Dear Suzanne:

There are many professions that help the Church directly: nurses, teachers (elementary, secondary, university), theologians, business administrators, accountants, psychologists, social workers, musicians, canon lawyers,  etc. But, any profession is a help to the Church in the sense of a person bringing Christ into their profession, being a good example of a Christian within one's profession. We are to bring Christ to the world no matter what profession is pursue.

In making your first step you need think about what your interests are. If it is psychology, then begin taking psychology courses. You can always change your mind later, but you need to get moving in a direction -- doesn't matter what direction.

God can direct you, but He cannot do that if you are standing still. Seeking a vocation or profession that God wants for us is like a ship. In order for God to give you a course correction the ship has to be moving. Turning the rudder when the ship is standing still doesn't do a thing. The ship has to be moving through the water for the rudder to change the course of the ship.

Thus, you need to examine the clues as to where to begin, and for now not worry about where you end up. Where to begin involves looking at the clues. Those clues come from your personal interests, the promptings from the still small voice in prayer, your aptitudes, what others see in you, your talents, etc. From these clues you will have enough to take the first step.

In college, you usually do not have to declare a major until the beginning of your Junior year. The first two years are mostly core requirements. The Junior and Senior years is the time focused on your major and minor studies. So there is plenty of time to explore and discern. This gets you "moving".

In addition, no matter what undergraduate major you choose, that subject can be valuable as background for whatever you choose to do in graduate school. If you get a Bachelor's degree in psychology that is a fine background for nearly any direction you go toward in graduate school.

So, again, there is plenty of time to discern what career you will eventually pursue, and plenty of time for God to give you mid-course corrections if He wishes.

So, the bottomline is to pick a direction and begin to pursue it. If God wants to give you a mid-course correction then He will do it when the time comes.

Thus, there is no need to worry about making a mistake if you stay open to God and get moving in some direction. Trust Him to guide you as you MOVE in some direction.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary