"What is a vocation?
If you are looking for a simple definition of a vocation, the literal meaning of the word is a "call."
But a vocation is more than an ordinary call.
A vocation is a call from God, and anyone who has felt God's call knows that the process is anything but simple.
While most people think of a vocation as what they are called to do in life, it is important to understand that the first and most important call from God is a call to be - the universal call to holiness.
Clarification
Your vocation is not the same as your career or profession. However, there is an overlap between a vocation and a profession.
A career or a profession is something that you have in order to support yourself and to contribute in some way to the good of the society. You don't need to believe in God to choose a career or a profession.
A person can pick, choose and switch profession freely depending on his/her preferences, strengths or circumstances.
A profession or a career always has a horizontal dimension.
When we talk about vocation, we introduce a vertical dimension in our life, which is God.
It is no longer ‘what do I prefer?' but rather ‘What does God want me to be?"
A vocation is not something that you can switch like a profession or a career.
For example, a person may work in retail sales because he/she has what it takes to sell a product, to establish customer relations, to follow directions and to work with a team to accomplish daily tasks.
That same person's vocation may be to be a single person, a wife or a husband, to be a religious brother or sister, to be a deacon or priest."
