Jeremiah 1:4f; Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.
Isaiah 43: 1-5 Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine. When you pass through the water, I will be with you; in the rivers you shall not drown. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned; the flames shall not consume you… Because you are precious in my eyes and glorious, and because I love you. . .
Let me remember that my call is ongoing, a part of my life; nothing is unrelated to God. Nothing is unrelated to love. From eternity to eternity God loves me. Our Blessed Mother was not a religious but a lay woman. She certainly had a vocation. Each of us will live out our vocation differently. A vocation is dynamic. One understands and lives one’s vocation as an ongoing call and development which is not static at all.
Basically I am called to have life, to exist, to become myself. I am unique. (Genesis 1 & 2) Being unique, I have the responsibility to bring into the world the individuality given me, to be fully human, to reach my own individuality. I respond to God’s call to a particular form of relationship with Him – as a lay consecrated person. I am called to love, happiness and life.
Every call from God is a specific orientation or mission in life and that is a vocation. I am not one in a crowd for God. I am not a serialized number nor am I a catalogued card. I am unrepeatable and unique. God calls me by name.
So, I am also called to conversion, a ‘metanoia’, a change of direction. I am to take hold of my entire life and turn it over to God. In doing so, I will grow in inner freedom and be able to accept God’s plan for me and to live my life faithfully and generously.
How do I become fully myself? In my relationships and in the work/service I give, I develop all the potential that I have been given. I lose my life in order to gain it. (John 12: 25-26)In a sense, then, one can say that the evangelical counsels are part and parcel of our life, and are not exclusive to the religious. All our lives, are we not becoming poor, chaste and obedient?
