Vocation comes from the Latin word: VOCARE, meaning 'to call'.  When discerning a vocation, it's important to understand what this 'call' is all about.  This leads to four questions:

• Who calls?  The answer to this question may seem quite plain.  Of course, God is the One Who calls. However, the Lord does not often deal with us in a mystical and overtly direct way (for example, He typically does not open the skies, come down, and solemnly pronounce if you are to be a nun or not).  Rather, it is His practice to guide us through the advice of His representatives, and through the convictions of our own reason, arrived at by the help of His grace. 

• What is the call?  Finding an explanation of a divine call is not the easiest thing to do.  So perhaps the best way to arrive at an explanation of it is to consider how this call comes to an individual or the modes by which God is accustomed to manifest His selection of the soul.  Theology tells us that the call can come to us in three ways :

  1.  Formal revelation:  God says to the soul through internal or external means: "I want you to become a nun.  Prepare yourself."  Such was the way in which God manifested His selection to the great Apostle of the Gentiles, St. Paul.  Needless to say, a vocation that comes in this way is both miraculous and very rare. 

  2. Divine inspiration:  This mode is more frequent than formal revelation, but still unusual.  When a vocation comes in this mode, the soul feels herself inclined by a movement of the will - which proceeds neither from the suggestions of her imagination nor from the deliberations of the intelligence.  It comes from a supernatural source, that can be attributed to the direct touch of the Holy Spirit.  Looking at the vocational journey of St. John Marie Vianney is a prime example of this. 

  3. Supernatural election:  Finally we come to the most normal mode in which souls receive the divine call.  It does not call for either revelation or the direct touch to the Holy Spirit.  In this mode, the intention to enter the Religious life comes as a result of one's free and personal choice, but under the excitation and action of grace.  This election of free initiative proceeds simply from meditations or deliberations made in the spirit of Faith, with the help of ordinary grace. 

• Who are called?  First it must be noted that everyone is bound to seek holiness, regardless of their state in life.  Our Lord in teaching us how to get to heaven, pointed out not only what was absolutely necessary, but also explained a special way in which chosen souls could advance - namely through the practice of the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.  Recall the Scripture passage about the rich young man (Luke 18).  So the Lord does indeed call some to follow Him more closely in the Religious Life.  But WHO does He call?  The Lord calls Whom He wills.  A call can capture anyone, anywhere, any time in life.  It is a personal summons from the Lord Himself.  Rich and poor; talkative and quiet; educated and uneducated.  How do we explain this divine choice?  LOVE.  No merit of our own can earn a call from God.  It is a gift.  On a very practical level, those called must meet certain requirements set forth by both the Church and the individual communities.  Such requirements can aid in discernment of a vocation to a certain community and in general.  It is important to view such requirements as a discernment aid not a hindrance. 

• To what are they called?  Essentially, this question is asking: How can I discover the community that God wants me to join?  Am I called to be Franciscan, Dominican, Carmelite?  Am I called to be active, active/contemplative, or fully contemplative?  How do I know?  To what am I called?  Just as the Lord calls Whom He wills, He also calls where He will.  It is of the utmost importance that Religious Life not be viewed as a career.  It is a vocation (a call) not a career.  Granted, many times the Lord draws a young woman to a certain community because its apostolate is appealing and in conjunction with her God-given gifts.  But by the same token, peopling contemplative communities are nurses, teachers, accountants and so on.  If they had been looking at Religious Life as a career, they never would have entered a cloistered order.  It must be noted that the Lord desires our ultimate happiness and our sanctification.  Therefore He has chosen what is best for us.  When discerning, we are not seeking self-satisfaction, as we are seeking the path already chosen for us.  This path is often laid out for us in very simple, normal, human ways.  To what are you called?  COME AND SEE.  Check out some Communities, learn about their charism and their apostolate.  When available, make a vocation retreat with them.  Experience their daily life.  Allow them to get to know you.  Be open and share your desires and concerns.  And through all of this - your discernment and the community's discernment - you come to know God's Holy Will.