People grow up with the Idea that when they
become adults they have to study a lot to work and earn a reasonable amount of Money
and raise a family. For some people not necessarily in the same order. It seems
a mere social ritual. Some young people then start a crazy journey looking for the
high ranked school to get a good job to
finally constitute a family. Sometimes this last part is not even considered
due to many reasons.
For other people, it seems that this routine doesn’t satisfies. Or else, the social ritual for itself doesn’t make sense. It seems that study an undergraduate course for itself doesn’t fulfiil them. It seems that a job even with commitment and professionalism for itself doesn’t fulfill them. It also seems that having a family even raising it with love, but also because it seems a natural law doesn’t fulfill them. Isn’t it enough? Wouldn’t people like to have it? A formation that allow them to get an excellent job and have conditions to raise a family?
For some people, not. In fact, not. It is not enough. What they long is the possibility of fulfillment giving themselves, loving the others, and not always profession or family are the path for these achievements.
The Roman Catholic Church celebrates every august the month of vocations, where it is reflected about the specific vocations within her.
Vocation is something that is part of the identity of somebody, what is well defined within God’s heart: Somebody is man or woman, is son/daughter of God, has or not a specific vocation and has a state of life. This is what everyone can be.
If there is a specific vocation, it is always the result of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, with his Love. Because people fell loved, a necessity arises to correspond to this love. A question arises: What should I do? Being a priest? A religious vocation? A lay faithful? The Guy can be a priest. The Priest has the mission to administer the sacraments and lead the people of God spiritually. The religious men and women according to the charism of their institute seek to realize a specific apostolate according to their rules of life. Some lay faithful belong to an Association living a consecrated life as lay, while other don’t. They are widespread in many possible and conceivable activities of everyday life (work, family, culture, education, science, economics… etc). There they live their vocation. For lay faithful it is still possible to exert fatherhood or motherhood through marriage, where they cooperate with God with their ability to generate life.
What is the difference so far? Isn’t it simply an individual choice? Isn’t the person who chooses what he/she wants? I’d say that before they choose, it is something that is already inside them. It blooms according the person deepens in the experience of God. After all, God created everyone with a seed, with an identity, and vocation is not something I’m called to be: It is something I am. And if I am, the more I live my vocation, the more myself I will be. It is always for the others. It’s an answer of Love.
When deepen the experience of God somebody can find out that God created him to be a lay faithful, whose mission is the world of work. And to live this mission in a better way he needs to study and to be a good professional, and that besides being a lay faithful he is called to marriage to giving himself, raise a family within the plan of God. Yes. This is a vocation. For some people, it is not enough. Is it enough for you?
