Yesterday, as you know, was Good Shepherd Sunday and the Church asks us to pray specifically for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
My priest said, “What does it mean to pray for more priests and religious? Is it simply to ask for more numbers? No, I think there is something else, especially for those in the vocation of marriage.
You need to pray that your marriage is a place where children can learn what it means to lay down one’s life. They need to see sacrifice. How can we expect people to enter into the priesthood and religious life, asking so many sacrifices of them, if the homes they grow up in do not model it?”
He is so very right.
So often, we look at the vocations of the priesthood and the religious life as the ones that should sacrifice, go without, and be utterly obedient to God and His Church, but we don’t see that people are encouraged to embrace those things if they have seen them modeled through their parents.
My husband and I are called to lay down our lives for each other and our children.
We are called to be generous with our time, talent, and treasure.
We are called to be obedient to God and the teachings of His Church.
These aspects will look a bit different for each vocation, Catholic Pilgrims, but the spirit of each one needs to be there.
Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Monday.
