Episode 6
06 | God's Plan, Your Purpose: Understanding Your Calling
Discovering your unique purpose in life is a big deal, and that's exactly what we dive into today!
We're chatting about how God has a special plan just for you, one that’s been set before you were even a twinkle in your mom’s eye. It's all about partnering with God to uncover your unique mission—because let’s be real, it's not about what we want but rather what He has designed us to do. We’ll break down the three levels of purpose, from living a life of holiness to understanding our vocational call, and finally, zooming in on that specific mission only you can accomplish. Plus, we’ll touch on the importance of sticking with credible Catholic teachings to make sure we’re on the right track, so grab your pen and paper, and let’s get ready to explore this exciting journey together!
I pray that this episode blesses and encourages you!
Michelle
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Listen to Related Episodes
01 | Designed for Greatness: Embracing Your God-given Talents and Gifts
04 | How to Start Discerning Your Unique Purpose When You Feel Lost
Transcript
What we are called and what we are meant to do.
Speaker A:It's God's unique purpose for you and what he created and meant you to do.
Speaker A:Partnering with God to fight and live out your unique purpose that he created you for.
Speaker A:It's not your purpose that you get to decide.
Speaker A:It's already predetermined.
Speaker A:Before you were formed in your mother's womb.
Speaker A: rooted in Scripture Jeremiah: Speaker A:You were created before you were ever in your mother's womb with a specific purpose only you were created for that no one else can do.
Speaker A:This part fires me up.
Speaker A:The Holy Spirit ignites the fire within me.
Speaker A:There are others Misunderstanding led I noticed that some parts seemed to be inconsistent with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
Speaker A:It appears to me that some of it had not been fully aligned with the Catholic doctrine or it may have reflected a misunderstanding of certain key principles of our Catholic faith.
Speaker A:That plus so much more is coming up on today's episode.
Speaker A:I cannot wait to dive in if you're ready to break free from stuck, gain clarity and take steps towards discerning your unique purpose, all while following God's guidance to become the person he he created you to be.
Speaker A:If so, you're in the right place.
Speaker A:Hello, I'm Michelle, a Catholic discernment mentor and spiritual coach who went from lost and questioning my purpose to confident in my unique calling using a Catholic based strategy that places God and the Catholic faith at the center.
Speaker A:Are you ready to dive in?
Speaker A:Grab your pen and notebook and get comfy, Open your heart and mind and invite God in as we get ready to become who God created you to be.
Speaker A:Let's do this.
Speaker A:You feel stuck and you lack purpose.
Speaker A:I hear you and I see you.
Speaker A:As I record these episodes, I seek God's guidance.
Speaker A:He has placed in my heart the need that we must talk about laying a foundation on what exactly is each person's unique purpose.
Speaker A:I feel that this is imperative to share this insightful knowledge that I discovered during my research and my own personal journey to discovering my unique purpose that I set out to see.
Speaker A:I feel that there is a lack of communication on our purpose.
Speaker A:I say that because as a cradle Catholic who is faithful in observing the holy days of obligation, growing up and still today attending weekly religious classes when I was younger, back in the day, AKA CCD that dates me, I know, but I cannot recall that I was ever taught that we were created for and have a unique, specific purpose for each individual.
Speaker A:I had a conversation with another Catholic and they said they were not aware of this as well.
Speaker A:So I truly feel that this is a gap in the knowledge God has placed in my heart to share it from the rooftops.
Speaker A:And I get so passionate about it when I hear other misled and misleading others.
Speaker A:When it comes to your specific purpose, especially in how you seek your unique purpose, the Holy Spirit just ignites that fire within me around this subject.
Speaker A:Let's begin this important topic and lay the foundation, shall we?
Speaker A:We shall.
Speaker A:If you want to discern and live your purpose, we need to understand and have clarification on what your purpose is.
Speaker A:I am a visual learner and I like to picture a triangle with the widest part at the top.
Speaker A:So at the highest level, this is what everyone as a human being is called to, which is holiness.
Speaker A:In this level, we willingly accept and say yes to surrender to God's will and plans for our lives.
Speaker A:We want to know, love and serve God at this level.
Speaker A:We do this by following God's laws that are rooted in the Ten Commandments, Jesus teachings and the Catholic Church teachings.
Speaker A:We follow by living a morally good life and you choose good over evil.
Speaker A:We strive daily to become saints, to join our Father and Jesus in heaven for eternity.
Speaker A:The middle portion of the triangle.
Speaker A:This is where we are called to be single, married or religious call or another way to phrase it is.
Speaker A:That's our vocational call that most tend to think about when it comes to our calling on this level.
Speaker A:I like how Fr.
Speaker A:Mike Schmidt talks about marriage.
Speaker A:I'm a huge fan of Father Mike Schmidt, so you'll see throughout this podcast that he will be mentioned quite a bit.
Speaker A:He is a huge inspiration to me.
Speaker A:So might I digress?
Speaker A:He says the relationship with your spouse will be primary relationship God will use to form you into the person he wants you to be.
Speaker A:The relationship with your spouse is the way you will die to yourself for Jesus and become the person he wants you to be in this journey in life and your purpose.
Speaker A:God's created you the person he wants you to be through your life experiences, which includes marriage, single or your religious life.
Speaker A:In conversation with, you know, other Catholic women, I discovered that they felt that as a wife that was their purpose or if they were a mother, they felt that that was their purpose called to do to grow faithful children in the Catholic faith to help guide them into becoming saints.
Speaker A:Now they're not wrong.
Speaker A:They're looking at their personal vocation of marriage and motherhood as their purpose and not looking at the next level, which we'll talk about next.
Speaker A:This section of the triangle visual is your vocational Calling.
Speaker A:So this is part of the purpose, but not a specific mission we are individually sent out on.
Speaker A:Which leads me to the last part of the triangle.
Speaker A:This is the narrowest part of the triangle.
Speaker A:Our unique purpose, our mission on this level of our purpose as an individual.
Speaker A:You have a unique purpose, a mission.
Speaker A:What we are called, what we are meant to do.
Speaker A:It's God's unique purpose for you and what he created and met you to do.
Speaker A:Partnering with God to find and live out your unique purpose that he created you for.
Speaker A:It's not your purpose that you get to decide.
Speaker A:It's already predetermined.
Speaker A:Before you are formed in your mother's womb.
Speaker A:We see this rooted in scripture.
Speaker A: In Jeremiah: Speaker A:You were created before you were ever in your mother's womb with a specific purpose only you were created for that no one else can do.
Speaker A:This part fires me up.
Speaker A:The Holy Spirit just ignites that fire within me.
Speaker A:There are others that are misled.
Speaker A:I noticed that some parts seem to be inconsistent with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
Speaker A:And it appeared to me that some of it had not been fully aligned with the Church doctrine or may have reflected a misunderstanding of certain key principles of our Catholic faith.
Speaker A:It's not what we want and get to decide what our personal purpose is.
Speaker A:In fact, it's already predetermined before you were ever born.
Speaker A:Our God is amazing and all knowing God that He designed you uniquely as you were forming in your mother's womb.
Speaker A:He knew what your internal blueprint of your unique human design should be so that you are equipped to be sent out by Jesus and guided by the Holy Spirit to live out your unique purpose that he created you to be.
Speaker A:It's not.
Speaker A:I'm sorry, it is not Putting your information into a system that has your birth date and the time you're born.
Speaker A:And magically here's your purpose.
Speaker A:It's not that.
Speaker A:It's not that at all.
Speaker A:That is actually.
Speaker A:If you go, that's another whole episode.
Speaker A:But that just burns me up when I hear that.
Speaker A:I'm sorry.
Speaker A:Moving on before I really get sidetracked here and don't stay on point.
Speaker A:St.
Speaker A:John Henry Newman once said this.
Speaker A:I am created to do something or be something for which no one else is created.
Speaker A:He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another.
Speaker A:I have a mission.
Speaker A:You, my sister in Christ, you have a unique purpose that only you are equipped and designed to do.
Speaker A:You have been bestowed upon God's grace and gifts that he help you to live out your purpose that you are meant to do on this earth and help others glorify God and His kingdom.
Speaker A:Our mission is rooted in the Bible.
Speaker A:Jesus sent out his apostles out on a mission.
Speaker A:In Luke Chapter nine, we too as baptized beloved daughters are being sent out on a mission.
Speaker A:We are sent by Jesus out on a mission to glorify him and His Kingdom.
Speaker A:Our mission is uniquely created for us based on our gifts and talents that glorifies God and His kingdom.
Speaker A:As a disciple, we are called to follow Jesus, learn from him, walk daily with him.
Speaker A:And we also have a mission that we are uniquely called to by being sent out by Jesus, making us Missionary disciples.
Speaker A:In the words of Pope Francis, in virtue of their baptism, all members of the people of God have become missionary disciples.
Speaker A:If this has stirred something in your heart after hearing this, and I hope it does, if you've not listened to episode one designed for greatness, embracing your God given talents and gifts, then I highly recommend you listen to it next or perhaps re listen to it again.
Speaker A:And I also definitely recommend listening to episode four how to Start Discerning youg Unique Purpose when youn Feel Lost if you have not already listened to it or perhaps re listen to it to start journaling to begin your journey on navigating you know your purpose, your mission.
Speaker A:I'll drop the links in the episode show notes One more thing that I feel a nudge to talk about is you may lean towards thinking you need a career coach or a life coach.
Speaker A:A career life coach can provide valuable guidance in helping you discover your strengths and set your goals and find direction in your career or personal life.
Speaker A:But they're not equipped to reveal your true unique purpose, the purpose that God has specifically created for you.
Speaker A:That deeper purpose comes through a personal relationship with God.
Speaker A:Only he can reveal the calling he has uniquely designed for your life.
Speaker A:He created you.
Speaker A:You did not create yourself.
Speaker A:That tug you feel in your heart, the sense that you're meant for more.
Speaker A:It's God reaching out to you.
Speaker A:Only through a personal relationship with him can you uncover the unique purpose that he has created you for.
Speaker A:A purpose that goes beyond a career or a life coach.
Speaker A:God wants to guide you in discovering your unique mission and help provide direction.
Speaker A:But he does need your help in taking daily actions so that he can guide you.
Speaker A:In episode four I touch on what steps you need to take because it's more than just praying.
Speaker A:We have to take daily steps for him to help guide and clarify the next steps that he wants you to take.
Speaker A:It is through my journey of discovering my personal unique purpose that led me to this truth.
Speaker A:It was spending hours researching and reading information from credible Catholic resources from Catholic priests and Catholic theologians.
Speaker A:As I mentioned before in an earlier episode on my journey to discovering my personal purpose, I did not want to be misled by others.
Speaker A:When I first looked into it, I noticed that God was left out of the picture for finding your purpose.
Speaker A:Or I came across some resources that actually had parts of it with God at the center of it.
Speaker A:And I'm a life learner.
Speaker A:I enjoy reading and gaining knowledge.
Speaker A:I am cautious as I increase my knowledge from resources because I want to make sure that they're credible so that I'm not misled.
Speaker A:While I value many of their aspects of their teachings that I came across, I noticed that some parts, they just seemed to be inconsistent with the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.
Speaker A:It appeared to me that some had not been fully aligned with the Church doctrine or they may have reflected a misunderstanding of, you know, certain key principles of our Catholic faith.
Speaker A:From this I created a roadmap.
Speaker A:After spending numerous hours looking into my unique purpose.
Speaker A:I want to caution you as you are feeling stuck and lack purpose, please please be careful of the resources out there.
Speaker A:Make sure that they are based on the Roman Catholic Church faith and that they are knowledgeable so that you are not misled into believing that that information and the resource is safe.
Speaker A:If you find yourself wondering, well, what steps can I take?
Speaker A:In my previous episodes, I have provided you with some daily steps to take towards discovering your unique purpose as you discern it with God.
Speaker A:Don't worry, I'll leave you with another step that you can start implementing today.
Speaker A:Wow, that was a lot of information I gave you today.
Speaker A:So here's some key takeaways from this episode.
Speaker A:Your life purpose can be understood in three levels.
Speaker A:Visualizing a Triangle Holiness is the top of the triangle, which is the broadest.
Speaker A:At this level, everyone is called to surrender to God's will, live a morally good life, and strive for sainthood.
Speaker A:Vocational calling is the middle of the triangle.
Speaker A:This is where we are called single, married or religious life.
Speaker A:While marriage and motherhood can feel like a purpose, they are part of your broader vocation, not your specific unique mission which now leads us to the narrowest part of the triangle.
Speaker A:It's the unique mission.
Speaker A:This level is where God has predetermined your unique mission that you were created, do and meant to do.
Speaker A:This mission is not about choosing what you want, but about discovering and living out God's specific calling for you.
Speaker A:It is rooted in God's design for you and not something that you get to define yourself.
Speaker A:It's already known to God and it is part of his divine plan for you.
Speaker A:The next key takeaway is some people mistakenly believe that finding their purpose is solely about personal desires or career goals.
Speaker A:A life or career coach can help you with practical guidance, but they cannot reveal your God given purpose.
Speaker A:Lastly, as you seek your purpose, be cautious of resources that don't fully align with the Catholic teachings.
Speaker A:Some resources may be misleading even if they appear Catholic, so it's important to ensure that that what you're consuming is grounded in the Catholic faith.
Speaker A:Let us pray in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Lord, I ask that you help this beautiful soul listening to this episode that wants to grow closer to you and strengthen her relationship with you.
Speaker A:Please help her on her journey in discovering and living out her purpose that you created her to do.
Speaker A:Holy Spirit, please help guide this beautiful soul on her journey as she becomes who God created her to be.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Okay, knowledge is power, but true change happens when it's paired with consistent daily action.
Speaker A:We cannot gain clarity if we're not taking daily action to help us move forward.
Speaker A:With that said, I would like for you to set aside some time daily for prayer and reflection.
Speaker A:Just start creating a consistent habit of prayer and journaling.
Speaker A:Have an open and honest conversation about what this episode stirred up in your heart.
Speaker A:Ask Jesus, what is my unique mission that you're sending me out to do, Lord?
Speaker A:Write down anything that he may be telling you.
Speaker A:What feelings or thoughts are coming up for you.
Speaker A:Now that you've learned that you have a unique mission, share them with Him.
Speaker A:I do this many times and he answers me and it may not be that day, but he will.
Speaker A:And I lastly invite you to please share inside the Facebook community.
Speaker A:What method are you using to help make prayer a consistent habit?
Speaker A:Your method may be a way that can help others as well.
Speaker A:Remember, my beautiful sister Christ, that God uniquely created you for a unique purpose.
Speaker A:You were made to do great things.
Speaker A:God is within you and you will not fail.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker A:I pray that today's episode blesses and encourages you.
Speaker A:If so, would you please share it with someone you know that would be blessed by it?
Speaker A:If you felt inspired or learned something Today, please take 30 seconds to leave a written review on Apple Podcasts.
Speaker A:This is the number one way to let me know that you are liking the show and for me to reach other Catholic women like yourself.
Speaker A:If you're feeling uncertain or lost on your discernment journey.
Speaker A:You're not alone.
Speaker A:Join us over in the free Facebook community where Catholic women just like you are sharing, supporting and growing together in faith.
Speaker A:I look forward to continuing this journey with you.
Speaker A:God bless.
