Year IV, Number 39

Its universal presence and the evangelical nature of its witness are clear evidence — if any were needed — that the consecrated life is not something isolated and marginal, but a reality which affects the whole Church. The Bishops at the Synod frequently reaffirmed this: “de re nostra agitur”, “this is something which concerns us all”. In effect, the consecrated life is at the very heart of the Church as a decisive element for her mission, since it “manifests the inner nature of the Christian calling” and the striving of the whole Church as Bride towards union with her one Spouse. At the Synod it was stated on several occasions that the consecrated life has not only proved a help and support for the Church in the past, but is also a precious and necessary gift for the present and future of the People of God, since it is an intimate part of her life, her holiness and her mission. The present difficulties which a number of Institutes are encountering in some parts of the world must not lead to a questioning of the fact that the profession of the evangelical counsels is an integral part of the Church’s life and a much-needed incentive towards ever greater fidelity to the Gospel. The consecrated life may experience further changes in its historical forms, but there will be no change in the substance of a choice which finds expression in a radical gift of self for love of the Lord Jesus and, in him, of every member of the human family. This certainty, which has inspired countless individuals in the course of the centuries, continues to reassure the Christian people, for they know that they can draw from the contribution of these generous souls powerful support on their journey towards the heavenly home.

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

I am a young man of 17. As I’ve grown, I have considered the priesthood. For about two years I seriously discerned if this was God’s calling for me. I will honestly say I did not want to be a priest; I’ve always had dreams of getting married and having a big family (like the family I am from). As of right now I do not feel a calling to the priesthood, but my spiritual director feels I may have one. He has asked me what my feelings are towards the subject, and I have answered that I don’t feel this is the direction God is calling me. Since then he has told me I have “a lot of good qualities” that might suggest I could be called to the priesthood. So I guess my question is, even though at this time I may not feel a calling to the priesthood, should I go in that direction because my spiritual director believes it is a possibility? And even though I do not feel a calling towards the priesthood, I have not felt a calling in any other direction either, so is this the road I should take? I am trying to stay as open as I can to wherever God leads me, but at the same time I personally don’t want to be a priest. Are my selfish desires getting in the way of a possible vocation? I thank you in advance for any advice you have for me. God bless.

- Claude

A. Dear Claude,

That calling to the priesthood can come in many ways. Most of us had other plans, and then something happened that brought the vocation to the fore - an idea that seemed to come out of nowhere, a person who impressed us, the suggestion of a friend, even a scare...

You can’t go in the direction of the priesthood if you don’t think you have the calling. You can stay open to God, you can ask him for light, you can even offer yourself to him. But you can’t step out on the road to a vocation unless you are convinced he is or may be calling you.

I think what you need to do is to continue to strengthen your relationship with Christ. Take care of and work to grow in your life of grace, and do some apostolate. After you receive him in Communion, talk with him: thank him for the many graces he has given you, your faith and your family especially; think over with him the needs people have, why God gave you the gift of life and the gift of faith; offer yourself to him and make sure you start doing something now to help others; use those qualities you have. Pray the Rosary and ask Mary to guide you. If you do these things you will be making it possible for God to speak to you, and you will be preparing yourself to be able to listen to him when he does start giving you hints.

God bless.

- Fr Anthony

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

I have a urge to be a Carmelite nun. I pray about it all the time, and I hope God will direct me in the right path. Even though I have an urge to be a Carmelite, sometimes I fell God is calling me to be a mother or to the single life. Is this a mix-up of feelings, or is it normal? Please help me. I will continue to pray as usual.

- Anoymous

A. Dear Anonymous,

All the possibilities are there in your life. It is both a mix-up of feelings and normal. We are all like that. The trouble with a vocation is that it is not as clear as the decisions we have to make between what is right and what is wrong. In these cases the answer is obvious, but in the vocation: marriage and family is good, single life for God is good, religious vocation is good. So which good do we pick? We know we could do any one of them with God’s help, so we don’t know where to turn and we get confused.

Usually when the vocation comes into our mind and persists, there is something to it. It can often be God speaking to us. If you have not done so already, I would encourage you to go and visit a Carmelite Convent; if there is one in your city go there often to pray; speak to one of the sisters. Once they get to know you a little they will be able to tell you if it sounds like a vocation to them, and what to do next.

God bless.

- Fr Anthony

Gospel: John 1:47-51

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Introductory prayer: Lord, I believe that you are the Son of God, the King of Israel. I believe that you know me in the intimacy of my heart. I want to take these few minutes of silence I have to pray, to open my heart to you and to allow you to teach me and to form me to be a person of character and sincerity like Nathanael.

Petition: Lord, make me at true disciple of yours.

1. Jesus Knows Me

It is not so unusual the Jesus saw Nathanael under a fig tree. Fig trees, olive trees, and grape vines provided rabbis with a shady place where they could study and teach. What Christ must have seen under the fig tree was a man of sincerity and faith. Perhaps Jesus saw Nathaneal teaching, praying, or studying. Jesus has only made the acquaintance of Nathanael but still he knows him intimately. That view of Nathaneal under the fig tree told Jesus a lot of things. Jesus knows the hearts of men, he knows their virtues and their vices. He also knows me very well - my sincerity, my eagerness to follow him, my weaknesses and failings. I should not be surprised at what Jesus tells me in prayer because he knows exactly who he is talking to.

2. Jesus Appreciates Sincerity

When Philip brings Nathanael to Jesus, Jesus is quick with a word of praise, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” The sincerity of Nathanael, his lack of duplicity, is obviously something Jesus greatly appreciates. Nathanael is a man of God who is sincerely searching for the truth about the Messiah. He does not have ulterior motives. His intentions are pure. These are all virtues that are pleasing to God. I must strive to please God in the same way with my sincerity and purity of intention.

3. Greater Things Than This

Nathanael is amazed that Jesus knows him so well. Jesus tells him he will see greater things than this. There is much that Jesus wants to show me and teach me. Being a disciple of Christ opens the door to a much deeper understanding of divine reality. I have only to approach Our Lord with a sincere and humble heart and he will make these things known to me.

Dialogue: Lord, you know me. You know the depths of my heart. You know how sincerely I wish to discover you and follow you. Do not hide yourself from me. Show me the great things of heaven. I know that I am a sinner, but please do not look on my sin but on my humble and contrite heart. I want to be your faithful disciple as Nathanael was.

Questionnaire:

1. Am I sincerely searching for Christ and his will in my life? Do I realize that Jesus will not be pleased with me if there is no sincerity in my heart?

2. Has it dawned on me that Christ knows me through and through, that he sees me even when I am not aware of it? Does this give me confidence, or does it make me afraid that he will see my sin and insincerity?

3. Do I realize that there are many wonderful things that Christ wants to show me, or do I tend to think that there is nothing new that can be revealed to me?

Those evenings of meditation during my adolescence, on a hill south of my home town of Cotija, also taught me that creatures are a means that God has given me to unite myself with Him and praise Him in my pilgrim's walk through time. I have been able to enjoy intensely the harmony of creation in all the manifestations of its beauty. The breaking of each new dawn, birds singing, a murmuring brook, the towering mass of mountains, the lively-colored fields of spring, the calm and fresh autumn evening breeze, the sky bright with stars on a clear night - all the beauty that nature offers me has been a path to find God. As far as human relations go, I have been able to see the value of true friendship, the beauty of grateful souls, and also the affection that many people have shown me. However, over and above all this, absolutely and overwhelmingly my complete and exclusive attachment to God has always prevailed. He is the immovable and eternal "rock" who upholds all my certitudes, my longings, my convictions; God, the only love that has enraptured my heart. He is the source and exclusive goal of my temporal and eternal destiny.

I came awake to life then, as I grew out of childhood and I found myself on a path with most of it yet to travel. My goal was distant on the horizon and very clear: to give myself to loving Christ, and to preaching and extending his Kingdom among all men. The means were also there, though I had to fight to obtain them and channel them towards the objective. And I had the parameters in which I would move: a fixed amount of time of unknown duration-whatever lifespan He had chosen to give me.

I set out on the path and quickened my step. Every second I used well would bring me closer to my goal. Every second wasted would keep me back. With this awareness, I opted from the outset that my life would bear the stamp of unremitting battle. Once I experienced God's gift to me of his infinite and merciful love, I have always thought what a grave injustice and offense against love it was to waste even an instant of the time I had to do something for Him. In my fight for the Kingdom the results I get will never match up to my desires, and this has forced me, with the chains of love, to give myself totally and ceaselessly, sparing neither fatigue nor weakness, seeking in every endeavor to produce the greatest return on the minimum investment of time.

I would like [...] to mention that above and beyond the normal differences that you might point out among the various religious groups in the Church – those of a cultural, spiritual, apostolic nature – I think it important to understand what unites us all. In this sense I would like to recall the oft-quoted but always inspiring chapter 12 of Saint Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians: “There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them” (1 Cor 12:4-6). All the congregations and movements have the same purpose: to serve the Church. The same Spirit has raised them up, although each one serves according to the particular gift received. The person who tends the sores of a poor, dying person out of love for Christ serves the Church as much as the one who writes a book on theology for the same motive and with the same intention. What matters is that we are all here to build Church, and that we respect our own and each other’s charism as each one serves the same cause wherever God has placed us.

The annals of history speak of rivalries between religious orders and groups. I believe all of this is human. We all have to keep in mind that Christ’s supreme prayer for the unity of believers should apply within the Church first of all. Thankfully there is a renewed awareness of this need. In recent years the heads or founders of the new Church movements have held regular meetings in Rome that are proving very fruitful towards achieving the kind of unity where differences are complementary and never antagonistic. In these encounters we have been insisting particularly on the need to encourage true Gospel charity within each movement, among the movements, and in each person’s relationships with others.

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, 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. 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.

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Copyright 2004, Legion of Christ.

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