![]() ![]() I served on a panel with three others: Sister Lourdes, a Franciscan Missionary of Mary from Mexico Father Jose, a diocesan priest from El Paso (both of them in their 30s), and my friend Luis, age 25, who is discerning the priesthood while living with the Columban Fathers. We all responded to the question: How did you know? I spent the day with Sister Janet, helping her to lead a retreat for young adult women and men in our diocese who are intentionally considering what God might be calling them to at this point in their life – a “Life Awareness” Day. Last Sunday, the Catholic Church celebrated the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, a day set aside specifically to pray for vocations to the priesthood and diaconate, to the religious life (both male and female), and to the missionary life in all forms. ![]() ![]() I am willing to wrestle with the “renunciations” of the religious life to embrace the beauty and freedom of giving all of my being to God and to the service of my sisters and brothers. In the case of the religious life, the gifts may be more unseen and are certainly less talked about, but they are real and deep. A mother who can’t imagine life without her beloved children is willing to endure sleepless nights and tiring days to give them all that they need. That’s the idea of “governing desire” that Fr. Is it any wonder that I freaked out when I felt that first nudge to the religious life during that fateful November of 2008 in Ecuador?įor starters, I think that in general, people think I am embarking on a life of utter sacrifice. Yes, it involves giving up very tangible things, which is difficult! I’ve shared my struggles with you. Especially in a world that tells us that sex and money are the end all, be all of the human experience, choosing this might seem absolutely loco. But, come on, do you really think people would do it if there wasn’t something wonderful involved?! Every life involves some degree of sacrifice and a greater degree of gift.Īs Ronald Rolheiser says in the The Holy Longing, “every choice is a renunciation” of something else. The call, I think, is about figuring out what is the GIFT that we’re willing to renounce other gifts for. The joy we feel when we find that gift makes the sacrifices seem less daunting. Of course, I’m saying all of this a bit tongue in cheek. But my point is the following: my perceptions echo a societal misunderstanding of this uncommon path. “Easy for you to say,” I thought indignantly. Those people had no idea what they were doing to my life with all that stupid vocation praying! I watched my fellow Catholics mouth the words all too calmly. Once God started pestering me into becoming one of those “poor suckers,” I grew to resent the Vocation Prayer. Little Me always felt sorry for the unsuspecting victims whom God picked after hearing the Vocation Prayer enough times. They would now have to join that group of people separate from normal human beings who don’t get to have a wife or husband or kids or money and have to do whatever they’re told. What a drag! And so we had to beg God to rope people into it: Pretty pleeeease with sugar on top, God, force some poor suckers, but not us (or not our kids and grandkids), to take one for the team! I always thought the prayers sounded a little desperate. They gave me the sense that our Church valued Brothers, Sisters, and priests, but that becoming one was not really something someone in their right mind would choose to do. It’s a prayer that we say to ask for God to call “laborers into the harvest.” Although sometimes these prayers include all vocations, most often they focus on the priesthood and religious life. I grew up hearing “Vocation Prayers” at my parish. If you’re Catholic, you’ve probably joined in saying one of these at the end of a Mass or two. Excerpt from “Diary of a Sister-in-Training” by S. ![]()
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