Pastor Jesse Burish of Notre Dame Church in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin recently wrote to the congregation regarding National Vocation Week, and the urging to take to heart the calling that God places on each individual.

“As Catholics, we firmly believe that God has a plan for our lives,” Burish wrote. “He calls some to marriage, some to the priesthood and others to religious life or to live as generous single people.”

Burish also noted how appropriate it was the first day of National Vocation Week fell on All Saints Day this year.

“A happy coincidence, because a vocation, in its fullest sense, is our path to heaven and sainthood,” he wrote.

Burish urged the members of the congregation to spend time praying and considering the influence they have on the lives of others.

“Encourage the young people in your life – children, grandchildren, students and friends – to be open if God calls them to priesthood or religious life,” he wrote.

Those such as priests who do God’s work in the church do not simply “magically appear from heaven,” Burish told the parishioners.

“We can’t forget that vocations come from families and from parish communities like our own, so we must cultivate and support them,” he wrote.

Yet in every vocation, regardless if it is directly a religious calling, the true purpose that should drive every activity and action is bringing souls to Jesus, Burish wrote.

“Your vocation is the answer to the question, ‘Who is God calling me to bring to heaven?'” Burish wrote. “Those called to the vocation of marriage are to be 'help mates' to each other on the path to heaven. They are also the primary educators of their children, especially in matters of our faith.”

For each and every person in their chosen vocation, there is the work of God today, he wrote.