Semiotic Vigilance and Cultivation of Sincerity in Catholic Practice of Vocational Discernment

Abstract

In contemporary Catholicism, the reflection of faithful on the way of life or vocation implies the acquisition of interpretative skills that allow to define God’s will with a degree of certainty. The process of vocational discernment constitutes a hermeneutic work of a Catholic with his or her inner states - consciousness, emotions - and various outer shreds of evidence indicating that this specific life project is precisely what God is calling for. Observation of the signs of God’s presence and care does not necessarily mean that these signs will be recognized correctly. Within local semiotic ideologies, God’s signs decipherment is considered as an inherently subjective act. In this regard, the main peril for a Catholic who discerns vocation is an interpretation of signs in such a way that their meaning coincides with the one’s own view of vocation. The Church authority offers a solution for this problem by the cultivation of ethical self-reflectiveness and sincerity. The metaphor of sincerity as personal transparency that is common in Russian Catholic milieu serves for reinforcement of faithful’s moral commitments of accountability towards the Church.