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Guest
Prayer for Generosity and Courage
It is important to realize that Jesus’ call goes out not just to a few but to everyone. All of us who choose to follow Jesus are called to holiness and to some sort of service to the human community. The Second Vatican Council–a worldwide gathering of bishops in the 1960s–put it this way: “Thus is is evident to everyone that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status are called to the fulness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity.”
The question then, is not whether I am among those who have a vocation, but only how I will live it out. And there are countless possibilities, because human needs cry out everywhere. The reign of God is far from realized. I may work here or abroad. I may be a layperson, priest, or religious. I may work in church settings, or in the broader world. I may join a group already organized and at work, or start something new. I may raise a family, or I may try to bring Christian values to the business world or to the arts.
And this is the second place where prayer comes in. At the very least, any way of service the human community requires generosity. Both call for a measure of courage. I need to pray for those things, and extend that prayer over time, to embrace a good work and to perservere at it. What I am seeking both here and in the prayer for alignment with God’s value is genuine conversion–a radical change of heart, a total dedication, and an empowerment to do what is difficult. I open myself to it by prayerful meditation on generous and courageous figures who have gone before me–Mary of Nazareth, Jesus himself, the disciples, Paul, and people of our own day who have labored courageously and generously to bring about the reign of God.
Pray for Discernment
Jesus does not provide any method for figuring out what God might want me to do with my life; how am I supposed to fit in the grand scheme of things? Surely he would offer such a method if God had a will for me in such matters and it were crucial to find it. It seems fair to conclude that God–asking only that I live the values and contribute what I have to the cause of building the kingdom–leaves me to figure out concretely how I willd do that. And that is where discernment comes in. Discernment has two parts, and the first is the greater; listening attentively to my self, to all the information my body, feelings, mind, heart, and even my unconscious are giving me; and reading clearly the various life options I am contemplating. Through the whole process, I pray for guidance.
The gospel tells us more than once that Jesus was “moved with compassion” at the sight of human suffering. So are we, if we are at all sensitive. And that is often how God calls us–from inside the poor and needy. What group calls to me particularly? Children? Youth? Oppressed Minorites? The homeless? The addicted?
Or when I stand back from it all and am alone, what do I find myself wanting to contribute to the human community? Saint Paul calls our attention to the particular gift we have received that are meant for the life of community (1 Cor.12:4-11). Some have a gift for teaching, he says, others for administration, some for healing others for spiritual guidance. Other people usually tell us what are gifts are, if we listen. What are my talents and how can I best make them available for the enrichment of others? What type of work uses my skills well and so give some satisfaction in the doing, a sense of being both challenged and fully used? Since human needs are everywhere and of all kinds, I may as well choose a work that genuinely interests me and gives me satisfaction, not something that either underuses me or totally drains me. And the greater good is always accomplished over the long haul. What kind of work can I sustain over time?
There is another sort of attraction through which God speaks. There are individuals and groups already doing what I feel called to, and I feel drawn to join them. Is there a group already doing service to which I feel drawn?
It is important to realize that Jesus’ call goes out not just to a few but to everyone. All of us who choose to follow Jesus are called to holiness and to some sort of service to the human community. The Second Vatican Council–a worldwide gathering of bishops in the 1960s–put it this way: “Thus is is evident to everyone that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status are called to the fulness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity.”
The question then, is not whether I am among those who have a vocation, but only how I will live it out. And there are countless possibilities, because human needs cry out everywhere. The reign of God is far from realized. I may work here or abroad. I may be a layperson, priest, or religious. I may work in church settings, or in the broader world. I may join a group already organized and at work, or start something new. I may raise a family, or I may try to bring Christian values to the business world or to the arts.
And this is the second place where prayer comes in. At the very least, any way of service the human community requires generosity. Both call for a measure of courage. I need to pray for those things, and extend that prayer over time, to embrace a good work and to perservere at it. What I am seeking both here and in the prayer for alignment with God’s value is genuine conversion–a radical change of heart, a total dedication, and an empowerment to do what is difficult. I open myself to it by prayerful meditation on generous and courageous figures who have gone before me–Mary of Nazareth, Jesus himself, the disciples, Paul, and people of our own day who have labored courageously and generously to bring about the reign of God.
Pray for Discernment
Jesus does not provide any method for figuring out what God might want me to do with my life; how am I supposed to fit in the grand scheme of things? Surely he would offer such a method if God had a will for me in such matters and it were crucial to find it. It seems fair to conclude that God–asking only that I live the values and contribute what I have to the cause of building the kingdom–leaves me to figure out concretely how I willd do that. And that is where discernment comes in. Discernment has two parts, and the first is the greater; listening attentively to my self, to all the information my body, feelings, mind, heart, and even my unconscious are giving me; and reading clearly the various life options I am contemplating. Through the whole process, I pray for guidance.
The gospel tells us more than once that Jesus was “moved with compassion” at the sight of human suffering. So are we, if we are at all sensitive. And that is often how God calls us–from inside the poor and needy. What group calls to me particularly? Children? Youth? Oppressed Minorites? The homeless? The addicted?
Or when I stand back from it all and am alone, what do I find myself wanting to contribute to the human community? Saint Paul calls our attention to the particular gift we have received that are meant for the life of community (1 Cor.12:4-11). Some have a gift for teaching, he says, others for administration, some for healing others for spiritual guidance. Other people usually tell us what are gifts are, if we listen. What are my talents and how can I best make them available for the enrichment of others? What type of work uses my skills well and so give some satisfaction in the doing, a sense of being both challenged and fully used? Since human needs are everywhere and of all kinds, I may as well choose a work that genuinely interests me and gives me satisfaction, not something that either underuses me or totally drains me. And the greater good is always accomplished over the long haul. What kind of work can I sustain over time?
There is another sort of attraction through which God speaks. There are individuals and groups already doing what I feel called to, and I feel drawn to join them. Is there a group already doing service to which I feel drawn?
