Bishop Yanta of Amarillo has issued a pastoral letters which is drawing attention because he’s quite forthright on Catholic teaching on contraception, praise of large families etc., in it, but I was drawn to this section, myself:

Two big mistakes by parents and children

The first mistake by the parents to children: “What are you going to be when you grow up?” Parents should remember and teach that the first calling of the Christian and Catholic is to follow Christ.

God has a general plan for everyone in the whole human race: salvation by righteous living, discipleship – for Christian to follow the master Jesus, and holiness like that of the saint’s name chosen at baptism by our parents, or the saint’s name you chose at Confirmation as a young Catholic. That is God’s general plan for us. God also has a specific plan for everyone to attain salvation, discipleship, and holiness.

So the question becomes: “What do you think God wants you to be in your life?” God has a special love for every human person and a special plan for each of us (Ephesians 1:9).

To me, the journey to selling out to the culture begins exactly in that place – when we forget that essential of which Bishop Yanta reminds us. When we let the world define our lives and the nature of the decisions we must make, rather than God.