The word "vocation" means calling. God calls us to perform a certain work for which He has fitted us. Long before the world was made, each of us existed in the Mind of God. Long before we existed in our mother's womb He knew us and already had prepared a certain work for us in life. To that end He bestowed on us the necessary gifts. Hence a vocation does not mean a career or calling that we pick out for ourselves according to our likes and dislikes, but fulfilling the vocation that God has selected for us. There is only one consideration here, and that is the Holy Will of God.
Is it wrong not to follow your vocation?
Three freedoms intervene in the salvation of a soul: the freedom of God who grants grace as He wills, the freedom of each soul which can accept or reject that grace, and the freedom of each of us to be an instrument for good as regards other souls in a greater or lesser degree according to God's will. Now suppose that someone is called by God to cultivate a particular portion of His vineyard as a religious and she failed to respond to that call. What will become of those souls who might have been saved through her work? Think then of the terrible responsibility each vocation enjoins. A specific work destined by God from eternity awaits you. If you do not do it, it will remain undone. The evil of missing your vocation lies not so much in failing to correspond with God's greater graces, but rather in refusing to help those souls that may need your assistance. That is one of the reasons for the paltry number of religious vocations. God calls as many or more than He ever did, but the prevailing selfishness of this generation makes them heedless to any Will but their own—regardless of the consequences to the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment