To my dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, peace, and may God grant us every grace and blessing!
I wanted to share some thoughts on what many of us are searching and striving eagerly for: vocation. And that’s exactly as it should be, a zealous journey to find out and do God’s will. But, and I speak from personal experience, it can be a very challenging endeavor…and at some moments, very confusing! Yet, God’s goodness and providence never fails. I think we should try to look at vocation, and the search for vocation, as an opportunity to exercise the greatest vocation: to love others, charity. St Paul says this in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, after a discourse on the greatest spiritual gifts and positions in chapter 12: “Make love your aim.”
I share this to give the peace that only God’s ways can. When we don’t focus our identity and happiness on success, but on love, charity, we are living our Christianity to the full, and are in Glorious company – we are living like the Lord Jesus himself, and to name a few Saints, as Mary and Joseph did. We are, though, to continue to shoot for success: to meet people, to go on dates, to go to vocation retreats, to apply to seminaries, etc. But we can do so with a new perspective of being open fully to God’s will and plans for us and others, just as Jesus was. And His will sometimes includes struggle instead of success. Yet, these efforts aren’t in vain, but one way we can look at them is that God is always with us, and He is always working in us and through us, for the sake of our souls and those around us.
An example of God’s supreme view of love is in the Gospel of John chapter 12, when Philip meets a group of Greek people and wants Jesus to speak to them. We can imagine Philip wants Jesus to talk about the kingdom so that these Greeks too can become disciples, but Jesus’ response shows God’s thinking: Jesus doesn’t actually meet the Greeks but instead responds, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified,” it is time for Jesus to lay down His life for humanity. A reflection I heard recently at the National Eucharistic Congress said this action reveals the reality that sometimes love, charity, sacrifice, is greater than words; it’s more effective at winning souls.
I also previously mentioned Mary, and she too can be a model for our life when in search of vocation. They say hindsight is 20/20: we see Mary now in Glory as the Queen of Heaven and Earth, but she actually lived her humanity in a most humble way, calling herself God’s “handmaid,” or slave (the Magnificat, Gospel of Luke chapter 1). But thank God, I’ve been able to understand that Mary was actually extremely courageous, humble, and persevering. After having lost Jesus for three days after a feast in Jerusalem, the Gospel of Luke chapter 2 says she “pondered” in her heart what had happened and what Jesus has said. A reflection I heard said scripture scholars say this word is the same as in Genesis chapter 32 when Jacob “wrestled” with God. So Mary wrestled with things, and we too can and should wrestle with things; she would try to understand God’s will and the meaning of things, and I imagine this was an ongoing process; she wouldn’t understand everything right away, but would carry the events in her heart and all they involved: joy, pain, sorrow. This is a hallmark of perseverance: despite your emotions, you carry on with your duties and life daily. This is exactly what God desires from us too, to persevere, especially when having embarked on a vocation journey.
Joseph, too, put God’s will above all things, even himself. If we look at the account of Jesus’ birth in the Gospel of Luke chapter 2, we can see an example of this. Joseph and Mary were well aware that Mary was going to give birth to the Messiah. But the government calls a census, so they have to inconveniently, while Mary is late in her pregnancy, travel to a different town based on their family’s ancestry (Joseph’s ancestry in King David’s lineage), which was Bethlehem. When they got there, knowing that Mary was close to giving birth, Joseph and Mary did everything to try to find a good place to stay to welcome the Messiah, but “there was no room.” This of course means that there literally was no room, but the deeper meaning reflects a reality that God is not indifferent to, and may not be different now in our day: there was no room in hearts for God and His plans. So, God, knowing Mary and Joseph are open to serving Him fully, uses them and their struggles to help soften these hearts – their sacrifices and struggles make up for sins. They cooperate with God’s plan and are willing to struggle for whatever God might need them for; in this case, our understanding and reflection of God’s revelation in Jesus tells us that God’s main mission is one of salvation and reconciliation of humanity. These specific events in Bethlehem are part of this; God knows that if people don’t make room in their hearts for Him, they have no eternal life, so with Mary and Joseph He is beginning His mission of divine love as the way to save humanity. So, they generously are OK when reality drives them to stay overnight in a cave, where Jesus is born in a manger. We can also look at our vocation struggles in this way: God might call us to the greatest act/vocation while we are trying to find our state in life (single life, married, consecrated virgin, religious life, etc.): love, charity, for the sake of our neighbor.
Dear brothers and sisters, these are just a few words about searching for vocation; I hope they are effective at granting you courage at continuing your battle to find and do God’s will. The great challenge we have is to try to see things as God sees things: love, charity, is the supreme virtue, more than any specific position/office/role in the church. Love, the cross, is never the end of the story though; eternal life in this and the next life and glory follow.
In case these challenges get too heavy, please feel free to reach out: one of my phone numbers is below, as well as my email, and you can reach me on social media here (X) and here (Instagram).
Abundant blessings,
Juan B
561-571-5404
juan@holyfirecatholic.com
Corrections:
*On 9/1 text was modified in reference to the account of the Birth of Jesus to the Gospel of Luke chapter 2