Discovering Our Vocation in Christ

How do we discover who God is calling us to be?

Fr. David Yallaly offers a beautiful reflection on the encounter between Christ and St. Peter, and how coming to know Christ more deeply allows us to discover our own identity and vocation. Peter’s profession of faith—“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”—leads Christ to reveal something profound about Peter himself and the mission he has been given.

For anyone discerning God’s call, this is an important reminder: our vocation is not something we simply create for ourselves. It is something we discover by drawing closer to Christ, learning to recognize His voice, and asking Him what He has created us to become.

We invite you to read Fr. David’s full homily below:

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There are some questions we can answer almost without thinking. And then there are questions which, once they are asked, seem to reach much deeper into us. “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” That’s easy...just repeat what you’ve heard.

“But who do you say that I am?” Whoa! Now it’s personal. Now my answer means something.

Peter says what he has come to believe: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He has come to recognize not simply what Jesus teaches, but who Jesus is. And immediately Jesus tells Peter something about himself: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.” Peter’s encounter with Christ reveals not only the identity of his Master, but something of his own identity and mission.

There is an important lesson here for us. We spend a great deal of time trying to understand ourselves: Who am I? What am I meant to do? What will make my life meaningful? Our culture tells us to look within, define ourselves, and create our own identity. But the Gospel suggests something deeper. We understand ourselves most truly in relation to the One who created us.

Peter did not discover his vocation by analyzing his personality. He encountered Christ, and Christ revealed what Peter was capable of becoming. The same pattern runs throughout Scripture. Saul becomes Paul. Fishermen become Apostles. Ordinary men and women become saints. God does not erase their personalities; He purifies and elevates them. Grace does not destroy nature; it perfects it. Holiness does not make us less ourselves. It makes us what God intended us to be.

This also changes how we think about vocation. We often ask, “What do I want to do with my life?” A better question is, “Lord, what have You created me for?” A vocation is not something we manufacture. It is something we discover by becoming attentive to God. And that requires knowing Him—spending enough time with Him that His voice becomes recognizable.

Peter’s confession is therefore more than a statement of doctrine. It is an act of recognition: “You are the Christ.” Once he sees Jesus for who He is, he can begin to understand who he is called to be. And that is why prayer is so important. In prayer, we step out of the noise of the world and allow Christ to show us what is true—not only about Him, but about ourselves.

Of course, that can be frightening. If we really listen to Christ, He may ask something of us. He may ask us to surrender a sin we have grown comfortable with, forgive someone we would rather condemn, accept a sacrifice we would rather avoid, or even consider a vocation we had never imagined. But the Christian life is not about designing a life that happens to include God. It is about allowing God to reveal the life for which He created us.

And this is where Peter can encourage us. He is not chosen because he is already perfect. He is impulsive, sometimes presumptuous, and eventually he will deny Christ. Yet Jesus sees beyond all of that. Jesus sees the man Peter can become. In the same way, the Lord knows what He is capable of doing with each one of us.

Perhaps, then, the most important question is not simply, “Who am I?” It is the question Christ asks first: “Who do you say that I am?” If He is truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, then my life cannot remain entirely my own project. His truth must shape my choices; His commandments must shape my actions; His grace must shape my character; and His call must shape my future.

St. Paul gives us the proper disposition in the second reading: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” We will not always understand His ways. We will not always immediately see where He is leading us. But we can trust that the God who created us knows us better than we know ourselves, and that His wisdom is greater than our plans.

So perhaps today, rather than trying so hard to define ourselves, we should spend a little more time looking at Christ.

Ask Him in prayer: Who are You? And because You are who You are, who are You calling me to become?

Peter answered the first question: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” His whole life followed from that confession.

May our lives do the same.