"Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral." – Hebrews 13:4
Hello dear friends in Christ! I hope everyone has had a blessed May, Our Lady's special month. Spring is such a beautiful time of year when nature thrives among us. Every day I look out my window and see sunny skies, gorgeous flowers, fluttering butterflies, squirrels scurrying up trees, and birds chirping in the wind. It has been very nice to take some time off now that the semester is over. Now I can relax because all of the hard work is done. I have officially graduated college and earned my degree with the honors of Magna Cum Laude! It has been a whirlwind of a ride, but I have the feeling it is only just getting started. I am ready to embrace a new adventure and to see where God takes me in this amazing world of His.
As I begin to embark on a new phase in life I recall my high school days at the Academy of the Holy Names, an all-girls Catholic high school, where we talked about vocations in religion class. What is a vocation anyways? Well, I can tell you one thing—it's not just a job or a profession, but rather a lifestyle. A vocation is a summons or strong inclination to a particular call by God. This divine calling puts us in the right place to serve God and His Kingdom as best as we can on earth...but only if one adheres to it. If we ignore God's calling to our true vocation we will end up missing out on the best plan He has for us!
Although I feel very strongly that God has called me to graduate school in attending the University of St. Thomas, I know that is not my vocation. That specific calling is more in line with my profession. My vocation will be how I choose to live my life in accordance with God's calling to a particular lifestyle. Maybe going to St. Thomas will help fulfill my vocational calling in leading me in the right direction.
Since I am very active within the Catholic Church many people have asked me if I'd like to become a nun. However, I personally feel called to a married life instead. Even so, religious life is another beautiful vocation! I admire those who choose to love God in this way. It is a great sacrifice. But many people will also tell you that marriage is just as big of a sacrifice, in a different way.
Both vocational callings, married and religious, are different—yet similar. Being a religious, priest, deacon, nun, brother, sister, monk, etc., has the call to love God within the church and the Sacrament of the Eucharist. A priestly vocation, anointed by the Sacrament of Holy Orders, also includes the love of his congregation and clergymen. This is another way to love God, through other people. It is such a beautiful way to love...which is also shown significantly in the Sacrament of Matrimony. In marriage the couple loves one another and commits to this love with their vows, honoring God and each other. In doing so, they love Jesus in a formally committed way because Christ resides in every person. If the couple is blessed with children that committed love extends to their offspring. This is very similar to how love is extended to the congregation of the church in the priesthood.
However the lifestyle may be, love is always the center of the calling. Love is God and God is love! Christ's love is deeply rooted in each of these vocations. ...Although I have yet to mention the calling of a single life. The single life is another type of vocation, but I feel that it is a rare one. Maybe not, but I haven't met that many people called to a single life. Most of my single friends are like myself, waiting for that right person to love in a married life. However, single life is definitely another option for a vocational calling. Some choose to commit their virginity to God during their entire life on earth, like St. Philomena. Others may have been married once, but were widowed, like St. Rita of Cascia.
I like that St. Rita actually lived all three vocations. As a young woman she was married and had children, embracing the calling of marriage. Later, her husband and children died from a terrible disease. As a widow she lived a single life for a while. Then she became a nun in her older age and died peacefully in the religious life. Although she had many hardships, how beautiful it is for her to have lived all of these different vocational callings? She is a great example to anyone who desires to love God with their life and vocation!
I remember feeling called to my vocation a long time ago. When I was given the Sacrament of Confirmation, during my sophomore year of high school, the bishop blessed me with holy oil. During his blessing he looked at my name tag and saw I was taking the name of St. Anne, the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus. It was then that he said how I would one day be a great mother, just like St. Anne. It dawned on me that I truly do feel the call to marry and have children. I would love to be a mother someday! However, this call to love must come with patience. Before I can be a great mother I have to wait for the great man God has planned for me to be with. You have probably heard the phrase, "all good things come to those who wait." This calling to love is a love worth waiting for! Waiting for love doesn't only happen within marriage, but also in religious life. A man entering the priesthood must wait years and years before he is ordained with Holy Orders.
This reminds me of the first description of love in 1 Corinthians 13. Saint Paul writes, "Love is patient." Just think about...he could have put love is patient much farther down on the list of his description. However, he writes it as the first account of love. Without waiting, without having patience, love cannot truly exist. Think about how Christ waited three hours on the cross in indescribable agony just to die for us! It was a big sacrifice but He did it out of true love. ...So like I said before, it may take years to finally live out a personal vocation, but it is totally worth it because your vocation is a love worth waiting for.
Below are two of my favorite songs about love that I wanted to share with you. The first is called "Hide Your Love Away" by the Anthem Lights. This is an amazing single about waiting for marriage! My friend Rachel had shared it with me on Facebook a little while ago and I can't thank her enough for that. The other is called "Plan on Forever" by Dana Glover and Mervyn Warren. I first heard this song on the movie called The Wedding Planner and fell in love with it! I hope these tunes will touch your heart the same way they touched mine. God truly loves you and He wants you to find your happily ever after, according to His own good plan and His own good time. Amen!
