Year IV, Number 22

Christian spirituality is distinguished by the disciple’s commitment to become conformed ever more fully to his Master (cf. Rom 8:29; Phil 3:10,12). The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Baptism grafts the believer like a branch onto the vine which is Christ (cf. Jn 15:5) and makes him a member of Christ’s mystical Body (cf. 1 Cor 12:12; Rom 12:5). This initial unity, however, calls for a growing assimilation which will increasingly shape the conduct of the disciple in accordance with the “mind” of Christ: “Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5). In the words of the Apostle, we are called “to put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. Rom 13:14; Gal 3:27).

In the spiritual journey of the Rosary, based on the constant contemplation – in Mary’s company – of the face of Christ, this demanding ideal of being conformed to him is pursued through an association which could be described in terms of friendship. We are thereby enabled to enter naturally into Christ’s life and as it were to share his deepest feelings. In this regard Blessed Bartolo Longo has written: “Just as two friends, frequently in each other’s company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience, and perfection.”

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

I am definitely considering the vocation of priesthood, but I am still currently in high school. What should I do? How do I start? I am very lost. Thank you for your time.

- John

A. Dear John,

Maybe you feel lost because you don't know what to do or where to turn with this thought of the priesthood that has come to you - but you have to remember that your feelings are only part of the picture.

You are not lost because you are not on your own. The thoughts that come to you about the priesthood, the desire to become one, came from somewhere else, or rather from Someone else, and not from yourself. How can that be true if you know you are really thinking them, and you are not hearing voices? Well, Jesus tells us that we can do nothing without him. St Paul said even more specifically that we cannot say the name Jesus without the Holy Spirit - much less think of giving our whole life to Jesus as his priest. So he is the one behind these thoughts.

So now the first thing you have to do is stay close to him, and especially trust him. You are dealing here with God, but God who is very close - so close that you receive him in Communion, and so close that he can speak to your heart (like in your attraction to the priesthood) almost without you realizing it is him. Make sure you go to Mass often, and receive him as often as you can in Communion. This is where you are going to get most light from as regards figuring out what he wants you to do, and this is where you will get the strength to do always what is best. Also, say a prayer every day to Mary for her help. It doesn't have to be a long one, but just every day: three Hail Marys for this intention will make a huge difference. If you pray the Rosary, offer up one decade with this intention.

Being that you are still in high school, it would be good to bring your parents into the picture. Their advice will be helpful, especially if they are practicing Catholics and, because of your age, you will need their approval if you are going to take any practical step toward the vocation while you are still in high school. It would be good to talk over with them what your next step should be, to see with them if you should look for a high school where you can finish off the years you still have to do and at the same time prepare yourself for seminary (sometimes these schools are called high school seminaries, or apostolic schools, or some other name), or if you should finish out your high school at home.

The answer to this question will depend to a certain degree on your age and grade, and the type of school you are in. As you think it through ask yourself questions like: will the friends I have now be helpful for me towards following a vocation? Am I doing as well in school as I should? How am I spending my time?

Another thing to have "on the burner" is the type of priest you think you should be. What does God seem to be attracting you towards - service as a pastor in a parish? Missionary? A religious congregation? Contemplative life? Your answer to this question (even if it's that you don't know) will be of help to you as you start looking into it more, because God has a concrete path for you, and he will make sure you get enough hints to know what it is.

I hope this gives you a start, or at least reduces the confusion. Make sure to get back to me if there is anything more you want to ask or any way I can help you. God bless.

- Fr Anthony

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

I had a dream that someone came up to me and said, “You are a nun,” and that’s all he said. It’s been on my mind for quite a very long time - not just the dream, but my vocation. I want to become a nun more than anything in this world. I don’t want to get married, that’s for sure. How would I know if it’s what God wants? I know in my heart that He’s calling me, but I want to be 100% sure.

- Laura

A. Dear Laura,

Don’t pay too much attention to the dream; it is not the important part of your message. You want to be 100% sure, but that is not possible before you actually take the step or before you are accepted for final vows. But the good side about your question is that you are not totally satisfied with “knowing in your heart” that God is calling you. You know it takes more than that for a vocation, because it could just be your emotions. So you are right in looking for something more.

Before we get into what this something more could be, let me raise a word of caution. You say you know you don’t want to get married. Why you don’t want to is important and has a bearing on your vocation. If you have nothing against marriage itself, but just have already made up your mind it is not what God is asking on you, fine. But if you have something against marriage, or an aversion to it, you should definitely look into this, because it is not healthy or right. Such an aversion would certainly not be a sign in favor of a vocation; instead, it would probably be a sign against - at least until you overcome it.

Supposing your views on marriage are healthy and Christian, and you feel strongly in your heart that God is calling you to be a nun, there are a few steps you can take:

One, keep praying.

Then, get a spiritual director and talk with him (or her) about the impediments to a vocation. If there are none, you can be a little surer of your vocation.

Let the spiritual director get to know you, and judge if your attraction is more than emotion.

Examine your life now and see how you are doing as regards God’s will for you now. If you are underage, do you obey your parents? If you are at college, do you stand up for your principles? Is there discipline in your life (any trouble with weight, anorexia, addictions)? If you are a student, do you study? Those are the sort of questions you need to be asking yourself. It is amazing how often we want to be saints, right on the top of the ladder, yet we never take the step onto the first rung. You are not going to be magically transformed when you join the convent, and if you live for yourself now you will have a rough time then. The change will be too much. So test your vocation by being what you should be now.

Then you should also look into specific orders and visit them. You need to do this so as to see if you really fit. Really fitting doesn’t mean you do not find it difficult, but just that there is a sense of being at home there, an identification with that order's spirit.

All of the above will help you confirm if what you are feeling in your heart is something that comes from God, and if you should act on it. Once you join and then live the life to the full, you will be in a position to gain 100% certainty over time.

God bless.

- Fr Anthony

Right now, each one of you needs to face squarely, courageously and generously the question of his direction in life, as charted by God. Your joining the seminary was not happenstance. Providence, God who decides and chooses, has lovingly flooded your souls. You need to be very honest with yourself if you are to recognize God's ways and silence the deceitful voices of the devil and self-love - sowing uncertainty, doubt and cowardice in an attempt to lead our steps astray....

Every call bids a response. "The call," Paul VI says, "is complemented by a response. There can be no vocations if they are not free - if they are not, that is, a spontaneous, conscious, and total self-offering" (Discourse, 5th World Day of Priestly Vocations, April 28, 1968).

What will your answer be to God's loving and providential call? What answer will you give to the anguished cry of the suffering souls as they weep, lost on their way through life? What will you say to our world, so advanced in science and technology yet consumed in pleasure and superficiality, immersed in sorrow and despair from the absence of God? What is needed are generous souls, determined to throw themselves into the task of saving their brothers and sisters. And you have to be these souls. When you look at the dimension of the problem facing mankind, how important really are your minor personal problems, and your private difficulties and temptations? Be generous, open your eyes to the broad horizons so that your lives will be inspired with noble ideals and decisions that will have far-reaching effects on today's world.

Gospel: Jn 15:26-27; 16:1-4

When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you. I did not tell you this from the beginning, because I was with you.

Introductory Prayer: Jesus, I love you with all the power of my soul. Lead me according to the will of the Father. I want to persevere in fidelity.

Petition: Lord, do not let me fall away from your love!

1. A Good Lawyer

Anyone who has ever had legal troubles knows the value of a good lawyer. “Paraclitus” is one of the names that Jesus gave for the Holy Spirit. It can be translated as “advocate,” the one who pleads a case before a court of law. The Holy Spirit is the best of lawyers: he pleads the case of Jesus, giving constant testimony that he is the Son of God. Where does he do this? In our own hearts and minds, so that we will not lose faith in the midst of the difficulties that face us as followers of Christ. The Holy Spirit is our advocate as well. He defends us from the onslaughts of the Enemy. And unlike many earthly attorneys, the Holy Spirit doesn’t charge by the hour!

2. Being a Witness

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will testify to him, as the Advocate, he is constantly proclaiming in the minds of us believers that Jesus is Messiah. As well, he is recruiting us for the defense team: we are Jesus’ witnesses too. The world constantly puts Christ on trial by contrasting Christian lives with his message. Infidelity and hypocrisy are considered the smoking guns that prove Christianity is a merely a nice idea, but hardly objective truth. Our faithfulness, on the other hand, challenges the world to take Christ seriously. We must be witnesses who show that the grace of Christ is powerful and active. Above all, this must be seen in our love and charity.

3. Staying the Course

“I have told you this so that you may not fall away.” Being a witness to Christ will never be easy. Persecutions inevitably arise: there is always a price to pay for sticking with Jesus, and many people have paid the ultimate cost of their own lives. Jesus does not hide the truth from us; he gives us advance notice so that we will not be caught off guard. Let us give him the consolation of staying faithful no matter what.

Dialogue: Lord, the Holy Spirit brings such light to my soul. He shows me that with your grace I can overcome the Enemy who longs for my destruction.

Questionnaire:

1. How would I rate, on a scale of 1 to 10, my faith in the action of the Holy Spirit in my life? Do I want the faith of an apostle? Do I ask for this?

2. How often do I call upon the Holy Spirit when I encounter temptations or difficulties, or when I need to make decisions?

3. What can I do to increase my faith in the Holy Spirit? Do I believe that the Holy Spirit can work powerfully in and through me? What are the obstacles I'm placing in the way of the Holy Spirit's action in my life?

Let us take a look at what happened to St. Paul and how he found the meaning of it. (Acts, chapter 9)

Saul (Paul’s name at the time all of this happened) was a persecutor of the Church. Mind you, not any mild critic or your regular two-bit harasser. Saul of Tarsus breathed fire. He breathed threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. People trembled at his name. But he did everything legally, he got the warrants, and then came down heavy. He put men, and women too, in chains and brought them to Jerusalem. Here was no enemy of the death penalty. There was no way anyone could escape his zeal.

It was on one of these missions as Saul, still breathing threats and murder, headed out to Damascus to take Christians prisoner, that God’s time came. As he rode, a great flash of light enveloped him, he was thrown to the ground, and he heard a voice. It was Jesus who asked him why he was persecuting him.

Now this would seem to be the perfect moment for Christ to explain everything to Saul. He certainly had his attention. But Christ’s words seem strange to us under the circumstances. Instead of pressing his advantage he says to Saul: “Get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” Saul doesn’t object. He gets up and does as he has been told. He has the added bitter surprise that he has now become blind. What a humiliation for this fiery self-starter, to have to be led around by the hand. As a soldier who knew he was feared, he must have felt very vulnerable.

Saul does not know what lies ahead. He is at a loss, so he obeys. He waits. He fasts. We can be sure he prays. But he does not expect any other answer to his prayers than to be told by someone what he was to do.

That someone - his name was Ananias - was being approached by Christ in a vision, and was having a problem with what he was being asked to do, for the Lord was telling him to go and visit Saul. Ananias knew only of the ill-gotten fame of Saul as a persecutor, and it made going to see him a most dangerous and undesirable task, so, quite naturally, he objects by reminding Christ who the man is they are dealing with. But Christ insists. Ananias goes, perhaps thinking his own time has come.

When Ananias goes in and delivers a simple message to Saul - The Lord Jesus who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit - the New Testament says that immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored.

Saul regained his physical sight. But some spiritual “scales” fell from the eyes of his soul as well. He got up and was baptized, and now by faith he saw that Jesus was the Son of God. His soul acquired a new spiritual sight.

This is significant for us. What gave Paul the gift of faith was not the vision on the roadside, although God could have given it to him there. The gift came through the man sent by Christ, who explained the meaning of what had happened on the roadside and who gave him the sacrament of baptism.

Even Paul needed someone to help him understand his experience.

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

Cheshire, CT, June 6-8, 2003, Test Your Call Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Br Branigan Sherman at vocation@legionaries.org or (800) 420-5409. Price: none.

Cornwall, ONT, June 6-8, 2003, Test Your Call Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Fr William Slattery at wslattery@legionaries.org or (613) 931-1920. Price: none.

Pasadena, CA, June 6-18, 2003, Local Candidacy for Young Men. Contact Fr Thomas Maher at tmaher@legionaries.org or (626) 792-0447 for more information.

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated men

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

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