Well-Being and Longing

The Nourishing Vocation Project Near and Now: Vocare Spiritual Practice Well-being: Listening to your Longings Vocare Vocare is an ongoing spiritual practice designed to help you discern and embrace your multiple vocations so that you can more intentionally live life on purpose for the common good. Vocare invites regular reflection upon values, openness, call, attentiveness, regret, and the experience of God’s presence. Vocare can be used by individuals, small groups, and whole congregations. Focus You are invited to focus on your own well-being by listening to your personal longings, and by so listening, nourish in a particular way, God’s call upon your everyday life. Use the time between the guided questions for your own reflection and meditation. Bring to mind an experience of longing from your own life. Is this a story of longing-fulfilled, or is it a story of longing that lingers? How has this particular longing shaped your life and its horizons? Guided Reflection Opening prayer Meet me in my longings gracious God, and quench my thirsty soul. What life values are present for you in this experience of longing? Are they your most important values? To what does this longing ask you to be open? How easy is it for you to be open to this? What voices are calling to you through this longing? Are these voices that you want or need to listen to? As you consider this longing, what holds your attention? Is this where you want or need your attention to be? What regrets does this longing bring to mind for you? What do you do with these regrets? Where and how in this longing do you experience God’s presence? Closing Prayer Bring your healing touch to the “if only” cries of my heart, O God. Hear my voice when I call out to you, Remember me in my longings. And when they overwhelm me, help me to focus on you and trust in your promises for me. In the name of Jesus, +Amen.