Often the first step in the discernment process is meeting with a Vocations Advisor.  Here are some questions you may want to consider before you meet.  Perhaps you want to chat them through with a friend or write down your answers.  The questions begin with some general reflections on vocations, then deal specifically with ordination.

• What am I good at?   What am I learning to be good at?
• What do I enjoy most?  Is there an activity you find especially fulfilling?  What do you enjoy about it?
• What accomplishments make me feel best?
• What would I do with my days if money were not an issue?  Compare that with now…
• What step towards my vocation/purpose can I do practically?
• What have you learned about purpose from failures?
• Who do you admire for using their talent?  How are you like them and what can you learn from them?
• What’s the vision for your life this year?  ....for five years? ....for ten years?
• What would you like to be remembered for?  What would you like to read in your obituary?
• What forms of ministry have you considered?
• What is it about ordination that attracts you?
• What gave you the idea of ordination?  If someone suggested it, who?
• Did respect or admiration for a particular priest draw you to the idea?
• What are the particular activities that attract you?
• What parts of the work, as you see it, do you most want to do?
• Who are the people you most want to concern yourself with or minister to?
• What will you offer them, and how?
• What gifts do you think are required for this work?
• What gifts do other people think you have?  How have they communicated this to you?
• What will your Christian ministry be if you are not ordained?
• What would your reaction be if you are not recommended for training?