Discerning The Call to Love by: C.C.

“A man knows when he has found his vocation when he stops thinking about how to live and begins to live.” (Thomas Merton)

     To consider vocation one must first have the understanding that they have been created uniquely by our Lord for a purpose. There is a hunger today for advancements and for settling into many things that society deems to be definitive of what a  'successful person' is.      It is alluring and tempting to tread through life in pursuit of success, rather than genuine and authentic fulfillment that can only be experienced by the giving of one's control into the hands of a loving God. 

   Through faith and trust in God one can have a clearer sense of vocation and to where God is leading them. It is a surrender of self that brings forth the fulfillment of self in the way that God intended. One's vocation is rooted in the love of God and pursuing the path that enables them to live out this love in the most genuine and selfless way.  

   Discerning vocation can be rather daunting.There are many things that can travel through one's mind and heart as they seek to fulfill the plans that God has for them. Many can be so wrapped up in the persistent search for God's will that they actually miss the very important point of fully resting in Him and allowing His will to patiently unfold. The pursuit of God's will is above all a surrender of patience and trust.

  We do not chase, but cease our running and recognize that we have been sought after by a loving God who knows well the deepest desire of our heart. Trusting God is to trust His plans and to be assured that His providence will sustain us by providing the grace to live out the vocation to which we have been called. 

  Through faithful trust in God and the daily commitment to living out the call to love in our present circumstances, we can be lovingly led by the Holy Spirit to where we serve Christ best through our service in love toward others. - CC

    "In a society in which permanent commitments are not valued - and that applies to the priesthood and religious life as well as to marriage - it can take great spiritual strength, and is certainly counter-cultural, to renew each day a sacred lifelong commitment, trusting in the grace of God. That must be our path as Christians, and anything that tends (even unintentionally) to re-inforce a culture that undermines fidelity to sacred permanent commitments must be resisted" (Cardinal Collins)