Year IV, Number 18

On 16 October 2002 I proclaimed the “Year of the Rosary”, and I invited all the children of the Church to make of this ancient Marian prayer a simple and profound exercise in contemplation of the face of Christ. To recite the Rosary means to learn to gaze on Jesus with his Mother’s eyes, and to love Jesus with his Mother’s heart. Today, my dear young people, I am also, in spirit, handing you the Rosary beads. Through prayer and meditation on the mysteries, Mary leads you safely towards her Son! Do not be ashamed to recite the Rosary alone, while you walk along the streets to school, to the university or to work, or as you commute by public transport. Adopt the habit of reciting it among yourselves, in your groups, movements and associations. Do not hesitate to suggest that it be recited at home by your parents and brothers and sisters, because it rekindles and strengthens the bonds between family members. This prayer will help you to be strong in your faith, constant in charity, joyful and persevering in hope.

With Mary, the handmaiden of the Lord, you will discover the joy and fruitfulness of the hidden life. With her, disciple of the Master, you will follow Jesus along the streets of Palestine, becoming witnesses of his preaching and his miracles. With her, the sorrowful Mother, you will accompany Jesus in his passion and death. With her, Virgin of hope, you will welcome the festive Easter proclamation and the priceless gift of the Holy Spirit.

My dear young people, only Jesus knows what is in your hearts and your deepest desires. Only He, who has loved you to the end (cf. Jn 13:1), can fulfill your aspirations. His are words of eternal life, words that give meaning to life. No one apart from Christ can give you true happiness. By following the example of Mary, you should know how to give Him your unconditional “yes”. There is no place in your lives for selfishness or laziness. Now more than ever it is crucial that you be “watchers of the dawn”, the lookouts who announce the light of dawn and the new springtime of the Gospel of which the buds can already be seen. Humanity is in urgent need of the witness of free and courageous young people who dare to go against the tide and proclaim with vigor and enthusiasm their personal faith in God, Lord and Savior.

You are also aware, my dear friends, that this mission is not easy. It becomes absolutely impossible if one counts only on oneself. But “what is impossible with men is possible for God” (Lk 18:27; 1:37).

True disciples of Christ are conscious of their own weakness. For this reason they put all their trust in the grace of God and they accept it with undivided hearts, convinced that without Him they can do nothing (cf. Jn 15:5). What characterizes them and distinguishes them from others is not their talents or natural gifts. It is their firm determination to proceed as followers of Jesus. May you be imitators of them as they were of Christ! “May the eyes of your heart be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might” (Eph 1:18-19).

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

I have felt called to religious life for about a year. I have investigated many religious orders, hoping to find one that was of interest to me. Although different aspects of these orders were interesting, no one had all that I am looking for. Is it silly to think that I could, after much discernment and questioning, found a new order with other interested men? Thank you for your help.

- Sam

A. Dear Sam,

Everything is possible, and God can choose any way he wants to do his work, so it is not a totally silly idea. However, from what I have read of the foundation of religious orders, it is not usually the case that the founder examines the scene and comes to a rational, clear, perfectly reasoned decision of what is needed, and then sets about applying that very specific idea of which he is totally sure. It seems to me that the inspiration usually comes unbidden, at times to the perplexity even of the founder himself. Often the foundation is started "unintentionally", being an informal group that then gels. When steps are taken, it's always after seeking light and confirmation from a spiritual director and then the Church herself.

My advice would be to perhaps leave the eventuality of founding a new order on the backburner for now and examine your approach towards your vocation. If you have felt a call to religious life for more than a year now, and your main focus has been to find the order that has what you are looking for, I think you should adjust a little. Get a spiritual director to help you as you examine your motives and the importance of the things you are looking for, to see if they really bear the signs of God's inspiration or if they are trivial. (For example, a certain color of habit is trivial, spiritual life is substantial.) That may cause you to re-examine some of the conclusions you have already come to.

From there on out there is not much I can say to you. You and your spiritual director will have to take it as it comes and figure out which way God is pointing.

God bless.

- Fr Anthony

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

For some time now, (almost a year and a half), I have been considering a religious vocation. Every day is a struggle. I strongly feel this call, but there’s a problem. I know that we must do God’s will, but there’s a part of me that doesn’t want this call. Sometimes I just want to run and hide. I think this is because my parents are expecting something else of me. They think I’m going into medicine. I haven’t told them, but my mother hints at it. How could she know if I’ve never told her? I see little things like that happening often. For example, I’ll see a nun walking down the street, or I read a book and there are nuns in it. I’ve told two friends and a priest. I know that they are all trying to help, but I’m confused as to whether or not to continue with this.

- Jenny

A. Dear Jenny,

It seems to me you may be in the beginning stages of a vocation, and the struggle you are facing gives you an advantage over many other young people I know who are considering a vocation. Very often the first steps in a vocation are made in joy and enthusiasm, and people can get the idea that not having problems or living an emotional high is the sign of a vocation, and, conversely, problems mean you don't have one. Consequently, perseverance is uncertain - because we all have problems. There is always a part of us that resists, hollers and objects to the idea of giving ourselves totally - at least if we are human. That should be a premise in all our searching. A vocation is always on weak ground until it meets difficulties.

In your present situation one thing, the main thing, to do is to foster your relationship with Christ. By giving him some time each day, reading the Gospel and visiting him in the Eucharist, fill your mind and heart and soul with all he has done for you. Ask Mary to show him to you. Let your love for him grow in a simple and direct way (work on overcoming your shortcomings and failures, any bad habits you might have), until you can sincerely say to him: "You are first in my life; I only want to do whatever pleases you most." This might sound too simple, but the day you can say it from the bottom of your heart without any reservation whatsoever, you will practically have solved your vocational dilemma.

You mention your parents' expectations for you, at least as far as you can detect them. Often parents do not bring up the question of a vocation in case their child thinks they are trying to force them. At some stage (exactly when depends in part on your age and how soon you want to make a move) you should talk with them about it.

The other little signs (nuns seem to be "popping up" everywhere, for example) in my opinion just mean you are sensitive to the idea; they may be a remote sign at the most, not much more.

I am sure lots of our readers will join me in offering up a prayer for you. God bless.

- Fr Anthony

Our lives would be so, so different if we believed, loved and trusted more in Christ, if he were more familiar, nearer, more intimate to us!... Difficulties are to be addressed, and overcome. If we love, our difficulties are golden opportunities, the best times to show how fond we are of the one we love. It is true that we have to give our lives, like seed we have to fall on the ground and die if we are to live and bear fruit (cf. John 12:24). But only if you are of the world, and are looking in from the outside will you find this Gospel rule hard. When you put yourself into it, fully living this attitude, you discover that if the first part is true, the second is no less so: fertility, fruit, fulfillment, life.

Gospel: Jn 10:11-18

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep and runs away as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; this is because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for this fold, and these I have to lead as well. They too will listen to my voice, and there will be only one flock and one shepherd. The Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own free will, and as it is in my power to lay it down, so it is in my power to take it up again; and this is the command I have been given by my Father.”

Introductory Prayer: Mother, today I want to offer you my heart, my mind, my all to you. Take me under your maternal protection, so that all my undertakings today may be blessed with your presence and be pleasing to Our Lord. Pray that I may honor your Son by imitating your virtues, the surest path of my transformation into another Christ, alter Christus.

Petition: Lord Jesus Christ, give me the graces I need to follow you by imitating you with the same love and joy as your mother did.

1. “The good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep” – Fidelity of Mary

Many a time, life has taught us that in difficult moments good friends are hard to come by. Although many may abandon us, no one would ever doubt the fidelity of his own mother. How much more so should we trust in Mary's fidelity! She is the first to be at our side in our joys, triumphs, shortcomings, and sorrows. Mary was always there throughout her son's entire life: from the elation of Elizabeth's greeting at the Visitation to the ignominy of the Crucifixion, when few friends were to be found, not even the twelve apostles. Precisely because she is our Mother, we too should never doubt that our concerns are her concerns; moreover, could any concern of Mary ever be unheard by her son, Jesus? Mother Mary will never leave our prayers unanswered.

2. “I know my own and my own know me” – Love for Her Children

A young priest naively asked a mother of eight children, "Which do you love the most?" She answered, "I love them all, but I love most the one most in need. The one who just fell and bruised a knee, the one who was left out of the group, the one who is sick today...." Is this not also true of our Blessed Mother? Mother Mary has each of us constantly before her eyes; in each and every step we are under her maternal care. When the day is rough, troubles have brought us down, or our mind is dizzy with trying to make heads or tails of decisions to be made... go to Mary. She knows our hearts even better than we do, because in our hearts she sees what we don't always see: the splendor of God's plan for our life unfolding. Take the hand of Our Mother, and she will lead us through the valley of tears.

3. “They too will listen to my voice, and there will be only one flock and one shepherd” – Final Perseverance

Today's markets are full of "self-salvation" packages, ranging from channeling your untapped subliminal energies and "wonder diets" that regain a holistic equilibrium of "Ying & Yang", to controlling the events of your life by positive thinking; you can find them all. Despite the fact that there may be grains of truth in all this, we have already a sure guarantee to the true happiness we all desire - Jesus Christ. Mary is that path to him, a sure beacon in the midst of many attractive but uncertain promises. Our Heavenly Mother has only one interest: that we find our way to her Son and gain the eternal happiness for which we were created. Let Our Mother speak to our hearts throughout this day. Let us bring her into our lives and she will bring us into the fullness of her Son's life at the end of our sojourn here on earth.

Dialogue: Blessed Mother, today on Mother's day I ask you to be particularly present in my life. I pray that in good times and hard you will always be at my side. Help me never to doubt your fidelity and your personal love for me as your child. Ask of your Son the grace I need today to be another Christ to all those around me, and for the gift of persevering in love.

Questionnaire:

1. What is my love for Mary like? Is it theoretical, or do I have a personal love for her as my mother who cares for me from heaven?

2. What is my devotion to Mary like? Is it mostly feelings or am I committed to imitating the virtues of Mary in my own life?

3. How much do I trust in Mary? Does it help me in my struggles to live authentically my Christian vocation to know that I have a mother watching over me in whom I can find strength, consolation and perseverance?

Fr Ghiurghiu Straja, a Greek-Catholic priest of a small mountain village in Romania, was arrested after having hidden the women of his town in the rectory attic. The Soviets had taken an interest in the Uranium fields, and in 1948 the Soviet soldiers were attacking, violating, and killing women by night. Six women were murdered in a period of two months. For defending them Fr Ghiurghiu was sent to Aiud prison, where his example converted a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses and had such an influence on the guards that the political officer had to send him to Jilava. In Jilava he cleaned and washed for the sick and elderly of the prison, and in an interview with the camp commandant he convinced him of the existence of God. This resulted in the commandant’s expulsion and Fr Ghiurghiu’s exile to the lead mines of Baia Sprie, where a dynamiting accident cost him his life. After nineteen years of trial Fr Ghiurghiu held on to his hope until the end.

For some priests their vocation was so dangerous that they could only minister by example. On February 26th, 1964, in Likavka, Slovakia, an anonymous worker’s funeral vigil became a night of prayer when the teary-eyed parish priest came out and draped priestly vestments over his coffin. The Benjamin whom they’d all known had secretly been Fr Benjamin for fifteen years. He had never celebrated a Mass in a Church. When the seminary was forcibly closed, he took up work as a bricklayer and continued studying theology under the tutelage of a theology professor working in a railroad station. None of his co-workers knew. All they knew was that he was always encouraging them as an example of optimism and compassion. When a nearly-completed building he was working on burst into flame, he was the last to leap to safety. His arms were burned to the bone. As the doctors were preparing to amputate his arms a week later, amazed by his patience and serenity in the face of excruciating pain, he went to join his Lord. Even hardened Communists wept at his funeral. Fifteen years of hope.

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, May 13-14, 2003, Young Men's Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Br Robert DeCesare at sgomez@legionaries.org or (916) 716-5506. Price: $15.

Cheshire, CT, May 16-18, 2003, Test Your Call Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Br Branigan Sherman at vocation@legionaries.org or (800) 420-5409. Price: none.

Cornwall, ONT, May 16-18, 2003, Test Your Call Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Fr William Slattery at wslattery@legionaries.org or (613) 931-1920. Price: none.

Pasadena, CA, May 18, 2003, Test Your Call Retreat. Ages 16-27. Contact Fr Thomas Maher at tmaher@legionaries.org or (626) 792-0447.

Rome, Italy, May 23-30, 2003. Pilgrimage for college-aged men and high school seniors. Contact Karolee Stauduhar at kstauduhar@msn.com or (407) 869-8263.

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated women

Los Angeles, CA, May 18, 2003, Young Women's Spiritual Growth Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Magdalena Faine at mfaine@inteducators.org or (562) 597-6352.

Washington DC, May 19, 2003, Young Women's Spiritual Growth Retreat. Ages 17-30. Contact Lucy Honnor at lhonnor@inteducators.org or (301) 536-6931.

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated men

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

ShoreLines welcomes your questions and comments at questions@shorelines.org. If you do not specify otherwise, your question may be posted in the Vocations Q&A section.

To subscribe or send a gift subscription, send an email to subscribe@shorelines.org or visit www.vocation.com. To unsubscribe, send an email to unsubscribe@shorelines.org.

Copyright 2004, Legion of Christ.

www.vocation.com