The Gospel of Matthew and Vocations?
This past weekend I had the blessing of meeting some of the Sisters of Life from New York who were visiting our archdiocese to speak at various Eucharistic Adoration events being held to foster prayer for an increase in priestly and religious vocations and the protection of family life.
On Friday night, at the event held for university students, Sr. Mary Gabriel, SV, the vocations director for the Sisters of Life, spoke about the universal call to holiness as well as the struggle of discernment that many young Catholics face. She based her talk on Matthew 16.
As Catholics, most of us are very familiar with this passage and it's probably one of the few passages that many of us know exactly where to find in our Bibles. But have any of you ever thought of it in light of the whole question of vocational discernment? I certainly hadn't.
Sr. Mary Gabriel pointed out that as young adults many of us are discerning our vocation, or at least should be if we haven't already made vows or promises to a particular vocation. But maybe we're going about it the wrong way. We ask God questions such as "What do you want me to do?" "Where are you calling me?" "What is my vocation?" "What should I do with the rest of my life?" and get furstrated when God doesn't provide a neon sign over our heads with an answer. While these questions are important, Sr. Mary Gabriel suggested that perhaps they should not be the first questions we ask in vocational discernment, but rather we need to first ask, "Who am I?" It's essential that we find the answer to this question before we ask the other questions. And where do we find the answer? Where do we find the answer to the question of I am? In Christ. Our identity is found in Christ. And so, when we recognize Christ and identify Him, we in turn discover our own identity. It is then, once we discover who we are in Christ, that He gives us our vocation.
Simon son of Jonah properly identifies Christ as "the Messiah, the son of the living God." After having identified Christ, Christ turns to Simon and reveals his identity to him by giving him the new name "Peter." Having discovered his identity in Christ, Peter is then given his vocation, "you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church."
Previous to this weekend I had never thought about this famous passage from Matthew in light of vocational discernment, but it seems to make a lot of sense to me. Not only does it make sense, it is very relevant to every vocation, whether one is called to the priesthood, religious life, marriage or single life. To discover our vocation we need to discover first who we are in Christ.
On Friday night, at the event held for university students, Sr. Mary Gabriel, SV, the vocations director for the Sisters of Life, spoke about the universal call to holiness as well as the struggle of discernment that many young Catholics face. She based her talk on Matthew 16.
"When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Phillipi he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:13-18)
As Catholics, most of us are very familiar with this passage and it's probably one of the few passages that many of us know exactly where to find in our Bibles. But have any of you ever thought of it in light of the whole question of vocational discernment? I certainly hadn't.
Sr. Mary Gabriel pointed out that as young adults many of us are discerning our vocation, or at least should be if we haven't already made vows or promises to a particular vocation. But maybe we're going about it the wrong way. We ask God questions such as "What do you want me to do?" "Where are you calling me?" "What is my vocation?" "What should I do with the rest of my life?" and get furstrated when God doesn't provide a neon sign over our heads with an answer. While these questions are important, Sr. Mary Gabriel suggested that perhaps they should not be the first questions we ask in vocational discernment, but rather we need to first ask, "Who am I?" It's essential that we find the answer to this question before we ask the other questions. And where do we find the answer? Where do we find the answer to the question of I am? In Christ. Our identity is found in Christ. And so, when we recognize Christ and identify Him, we in turn discover our own identity. It is then, once we discover who we are in Christ, that He gives us our vocation.
Simon son of Jonah properly identifies Christ as "the Messiah, the son of the living God." After having identified Christ, Christ turns to Simon and reveals his identity to him by giving him the new name "Peter." Having discovered his identity in Christ, Peter is then given his vocation, "you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church."
Previous to this weekend I had never thought about this famous passage from Matthew in light of vocational discernment, but it seems to make a lot of sense to me. Not only does it make sense, it is very relevant to every vocation, whether one is called to the priesthood, religious life, marriage or single life. To discover our vocation we need to discover first who we are in Christ.
posted by DP | 5:22 PM
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