On Vocations

Pope Pius XI, Encyclical Ad Catholici Sacerdotii

‘More than a heartfelt sentiment or an emotional attraction, which may either be lacking or misleading, it reveals itself in the honest intention of the person who aspires to the priesthood, together with those physical, intellectual, and moral qualities, which make him fit for such a state. He who aspires to the priesthood solely because of the noble aim of consecrating himself to the service of God and the Salvation of souls, and at the same time, seriously tries to acquire a solid piety, an unshakeable purity of life, a sufficient amount of knowledge… shows that he is called by God to the priestly state.’

Jose Luis Soria, in his book 'Vocation: when God calls…'

It is hard to hear our Lord calling because His voice is never loud. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit need a certain atmosphere, and it is neither one where our energies are wasted nor a frivolous and empty-headed kind of lifestyle that fills the soul with nothing but noise and anxiety. This is why the devil knows well that the best way to drown a vocation is to choke the soul with restless, pounding waters. It is not because the call does not come; rather, it cannot be heard in such an uproar.