VOCATION

Good Morning, Dear Reader.  Today, I continue with this concept of lay “vocation”.  Many Catholic churches, in speaking about vocations, only include the vocations of those ordained or entering the “religious” life.  The rest of us, the laity, are usually categorized under the headings of “Married” or “Single”.  In Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, we find the statement ‘The laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them to the plan of God.  They live in the world, that is, in each and in all the secular professions and occupations…They can work for the sanctification of the world from within, in the manner of leaven.’  Cardinal Joseph Bernardin writes prophetically, “The best method for increasing the number of priests and religious is to foster a vocation culture in which all young adult Christians understand their careers and their states in life as a response to the universal call to holiness.”  It is this “vocation culture” that goes beyond being married or single that I find intriguing.  I envision a culture whereby we, Christians, have this vision of God’s personal calling to us held in front of us as our guide to decision making in all things, professional, relationship, community based, parentally, etc.

When I found myself unemployed at the beginning of this Recession, I discovered that my despair was generated from my identity as a “working” professional.  When my layoff came, I was devastated.  Not only had I lost my income but I had lost the ability to meet with people that I had grown to love.  I lost the creative outlet of being a member of various visionary professional committees.  I lost the awareness of myself as someone working on behalf of those in our community who are disenfranchised, and I lost the ability to purchase for my children things such as haircuts, visits to the dentist, trips to see family members, etc..  Everything verged on feelings of despair.  I began questioning who I was and started to feel that with the loss of my professional position I had also lost a huge part of myself.  The one very good thing that I continued to do was to take the time to contemplate God’s Will for me.  I knew He loved me but struggled terribly at not being given a picture of certainty for the future, showing me how I would continue to assist my husband in housing my children and feeding them.  The Holy Spirit did some major work within me in revealing to me that if my life had been focused on my “vocation” as a lay minister within God’s Church, I would not have lost anything.  My focus would not have been on my identity as a professional but on that of God’s daughter, knowing her spiritual gifts, and working within the world.  It would have saved me great suffering as my illusions of control over my life came crashing down like a house of glass during a storm. 

I know that many clergy seem to think that we, parishioners, “get” the idea of faith integration and that we should just know that our vocation is before us due to our Baptism, but the influence of the evil one within the world is strong and before you know it we are captivated into believing that it is our position within the company that saves us….at least from poverty or the need to selling our homes and moving away.  Our focus on God’s peace and joy can be diminished by the daily comings and goings from a place of employment that is adhered to 5 to 6 days a week.  Before you know it our life’s system is into place and we are drawn into this capitalistic understanding that we are doing as well as our checking and savings accounts.  Woe to the poor man or woman who cannot pay their way!  Where have they gone wrong?  A “vocation culture” would change all of this.

Instead, we need to focus on “vocation” as a personal “call” by God to all Christians to use their spiritual gifts and their talents and circumstances of life to impact the world around them, all the while knowing that God will see to their every need.  That does not mean that everything will stay the same as it was but a “new normal” may emerge out of the ashes of the “past”.  It is through our Divinity as sons and daughters of God that we are to see our earthly affairs.  It is respectful and responsible to set our eyes upon the banquet that has been set for us in the heavenly kingdom of God and to act in this world as one who knows a deeper Truth.  How frightened do we really need to be when we have the entire community of saints available for our intercession?  How alone are we in our suffering when the Savior of the world stands alongside us within our trials?  How uncomfortable does our journey into the uncertainty of unemployment, illness, divorce, flooding, etc. have to be when Christ has said to us again and again “Do not be afraid…I am with you always, to the end of time”?  We have within us the perseverance of one who knows eternal rejoicing.  Jesus Christ took on our humanness and knew our fears and trepidations.  He knew that we could lose sight of our identity through the “bite of an apple”.  With that He continued to turn His eyes to heaven and seek out His Father in prayer, thanksgiving, and lament.  We need only to trust in His firsthand understanding of what it is like to be here and deal with our day-to-day issues so that we may be strengthened in our vocational identity by the specialness of His love for us.

Take heart, my brothers and sisters in Christ.  We have been called by name and in that call we are being given the strength and wisdom to persevere through all that may come towards us.  Christ sends us with the directive that we do not need to fear anything, we just need to be cautious and loving.  The Holy Spirit will do the talking if we but open ourselves as a new wine skin to hold the wine of Truth.  Yes, we may be ostracized.  Yes, we may be fired.  Yes, we may have stones thrown at us be we will be right with our Lord for our eyes will be on the glory of our eternity.  So, with this, go out into the world and be as Christ to one another.  Be loving, respectful, inclusive, aware, prophetic, daring, and risky in your faith.  Do all of this knowing that you have a vocation in God’s plan.  You will be fed and clothed.  Your children will dance and sing within your increasing joy and will feel, with you, the blessings of our Father.  Pray for His direction in your life as you fill out your applications for employment.  Pray for His revelation as to “who you really are” as you hang your diploma on the wall.  Pray for Divine revelation and grow in seeing the world through God’s lens.  Then, may your day be nourished and affirmed as you make your way towards the evening hours and thanksgiving be on your lips as you fade into restful slumber in the arms of the One who loved you to His death.