a member of a religious order. That’s a call, too.

For some of us, that call leads us to become Jesuits, members of the Society of Jesus. My own call to the Jesuits came in a roundabout way. I didn’t go to a Jesuit high school or college and so I didn’t know any Jesuits as a boy or young adult. Instead I went to the Wharton School of Business and worked for a few years in corporate America.

And though I wouldn’t have used such language at the time, it dawned on me that this wasn’t my call at all. It wasn’t my vocation. But I didn’t know what my vocation might be. I felt a bit trapped.

Then, one night I saw a television documentary about a Trappist monk named Thomas Merton. His way of life—in a monastery—seemed so beautiful. I felt an immediate attraction. And, again, I wouldn’t have used such language, but that was the call. In time, that led me to think about the priesthood and religious orders. And when I met my first Jesuit, I thought, “This is it!” It all seemed to fit.

So, as with most people, my vocation started with trying to understand my deepest desires. Which were God’s desires for me.

What are your deepest desires? And what are God’s deepest desires for you? Why not pray to understand them? And pretty soon you’ll find that you’re becoming who you were meant to be all along.

James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, editor at large of America, and the author of many books, including The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, Jesus: A Pilgrimage, and, most recently, Seven Last Words, and a novel called The Abbey.