What is my vocation?

The Dominican Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, who run a day care for young children in Calgary, recently welcomed two visiting Sisters from their convent in the United States: Sr. Charbel Joseph, their Vocation Director, and Sr. Felicity, her companion.

Sr. Charbel comes annually to Calgary for vocation promotion for her community and visits schools to meet with students to help them respond to God’s call in their own lives. This year, these two Sisters visited several schools in Calgary and Strathmore to speak about vocations and discernment. We were warmly welcomed by the staff and administration of the schools. Our only regret is that we could not visit all the Catholic high schools in our Diocese.

Their presentations were engaging and personal, as they shared their own vocation stories and responded practically to questions from both students and teachers. A video by Fr. Mike Schmitz, “What’s My Vocation?,” was also helpful in explaining the various types of vocations in the Church.

The visiting Sisters also offered a day retreat for young women called Saturday with the Sisters, providing time for prayer, reflection, and conversation about identity, vocation, and life with God.

“Fr. John did a wonderful job with his talk,” one of the local Dominican Sisters, Sr. Wenancja, shared. “He was especially engaging and attentive with the young women who attended.” 

Fr. John reflected on what it means to live as daughters of the Father, using Proverbs 31:10–31 as a foundation. He invited the young women to look beyond external qualities and to consider the deeper interior virtues God desires to cultivate in them. “He emphasized the interior, righteous dispositions we are called to cultivate as women, virtues that go deeper than the external qualities Proverbs names as ‘charm’ and ‘beauty’,” Sr. Wenancja explained.
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Fr. John also reflected on the Gospel passage where Jesus says, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” His point was that we truly belong to Jesus when we live out our daughterhood in the Father.

Thank you to the Dominican Sisters for their efforts in raising awareness and understanding about vocations among our young people in the Diocese. Their school visits and retreat offered students and young women a meaningful opportunity to ask questions, hear personal witness, and consider how God may be calling them in their own lives.

Another opportunity to explore vocations is coming soon. The Vocations Rally on Sunday, May 31, 2026, at St. Michael Catholic Community in Calgary, beginning with Mass with Bishop McGrattan and featuring keynote speakers Fr. Bryan Duggan and Michelle Diment, a Q and A panel of vocations, table displays, and opportunities to learn more about vocations and discernment. All are welcome! Register here.

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Written by Sr. Dianne Turner, OSE for Faithfully. Photos courtesy of Sr. Dianne.