Year III, Number 47

"We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty" (Rev 11:17). In the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee I expressed the hope that the bimillennial celebration of the mystery of the Incarnation would be lived as "one unceasing hymn of praise to the Trinity" and also "as a journey of reconciliation and a sign of true hope for all who look to Christ and to his Church." And this Jubilee Year has been an experience of these essential aspects, reaching moments of intensity which have made us as it were touch with our hands the merciful presence of God, from whom comes "every good endowment and every perfect gift" (Jas 1:17).

My thoughts turn first to the duty of praise. This is the point of departure for every genuine response of faith to the revelation of God in Christ. Christianity is grace, it is the wonder of a God who is not satisfied with creating the world and man, but puts himself on the same level as the creature he has made and, after speaking on various occasions and in different ways through his prophets, "in these last days ... has spoken to us by a Son" (Heb 1:1-2).

In these days! Yes, the Jubilee has made us realize that two thousand years of history have passed without diminishing the freshness of that "today", when the angels proclaimed to the shepherds the marvelous event of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem: "For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:11). Two thousand years have gone by, but Jesus' proclamation of his mission, when he applied the prophecy of Isaiah to himself before his astonished fellow townspeople in the Synagogue of Nazareth, is as enduring as ever: "Today this scripture had been fulfilled in your hearing" (Lk 4:21). Two thousand years have gone by, but sinners in need of mercy - and who is not? - still experience the consolation of that "today" of salvation which on the Cross opened the gates of the Kingdom of God to the repentant thief: "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise" (Lk 23:43).

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

My question regards my own vocation and how to discern what my vocation is. My life took a sharp turn back to the Church some years ago, and since then I have wondered about my vocation. My problem is as follows: in all my life (I am now in my 20’s) I never had any thoughts about the religious life, nor did anyone ever introduce me to it. In other words, my heart has always been set on marriage, and in fact seems to have been married all this time to the prospect of having a lifelong female companion. In addition to this, my lifestyle before my return to the Faith was a typical Catholic male’s life in the 90’s (not necessarily virtuous). So, as you can see, I am somewhat conditioned from the start. When I came back to the Faith, I separated myself from contact with women, and began to seriously think about the religious life. And so, now I wonder what to look out for that may lead me to either state. I fear the betrayal of the religious life, while at the same time I fear the sacrifice of marriage. Aside from giving it time, what is prescribed for those in my position? With respect,

- Miles

A. Dear Miles,

The fact that you never thought of the priesthood before your return to the faith is of no importance in finding an answer to your vocational question. God has his time for everyone.

What does have more of a bearing is your life while away from the faith. You will have to speak very frankly to a priest or spiritual director about your past life in order to see if it is in any way an impediment to the religious life, or if it would simply make it imprudent for you to attempt living it.

If you have been through no more than the normal struggles, then the next step would be for you to start looking around, and visit the community that attracts you.

As regards your two fears, the fear that you might betray the religious life through your weakness is healthy and necessary. When you speak to a priest as I just mentioned, you can examine with him the basis of your fear and find out from him the way to grow in strength with God’s grace and how to protect yourself from your own weakness. Your fear of the sacrifice of marriage may be healthy as well; it may help you to be prudent in choosing the right person, but you should not let it paralyze you. You should definitely not go into religious life just because you are afraid of the commitment of marriage; you will find the commitment of religious life no less demanding and it comes without the intimate companionship and some of the human consolation that marriage offers.

- Fr Anthony

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

As tempted as I am to simply type in my name and say, "Hey, what’s my vocation?" I know it’s not that simple. But are there any signs toward the sisterhood? I’m very confused.

- Angelique

A. Dear Angelique,

As regards signs for the sisterhood, there are some - but beware, they are not infallible. Let me explain:

In order for you to have a vocation there are certain conditions you have to fulfill: starting from the bottom up, you have to have the necessary physical health for that vocation, the necessary psychological and emotional health, the necessary intelligence, and a maturity that is proportionate to your age.

All of the above doesn’t make you ‘extraordinary’, just pretty normal. It is the human base that is needed for a vocation, so if there is anything missing that you are not able to acquire by putting in a little bit of effort, it would be a sign that you don’t have a vocation.

The final condition, if all the above are in place, is the clincher: you have to be interested in the vocation for a proper reason. It would not be enough of a reason to want to be a Sister in order to travel, or in order to teach, or in order to take care of the sick... These are human reasons still on the natural level, even though the latter two are highly commendable goals.

Your interest should be faith-motivated: to care for the sick, or teach, in order to love Christ by serving others, for example; or in order to use your life in the way most pleasing to God; or in order to save your own soul...

The big sign for me is that you are asking yourself the question. That can often be God speaking to your soul, moving you, gently leading you to look into it more and open yourself more to his grace.

If you have the basic conditions I mentioned above, it would be well worth your while looking into it more. Visit a congregation of nuns that interest you, or look into the consecrated life in one of the new Movements in the Church. Get to know the people there, go on a retreat.

And, especially, ask yourself a question that is much more important than, "Is God calling me?" Ask yourself, "Am I willing to say yes if he is calling me?" Sometimes that’s the problem.

- Fr Anthony

Everything Speaks to Him of God

Every material reality speaks to Christ about God, everything is an opportunity to announce the message of God - the rich reality that he lived and contemplated so often in the long times he spent in meditation and dialogue with his heavenly Father. Everything: water, bread, wine, a rock, the tilled fields, the sky, the sun, life, a vine, a seed, a storm. Human situations too: a wedding, a feast, a coin gone lost, a shepherd's work; the social situation of a poor or rich man, or a man out of work, a laborer or administrator, a father or son, a young woman, a married woman, a woman giving birth, or one caught in adultery...

All material reality no matter how humble or unimportant, every human situation whether individual or social, is for the Incarnate Word an opportunity to announce the message of the Kingdom of God. Undoubtedly we have here something deeper and more substantial than simply a rhetorical or catechetical technique. Christ is showing us the ultimate meaning of material things and of human life itself: its ontological relation with God its Creator, Father and Redeemer.

Straining for the Mission

There is a strong element of straining, a tautness to the whole life of Christ, his person and his psychology. He is not an emotionless, dull, phlegmatic, indolent man set in a routine, but someone who searches the horizon, scrutinizes the signs of the times, vigorously battles and grapples to carry out his mission. He is dynamic, impatient (if we may so speak) to do his mission: "I have come to bring fire to the earth, and would that it were burning already! I have a baptism to receive, and how am I constrained until it is accomplished! Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? I have not come to bring peace but the sword" (Lk 12:49-51). And, paradoxically, his personality is perfected in forgetting himself, in giving himself to the mission his heavenly Father gave him from all eternity.

Gospel: Mt 2:1-12

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel."

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the East, went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, you know how little I understand. I look to your Son for wisdom in my life that I might believe more and share more of you with others. Give me the gift to learn from my mistakes and the wisdom to know when to speak your truth to others.

Petition: Lord, fill me with the Spirit of Wisdom, which is the fruit of the life of your Son given for us.

1. The star goes before us; we follow God’s plan, not our own.

God interferes in our life by sending a star. There are little normal things that God gives significance and power to send us down a new road, God’s road. A word or example of something divine is shown to us at times. This is not a superstitious habit of seeing signs everywhere, but of recognizing when God has given something significance. This sight requires a constant conversation with God in which we are the servants ready to receive from his hand. It sends us on a quest to find him, the King of kings, to be servants of his will. But we will find him when and where we least expect it. The wise men followed the star because in their world they saw it as a heavenly power. They end up finding much more, they find the heavenly power. They find him in a manger, in earthly poverty, yet they believe, for God has shown them enough to make them see things in a different light. They keep growing in their understanding, and realize through a dream that they must not return to Herod. Having encountered the King - the Light -, they let their path be illuminated by him.

2. These wise men go to the place of earthly wisdom first, and are disappointed.

The wise men go to a king, to Herod. They find him unaware of the truth of a new king. However, God has not abandoned them, but rather is using them as witnesses so that all might be made aware of God’s power.

They are sent ahead to find the King but surprisingly the people who told them where to look do not go themselves. God finishes the job, and the star leads them to a stable where they find the King.

A theme of John the Baptist comes true here, “Make straight the way of the Lord.” The wise men go to Herod the king for knowledge, yet they find nothing; they go to the stable where no one on earth would look for knowledge, and there they find the wisdom of God.

3. We find heavenly wisdom by God’s tremendous avenues.

Some read scripture and obtain knowledge of the coming of the Christ, but they do not go out to worship him. The elders and scribes, whom Herod summons to solve the riddle of the wise men’s coming, understand where the Savior is to be born. Scripture told them that “out of Bethlehem would come the ruler that will govern my people Israel.” But by the wise men’s coming to give homage they make themselves subjects of this new King and members of the new Israel.

They are wiser than they themselves realize, seen in the gifts they bring. God uses them to show us the nature of this King as they bring him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These are symbols, not only of his kingship in the gold, but of the priesthood in the frankincense and of his death in the myrrh.

Herod is troubled. Though he delves into the signs, he is blind to their meaning and receives no wisdom because he seeks himself. He has no sense of being God's creature and someone who should serve others through his kingship. He is independent from God and thus makes a law unto himself in killing children to protect his interests. He has become like Cain, one who thinks he is not his brothers keeper. He has not encountered the Light, and remains in darkness.

We call the men from the East wise for one reason: they allowed the Light of the world, Wisdom itself, to guide them down the path to himself.

Dialogue: Lord, send me your light so I might know the way to travel. So many times I walk in darkness because I live for myself and not for your kingdom. Transform me into your messenger to the world as you did with the wise men. Enlighten my interior so that though I walk in the valley of darkness I fear no evil, for you are with me, you are within me through your grace and your light.

Questionnaire:

1. Am I capable of seeing the signs that God sends into my life? Do I have a supernatural outlook, one that puts myself in God’s loving providence?

2. Where do I search for answers? Where do I seek the meaning of my life? Do I seek it at all?

3. Do I live for myself or do I live for something greater than myself? Do I live for the Kingdom of God?

New York it was not.

In the heat of the Indian subcontinent in 1959 I walked with opened eyes along streets of Calcutta as bruised humanity pressed in from every side and sight. With me, step for step, was my friend and fellow Marine John Donovan. But here in Calcutta we took in what travel agents never recommend. The vision of these streets and heavy smells of open sewers and other byproducts of poverty overwhelm the visitor. It was 10 years later when I first learned of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her Missionaries of Charity order of nuns.

The Missionaries of Charity, like the Samaritan of the Gospel parable, remained in Calcutta while I passed by. It touches me deeply that so many young women surrender for life their own personal comfort to do what they do. Each sister says it is all for Jesus. This concept is not always understood by worldly audiences. Yet this is what the sisters continue to do. Each Missionary of Charity sister has taken a vow of wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor. To Missionaries of Charity, the poor are Jesus in "his distressing disguise." While their Catholic faith embraces the full rich spectrum of Church teachings, one notes in these sisters a laser-like focus on a passage from the Gospel of Matthew. Chapter 25 of that book ends with the only biblical description of the Final Judgment that Christians believe is the last social event before eternity. Says Jesus: "I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you comforted me, in prison and you visited me." Jesus assures us that as often as we did it in uncompromising love for the least among us, we did it for him. That's the way he said it, because that's the way he sees it. And yet Mother Teresa and her sisters do not claim to have earned anything. They do not see this biblical passage as a payoff but as a demand by Jesus: that he wants human beings to aid each other in need. It is a requirement, not an option. That perspective imposes a downright serious obligation and should be done by each of us in acts of sacrificial love.

The fire of love for Jesus by Mother Teresa and her sisters has been long stoked and burns so intensely that they see only him in the disguise of the poor they embrace. "I do it for Jesus," said Mother. Missionaries of Charity continue to say and live that. Seizing a brief opportunity at an important ear I once asked Mother Teresa if I like so many others should go to Calcutta to help the poor. She looked at me quizzically and said: "Why? Are there no more poor here?" We were in the South Bronx at the time. Mother Teresa has said: "When you want to help Jesus in the poor, look first into your own heart, and then your family. Then look around your neighborhood and community. You will find the poor."

Upcoming Events & Retreats

(( Listed here are retreats directed by the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi members. For a listing of diocesan activities and other events, click here to go to the vocation.com website ))

LEGIONARIES OF CHRIST

Sacramento, CA, January 11-12, Young Men’s Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Br Robert DeCesare, (916) 716-5506. sgomez@legionaries.org.

Mission for Life! January 17-22, 2003. Cost: only $90. Help the nation's capital prepare for the national March for Life by participating in a retreat and evangelization mission! For more information, click on mission@ytm.org or call (301) 365-3205.

Cheshire, CT, February 7-9, Test Your Call! retreat. Contact Br Branigan Sherman, (800) 420-5409. vocation@legionaries.org.

Cornwall, Ontario, February 7-9, Test Your Call! retreat. Contact Fr William Slattery, (613) 931-1920. wslattery@legionaries.org.

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated women

Los Angeles, CA, January 12, Young Women's Spiritual Growth Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Magdalena Faine, (562) 597-6352. mfaine@inteducators.org.

Washington, DC, January 17-22, Mission for Life. Cost: $90. Help the nation's capitol prepare for the national March for Life by participating in a retreat and evangelization mission. Contact MariCarmen Maheu, (301) 365-3205. mission@ytm.org.

Ottawa, Ontario, January 19, Young Women's Spiritual Growth Retreat. Ages 17-30. Contact Lourdes Cano, (401) 225-2314. lcano@inteducators.org.

Atlanta, GA, February 3, Young Women's Spiritual Growth Retreat. Ages 17-30. Contact Dorrie Donahue, (770) 417-1045. ddonahue@inteducators.org.

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated men

Call Tony McDonnell for more information, (301) 365-3205. info@ytm.org.

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