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The inner word

11 Dec 2011 - Third Sunday of Advent, Cycle B

A lot is stirring in today's readings, and it's all being stirred by the Holy Spirit. How in touch am I with the Holy Spirit? Where in my life do I feel the Spirit moving, calling me? If I were to "testify to the light" as John the Baptist is called to do, what in my ministry would I point to? If others who did not know me asked, "Who are you?" how would I respond? Who am I in terms of my ministry? In terms of my relationship to Jesus?

Holy Spirit john the baptist life calling

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Exploring the word

09 Jan 2011 - Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Cycle A

HOW DO YOU know when a call is from God? someone asked recently on the VISION Vocation Network website. When I repeated the question (which I found very valid) to a friend in ministry, he snorted, “How do you know it’s God—and not something else?” Clearly, some of us may feel shanghaied by God’s will now and then. In such instances that will may seem to have struck again, blindsiding us and making havoc of our plans. I suspect when we experience that sort of visitation, it’s more a matter of our attitude than God’s intentions. One person’s menacing intruder is another person’s surprise guest! The “how do we know?” question is one of discernment, the art form we Christians cultivate to guide us through life. Granted, some of us are better artists than others, which is why professional spiritual directors exist. But even if you never progressed past the crayon stage in your art education, you, too, can figure out where God is prodding you by following the scriptural whorls and patterns of the divine fingerprints. Prophecy gives us the first pattern: The faithful servant of God stands for justice. If justice itself confuses, that’s because we live in a world where human justice rarely intersects with the divine variety. Isaiah describes justice as the light that exposes oppression and lifts the unfortunate from its grip. When we see wrongdoing and feel motivated to speak out against it, we can reliably consider that a poke from God. The second “holy fingerprint” is noted in Saint Peter’s speech in the home of Cornelius: When we’re attracted to do as Jesus did, we know it’s from God. What sort of activity imitates Jesus? “Doing good”—which may be old-fashioned but never out of style. Bringing “healing”—to those who are in bodily distress or gripped by the darkness of mental trauma, poverty, discouragement, addiction, isolation, and other “devils” that bind human freedom. If the first fingerprint is found in prophetic speech and the second in Christ-like action, the third is more mystical: direct revelation. That is the familiar divine finger pointing from a cloud in comic strips. In my personal discernment I’d frankly prefer this kind of unambiguous affirmation: “That’s it, Alice, you’re my kind of woman!” That would both encourage me and let any adversaries know that God’s with me on this one. But because I can’t always count on the revelatory, I grasp the other end of Jesus’ experience here, his advice to John: “Allow it now.” It may not make sense, it may come wrapped in question marks, but do it anyway. Let wheat and tares grow up together and trust God to sort it out at the harvest. Related scripture links Flesh is grass: Isa. 40:6-8 Seventy years or eighty: Ps. 90:10 Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof: Matt. 6:34 (KJV) Catechism links Baptism: CCC 535-537; 1213-1274

Authors Alice Camille

Vocation call life calling Discernment

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Addressing the union

25 Jan 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s gospel, a determined Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand.” A decidedly upbeat President Obama delivered a strong, ambitious stand in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, touting a recovering economy and calling on Republicans to “turn the page” and bring about changes aimed at strengthening the middle class. Homily hint: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet,” wrote theologian Frederick Buechner. Jesus had a vision, gathered the troops, and got to work on bringing about change. Look around you at the world’s deep hunger and find your calling. For more on the State of the Union address, see: Obama: The State of the Union is strong; Gloom Lifts, and Obama Goes All Out; The State Of The Union: Was It A Good Or Great Speech?

Vocation state of the union president obama life calling

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The inner word

05 Feb 2012 - Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Both the epistle and the gospel this week provide "call stories" for reflection on vocation. Saint Paul describes the nature of his mission, and Jesus affirms that preaching and healing are the reasons for which he has come. How do you understand the "obligation," to use Paul's term, God has given you in your ministry? What is your purpose?

Vocation call life calling

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Homily stories

05 Feb 2012 - Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

SAINT PAUL wrote of the "obligation" he felt to preach the gospel--that is, he was talking about his vocation. When I was trying to figure out how God was calling me, I felt as if I would never get to the point of knowing for sure whether God was calling me. I realized later that the more I consciously tended to God and sorted through my life with all its hopes and dreams and struggles, the more I was growing into my calling. The first step for me was to be more faithful to prayer. I also began seeing a spiritual director who could help me to see the ways God was moving in my life. I began reading more of the saints, and, when I was finally willing to admit I might be attracted to religious life, to get to know sisters around me. Over time I began to feel shifts within my own self toward feeling more like myself, feeling more alive than ever. By being intentional about my discernment and also integrating it with my everyday life, I found that I had already been living into the calling that God was nudging me toward. (Adapted from Ask Sr. Julie about Vocations, vocationnetwork.org)

Authors Sister Julie Vieira I.H.M.

Vocation call life calling religious life

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Who's listening?

27 Jun 2010 - Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Catholic bishops have recently called on local Christians to develop a culture of discernment, one in which people take seriously their calling and make efforts to nurture that call in their life choices. Do the people in your pews recognize that they have been called, too? The readings this week talk about calls and the cost of responding. Yet what is the cost of not responding? We either actively pursue the call to live our Christianity or we are likely getting lost.

Discernment Vocation call life calling

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Homily themes

27 Jun 2010 - Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Follow me. In addition to the examples in today's readings, the act of being called in the midst of one's tasks occurs several times in scripture. When God called Moses from the burning bush (Exod. 3:1) and asked Jesse about his son David (1 Sam. 16:11), both of them were tending the flocks. Amos explained, "I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores" when God told him to go prophecy to his people of Israel (Amos 7:14). Gideon was threshing wheat when the angel of the Lord appeared to him (Judges 6:11). When the spirit of God rushed upon him, Saul had just come in from the fields (1 Sam. 16:11). Among the apostles, Simon and Andrew were washing their nets after a long night of unsuccessful fishing, and Levi (Matthew) the tax collector was on the job, "sitting at the customs post" (Luke 5:1-11, 27-28). Being called by God, we once thought, was rare and special. It is actually a universal invitation. Biblical call stories reveal real people in ordinary situations being summoned into the extraordinary vocation of doing God's will. Saying yes or no to God's call is our prerogative. But an immediate, decisive, and unconditional response is required.

call life calling Vocation

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Homily stories

27 Jun 2010 - Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

I had friends who knew from a young age what they wanted to do as a career. One friend always wanted to be a cop. Another knew from first grade on that she wanted to teach. Another wanted to be an architect. I envied them. I knew I wanted to be a short stop for the Chicago White Sox like my hero "Little Louie" Aparicio. I also knew I wasn't that good. Many of those friends growing up are now in jobs that didn't even exist when we were back in grammar school, like computer programmers, medical technicians, and web designers. Which leads me to believe that while parents try to teach their kids the many lessons of growing up, one lesson ought to be how to listen to and answer our inner call. Each of us is called. Few hear that call like the voice of God calling in the night. Usually, we discover our call, like Elisha, while doing other things. For most of us our call comes as a persistent, inner prompting that can be easily drowned out by the lure of money, power, security, or fame. But we won't be happy until we hear and respond to our innermost call. Discernment-learning to hear God's call-is a skill every Christian needs to cultivate. What are you doing to help the kids in your life learn to listen, and hear, and follow the promptings of God in their hearts?

Authors Tom McGrath

call life calling vocations Discernment

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