Prayerfully consider each of these excerpts from The Ignatian Exercises and Personal Vocation by Herbert Alphonso:
 
“… all vocations are in Christ Jesus: the personality of Christ Jesus is so infinitely rich that it embraces all calls and vocations. If then each of us has a personal vocation, it can only be in Christ Jesus. This means that there is a facet of the personality of Christ Jesus, a "face" of Christ Jesus, that is proper to each one of us, so that each one of us can in very truth speak of "my Jesus"-not just piously, but in a deep theological and doctrinal sense…”
 
“… The personal vocation then, it is important to grasp, is not just some abstract personal ideal. No, it is a person the person of Christ Jesus himself in a deeply unique way. For me, then, I can in very truth speak of "my Jesus," thus transforming my whole Christian life into what I was always taught it to be but never shown how to achieve: in very truth, a maturing, profoundly interpersonal love relationship between Christ Jesus and me-one opening out, surely, onto my social responsibilities and commitments in Christian witness and mission…”
 
“… I am convinced that the personal vocation, once discerned, becomes the criterion of discernment for every decision in life, even for the daily details of decision making. For my personal vocation is for me "God's will" in the deepest theological meaning of this much-repeated and much-misused phrase. If then I am faced with a choice between two alternatives, it is my personal vocation that will help me decide through discernment which alternative is God's call, God's will for me…”
 
“…One's personal vocation is one's unique way of being Christian – namely, as we have shown earlier, one's unique way of giving and surrendering self in any human experience. This amounts to saying that no matter what human experience one is going through, one can get in touch with the Lord in one's uniquely personal way in and through that very human experience.”
 
What ideas or emotions do these statements evoke in you? Summarize these thoughts and feelings at the end of your retreat notes.

 
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