“Today I understand vocation quite differently – not as a goal to be achieved but as a gift to be received. Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already possess. Vocation does not come from a voice “out there” calling me to be something I am not. It comes from a voice “in here” calling me to be the person I was born to be, to fulfill the original self given to me by God at birth.” – Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak
That insight is hidden in the word vocation itself, which is rooted in Latin for “voice.” Vocation does not mean a goal that I pursue. It means a calling that I hear. At the present moment I feel that the Lord has been so generous in planting so many desires, that it’s difficult to process which one to choose. I feel pulled in so many different directions, all of which are good things.
Pope Francis, in one of his homilies, said, “So many times our heart is a road, everything passes there. Put it to the test! Do I always choose the things that come from God? Do I know which are the things that come from God? Do I know the true criterion by which to discern my thoughts, my desires? Do I test what I think, what I want, what I desire, or do I accept it all without discerning?”
I pray that I may seek the Lord in the silence and in the stillness. There are so many inspirations of stories, of people around me, and the Saints whose lives I admire and seek to follow. I know the Lord has also called me for a purpose, specific to the present time, to the present need of those around me, and the present desires of my heart. I am hopeful that at the end of this life, the Lord won’t ask me, “Why were you not Moses? Why were you not Ruth?” Instead He might ask, “Why were you not Erin?”
I pray that God may always guide me in discovering the best way to live. A life of virtue, of peace, and of joy.
I am also praying with you and for you, my brothers and sisters 🙂 Praise God for He is always so good.