As the World Day of Prayer for Vocations approaches, naturally my focus of reflection lately has been on the Christian Vocation and particularly the priestly and religious vocations.
Once a young religious asked an elder religious brother: How do you know for sure, 100%, that this is your vocation? And the elderly La Salle Brother William, with a serene smile, peacefully and confidently replied: “When I breathe my last, then I will know for sure, 100%”. While his words seemed to show a sense of uncertainty and vulnerability, his body language manifested a sense of total openness and surrender to God’s loving plan for him. There was an enormous sense of perfect peace and deep joy in him. This elderly Brother’s motto in life was: To make people happy. And this he did for many years not only to the children entrusted to his care but even right to the final lap of his life’s journey in St Joseph’s Home where he also showed me what total abandonment to God was.
For some of us, our need for a loud and clear voice from God has been a major obstacle in our decision making with regards to the call to priesthood or religious life. For some others, we dare not face the issue of the possibility of being called. My former lecturer in the Philippines, Sr. Barbara Bowe, provides some useful tips in the latest Catholic News [dated 25 April 2010] for those who sincerely wish to reflect about God’s call for them. Let me stretch its heading a little further: What will you do with your life, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, when you have only one life to live?
Finally let me share with you my little adaptation of a prayer by Thomas Merton:
“My Lord God, I am not 100% sure where I am going or do I see very clearly the road ahead of me. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you and I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road. I will not fear, for you are ever with me and you will never leave me to face my challenges alone.”
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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Gregory Chan on 27th Apr 2010.
Once a young religious asked an elder religious brother: How do you know for sure, 100%, that this is your vocation? And the elderly La Salle Brother William, with a serene smile, peacefully and confidently replied: “When I breathe my last, then I will know for sure, 100%”. While his words seemed to show a sense of uncertainty and vulnerability, his body language manifested a sense of total openness and surrender to God’s loving plan for him. There was an enormous sense of perfect peace and deep joy in him. This elderly Brother’s motto in life was: To make people happy. And this he did for many years not only to the children entrusted to his care but even right to the final lap of his life’s journey in St Joseph’s Home where he also showed me what total abandonment to God was.
For some of us, our need for a loud and clear voice from God has been a major obstacle in our decision making with regards to the call to priesthood or religious life. For some others, we dare not face the issue of the possibility of being called. My former lecturer in the Philippines, Sr. Barbara Bowe, provides some useful tips in the latest Catholic News [dated 25 April 2010] for those who sincerely wish to reflect about God’s call for them. Let me stretch its heading a little further: What will you do with your life, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, when you have only one life to live?
Finally let me share with you my little adaptation of a prayer by Thomas Merton:
“My Lord God, I am not 100% sure where I am going or do I see very clearly the road ahead of me. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you and I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road. I will not fear, for you are ever with me and you will never leave me to face my challenges alone.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stay tuned for the next post by Br Gregory Chan on 27th Apr 2010.
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