A VOCATION TO SERVE GOD
Glen Leo Mendonca,
Pastoral Associate
By our Baptism, each one of us is invited to carry on Jesus' mission and serve others
A VOCATION is an invitation to serve God and the Church in a special way. There are many kinds of vocations.
St. Francis De Sales said "A good vocation is simply a firm and constant will in which the called person has to serve God in the way and in the places to which the Almighty God has called him / her".
Some people in our Church are called by God to be ordained ministers as they receive the Sacrament of the Holy Orders. They are bishops, priests and deacons. Others are called by God to live as religious sisters or brothers. Sometimes lay people choose to work full-time carrying on Jesus' mission. They are called pastoral ministers. Many women and men are called by God to the vocation of marriage. Other men and women are called by God to live as single persons.
During this week, ask God's help to know the vocation He has given you. 1. Samuel 3:10 says "SPEAK, LORD, YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING" Ask God to help you to build His kingdom at home and in your parish community and in our world.
"Taken from among men and made their representative before God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins"
The Priesthood is a divine vocation and a gift. No one can claim this dignity himself, but only those who are called by God. Hebrews 5:4 "One does not take upon himself, but he is called by God". The priesthood is the nerve center of the Church's whole life and mission. It is a mystery. The priest is a man of the Eucharist (in persona Christi at the altar). Holy Mass is the absolute center of the priest's life and of every day of his life. He is a man of prayer. He nourishes people with what He himself lives on and he is the mediator between God and men.
Are Priests needed or are they still necessary? YES. The identity of the priests "being ourselves" is taken from the Letter to the Hebrews 5:1, "taken from among men and made their representative before God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins" They fulfill their vocation totally by trusting in God's support and constantly striving for holiness.
The joy of a priests comes when he feels the comfort of the deep friendship which binds him to Jesus and unites him with his fellow priests and the comfort of experiencing the joy of seeing the flock of God grow in an ever greater love for him and for all people.
As we pray for our priests, Timothy 1:6 says "the grace to rekindle daily the gift of God you have received with the laying on of hands". May Mary most holy Mother of priests, sustain our priests with her example and intercession.
John 1, 6 says "There was a man named John sent by God, who came as a witness to testify to the light, so that through him all men might believe."
The Church continues the mission of Jesus, whose teaching has come down to us through the apostles. The ministry of catechesis serves the Church in that mission and the person of the catechist is the medium in which the message of faith is incarnated
A catechist not only is to have a clear understanding of the teaching of Christ and His Church but they have to receive and respond to a ministerial call that comes from God and articulated in the local Church by the Bishop, and the parish priest. The response to this calls included willingness to give time and talent, not only to catechizing children but to one's own continued growing in faith and understanding.
Effective catechesis depends a great deal on human effort: on planning, performance, and evaluation, on personal qualities and commitment with an aptitude and ability to communicate the Gospel message. Especially it depend upon the faith, hope, and love of catechists, responding to God's grace by growing in these virtues and ministering to others.
In the end all members of a community of believers are called to share in this ministry by being witnesses to the faith. Search your heart and see if God has placed a call in you.
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