The Call!

In both the Old and New Testaments, there are stories of people who found excuses to avoid doing what God wanted them to do! They are often called: “The people of the excuse.” We meet people every day who talk about all the good they will do when the time is right: “When we’re eighteen”; …”win that promotion”; …”when the children graduate”; …”when I retire”; …”when we get all the bills paid off.”

In our following of Jesus, we have to make a decision to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. So often as Catholics we follow the faith our parents have passed on to us! But doing it because our parents did it will not make the grade. Every generation must make the faith its own. At some point in our lives, we have to decide that we will follow Jesus. That opportunity is available at several points in our lives, but especially when we receive the sacrament of Confirmation. That is the time we make the “Faith of our Fathers” our own. Other churches ask their members to make a decision, to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In baptism our parents and godparents made a decision on our behalf. They dedicated us to the Lord and made promises and commitments on our behalf! We spend the rest of our lives struggling to make good the promises they made! We may want to ask ourselves today: “When did I consciously make a decision to follow the Lord Jesus?

Someone has pointed out that this is the age of the lack of commitment. Young people cohabit without getting married, because they do not have the courage to make the commitment demanded by the sacrament of Marriage. People put off making the commitment for all kinds of excuses. They say: “We want to find out if we are compatible!” But the longer unmarried couples live together – the more they experience their incompatibility!

When it comes to the priesthood and religious life – young people are afraid of giving up their freedom! But true freedom can only be experienced when we dedicate ourselves totally in love and service to a cause bigger than ourselves!

Each and every human being has a mission in life. In the life of every follower of Christ, there is a moment when the Lord speaks to us in a personal way. If we neglect that moment, and that voice, the call will not be answered. If we put it off, then we will never answer the call! The call to the priesthood and religious life is something that must be discerned, with the help of parents, teachers, spiritual directors and prayer. Every parent should place the possibility of a vocation before their children. Many people feel that that’s for someone else – not my son or daughter! But – why not! Someone put it well when they said, speaking about God’s plan and God’s call: “It is only we humans who tend to think that we have a better plan…” That is why we go against our own nature, create a life separate from God’s plan, and try to improve our chances of winning by hedging our bets. We put everything in the past – but the last penny! We try to save our life without losing it!