I have been Catholic for 6 years now and have never regretted the choice I made. (Or did I make it, or was I called?)
Anyhow, my question is this. God did not call me to do nothing and just sit on my faith and enjoy it, much as I do enjoy it.
Can anyone give me some advice on how to discern what God intended for me when I was called? I have spent endless hours praying/meditating on this, and while I am sure that I made the right choice swimming the Tiber, yet I feel no closer to knowing why. Surely it was not just to make me feel better about my spiritual life?
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
Personally, I believe our “purpose” is to love, nothing more.
How you go about that is up to you.
Some express this by feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting those who are sick or imprisoned.
However, one can do it by giving someone…a hug…a smile…a kind word of encouragement, listening to someone, attentively.
Some do this through work…or volunteering. One can do it through paid work, that whatever we do, we do it with great love from the moment we get up in the morning till we fall asleep at night.
We can express love through NOT saying something, holding our tongue, being patient with someone.
One can give someone a gift…even if it’s a love letter, a single flower, sharing food with someone…inviting someone who is lonely, including those who are, otherwise, excluded.
Some people…write a book…volunteer teaching someone to read or to speak English, work with animals, sick, dying. Some volunteer to fix someone’s car or really anything.
The sky’s the limit on things to do. Almost…where would one even start?
One could get a hobby. I did rosary making for a time, and I just give my rosaries away. One time, I gave them to a prison. Another time, I gave them to people who did religious retreats. Sometimes, I’ve given them for people’s birthdays…something I made with my own two hands.
Of late, I got another hobby…ceramics. I have discovered I LOVE it! Now, besides it being a work of art, thing of beauty, something that picks me up when I’m down by just looking at it, I’d like to use these as gifts.
For a time, I used to tutor ESL. I’ve tutored foreigners, in the US, who couldn´t speak or write English. I’ve volunteered in hospitals, interpreting, even filing.
For a time, I went around the city cleaning up graffiti.
I’ve called people for the church…cleaned, helped the sacristan.
I’ve helped just one time with a group …catechism. I didn´t teach but helped some who had trouble learning.
I’ve sometimes given away interpretations…gone with people to hospitals, Social Security.
If one knows crafts…knitting, crocheting, one can make those. Sometimes, they give them away in packages to new mothers with a new baby.
They have the “friendly visitors” in the hospitals.
There are volunteer parent aides, teacher’s aides.
In one knows computers, one can help with that.
When I lived in Alabama, there were volunteer organizations. I just went to one of those, said I wanted to tutor. They gave me a list.
If one hasn´t decided, they give you a questionnaire which helps you find your “niche”.
Anyway, there’s a LOT one can do, but really, our purpose isn´t in “doing” but “being”. Some say we need to BE love.
How you do that is basically writing your own story. THAT’S the challenge. THAT’S our purpose. Love…nothing more, nothing less.
