DI S CE RN ME NT I N T H E MODE RN W OR L D
is breathing his Spirit into you to bring
you to life! He is awakening you to
what Christ came to give you, the full-
ness of life that comes from knowing
him and receiving the free gift of his
salvation. He is renewing his Church
in her identity as God’s beloved peo-
ple, the bride of Christ and temple of
the Holy Spirit, sent forth to transform
the world in the light of the Gospel’”
(Unleash the Gospel 3.4).
Hear, awaken, and receive. Renew and
transform the world. Archbishop Vigner-
on offers a unique summary of our voca-
tion and mission as members of the arch-
diocese even as we individually discern
our particular call from God.
The starting point for vocational dis-
cernment is grounded in a life centered
on Christ. In his first encyclical, Deus
Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI pointed
to that foundational relationship. “Being
a Christian is not the result of an ethical
choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter
with an event, a person, which gives life
a new horizon and a decisive direction.”
This personal encounter with Jesus is the
source from which all other relationships
are sustained. These encounters which
we experience throughout our lives build
upon one another and expand our under-
standing of who we are and what we are
called to be.
In the book, “Unrepeatable: Cultivating
the Unique Calling of Every Person,” the
authors (Luke Burgis & Joshua Miller) lay
out five foundational aspects of building a
culture of vocations.
Personal encounter is primary to sustain-
ing and clarifying a vocation. Those who
claim to be a Christian know they did
not become one on their own. Turning
to my vocation story, someone taught me
how to pray, inspired my conversion to
Christ and showed me how to be a dis-
ciple. It was the encouraging word and
the affirmation of my fellow Catholics
that helped me when I doubted my own
vocation to the priesthood. As one who
received encouragement I now add my
voice to theirs to help others to discover
and embrace their vocation.
Language is the second element for
building a culture of vocations. Truth and
love comprise the language of vocation
emanating from the heart of the Gospel.
Our truest identity as beloved sons and
daughters of God the Father was revealed
to us in Christ. The mission and vocation
we are given also has a divine origin and
is sustained by divine love. Quoting from
the archbishop earlier, “…hear the word
of the Lord! The Lord is breathing his
Spirit into you to bring you to life!” The
mission and vocation of every disciple has
a divine origin. It is not merely a human
endeavor by which I use my natural ca-
pacities to fulfill my own happiness. For
example, marriage as a vocation is not
simply a civil contract endorsed by two
people. Rather it is a covenant of self-
giving, founded on the truth of Christ’s
sacrificial love. The vocation of husband
and wife does not simply depend on their
human ability to peacefully coexist. Their
vocation is sustained by their relationship
with Christ. They reveal the love of Christ
for his Church, which points back to the
love of the Father whom Jesus revealed.
Every vocation comes from God and leads
back to God. It takes a special language to
communicate this truth.
The last three elements essential to
nurturing a culture of vocation are pre-
scriptions to be applied to the current
culture which replaces personal vocation-
al discernment with pithy ads. First, try
to restore wonder “as an antidote to calcu-
lation,” (this is to reduce a person’s value
into what they can do for me). A healthy
dose of wonder can lift our heads from
the gutter of distraction and narcissism
to imagine the great things God has in
store for us.
Another prescription is the very Incar-
nation itself. By taking on human flesh Je-
sus transformed humanity forever. As the
priest says sotto voce at Mass, “By the mys-
tery of this water and wine may we come
to share in the divinity of Christ who
humbled himself to share in our human-
ity.” Jesus didn’t cast off his humanity
like a garment after his resurrection. In-
stead, the apostles encountered him and
accompanied him by way of his human-
ity. Eating, walking and speaking are the
very means by which they connected to
him. It seems appropriate then to allow
our own humanity to accompany today’s
disciples as they discern their vocations,
for through it Christ is communicated.
“We will not build a culture of vocation
by proposing high-minded ideas but by
living out our vocations in hot-blooded
bodies that can touch, feel, see, hear, and
taste the reality of God and proclaim the
Gospel through them” (p. 144).
Finally, allow creativity to inspire young
disciples to discover the truth of their
own vocation. There is something about
creativity that allows the touch of the “cre-
ator” to come through. We are not cook-
ies cut from the gingerbread of conformity
but are members of the body of Christ,
equal yet distinct, with a dignity that God
has bestowed. The youth of today are look-
ing for a special kind of accompaniment
as they discern God’s activity in their
lives: “They expect to be accompanied not
by an unbending judge, nor by a fearful
and hyper-protective parent who gener-
ates dependence, but by someone who is
not afraid of his weakness and is able to
make the treasure it holds within, like an
earthen vessel, shine” (Instrumentum Labo-
ris, no. 142). As an example of the kind
of creativity that inspires, I leave you with
a quote from St. Pope John Paul II in his
1992 address anticipating the World Day
of Prayer for Vocations:
“But most of all I address the youth of
today, and I say to them: Let yourselves
be seduced by the Eternal One, repeat-
ing the words of the ancient prophet:
‘You duped me, O Lord ... you were
too strong for me and you triumphed’”
(Jer 20:7).
Let yourselves be charmed by Christ,
the Infinite who appeared among you in
visible and imitable form… Let yourselves
be loved by the love of the Holy Spirit…
Fall in love with Jesus Christ, to live his
very life, so that our world may have life in
the light of the Gospel.
Fr. Joseph Horn is the director of vocations for
the Archdiocese of Detroit.
shms.edu
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