Grade 4 Vocation Week
Vocation Prayer
 God, thank you for loving me.
In Baptism you called me by name
to live as your child.
Help all your people to know their call in life.
For your greater glory, raise up generous leaders
to serve as priests, deacons, sisters, and brothers.
Amen.
What is a vocation?
 God created us to love and serve Him. He has a special plan
for all of us. This plan is our vocation.
Our Gifts
 The talents and gifts God gave us will help us to serve Him
and do His will.
3 Vocations
 Priesthood
 Religious life
 Married life
Gifts and Our Vocation
 Brainstorm – Think of people you know or have heard of who
are priests.
 Work with a partner to come up with words that describe that
person. List them in a word web in your religion copybook
 Write About It –Write a paragraph stating how someone’s
personality traits and/or gifts help them in their vocation.
For example, if one of the words you used in your web is friendly,
How is being friendly useful you when you’re priest? (see example
on next slide)
 Done early? Under your paragraph draw a picture of the person
you described.
Example

Father Brian is a priest in my parish. He is friendly,
funny and very smart. I think God made him this way to help
him be such a great priest. For example, being friendly
makes it easy to talk to Father Brian. You know he will
always say hello and when you have a problem you’re not
afraid to speak to him about it. He uses his gift of
intelligence to help people understand hard questions about
the Church and bring people closer to God. He is also funny
so you always know that when you are around him you will
be happy. Sometimes he even tells a funny joke at Mass. I
really like Father Brian and I think God made him the way he
is so people will grow closer to God by knowing him.
Recap
 Why did God create us?
 What are the 3 different vocations?
 How can our gifts help us in our vocations?
God created us to love Him and serve Him.
Following our vocations will bring us closer to
God.
Priesthood, Religious Life, Married Life
The talents and gifts God gave us will help us to serve
God and do His will.
Vocation Prayer
 God, thank you for loving me.
In Baptism you called me by name
to live as your child.
Help all your people to know their call in life.
For your greater glory, raise up generous leaders
to serve as priests, deacons, sisters, and brothers.
Amen.
Words to know
 Seminary – a school where a man studies to become a priest
 Ordain – to make someone a priest
 Beatified – considered blessed by the church, your are
beatified before you are canonized a saint
 Relic - something that belonged to or touched a saint. It can
be a piece of their bone or hair or an article of their clothing
 Diocese – a group of many parishes
 Apostolate – job you do for the Church
What do we know about Priests
 K
W
L
How does someone become a priest?
 Seminary – a college for priest
At seminary you earn your degree and learn about the
priesthood. The seminary in Philadelphia is called St. Charles
Seminary
Story of a seminarian
Deacons
 In the last year at seminary, the seminarian is ordained a
deacon . Deacons can baptize, witness marriages, distribute
Holy Communion, preach the homilies after the Gospel at
Mass and they say the same prayers as priests do each day.
Who knows what the sacrament is
called when a man is ordained priest
Holy Orders – during this
sacrament the Bishop lays his hands
on the priest and says a special
prayer making him a priest for life
Vows of Priesthood
 When a man becomes a priest he makes vows of chastity
(won’t get married) and obedience (obey the rules of the
Church). Some also make a vow of poverty ( to live a simple
life, without lots of material things).
Bishops
 Some priests become Bishops. Bishops oversee a diocese,
which are made up of many parishes. Our diocese is big, so
it is called an Archdiocese. Archdiocese are run by
Archbishops. Does anyone know the name of the
Archbishop of Philadelphia?
Archbishop Charles
Chaput
Bishops
 Run Dioceses
 Confirmations
 Some are called Cardinals, whose job includes electing the
new Pope.
Pope
 The Pope is a Bishop too. He is the Bishop of Rome. The
Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church, and the voice of
Christ on Earth. Who knows who our Pope is now?
Pope
Francis
Read the message of
Pope Francis to
young people?
Discuss with a
partner what this
message means
Write – How can
you carry Jesus’ light
to the world?
Vocation Prayer
 God, thank you for loving me.
In Baptism you called me by name
to live as your child.
Help all your people to know their call in life.
For your greater glory, raise up generous leaders
to serve as priests, deacons, sisters, and brothers.
Amen.
St. John Paul II
 Listen to the story of one of Church’s newest saints. Think
about how St. John Paul II followed God’s plan for him.
Write About It – Why is St. John Paul II
a great model for Catholics? How can
you be more like Pope John Paul II?
Create Coat of Arms
When he was first elected Pope, JPII made a Coat of Arms. A coat of arms is an arrangement of
symbols that tells about someone’s ancestry or interests. Pope John Paul put on his coat of arms St.
Peter’s Keys which symbolized Jesus’ gift to Saint Peter of the keys to Heaven and a big letter “M”
because he loved Mary so much.
Create your own Coat of Arms – On it draw and color symbols that represent you and your Catholic
faith.
Vocations Prayer
 God, thank you for loving me.
In Baptism you called me by name
to live as your child.
Help all your people to know their call in life.
For your greater glory, raise up generous leaders
to serve as priests, deacons, sisters, and brothers.
Amen.
Marriage
Why is marriage a vocation?
 When you enter into the sacrament of marriage you grow in holiness
and help your husband or wife get to Heaven
 When you get married you promise to love your spouse forever. The
promises you make on your wedding day are called vows.
Read About the Martin Family
 Video of the Martins
 Louis and Zelie Martin are best known as the parents of St. Therese, also known as the Little
Flower, but through their holy marriage they led one another to sainthood.
 Louis was born in 1823 in France. When he was younger he hoped to become a priest. Instead,
he grew up to become a watchmaker. Zelie Guerin was born in 1831. She, too, thought about
becoming a religious, but eventually understood that it was not God’s will. She was a excellent
sewer and opened successful lace-making shop.
 Louis and Zelie met in 1858. After three-months of dating, they felt that God was calling them
to the vocation of marriage. After the first year of marriage they decided to start having
children. Zelie gave birth to nine children!
 The family lived a comfortable lifestyle in France. They were happy, but went through some
difficult times. Louis and Zelie suffered the loss of four children at an early age. However, they
found lots of joy in their five daughters Marie, Pauline Leonie, Celine and the youngest Therese.
Even through their hard times they continued to love each other and God. They had great faith
in his plan for their family. The couple lived modestly, reached out to the poor and the needy,
and taught their children to pray and put God first. St. Therese would later write: “God gave me
a father and a mother who were more worthy of heaven than of earth.”
 Louis and Zelie were beatified in 2008, so they will soon be official saints just like their
youngest daughter. If you visit the Carmelite Monastery in Philadelphia you can see their relics
and the relic of their daughter St. Therese and learn more about their family.
Create a Venn Diagram
 Compare and Contrast the vocations of marriage and
priesthood. - in copybook
 Write – what are ways a married person could help their
spouse get to Heaven?
Recap
 How is marriage and priesthood similar?
 Why are they both vocations?
 How can married couples bring one another closer to God?
Vocations Prayer
 God, thank you for loving me.
In Baptism you called me by name
to live as your child.
Help all your people to know their call in life.
For your greater glory, raise up generous leaders
to serve as priests, deacons, sisters, and brothers.
Amen.
Religious Life
 God calls some people to religious life.
 Woman can become sisters or nuns.
 Men can become brothers or monks.
 Just like priests and married people, those who enter
religious orders take vows.
Life as a Sister or Brother
 Different religious orders have different apostolate (jobs they
do for the church)
 Different religious orders dedicate their lives to different
things. Some religious orders teach children, others care for
the sick, others dedicate their life fully to prayer, and others
travel to different countries to spread the word of God or
help the poor.
Elizabeth Ann Seton
 Elizabeth was the first American born saint. She was born in New York around the time
of the American Revolution. She was a very wealthy girl, who loved to learn and read.
She especially loved reading the Bible. When she was 19 years old she married William
Seton and they had 5 children(Anna Marie, William, Catherine, Richard and Rebecca).
Sadly, her husband William got very sick while her children were still young. Elizabeth,
William and their oldest daughter traveled to Italy in hopes that medicine there and the
nice weather would make William well.
 Unfortunately, William did not get well and he died while they were in Europe Elizabeth
was comforted by her Italian friends who were Catholic. Elizabeth decided she wanted
to be Catholic too. When she returned to the United States, and opened the very first
Catholic School in Maryland.
 Elizabeth later decided that God was calling her to become a Sister. She started her own
order known as the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. Elizabeth and the Sisters dedicated
their lives to educating children and the poor. Her youngest daughter Rebecca joined
the order as well.
 Elizabeth died in 1821 and was buried in Maryland. The Sisters of Charity continued to
grow after her death and the order still exists today. Elizabeth Ann Seton was canonized
a saint in 1963.
Elizabeth Ann Seton
 What was Elizabeth’s vocation
 How did she do God’s work?
 Think about the saints that were discussed this week. Who
was your favorite to learn about and why?
Answering God’s Call
 God doesn’t call on phones or yell over our noisy lives. We
need to quiet down so we can hear him. When we pray, we
are talking to God. If we keep praying He will help us
discover the path He wants us to follow.
Recap
 What is a vocation?
 What are the 3 vocations we discussed this week?
 How can we determine what vocation God is calling us to?