By Father Rich Tomkosky
All of us are called to the Lord and His heart in a unique way, by His quiet voice stirring in our souls (see the story of Elijah in the Old Testament) or more directly like the prophet Isaiah. Some of us are called to become priests and religious; some of us are called to get married and raise a family; some of us are called to remain single to serve the Lord. But all of us are called to become saints. We are called to be holy as the Lord is holy. The call to sanctity begins when we receive the Sacrament of Baptism.
Every one of us is given a unique mission by the Lord to help build up His Mystical Body, the Church, and to help spread the gift of our Catholic faith to the whole world, by all that we say, think, and do.
Each human being is living at this point in history, in God’s Providential plan to fulfill a specific mission for God. Our life has ultimate meaning and purpose because God is with us and wants to use as an instrument to draw others to Himself.
How exciting if we comprehend the meaning of this! We are not a “face in the crowd,” but uniquely loved and valued by the Lord for who we are and what we are called to do to build up His Kingdom of Holiness if we are open to His calling.
We have a mission. Have we discovered our mission or calling in life? Today is the day to open our inner self up to this most profound reality if we haven’t already! If we have entered our vocational path already, the question is: how can I live it more faithfully to the Lord, and embrace it with greater love? And to take the concrete spiritual and human steps to do it: to develop a “rule of life” to help us live in the presence of God throughout the day and to serve Him in ever deepening generosity and love.
What is the root of all “calls” or vocations? A personal encounter with the Lord! If the Lord is not REAL to us, then there is NO WAY we are going to turn our life over to Him; and our witness to Him is going to be rather non-existent. He is there to be found, but we must ask Him to reveal His face to us. When we encounter the Lord like Isaiah did, the response of the human heart is to say: Here I am, send me Lord!
I remember that exciting dynamic in my own life, when I first encountered the Lord in a personal way back in 1989, when I was 17 years old. It was such an awesome experience: knowing that He truly loved me in a personal and unique way. The fruit that eventually came out of that experience is that I discovered the reason I was placed on earth at this time: to serve Him in the noble mission as an ordained priest! Wow.
The Lord will show His face to you as well, in a unique way depending on your temperament, character, circumstances, and background if you ask Him from the depths of your heart and allow Him to work and purify you in the ways of His Holiness over time; and then when He does show you His face spiritually, be willing to say YES to the mission He is calling you to, because we also do have the freedom to say NO. Not my will but Your will be done O Lord. This needs to be the motto of our life as our Blessed Mother Mary exemplifies in her life.
Following the Lord’s call brings inner peace, joy, and ultimate purpose to our life. Does that mean it is always easy to do so? No! It is an ongoing challenge to do God’s will rather than our own. It takes much prayer, reflection, reading, and some encouragement from others, self-confidence rooted in the Lord, courage from God, penance, and truly seeking fulfillment on a higher plane rather than settling for the sinful, passing, but tangible pleasures of the flesh and the world which are always tempting us on some level because they are right before our eyes.
We humans in reality are always being tempted by the evil one and our fallen nature to settle for less than the noble mission of holiness that God is calling us to. Remember, the Lord’s way is the better way. Many people today don’t know this reality, and so they seek meaning in the passing pleasures of life which in the end leave us empty in the depths of our being.
May we all discover our calling in the Lord, and then respond with generosity, so that we can be filled with the joy and peace of the Lord and bring the Good News of Salvation in Him to others by all that we say and think and do. I am here to help you discern if you ever want to talk about these matters. God bless you.
Recommended Reading:
What Does God Want? By Fr. Michael Scanlon. Our Sunday Visitor Press. 1996.
Father Rich Tomkosky is the Pastor of Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish in Bedford and the Pastor of Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Beans Cove.
