Is God calling us to a Devoted Life?
The answer to the above question is a resounding YES. THE SCRIPTURE DESCRIBES who are called and how and why they are called. The entire nation of Israel is called to be God’s own people. (Ex.19:3-6) and to be the light of the nations (Is.42:6). This call is transferred to the Christian community in the New Testament writings, you are a chosen race-------people of God. (1 Pet. 2:9-10).
Often those called are commissioned to carry out special , tasks. Some who are called to specific tasks are very talented. Others are barely gifted. In each case, the call of God demands something specific. The call goes out to commoners like Abraham and Sarah to kings like David and Saul, to prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah and to apostles like Peter and Paul, to disciples like Samaritan woman and Mary Magdalene. To listen to the specific calls, we need prayerful, listening and discerning hearts.
The divine call can come to us in different ways. God may address this directly (Moses, Aaron, Samuel, Gideon, Amos etc) or through some intermediary as in the case of David or Mary of Nazareth. In the New Testament, this call comes from Jesus him self, or through the Christian community for mission, service and ministries. God always initiates the call, and commissions the called. In spite of the divine assistance, the called is, many times, frightened or ambivalent and experiences limitations. (Peter, Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah).
Often God does not call the ‘qualified’, but ‘qualifies’ the called. Jesus gave the apostles the power to drive out devils in his name and perform miracles. He breathed out on them the Holy Spirit. The entire called together make up one body of Christ. The Holy Spirit provides gifts and charisms in the community and guides and strengthens every one to perform diverse ministries. The likelihood of suffering and sacrifice are high in those who are called to follow Jesus as his disciples. They are challenged to proclaim and witness to the Reign of God. As disciples of Jesus, His life becomes our life and His mission our Mission.
Every call from God is a person to person call. The first call of God is to existence. Then the call to be ourselves in the particular way of life to which God calls us. So, we need to accept life gratefully as we have it. We need to accept joyfully ourselves with whatever talents or deficiencies we have. We need to accept and celebrate our special calling in married life, to be a married person, to be a single person, a religious or a priest. Besides saying “yes” to existence in general, we must say a personal ‘yes’ to our own existence, to ourselves, which includes our appearance, to personality, character, intelligence, body etc.
To lead a devout life, we need daily to ‘listen to the word of God and live by it’ Blessed Virgin Mary listened and responded to her call: ‘Let it be done to me as you have said’. She also had the habit of ‘storing up all these things in her heart.’ And ‘treasuring all these things and pondering them in her heart’. We need to develop ‘a little discipline’ to make the Gospel the norm of our life, daily to read, reflect and respond to it with contemplative and compassionate hearts. We need to get nourished by the sacraments. We need to grow in spiritual life through reading, reflection and guidance. We need to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and examine daily our life and raise our awareness. We need to discern God’s will for us and make Godly choices. We need to love the church and the humanity. We have to do what is good and what God requires of us….’to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God’
Devout life is the fruit of passion- passion for Christ and passion for humanity Blessed Mother Theresa had a passion for Christ and humanity. Radically following Jesus, she ministered to the poorest of the poor.
The youth had a special place in the heart of Jesus as is evident in his encounter with the rich young man. “Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him. (Mark 10:17—). Pope John Paul II had asked the modern youth to “look for Jesus; personally with the eagerness and joy of discovering a friend. Love Jesus; he is not an idea, a sentiment, a memory. Jesus is a person always alive and present with you. Bear witness to Jesus; with the vivacity that is characteristic of your age, with the generous enthusiasm of your of your young heart, walk towards Christ. He alone is the solution to all your problems he alone is the way the truth and the life.”
hope you find some answers to your query here
God bless you
in union with the divine word,
fr. joseph vas svd:thumbsup:
