Most of us, if expecting or hoping to be called at all, may be anticipating something easily recognized and readily incorporated into our lives with little or no rearrangement of our routines. But any one of us can be called in ways that may not be easily accepted, either by ourselves or by others. In such cases a vocation will define itself by insistence, by its breaking down of resistance, and our
eventual recognition and acceptance of its challenge. A calling cannot become a
genuine vocation without its being recognized and accepted, and without its following
having become a desire.
Most of the early friars were lay people, and I frequently have to remind myself that St. Francis of
An excellent piece by Bret Thoman, SFO, on St. Francis and the Church, goes into these aspects of his life. It can be found at: http://www.stfrancispilgrimages.com/images_2/Church.pdf
We use the word ‘vocation’ when speaking of some areas of work outside the recognizable limits of the Church. Not all doctors, nurses, and teachers (among others) have had a profound call into their spheres of work, but those who have, often become real blessings to their profession and to the people to whom they devote their lives. They are frequently the ones behind the benefits and improvements, as well as the cheerfully purposeful atmospheres which become apparent in their places of work, and just as frequently they go almost unnoticed by the world around them. They are responding to their calls, and have no wish to be doing anything else; they love their work, and they excel because they are where they are meant to be.
When this form of vocation in Christians is combined with a conviction that it is also a spiritual calling, there is no question in their minds about what they should be doing. They follow the Spirit’s lead and a small corner of the world becomes a better place because of it. They are sent out, and they go; Christ goes with them, and His church is strengthened and enlarged through their commitment.
Two friends come immediately to mind. One is a teacher: an exceptional and much loved teacher. She had never wanted to do anything other than teach, and only changed schools when she felt irresistibly called by God to do so. She has already worked well past normal retiring age, but this very day, she has finally made known to her school and its governors, that she will be finishing at the end of this school year. A difficult decision for her, but one that had to be made at some time. Precisely because it was, and is, her vocation, she will never truly feel that she should stop; but I suspect that she will soon be called upon to use her gifts in other ways: ways as yet not discernible. God never ceases to have need of such people.
The other person retired some years ago, but is still very much involved in the parish in which she worked and in which she became well known as an exceptional friend to many; always present, always listening, always hearing; always soothing, healing, helping and loving; always God’s Gift in so many lives and situations. When I last spoke with her, she told me that she is still where she is because that is where God has called her to be.
For both women, after years of following their call, how calming, how exciting, and how empowering it must feel to be sure of such a thing. They too have, in a sense, found themselves back at the beginning; a new beginning. They are conscious once again of being called by their name, as they were when they first answered “Yes”. And their answer now will be that same willingness to be used where God wills.
