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Faith picks up where reason leaves off. Reason alone is not sufficient to please God. Rather, God is pleased when you admit your uncertainty and give your trust to Him. "It is impossible to please God without faith" (Heb 11:6). Some people cannot accept anything less than 100% certainty in following their vocation. This is not following Jesus in faith; such individuals are following themselves. Too much time spent "discerning" before trying a vocation can bring about a great amount of misplaced trust in Self and much indecisiveness about Each step leading up to the final commitment is an additional step of faithfulness to the inspiration of God. Following a vocation is like driving a car, paying attention and reacting to the signs on the road as they pass by. You may not be sure of where God is leading you, but what matters is that you follow the signs which He sends. As time passes, the road becomes clearer and you will become enlightened as to what God wants. Jesus' first invitation to the apostles was for them to begin following Him. In the beginning He did not offer them and answer to all their questions or a solution to all their needs. He merely said, "Come and see" (Jn 1:39). Now for you the translation is, "If you think God may be calling you, look into it." Frequently one's motives are not absolutely pure. They are usually mixed, good with bad alike. If it's determined that an individual does not have God-centered motives at all then they do not have sufficient motives for a genuine calling. But this does not mean that good motives can't be acquired. God can bestow them. Through conversion and maturing in the spiritual life motives are purified. It is also important to realize that good motives can corrupt without enough vigilance. It's not out of the ordinary that one starts out well and ends up poorly. Throughout the journey of life, it's common to acquire attachments, bad attitudes, and impure intentions. Following a vocation demands daily spiritual growth. We cannot follow a true vocation without God-centered motives and we cannot persevere in a vocation in a way pleasing to God without constantly striving to purify our motives. Following God or Following Feelings Should you necessarily feel attracted to the vocation God is calling you to embrace? No, but if you do, there's no reason to reject such feelings. They are good things to be enjoyed in the proper way. So you may have enthusiasm or hopeful feelings in regards to your vocation. God may let you feel the attraction and longing to follow him in a particular manner. God knows that in the beginning of your spiritual journey you may need consolations to help motivate and encourage you. He may allow this just as much as He may withdraw good feelings from an individual who is following a vocation. He treats a soul in the way which is best for that soul. Some individuals will not have strong positive feelings towards what they understand to be God's Will for them. Nevertheless, this does not change their calling nor does it add or subtract anything in regards to their duty to follow their vocation. In the Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas has some interesting observations as to whether it is wise to seek counsel before following a religious vocation. He says that seeking some counsel is acceptable if it is directed toward removing obstacles which are prohibiting an individual from doing more for God. However, St. Thomas Aquinas has much more to say on the dangers of unnecessary and excessive seeking of counsel: "the following of a [consecrated vocation] is not a matter of doubt in regards to its goodness and does not require long deliberation nor the advice of many. It is stated that upon our Lord's calling them, Peter and Andrew 'immediately leaving their nets, followed Him' (Matt 4:20). Here St. John Chrysostom says: 'such obedience as this does Christ require of us, that we delay not even for a moment.'" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica; Q 189, Art. 10) There are advisors who, in order to help young people find objectivity, encourage them to write down pros and cons after their choices of a particular vocation are narrowed down and they still cannot decide which way to go. How does this work? Let's say a woman believes God wants her to be a sister, but she can't decide whether it's with the Franciscans or Benedictines. So she writes two lists including all the plus points and minus points about joining these particular orders. There is usefulness with this method in so far as it makes a person aware of the reasons why he or she is choosing a particular state of life. But an individual should be aware of other aspects which pertain to such important decision-making. Objective direction should point out where personal attractions are inordinately influencing a person's choices; it should also point out where the medicine (howeverdistasteful) which will cure an individual's weakness will be received. Be cautious about seeking advice among those who are of the world or who have an inordinate attachment to you. It makes no difference to God what gifts He has already bestowed on a person when He gives the additional gift of a vocation. When a person says, "I cannot possibly have what it takes to serve God in such a way," the person may be revealing a certain amount of self-knowledge, but he is only seeing half-truth. The other side of the truth is that such a confession of spiritual poverty can never be an excuse to give up on a vocation because God gives the resources needed for what He asks. Isn't it true that everyone falls short, in one way or another, of what it takes to follow Jesus faithfully? And this is one of the great mysteries and treasures of our faith, that God provides for the weaknesses and deficiencies of His flock in ways they do not even comprehend. God Gives the Tools for the Mission Never assume that God's gifts are greater than Himself. God is greater than what He gives. An individual who bases his choice of a state of life too much on what his own gifts, talents and abilities are can end up placing more trust in himself than in God. The talents a person possesses may be a sign of what God has in store for him. But it is also true that God's design for an individual always surpasses what can be produced by human ingenuity. Look at the example the Father gives His own Son. Didn't Jesus have the power to achieve (humanly speaking) much more than He did while here on earth? Then why didn't He? God willed otherwise. God desired something much more than teaching and good works: something hidden, something greater. He called for obedience and submission. He asked for suffering. He asked for surrender. He asked for obedience. And this is the deepest aspect of any vocation- the giving up of one's own will to do the Will of God. And that's why the signs valued by human judgment cannot be the sole guidelines for making a decision to follow a particular vocation. An example will help clarify this point. Fr. Walter Ciszek dreamed of being a great missionary. He had great physical and mental resources and spent many years preparing to serve as a priest in the U.S.S.R.. From a human perspective he was perfect for such work. He longed to devote himself fully to such a life. Finally the opportunity arose for him to enter communist Russia undercover. In a short time he was arrested and falsely accused of being a Vatican spy. He was sentenced to prisons and labor camps for over 23 years. In them he lead a life of extreme deprivation, spiritual suffering and physical testing. He had few opportunities to serve as a priest in these circumstances. Why did this happen? Shouldn't Fr. Ciszek have followed a different path where he would have been able to do much more for the benefit of others? It's easy to ask this question. But, ultimately, to question God's designs is to doubt that He knows what's best for us. Your life is meant to give God glory and God should best decide which way He will receive the greatest glory through your life. Our Father knows best. It's obvious that all parents do not object to a child's vocation. Many support and encourage their children to embrace a special calling from God. So give thanks to God when your parents offer this kind of help. It's a special gift from God to have such help. Unfortunately, such encouragement is not always there. It's common that family or friends oppose a person's entering into the priesthood, consecrated life or community life. In regards to the obligations children owe their parents, St. Thomas Aquinas states that individuals may enter consecrated life even when parents oppose it (Summa Theologica, "Entrance to Religious Life," Pt. II-II; Q 189, Art. 6). He says that after the age of puberty, men and women enjoy freedom in things concerning the ordering of their states of life. The opposition of of parents is primarily based on their not willing to let their child go, and not being willing to give up their own plans for the child. They can often be overly protective or possessive. Of course, parents or friends who oppose your vocation almost always disguise their selfish motives (knowingly or unknowingly) in the form of reasonable objections: "You are too young," " you are too talented to waste your life as a sister," "you can't go, what about your job, studies, career...," "you would never make it," "what are you escaping from?" "what about your grandpa?" and "who will run the prayer group, the store, the lawn mower?" It all comes down to the same old thing. Parents and friends, although they may believe they are serving your best interests, do not hear what you hear from God. The vocation is frequently unreasonable according to human understanding and judgments. And the criteria to be used is folly to human wisdom: the criteria is, "what does God want of me now?" In Gethsemane, Jesus felt fearful. What did He do? He not only prayed that God's will be done, He did God's will and went to the cross and stretched out His arms and died for us. Sometimes our emotions may conflict with what God wants; at such times you must go against your feelings to serve God. Otherwise, love and service of God become nothing but the pursuit of pleasurable experiences in spiritual things, which easily leads to the pursuit of physical pleasures. We fall in love more with the consolations of God than with the God of consolations. When you "let go and let God" you will go far in the spiritual life. St. Teresa of Avila and St. Francis de Sales both agree that he most essential virtue needed to grow in holiness is courage. Courage can carry a person to God. Jesus said that "the man who save his life will lose it and the man who loses his life for my sake will find it" (Mt 10:39). Can you die to your own plans, dreams, possessions and desires for achievement? The meaning of the words "the man who loses his life for my sake" is beautiful. Man normally steers clear of the difficult, but it is in the difficult where and individual proves himself and blossoms. In the vocation Jesus asks for the difficult. The person is asked to abandon self-will. All is forsaken for Christ. The person who dies to himself finds a whole new life in Christ. Do it, and you'll find this is true. Those too absorbed in themselves and their own possessions are the people who save their lives and therefore lose them. They walk through life like dead men walking among tombs. Download these excerpts from "Theology of Finding Your Vocation" (48kb Word doc) |
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