The question every Catholic must ask

There is a question the Church puts to every baptised person, and it does not change with age or station. The question is simple. What is God calling me to? Not what would I like to do, not what would my family prefer, not what would pay the bills. What is God calling me to. The Catechism puts it this way at paragraph 2253: God calls each soul, and the response we make is the shape of our discipleship. To be a Christian is to be a person under call.

In Shrewsbury Diocese this question sits at the centre of everything. Bishop Mark Davies, in his Pastoral Letter for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations on Good Shepherd Sunday, 26 April 2026, set out the field of possible answers in one sentence.

Today, I want to join Pope Leo in inviting all considering their calling to take these steps to discover their vocation, whether this will be found in Christian Marriage; the Consecrated Life of Sisters or Brothers; the Catholic Priesthood; the service of the Diaconate; or the greatness of the lay vocation lived in the midst of the world.

Source: Vocations Pastoral Letter 2026, dioceseofshrewsbury.org.

Five real paths, one Lord

The Bishop names five vocations, and each is a real and concrete way of life.

• Christian Marriage. The sacrament of husband and wife, raising a family, the domestic Church.
• Consecrated Life. Sisters and Brothers in religious orders, contemplative or apostolic, a life of vows.
• The Catholic Priesthood. Ordained to celebrate the sacraments and shepherd God's people. There are 12 men currently in formation for our Diocese.
• The Permanent Diaconate. Single or married men ordained to serve at the altar, preach, and care for the poor.
• The lay vocation lived in the midst of the world. Single or married, in any honest trade, leavening the world with the Gospel.

None of these is a fallback. Each one is a calling, freely given, freely answered.

The vocation behind every other vocation

Bishop Davies returned in the same letter to a line he uses often, and that the Diocese has put at the centre of its vocations work.

I want to focus on the one vocation on which all other vocations in the Church depend: namely, the Ordained Priesthood.

This is not because the priesthood is more holy than marriage or consecrated life. It is because every other vocation needs the sacraments, and the sacraments need priests. Without the priest, there is no Mass. Without the Mass, the lay faithful are starved of the bread that sustains them. The Bishop's call to pray for vocations is therefore a call to pray for the whole body, every limb of which depends on the Eucharist.

How calling actually works

In scripture the call is rarely loud. The boy Samuel hears his name in the night and runs to Eli, who teaches him to answer, Speak Lord, your servant is listening (1 Samuel 3:9). Elijah on the mountain finds God not in wind or earthquake or fire, but in the still small voice (1 Kings 19:12). Christ calls Peter from his boat, Matthew from his tax desk, Mary by an angel in an ordinary house in Nazareth.

Calling tends to come through ordinary means. Daily prayer. The Mass. The sacraments. Scripture read slowly. A friendship with a priest, a sister, a holy lay person. A nudge that will not go away. A peace when you imagine yourself doing one particular thing, and a restlessness when you imagine the opposite.

What Shrewsbury offers you

The Diocese is not a passive observer of your discernment. There are real structures, ready for you.

1. The Vocations Group meets every two months for Eucharistic adoration, Mass, a meal, and reflection. Open to any man considering the priesthood.
2. The Discernment Year, a house of discernment between St Joseph's, Stockport (the Eucharistic Shrine of Perpetual Adoration, dedicated 22 October 2022) and Shrewsbury Cathedral.
3. The Marriage and Family Life Office, with Jane Deegan and Monika Golembiewska, walking with engaged and married couples.
4. The Permanent Diaconate, directed by Fr Philip Atkinson, parish priest of St Peter's, Hazel Grove.
5. Religious houses across the Diocese for those drawn to consecrated life.

Your next step

The smallest faithful step is worth more than any grand plan. Three options for this week.

• Sit in front of the Blessed Sacrament for thirty minutes and ask the question plainly. If you can travel to St Joseph's, Stockport, the Sacrament is exposed there day and night.
• Read the Bishop's 2026 Vocations Pastoral Letter in full at dioceseofshrewsbury.org.
• If you are a man considering the priesthood, email Fr Tony McGrath, Director of Vocations to the Sacred Priesthood, at vocationsdirector@dioceseofshrewsbury.org. He will write back.

God is calling you. The only honest question is whether you are listening.