Year IV, Number 32

Certainly “there is an essential aspect of the priest that does not change: the priest of tomorrow, no less than the priest of today, must resemble Christ. When Jesus lived on this earth, he manifested in himself the definitive role of the priest establishing a ministerial priesthood with which the apostles were the first to be invested. This priesthood is destined to last in endless succession throughout history. In this sense the priest of the third millennium will continue the work of the priests who, in the preceding millennia, have animated the life of the Church. In the third millennium the priestly vocation will continue to be the call to live the unique and permanent priesthood of Christ.” It is equally certain that the life and ministry of the priest must also “adapt to every era and circumstance of life.... For our part we must therefore seek to be as open as possible to light from on high from the Holy Spirit, in order to discover the tendencies of contemporary society, recognize the deepest spiritual needs, determine the most important concrete tasks and the pastoral methods to adopt, and thus respond adequately to human expectations.”

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

I’m a rising senior in the university, and I am trying to discern my vocation. My efforts so far seem futile. I oscillate back and forth between marriage and the priesthood like a little child on a seesaw. There are moments when I have the utmost desire to sacrifice everything for the Lord like the courageous saints of our Church. Other times, I feel an incredible longing for a Beatrice figure in my life, a woman with whom I can share my most intimate thoughts and feelings. There are times when I’m at mass, though, and I wish I were celebrating it. The gift of persona Christi with which the Triune God uses the priest as an instrument for transforming the bread and wine into the real presence of God Almighty is incredible. Simultaneously, the conjugal act is a cosmic event as well. A man and a woman participate with God in a beautiful act that creates an immortal soul that will outlast the entire material universe. Thanks for listening.

- Adam

A. Dear Adam,

You feel an alternating, strong attraction to two very good but mutually exclusive ideals. The short of it is that at some stage you are going to have to make a decision. Besides, you seem unsuited to sitting on the fence.

What can I say that might help? Obviously, if I were able to tell you infallibly what God wants you to do, you might feel I had solved a problem for you, but I might only have sharpened it, for then you would know exactly which of these paths you were going to have to sacrifice the other for. What you are faced with are two wholly different ways of putting God at the center of your life, two different ways of becoming holy and leaving a positive legacy behind you. The question is not one to ask yourself or me, but Someone else: “Which of these paths do you want me to follow?”

The fact that you are so keenly aware of the value of a true marriage is reassuring. If you are called to be a priest but were to base your choice for celibacy on an aversion to marriage, or a false demeaning of marriage, there would be much lacking - the heart of celibacy and the joyful sacrifice out of love would not be there.

The very fact that time and time again your thoughts are brought back to the priesthood may be significant. There is a spiritual longing that seems to pull you beyond the material. Read Pope John Paul’s book “Gift and Mystery”, read the Gospels often, get into the habit of spending some time after Mass considering what a privilege it would be to be the one to make Christ present, and how many could benefit from your priesthood in the confessional. Think of the hearts you could direct and enlighten in your preaching and teaching. As a priest you won’t marry or have your own family, but think of how many families will be what God wants them to be through your priesthood, families you would otherwise never have touched...

Think about these things and let Christ speak to your heart. I will pray for you. God bless.

- Fr Anthony

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

A friend of mine has defined “vocation” as “the deepest desire of your heart”. I believe that this definition speaks to one aspect of what a vocation is, but it seems inadequate. She argues that since the deepest desire of her heart has always been to be married and have children, and she hasn’t any inclination to any other vocation, that she couldn’t possibly have a vocation to the consecrated life or the religious life. I am unsure of how to answer her, as I see signs that she might be called to the consecrated life. Any thoughts? Thank you very much! In Christ,

- Michelle

A. Dear Michelle,

Your friend is right in a way, (“You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our souls are not at rest until they rest in thee” - St Augustine), but this does not specifically address the essence of a vocation, which is a “call”. The word comes from the Latin vocare, “to call”. It is God’s doing in our souls.

Our deepest longing is not the defining element of the vocation, as a matter of fact it often turns out the other way around; we discover the real longings of our heart and soul when we discover our vocation. I know many who longed for marriage, but on perceiving a possible vocation and answering it, giving it a chance, they discovered a dimension to themselves that they didn’t know was there, the profound spiritual dimension, and a capacity to correspond with total spiritual and practical love to a total call God was giving them.

God bless.

- Fr Anthony

I exhort you with all my heart to be good and to respond attentively to all the Lord’s gifts. You should give more serious thought to the holiness you are obliged to achieve and the great responsibility that rests on your shoulders now that the Sacred Heart of Jesus has deigned to call you to a greater and more sublime vocation than the angels. I tremble to think of the possibility we have of betraying our Lord bringing his divine grace to naught. Jesus expects so much from you! Souls expect so much! The Church expects so much!...

Our Lord has seen fit to compel us in a thousand different ways to give ourselves to him. It seems he thirsts for your love. It seems he thirsts for you to bring him many souls. It seems that in the midst of his mystical agony that is always present every hour and minute he is counting on you to console him. How wretched of us if we were not to fulfill these desires of Jesus! How costly to scorn his love and mercy!

Take courage. Let your love for his Divine Heart drive you wholeheartedly to seek to become holy. Set aside any cowardice and ingratitude. Raise very high the spiritual level in your school. Seek holiness to become more like God, to be closer to him, to depend more on him for life, so that he will possess you and you him in time and eternity.

Gospel: Lk 1:39-56

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

Introduction Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, by contemplating the example of your Blessed Mother, help me grow in faith, hope, and love: to believe your word, to someday enjoy all eternity with you, and to love you and my neighbor.

Petition: Help me, Lord, to radiate your love for souls in all my dealings with others, as did your mother Mary.

1. The Feast of the Assumption Reminds Us of Our Ultimate Vocation

At the end of her earthly journey, Christ called his mother, Mary, to himself so she could eternally enjoy his company. The loving relationship begun here would now know no boundaries. The feast of the Assumption recalls this event.

However, feast days of the Church are more than just commemorations of past events. They are also intended to help us lead more fully our own Christian life. The Assumption helps to remind us that all people ultimately have a divine vocation, which means to live eternally with God (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1260). Therefore Mary, who is already body and soul with Christ in heaven, is the image and the beginning of the heavenly Church (Lumen Gentium #68). Seeing what God’s grace achieved in Mary fills us with hope to someday enjoy the same.

2. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

God created us in his image and likeness. The purpose of man’s life then is to reflect God’s glory in all his works (Veritatis Splendor #10). Sin had distorted that image, but Christ’s work of salvation restored it, creating the new man. So to the degree that we die to sin we will all the more be able to reflect God. Since sin had no part in her life, Mary was able to reflect God more perfectly: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

We are all called to magnify the Lord. Our words, actions, our very being must speak to the others of Christ. The sacraments and our life of prayer have this singular goal: to be Christ-like. Apostolate then becomes a logical consequence of our relationship to Christ. More than simply our activity, the apostolate is the Christian radiating Christ to others. This doesn’t substitute the effort that apostolate requires, but it is the heart of every apostolate. It is God who works through us.

3. Give Christ as Mary Did

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb.” Mary quickly made her way to Elizabeth in order to serve. Yet in the first instant it was the presence of Christ, which caused Elizabeth and her unborn child to rejoice. The close relationship between charity and evangelization becomes evident. If we want to give Christ to others it must be in a context of service: “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45). If a soul seems closed to Christ’s message at a given moment then show them charity, then their hearts will eventually be opened.

Dialogue: Lord Jesus Christ, I thank you for having entrusted me to your mother, Mary. She has truly been a gift in my life: accompanying me in good times and bad, always extending a helping hand and encouraging me to follow you more closely through her example of an unconditional acceptance of your most holy will. Through her intercession, I ask you for the grace for myself and those souls whom you have entrusted to me to follow your will faithfully until we are united to you eternally in heaven.

Questionnaire:

1. Is my relationship with Mary real, full of faith? What do I do to show her my love?

2. Do I pray the Rosary? How well do I pray? Is it something that helps me meditate on the mystery of Christ?

3. Do I try to imitate the virtues of Mary, such as faith, humility and charity? Which particular virtue do I most need to practice today?

8. How did your relatives take your decision to go to the seminary?

At the time I was very young and my father and some of my brothers thought it would be better if I waited and matured my vocation. My mother on the other hand supported me right from the start. Mothers have a sixth sense for perceiving their children’s interior situation. As a good mother, she told me not to say anything about it to my father, and told me not to worry about it in the least; she assured me she would work everything out. My father was not quick to understand a vocation at fourteen years old. I’m sure he thought it was just a whim since I was an adolescent. But I thank God that over time all of my family came to support and understand my vocation to be a priest as a gift for them too.

After so many years of working with priestly vocations, I’ve realized that parents who live by faith see their son’s vocation to priesthood or their daughter’s vocation to consecrated life as an enormous gift from God to the family. It’s true that humanly speaking the increased physical distance is a suffering that they must all offer up. But over time a special spiritual unity among all the family members develops around the son’s or daughter’s vocation. That family might, like any other, go through all kinds of trials. But thanks to the vocation of one of the children, they seem to have a special strength that enables them to live it all with new peace. It’s something unique, but you see it right away in families that are blessed with the gift of a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life.

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, August 15-17, 2003, Test Your Call Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Br Branigan Sherman at vocation@legionaries.org or at (800) 420-5409. Price: none.

Cornwall, ONT, August 15-17, Test Your Call Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Fr William Slattery at wslattery@legionaries.org or at (613) 931-1920. Price: none.

Cheshire, CT, October 17-19, 2003, Test Your Call Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Br Branigan Sherman at vocation@legionaries.org or at (800) 420-5409. Price: none.

Rome, Italy. December 27, 2003 - January 5, 2004. Youth Pilgrimage for boys ages 11-15. Price: $1,495 (includes airfare). Chaplains are the Legionaries of Christ. Contact Ray Arsenault at (902) 854-2808 or arsenaultacres@pei.sympatico.ca

Rome, Italy. December 27, 2003 - January 5, 2004. Pilgrimage for college-aged men and high school seniors. Price: $399 + airfare. Chaplains are the Legionaries of Christ. Contact Karolee Stauduhar at kstauduhar@msn.com or (407) 869-8263.

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated men

Call Tony MacDonnell 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